MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Living Off the Grid
No full textLiving in the city most people take for granted the convenience of flicking on a light switch or plugging in an appliance. They also expect to be able to call the utility company if there is no heat for the house. Now imagine being responsible for providing all of your survival needs from electricity through waste management. This is off-grid living. The settlers who came here to Canada lived off-grid. Homes were often built of sod, heated with wood-fired stoves, and lit with candles they made themselves. The majority of twenty-first century Canadians would perish in similar living conditions. The Canadian Encyclopaedia in its history of Western and Northwest Canada describes the lives of the pioneer homesteaders who purchased 160 acres of land for $10 and struggled to survive. “Homesteaders and their families were often separated from friends and relatives, and many suffered years of hardship and loneliness. One of the greatest difficulties was the absence of roads and bridges. Most trails were impassable when wet. Medical care was scarce and farm injuries were often crippling or fatal, and many simple ailments caused prolonged hardship. For many settlers the price of homesteading was too high, they cancelled their claims and moved away” (McCracken, 2011). Today, off-grid living is sought out for different reasons. People who decide to live off-grid are often looking for a way to live in harmony with and lessen their impact on the environment. They enjoy a physical challenge, and/or appreciate some solitude. It is possible to lessen reliance on the grid and still live in the city, but it is expensive and more difficult due mainly to regulatory requirements. Since regulations vary widely among municipal jurisdictions the focus of this article is development of an off-grid living facility where municipal services are unavailable. Off-grid living in its simplest form involves finding ways to provide for basic human comforts. “Off-grid also means not using or depending on public utilities, especially the supply of electricity,” (Oxford Dictionary, 2011). For many people who are living this lifestyle it also involves growing food, raising chickens for eggs and meat, goats or cows for milk, and pigs for pork, bacon and ham. Off-grid living also means changing lifestyle to suit the season. Spring is planting season and that is the focus of activity. Summer means long days and a chance to build and do maintenance and time to cut, split and stack next year’s firewood if the primary source of heat is wood-burning stoves. Fall is harvest time with its many hours of work preserving the food. Winter is for cocooning and making plans for the next growing season. If power generation is solar based, it probably means going to bed early and sleeping later to conserve energy. A Personal Choice to Live Sustainably The author and some of his family are in the process of developing a multigenerational home site on ten acres of forested property on the North Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada. This article presents information that a family needs to consider when deciding to live off-grid. It then presents a case study of the decisions, considerations, and expectations that the author’s family encountered when building the home site; including real-world suggestions and solutions based on primary research done by the family members. It also gives some site-specific details of that ongoing work
Efficacy of Green Roof Technology in Colder Climates
No full textGreen roof technology has been used within Canada as early as the first French settlers (1600) in the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland for necessity and survival in the Canadian wilderness. As home construction became more modernized, green roof technology was replaced by conventional roofing on houses and businesses. However, with the increased awareness of sustainable practices and environmental conservation, several European companies introduced new green roof technologies in the 1980s that began the movement of using this technology. While this technology has primarily been used in mild climates throughout Canada (Vancouver, British Columbia), little has been examined and researched regarding the use of green roof technology in colder and more severe climates within Canada. In his final year to complete his Bachelor Degree in Technology at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Yancey Corden conducted research on the efficacy of green roof technology in Edmonton, Alberta capital region’s cold and severe climatic conditions. The results suggested that native plants to the region are most successful when used in green roof technology
Negative Option Billing: Current Practice and Future Concerns
No full textNegative option billing is a business practice in which goods or services are provided automatically while the customer must either pay for the service or specifically decline it in advance of billing. With the growing popularity of e-commerce, there has also been a growth of instances where this practice has started with a limited-time free trial, followed by an automatic conversion to being subscribed for a service, with fees deducted automatically from customers’ pre-arranged payment account until the customer specifically contacts the vendor to opt out. This study reviews the growth in negative option billing and related marketing practices in the last decade and describes government reactions to curb undesirable or deceptive versions of such practices in the North America and Asia Pacific areas in general. Recognizing their rapid diffusion on the Internet, questionable forms of such practices should be fully understood by marketing professionals, consumers, and government regulatory bodies.Keywords: negative option billing; free-to-pay subscription conversion; automatic account renewal; consumer information; e-commerce; Asia Pacifi
The Problem with People
No full textClimate change has become a critical political issue in the past twenty years. However, there is a related issue that is often overlooked by governments, industry, and the public: energy supply security, defined by the IAEA (2007) as “...the ability of a nation to muster the energy resources needed to ensure its welfare” (n.p.). Conventional energy requires the burning of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide, the primary driver behind climate change (Pulles & Amstel, 2010, p. 4). Because of this, the problems of our dependence on fossil fuels and carbon fuelled global warming are interrelated. As such, solving the climate change problem may mitigate energy concerns. However, the potentially disastrous consequences of climate change will not be felt immediately while energy is critical to our daily survival; so, energy issues are arguably a more pressing concern
In the Company of Trees
No full text“In the Company of Trees” article describes a collaborative project that was undertaken by two first-year Fine Arts program students who have a passion for art and for nature. More specifically, they have an intuitive connection with trees; hence, the name “Tree Installation.” The article focuses on the research techniques artists use when creating a piece, and demonstrates how the application of such techniques combines and employs both artistic and academic knowledge to inform a creative project. The article discusses the research techniques used when the artists decided on what type of installation to create, what shape it would take, what its dimensions would be, and what materials would be selected and used. A discussion regarding creativity and spontaneity that is essential to art is also included. Also discussed throughout the article is the concept that some research that artists do while creating a piece of art, whether it be an installation, painting or sculpture, is done instinctively rather than overtly as the art work is evolving. Considerable effective research is done through experimentation and the “Tree Installation” embodies this method. The “Tree Installation” is not only beautiful art, but is a project that involved influential and meaningful research about the nature of trees
Sustainable Learning in \u27s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
No full textThis article is a case scenario with interviews from students in \u27s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. The students are enrolled in a business or ―Entrepreneur‘s‖ program at Koning Willem I College. Part of their program is a sales initiative during which they are responsible for designing a campaign to sell umbrellas. The students receive lessons from Drs. Rob de Vrind, an expert on sustainability and resource management. De Vrind teaches sustainability to the students under the heading of ―citizenship.‖ Five students participated in the interview process. While their project is in the beginning stages, they are enthusiastic about learning more about the connection between good business practices and sustainability. Background information about the educational system in the Netherlands, as well as information about the College‘s business program is provided
Preface
No full textEarth Common Journal is an online peer-reviewed, undergraduate annual publication that focuses on three critically important and globally reaching topics: conservation, sustainability, and global warming. It was created and shaped by a group of dedicated and compassionate editors, reviewers, and authors who understood the need and the importance of sharing research and creative work in these three areas. Its mandate is to provide a communication instrument for undergraduate students from Grant MacEwan University to convey their research ideas with the intent on informing others about conservation practices, sustainable processes, and issues that affect global warming. In addition, Earth Common Journal includes an international section where undergraduate students, faculty, and community leaders exchange the research and work that they are doing in their educational and community institutions
Climate Change Policy 101
No full textSimilar to other policy issues, climate change policy proceeds in a cyclical fashion that proceeds from agenda setting, to policy development, to implementation, and finally to monitoring and review. Agenda setting involves politicians becoming convinced, usually by the science but also by politics and public opinion, that the climate issue deserves a policy response. Policy development involves a great deal of economic and policy option assessments that are winnowed down to a few options that may have “political traction” (i.e. those politicians think might succeed). Policy implementation involves turning policies into law and regulations that industry and individuals will act upon. Policy review, especially monitoring outcomes, is perhaps the most important phase, and for the climate change issue, the ongoing conclusion to date seems to be that more needs to be done, leading to the policy cycle starting over again. But there are also disturbing signs that this “top-down” approach is no longer working, and more “bottom-up” approaches, linked to the energy sector and clean technology, may become important new forces in forging action on climate change
Conservation in Madasgascar
No full textWhen most people hear the word Madagascar, images of animated dancing lemurs and quirky stranded penguins come to their minds. Although there is some truth in the movie’s description of that far-away, mysterious place, it fails to paint a complete picture of Madagascar as being rich in biodiversity and culture. Few places on earth rival the variety of endemic plants and animals that are found there. It is estimated that Madagascar has more genetic diversity per unit area than anywhere else on earth (Karsten, et al., 2009). This makes it “one of the world’s hottest hotspots for biodiversity conservation” (Consiglio, et al., 2006). Even though Madagascar is a biologically invaluable nation, it trails behind other ecologically notable countries, like Ecuador, in the conservation effort. Madagascar continues to suffer devastating loss to its precious habitats. The Madagascar government has the difficult task of preserving as much ecologically unique territory as it can, without depriving the already economically disadvantaged local people. Much international help is needed in providing support to the people and protection to the plants, animals, and natural resources of Madagascar
Technological Capability Building in the Automotive Industry: Comparing China with South Korea
No full textWhy has China developed a huge automotive market without building up autonomous technological capability? While comparing China with South Korea’s experience, we argue that this phenomenon has to be understood in the context of a misleading and ineffective policy regime and a fragmented political structure, which in turn are associated with a disincentive market environment (sizable but unsophisticated demand) and China’s ongoing systemic restructuring that has so far been oriented toward management fragmentation. Keywords: China versus Korea; automotive industry; technological capabilit