Out and about in Winnipeg

Journal Entry #9

Last Friday we went on the Green Building and Planning field trip! It was great to get out of the classroom and see some of the green technologies we've been talking about in real life. We saw some different places than where Kristina usually takes her classes, but everything we saw was really interesting. We visited Fort Whyte Alive first where we ate a delicious meal then heard about their greenhouse. Next we drove by a "solar wall" downtown, on our way to the West End Cultural Center. Then to the Plug-In ICA building downtown, followed by the Equilibrium duplex project. It was really nice that we got to see a variety of public, commercial and residential buildings. It was also fun to chat with some classmates and get to know them better.

The building I really enjoyed the most was the Plug-In building at the corner of Osbourne and Portage. It is a building that was built quickly and on a tight budget. Despite these limitations, they have managed to incorporate some amazing green technologies, architectural designs, and social aspects into the building. This is very inspirational and should give future home builders a lot of hope because it shows that it is possible to build green on a budget, it's just a matter of priorities and looking at the long-term picture.

The Plug In ICA building.

Why is it so hard for humans to consider their actions from the long-term perspective anyway? It seems that we get so wrapped up in our little worlds that we forget we are part of something must bigger and longer lasting than our short time on earth. I think we are getting better...if only out of necessity.

This week I discussed green technologies with my cousins, who are a diverse group of individuals. I like to discuss these things with people outside of the enivornmental field for a more "well-rounded" discussion/debate. In any case, among my cousins are a doctor, statistician, English literature master's student, computer programmer, high school math teacher, home assessor, university students in engineering and law, a power engineer, high school student, and myself, an environmental scientist (in training)! We always have great debates on all sorts of issues, and sometimes our opinions can diverge quite a bit.

However...being smarter about the environment is one thing we can agree on (for the most part- my power engineer cousin works in Fort MacMurray on the oil rigs). As some of us have gotten married and plan to get married in the future, we talk about our "dream houses." We all agree that investing in technologies (and other various purchases) that will provide long-term financial and environmental gain is the smart choice.

There are at least 13 environmentally concious future homeowners in my family. That makes me proud!





Works Cited:

Fort Whyte Centre. Nature Discovery Center. Found at: http://www.homeandabroad.com/s/siteImages/125/169505_CANWpg_FortWhyteCentre01_LNorman.jpg Retrieved on: March 21, 2011.

Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art. Found at: http://plugin.org/turnon/sites/plugin.org.turnon/files/images/IMG_1413.JPG
Retrieved on: March 21, 2011.