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This thesis considers perspectives on municipal greenhouse gas emission reductions. It is timely study as it is one point of entry to analyzing emissions and contemplates the degree of local responsibility, as well as the barriers and possible solutions to creating action. By using a case study approach, Strathcona County was examined in its real-life context to determine the outlook at the local scale. Attention to varying government action plans, as well as scientific research was examined to verify relevance of municipal action. Using survey and interview methods, perspectives from key decision makers were compared and contrasted. The results indicated that there is a concentration at the municipal level on actions that will directly or indirectly benefit climate change. A multi-governance angle, as well as institutionalizing the concept into the organization and community will create progress. Solutions focusing on land use planning, transportation and community energy are emerging. This study demonstrates the value of municipal action as an essential element to achieving long term, cost effective and successful reductions, and recognizes that it is a supplement rather than an alternative to provincial and national plans.

In the past fifty years, various concepts have emerged that have the potential to assist societies in achieving greater sustainability. In this article I will briefly review the evolution of the bioregion and biosphere reserve concepts, look at definitional issues, at their similarities and differences, and at their relative strengths and weaknesses as vehicles for promoting the greater sustainability of human societies. https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/5436/Bioregions.pdf?sequence=4

Drought is one of the more devastating climate-driven hazards across the world. Its impacts have long term impacts and can lead to degradation of access to sufficient water, food and other necessities for human life. British Columbia experiences drought on a regular basis and given the increasing impacts of global climate change on the province, it is crucial to understand how small municipalities are prepared for this hazard in the present, as well as how they intend to address the hazard in the future. This project is a multiple-case study applied methods examination of current drought preparedness and adaptation planning in the BC communities of Tofino, Merritt and Dawson Creek. Findings show that there are significant gaps in disaster and emergency plans to currently address this hazard at the municipal government level, with minimal adaptation plans for the future. Case study sites rely heavily on water restriction adherence by residents and commercial users to reduce demand in drought season. There is a universal expectation and reliance on the Provincial government to ‘save the day’ in the event of any major drought event, despite the Emergency Program Act which states that it is the responsibility of municipalities to identify and address their own hazards.

“Word up” is a catch phrase that denotes agreement or enthusiasm about what another has said. A question central to this thesis was whether study participants thought that Algonquin College should endeavour to be a sustainability leader. Online and clipboard surveys, involving on- and off-campus participants, compiled new ideas of how Algonquin could educate for sustainability. These ideas formed a needs analysis that, combined with a review of trends in North American colleges’ education for sustainability, fed into program design recommendations. The program design phase of the research involved participants in an assessment of the survey results and the development of program recommendations for academic development at Algonquin College. Off-campus participants suggested new types of experiential learning involving community partners and encouraged the college to educate for careers related to sustainable food and renewable energy. On-campus participants were concerned foremost with the infusion of sustainable principles across all college curricula.

Waywayseecappo First Nation in the Greater Riding Mountain Area of Manitoba is faced with challenges to manage natural resources while balancing contemporary and traditional ways of knowing. How do Anishinabe from Waywayseecappo First Nation engage and protect Indigenous Knowledge for the purpose of sustainable resource management of ungulates in Wagiiwing? This research used qualitative methods to develop a case study of the use of Indigenous Knowledge in Wagiiwing using semi-structured interviews and participant observation. This project investigated perceptions of how Indigenous Knowledge is used in decision-making for natural resource management in Anishinabe territory and explored the role of Indigenous Knowledge in promoting sustainable resource management. Analysis of ways in which, Indigenous Knowledge is used in subsistence harvest of ungulates by Waywayseecappo First Nation illustrated its importance and in addition, ways in which Anishinabe are presently connect with the land and manage resources. I make recommendations to strengthen and reconnect Anishinabe peoples to Indigenous Knowledge and guide future study into sustainable resource management in Wagiiwing.

Hope is often credited as an inspiration for action and, in difficult circumstances, a protection against despair. But ill-considered hope can be an unreliable helper. If people choose only to hope for a happy outcome, rather than acting in their own interest, they risk losing the opportunity to improve their situation. Putting faith in hope alone, they may also find that, after crossing a critical marker, hope’s protection evaporates, suddenly and at great emotional cost. In that context and in the face of the gathering threat of climate change, this thesis records the search for a strategy that is better than hope – more active, robust and resilient. The search, including interviews with five high-profile and highly accomplished exemplars, suggests there might be value in simply recognizing the full extent of the threat and then embracing action in pursuit of a goal that is worthy, irrespective of a hoped-for result.

Rapidly growing outlying communities, exasperated congestion, complex traffic challenges - coupled with the role of vehicle carbon emissions in climate change - have led to the need for long-term sustainable transportation planning in the Greater Victoria of British Columbia region. Using an exploratory mixed methods approach that employed a literature review, an on-line survey, interviews and the partaking of a personal transportation journey, this study examined the views of Greater Victoria residents regarding the implementation of a Victoria - Green Road Inner Duct (VIC-G.R.I.D.) network of roads as a way to address regional sustainable transportation needs. The study showed positive support from the residents with an approval rating of 81%, and described barriers, motivators and concerns identified by the residents (i.e., potential increase in congestion, funding, and resistance to change). The study results will inform policy development and planning of publicly and politically acceptable transportation strategies in the Greater Victoria region.

Several regulatory policies have been implemented in the past five years on methane mitigation and oil sands industry emission in Alberta, Canada; however, most effective technologies in methane reduction remain to be explored in the context of these new policies in the Alberta oil sands industry. The purpose of this research was to determine the most effective technologies, based on economic and environmental criteria, to mitigate methane emissions from Alberta’s upstream oil sands processes. This was achieved through qualitative analysis of current technologies, and the development and application of a qualitative risk analysis and quantitative cost-benefit analysis considering economic and environmental factors. I concluded that high risk technologies have the lowest ratio of cost to environmental benefit and suggest that more effective technologies incur a greater risk to the industry; conversely, precise emission inventories need to be completed in order to identify areas of high emissions in individual cases.

This thesis employed qualitative methods including grounded theory to assess how successful ecopreneurs communicate to maintain and sustain their triple bottom line organizations. The analysis of transcribed interviews from 13 exemplars in North America revealed five groups of common attributes that form an overarching theme of authentic identity. This finding confirms the Communication Theory of Identity and furthers it because it is through authentic identity that successful ecopreneurs manage to narrow identity gaps across the four layers of identity: they continuously strive for alignment with themselves, in relationships, among and across stakeholder groups, and in their daily execution. Understanding ecopreneurs and their practices, distilling recommendations, and adding to the scarce body of academic literature on ecopreneurship, are critical because ecopreneurship, in light of the alarming economic and environmental outlook, is establishing itself as a considerable area of business activity and influence for social change and a sustainable future.

Soil and blackberry shoots and fruit samples were collected from 30 different locations along two major highways and residential areas in Greater Victoria and analyzed for various contaminants. The concentrations of metals such as Cr, Cu, Pb, Sn, Zn in some of the soil samples exceeded the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment soil quality guidelines for residential/parkland use. Metal concentrations in soils and plants collected along the two highways were elevated compared to those obtained from the residential areas. For example, the mean concentration of Pb in the highway soil samples was 144 mg/kg while in residential areas the mean was 64 mg/kg. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentrations were generally higher in the highways samples. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes concentrations in all the samples were below the detection limit. There was a significant positive correlation between traffic volume based on vehicle counts and the concentrations of select contaminants.