In This Issue
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What We're About

Action Speaks [Empowering Local Business]
Answering Our Question

Good News for a Change
Canadian Electric Vehicles

The Leading Edge of Social Change
Living Frugally

Designer Workplaces
Bicycle Parking

Actualizing Passions
Rediscovering Buttertubs

Businesses and Non-Profits (Working Together)
Recycling and Market Hours Expanded

Making It Happen
Volunteer Environmental Monitoring Program Kicks Off on Vancouver Island

Changes Radio on CHLY, 101.7

Changing the World: Editorials
Building Wisdom (Part 2 of 3)
Proportional Representation as a Positive Solution

Heads Up...
Fifteen Reasons NOT to Have
a Lawn

Success Stories:
Children Challenge World Leaders in Johannesburg

You're Invited!
[Announcements, Events, Programs, Workshops]

Keeners' Korner
Buffalo Soap

How to Subscribe

What We're About

In Nanaimo Interactive Community News we talk about how businesses and nonprofit organizations can work together to create social change and health in our communities. We encourage local self-reliance, community strength and sustainability. We demonstrate how average citizens are re-evaluating their lives, taking stock in their fears, and re-designing their reactions.

Creative ideas abound! People are beginning to see that it IS socially acceptable and personally rewarding to live simply as a lifestyle choice. Changing our actions into a positive force, causing a huge tidal wave of single, individual, voluntary contributions (that all add up to A CHANGED GLOBAL COMMUNITY) is such a simple thing — with many hands making light work! Thank you for joining us.

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Nanaimo Interactive Community News is produced by the Alternative Media Research Centre and Community Involvement Project (CIP). If you would like to contribute information to this newsletter, please call 753-5604.

This work may be reproduced with proper acknowledgements; copies of the reproduction are to be sent to the Editor. Community Involvement Project, the Alternative Media Research Centre and/or any of the Changes Campaign partners are not responsible for any advice, opinions or information provided by the authors and contributors to this compilation of community news, herein entitled "Nanaimo Interactive Community News." Materials submitted for this publication, as part of the open Changes Campaign, are intended to contribute to the common good and to be used freely and responsibly, citing fully the sources wherever possible.

Production Editor: Suzanne Gregory
Researcher: Tona Ratcliffe
Contributors: Suzanne Gregory, Meredith Enright, Sean Fedorowich, Tona Ratcliffe, Debra Langille, Cecilia McNeil, Simon Knowles, Tanya Laing, Andy Telfor, Mike Carpenter, Shelley Milstein, Jeanie DuGal, Will Cardinal, Shannon Aines and Melanie Alderson.
Graphic Designers: Kelly McMullen, Brenda Piquette and Rhonda Forrester

You're Invited!
[ Announcements - Events -
Programs - Workshops ]
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The Nanaimo Recycling Exchange Market has extended is hours of operation to include Sundays. The Market will be open all summer, 7 days a week from 9 am -4:15 pm. (The Recycling Depot will also be open Sundays 8:30 am - 5:00 pm.)

July 1 - Volunteer Nanaimo will be open at their new location, 529 Wentworth. They will be closed from June 24-27 to move to their new location.

July 11 - Parksville-Qualicum Community Foundation is having a Barbecue and auction at the Qualicum Rotary Park. Call 752-7202

July 12 - Free meditation class, inner light and sound using the teaching of Sant Thakar Singh. 7pm, 500 Bowen Rd. Call 1-877-566-9849.

July 27 - Volunteer Nanaimo will be having a flea market in the Harewood Co-op Parking lot. For more info call 753-3720.

July 28 - The Nanaimo Recycling Exchange will be having an event called I.T. Collection. You can drop of your old computers and computer equipment in the parking lot of the Country Club Mall from 10am - 4pm. The computers that are fixable or already working will be sent to counties like India and Nepal to help those in need. The rest of the computers will be recycled. For more info call 758-7777.

Changes Radio marks its first birthday next month, and the baby is growing into a toddler with a desire to explore the big world around it.

Even with dozens of episodes under their belts, production staff are finding there is no end to the stories and topics that deserve to be covered. “The coolest thing about this show,” comments coordinating producer Sean Fedorowich, “Is that I learn something new every time. And every show seems to lead into something else that we ought to cover. We'll never run out of ideas.”

The Changes Radio working group was formed last July with an offer of two hours weekly of airtime on community radio station CHLY. Volunteer producers, writers, researchers and hosts began meeting — first monthly, then every week — to work out a mandate and format. It was soon decided that topics would be chosen democratically, approved or rejected by the group at each meeting.

The first show went to air on a wet Thursday in mid-November. Since then, the working group has boiled down to a collection of hardy and dedicated souls, with occasional exciting infusions of new blood. It includes teacher (and farmer) Lynn Wytenbroek, who produces Simple Living segments; RDN Waste Reduction Coordinator Alan Stanley deals with Zero Waste issues; Suzanne Gregory and Shirley Goldberg, well-known writers and activists in Nanaimo, deal with the Human Change and Idea Show streams respectively.

In addition, Brenda Zakreski and Christina Knighton coordinate the Eco-Vibrations group, made up of enthusiastic and dedicated students from Nanaimo's high schools. Philip Pond keeps the website (www.recycling.bc.ca/
changes.html) updated. John Palmer, Kim Goldberg and other committed volunteers make their invaluable contributions as well.

Informal weekly meetings are held Tuesdays at 4:00 PM at Perkins Café, 234 Commercial Street in downtown Nanaimo. All are welcome.

Changes Radio airs Tuesdays and Thursdays between 11:00 AM and 12:00 noon on CHLY at 101.7 FM. Computer users can also listen to a live webcast at www.chly.fm.

Community Education membership level (Information and News): 12 issues annually - $25 email or $38 mail, payable to Community Involvement Project, PO Box 4516, Nanaimo, BC V9R 6E8 – or see the staff at Green Communities in Harbour Park Mall.

Community Contributors membership level (for socially responsible business people who really believe in what we’re doing): $50-75 (tax deductible donation) annually, payable to Nanaimo Recycling Exchange – please tag donation specifically for Alternative Media Research Project, and drop off or mail to 2214 McCullough Rd, Nanaimo, BC V9S 4M8.

Larger donations will also enable distribution to seniors and low-income individuals (these are tax-deductible if made payable to Nanaimo Recycling Exchange):
$100 provides 2 subscriptions;
$500, 10 subscriptions;
$2500, 50 subscriptions;
$5000, 100 subscriptions;
$10,000, 200 subscriptions;
$25,000, 500 subscriptions.

Disclaimer: Your subscription will include a membership in the new Alternative Media Research Centre. The Centre intends to develop a Web site where broader community news may be accessed by anyone with a membership. In the meantime, please be aware that, in the event of natural or world circumstances preventing distribution of one or more issues, make-up issues will be distributed or funds will be donated to the Alternative Media Research Centre.

Changing the World: Editorial #1
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Wisdom Councils:
Quotes from the Wisdom Building of Tom Atlee

Part 2 of 3

“It was a revelation to me to realize that we presently have no effective way to unearth and articulate the will of the people.”

Power Imbalances

“Individuals, groups and corporations exist who have accumulated enough power to thwart the will of the people, no matter how clearly stated. When the people's will goes against the will of such powerholders - as when a majority of the public said they wanted single-payer health care - those powerholders generally take action to counter it. At this point, one of their most effective tools is the electoral process, the intended embodiment of public power. Although special interests can't always control how we vote, they very often influence which limited options we are presented with.”

“But few would ignore a constitutionally convened council of citizens using state-of-the-art methods to clarify public concerns. People would listen to deep, thoughtful statements of the common good and public will that such an annual council discovered through intelligent exploration of both their differences and their shared sensibilities and interests. That is what makes the Wisdom Council idea so compelling when compared to other approaches for discovering 'the will of the people.'”

The Wisdom Council

Here's an idea that's worth talking about…

“One of the most powerful potential tools we have, I believe is The Wisdom Council. I first heard about it from its originator, organizational consultant Jim Rough, who proposed a "Wisdom Amendment" to the U. S. Constitution: "The Wisdom Amendment" calls for an annual gathering of twenty-four randomly selected voters to comprise a microcosm of the People of the United States. This small group of citizens meets for a short period (from three days to a month) to create a unanimous, constitutionally sanctioned statement of the Wisdom of the People. As with a jury, members serve only a short time and speak only for themselves. Unlike a jury, each Wisdom Council determines the issues they consider and is facilitated to ensure creative dialogue. The final statements offer leadership but no power of law… The Wisdom Council establishes a collaborative presence at the pinnacle of society, a way to facilitate consensus among all people and a way to voice that consensus.

The Wisdom Council needs to be respected and officially recognized as the pre-eminent voice of the people. That's the reason to establish it through a Constitutional amendment. The people are the source of all legitimate authority in a democracy and, if this is their voice, it deserves the highest position and honor. Although the Wisdom Council would have no formal power over other branches of government, its symbolic placement above all other democratic institutions would allow it to exercise a profound influence as the current embodiment of public will and wisdom.

Citizens need to take very seriously the role of the Wisdom Council as their collective voice. If the Wisdom Council says things certain people agree with, those people will need to tell their representatives (and the media and everyone else) to listen to it. If the Wisdom Council says things that certain people disagree with, then those people need to ask, “Why did they say that?!”

“A Wisdom Council would provide the common understanding and shared sense of direction needed to guide communities as they organize themselves.

If official and unofficial Wisdom Councils were set up in hundreds of organization, institutions, neighbourhoods, towns and cities across America, it would familiarize people with how they work and what can be done with them. It would transform our public life right where we live it and allow for experimentation in Wisdom Council process and structure.”

Tom Atlee is the founder and director of the Co-Intelligence Institute, PO Box 493, Eugene, OR 97440, and the Innovations in Democracy Project.

Jim Rough and Associates can be reached at 1040 Taylor St., Port Townsend, WA 98368. Phone (360) 385-7118. email: jim@ToBe.net.

Heads Up
[ Dos and Don'ts Advice Lists ]
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Fifteen Reasons NOT
to Have a Lawn
(Especially Not a Manicured One)

1. Dandelions are good food, found in expensive restaurant salads. They're worth a lot more than grass. The same is true of other "“weeds.”
2. Chemicals popularly used on lawns and golf courses run off during rains and pollute watersheds. They are also poisonous to birds and other wildlife.
3. Lawns use large amounts of municipal drinking water or easily depleted groundwater that could be better used for other things.
4. Since watering is restricted, lawns turn brown in the summer and look boring, giving a sense that Vancouver Island urban development has transformed a lush rainforest into a wasteland.
5. Flowers and shrubs (including native species) offer more colour and variety.
6. Native plants are much better adapted to our climate and soils; they need no watering and less tending.
7. Species such as tree frogs, salamanders, and garter snakes (predators on insects) can be cut up or run over by the mower (one commentator tells us that snakes are actually attracted to the vibrations of the mower). Just because some people don't think they're cute, doesn't mean they don't have a right to live. (Actually, others find reptiles and amphibians both cute and fascinating, while also recognizing their importance in the web of life. Even slugs are indispensable waste disposal units in our original forest ecosystems — and they're kind of cute, too, when you get to know them.)
8. Humans can also be injured by mowers. Serious cuts to feet are common.
9. Birds, butterflies, and other wildlife need safe and appropriate food, nesting and perching space, places to metamorphose in safety, hiding places, and much more. Some wildlife gardeners actually recommend keeping a brush pile that can be used by various species.
10. Gasoline-powered mowers create substantial air pollution.
11. Edible landscaping (whether “weeds” or cultivated fruits and vegetables) is more useful — especially in an era of rising food costs, reduced incomes, and concerns about genetically modified foods.
12. Most front lawns are essentially waste space, not really used for anything.
13. Lawns are expensive and time consuming to maintain, and many people don't enjoy doing the work — so why do it?
14. Water gardens, rock gardens, arbours, labyrinths, arboreta, botanical gardens, native plant gardens, edible gardens, sensory gardens, Japanese gardens, and undisturbed wild places are among the valid alternatives that are much more interesting than lawns — and are more enjoyable to spend time on and in.
15. The idea of the lawn is quite possibly specious to begin with. According to one of our sources, at one time the grass around English manor houses was short because it got trimmed by the sheep that only the wealthy could afford to keep (perhaps because they were the only ones who had adequate land, having enclosed the commons — i.e. appropriated for themselves the land that had formerly been available to all). Having a lawn, however small, thus became a way to ape the rich — sort of an early version of the rhinestone tiara or the imitation designer label handbag.

Even if that story is apocryphal, the lawn seems to be a custom that has no current meaning. Aside from its practical use for certain sports, our society's insistence on having large expanses of cut, monocultured grass is little more than a custom that's kept alive by social pressure, advertising, and an aesthetic sense that could stand to be reassessed.

Changing the World: Editorial #2
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Proportional Representation as a Positive Solution

For some of us, “democracy” means majority rule, where the will of 51% of the people can overrule the wishes of the other 49%. Needless to say, the minority — whatever political stripe they represent at any given time — are unhappy. In democracies where the “first past the post” system is still used, voter turnout has declined precipitously: people expect the party with the most money to win, and many don't expect their votes to make any difference.

It doesn't have to be that way. Most democracies now use some version of proportional representation, a system which allows parties to hold seats in proportion to the number of votes that they receive. This is particularly good news for voters who feel that the entrenched, mainstream parties no longer listen to the people. It offers hope that other voices may be heard.

Polls show that 75% of British Columbians are in favour of proportional representation, and there is an opportunity — right now — to do something about it. From now until mid-August, canvassers are collecting signatures in support of the Pro Rep Initiative launched by Adriane Carr (as an individual, not under the auspices of any political party).

If signatures are obtained from 10% of voters in every riding, the government must adopt the system proposed in the petition or hold a binding referendum. It may sound daunting, but it's worth a few minutes of your time!

All you need is to be a registered voter. Watch for canvassers in the malls, or inquire at Green Communities in Harbour Park Mall, or call 753-6204 to reach a local canvasser.

For more information on the initiative, go to www.freeyourvote.bc.ca or call toll free 1-866 776-7379.

Success Stories
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Children Challenge World Leaders in Johannesburg

The finale of the fourth International Children's Conference on the Environment was filled with lively entertainment and final addresses, but there was also an air of seriousness to the ceremonies. Almost 400 children adopted and presented the key challenges that will be delivered to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg later this year. The challenges are direct and focused demands for environmental action by governments of the world. Two child delegates from the conference, Analiz Vergara from Quito, Ecuador and Justin Friesen from Nova Scotia, Canada were elected by their conference peers to personally deliver the challenges at WSSD.

"We want clean water and clean air for everyone," said Analiz Vergara, who is a Junior Board member for the conference. "These are basic human rights, not privileges. The challenges we have developed represent the children - the next leaders - and the hope for our future. We must make sure that governments listen to us."

Justin Friesen, also a member of the Junior Board, said, "Some of the key challenges to governments of the world include:

• Ensure that people from developing countries all have access to clean drinking water and that it is shared equally. (Water)
• Sign the Kyoto protocol. (Climate Change)
• Forgive the debts of developing countries. (Healthy Communities, Healthy Children)
• Give tax breaks for environmentally friendly products. (Resource Conservation)"

In total, 50 challenges will be presented to world leaders at the upcoming summit in Johannesburg, August 26 to September 4, 2002. They were developed by the children in their Friendship Groups, based on the conference's daily themes of: Water; Climate Change, Healthy Communities, Healthy Children; and Resource Conservation.

"The presentation of these challenges at WSSD sends a very powerful message that children's voices must be heard," said Mr. Kakakhel, United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director for UNEP. "UNEP is committed to continuing this conference series, and is already very involved in producing the 2003 ICC that will be held in New London, Connecticut, USA. Plans are also underway for the 2005 conference in Japan."

A total of 385 children and 251 adult delegates, representing 80 countries, attended the 2002 International Children's Conference on the Environment. The conference, produced together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was held at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada from May 21 to 25. Major sponsors of the conference are UNEP, the Government of Canada and Tetra Pak Canada Inc.

The 50 challenges are available on the Conference Web site: www.icccanada2002.org

For more information, please contact:
Alan Dolan, Communications Manager
250-883-0228 (cell) 250-882-0493 (cell)
Michelle Larstone, Communications Coordinator
250-478-8056;

Childrens' List of Challenges to Governments of the World

I. Water
We challenge governments of the world to:

• Be good environmental role models for everyone
• Conserve water by
  - promoting the use of organic farming,
  - redesigning fuels so that they don't pollute water,
  - collecting rainwater for drinking and watering gardens,
  - encouraging the use of technologies that help purify and/or conserve water, and
  - supporting environmental groups.
• Incorporate solar aquatic sewage treatment in their country.
• Build biodegrading facilities like Solar Aquatics.
• Do not clear cut, as it causes soil erosion.
  
• Find alternatives to oil.
• Create more environmental projects and contests for kids.
  
• Ensure that people from developing countries all have access to clean drinking water and that it is shared equally.
  
• Protect wetlands and water in order for environmental programs to keep functioning.
  
• Put in place stronger laws and penalties against industries, individuals and corpo-rations that pollute water. Fines should be put in place and the money from the fines should go towards cleaning up the water.

II. Climate Change
We challenge governments of the world to:

• Sign the Kyoto Protocol.
• Ban and create laws against CFCs and other toxic chemicals.
• Stop war and return the environment to what it was 300 years ago.
• Support the use of alternative transportation such as biking, walking, public transportation and car pooling, instead of driving.
• Limit the use of gas cars, make idling for more than five minutes illegal, and limit the number of cars per family.
• Make clear cut logging illegal and if you do log, plant two trees for every tree you cut down.
• Give money for research on electric cars, alternative energy and eco-friendly products and technology.
• Limit the number of factories in a city and fine cities that have too many. Close all industries for one day a year and penalize industries that use fossil fuels.
• Use greener energy like solar, wind, biomass and hydrogen. Ban non-green energy like fossil fuels.
• Have more recycling and composting programs.

III. Healthy Children, Healthy Communities
We challenge governments of the world to:

• Help developing communities to be healthier, to work together, and to focus on leadership.
• Forgive the debts of developing countries.
• Promote health care and vaccinations for all children of the world.
• Have International Friendship and Multicultural Days.
• Make a lane for bikes and roller blades so that people can exercise without using cars.
• Have clean, healthy plants, animals and parks. Clean up slums.
• Incorporate environmental education into the school curriculum. Encourage clean-ups and more involvement in environmental issues.
• Make sure that everybody is healthy, has clean water and good food, and a place to live.
• Stop child labour in harsh conditions (sweat shops and chemical factories).
• Ensure that people of the world have clean water and a healthy environment.
• Stop destroying non-renewable resources.
• Make stricter laws on the environment and the use of landmines.
• Keep your community clean and children healthy by not using pesticides and/or herbicides.
• Listen to each other, especially children.

IV. Resource Conservation
We challenge governments of the world to:

• Stop cutting down trees without replacing them.
• Create more efficient cars.
• Put a limit on how much fossil fuels we use.
• Protect our environment through keeping the landmarks of the different cultures of the world and banning clear-cutting.
• Limit the drilling of oil.
• Protect fresh water from pollution by ensuring that it is not wasted or misused by individuals.
• Tax people who waste non-renewable resources.
• Create protected areas and plant more trees.
• Find more sources of energy and use what we have more efficiently.
• Invent solar energy, use bio-degradable products and use buses, subways or carpools.
• Make and enforce new laws on conserving our natural resources.
• Give tax breaks for environmentally friendly products.

Keeners' Korner (Participation)
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Buffalo Soap

According to the Canadian Tourism Commission, Canada's hospitality Industry recorded 98,784,000 overnight stays last year. That translates into approximately 4,939,000 kilograms (10,866,000 lbs.) of discarded soap — those little hotel-sized bars that may be used only once or twice, then thrown in the landfill.

The Mission Statement of H.I. Landfill Diversion Inc. is “To divert, recycle and eventually have all solid waste from discarded hospitality industry guest soaps, diverted from landfill sites.” The company now collects soap from Victoria hotels and transforms it into Buffalo Recycled Laundry Soap. Available at several Victoria-area stores, both Thrifty Foods in Nanaimo and the Co-op on Bowen Road, the product is microbiologically safe, biodegradable and free of nitrates, phosphates, and wasteful packaging. The new formula of soap powder, borax and washing soda is recommended by most environmental organizations and many city engineering departments. AND there is soon a multi-purpose paste cleaner (ingredients are soap powder, washing soda, borax and sweet orange essential oil) to be available all over the island and beyond.

At present, there are approximately 5500 hotel and motel rooms in the Greater Victoria area, plus 1000 rooms in Nanaimo and Duncan, providing approximately 75,550 Kilograms (166,210) lbs. per annum of soap that could be diverted from the landfills. As of today, there are a total of 27,000 hotel rooms participating in this landfill diversion, including the hotels hosting the G8 Summit at Kananaskis.

If you are interested in learning more about this waste reduction project, or are interested in becoming involved as a participant, investor or partner, visit www.landfilldiversion.com or contact:
Phone: (250) 598-0309
Fax: (250) 598-0319
Email: info@landfilldiversion.com

Making it Happen
[ Wishlists and Stories from the Local Not-for-Profit World ]
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Volunteer Environmental Monitoring Program Kicks Off
on Vancouver Island

The communities of Nanaimo, Parksville-Qualicum, and Port Alberni have been chosen to participate in the Canadian Community Monitoring Network (CCMN), a growing network of communities across Canada interested in monitoring changes in their local environment. The CCMN assists communities in strengthening links between community-based environmental monitoring and local policy and decision-making.

Ecological change in our natural environment is an important indicator of environmental health. Monitoring environmental changes can provide scientific data to help policy-makers make more informed decisions. By becoming involved in the CCMN project, you are taking a great step towards addressing the environmental issues of your community.

As participating communities in the CCMN project, the communities of Nanaimo, Parksville-Qualicum, and Port Alberni will have access to:

• a dedicated Regional Coordinator to assist with local ecosystem monitoring and linkages to sustainability and decision-making initiatives
• ecosystem monitoring protocols
• a standardized approach to monitoring ecosystem change
• an interactive web-based database for inputting/accessing data
• a nationally consistent approach to presenting results and disseminating information
• the opportunity to generate information on ecosystem status/trends, local sustainable behaviours, and models for establishing a sustainable community approach
• the opportunity to serve as an outdoor laboratory where ecosystem attributes can be monitored through the involvement of local community groups and educators

The Canadian Community Monitoring Network is an initiative of the Canadian Nature Federation and Environment Canada's Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network Coordinating Office .

For more information, contact:
Tanya Laing,
CCMN Regional Coordinator
Tel: (250) 716-8922;
tanyalaing@shaw.ca

THE END