The Geography of Hope cont'd

I have decided that after the November elections I am going to give each new (or renewed) member of City Council a copy of The Geography of Hope. It's an inspiring and utterly practical book about how small projects will be how we reach our sustainability goals.

Vancouver is doing a pretty good job, but more can and should be done. New developments could be held to the LEED Gold standard, as has been proposed. The fleet of vehicles could be downsized and fully converted to biodiesel. Our system of bike lanes could be heavily expanded, with routes entirely free of cars. Translink could further increase bus access. And, from reading the book, some industries could collaborate on energy use/production to greatly reduce waste/expenditure.

I am excited to put into practice some of the ideas from the book, but don't have a focus. I live in an apartment building with a landlord that doesn't seem so open to ideas of spending to save on energy. I'm pretty sure we can't install a garden on our roof, or even solar panels. I wonder how much effort it takes to put up some solar panels and hook them into the circuitry of the house. Research, anyone?

I'm a tool. Solar energy on such a small scale is not worth it at all. Boo.