tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377212902011-04-21T14:10:39.696-07:00Tunes &amp; Balloonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236685502451732120noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37721290.post-1164069250644953652006-11-20T16:30:00.000-08:002006-11-20T16:38:13.583-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7292/4120/1600/CROPPED_REPUBLIC_ARTICLE_NOV_06.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7292/4120/320/CROPPED_REPUBLIC_ARTICLE_NOV_06.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">How shopping malls have become a major forum for<br />Sustainability</span></strong> <div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">For Alexandra, it began with a packet of seeds given by<br />an uncle. For 11-year-old Simon, his love for trees<br />came from learning about salmon habitats during a trip<br />to a nature centre. For the students of a Surrey public<br />school, their reasons varied from, simply wanting to do<br />something about forest fires, to reading about why<br />glaciers are in full retreat. These are some reasons<br />why kids came to a workshop to build their own solar<br />ovens at a mall in a Vancouver suburb. These young<br />people say they'll use their solar ovens for camping.<br />Solar ovens may even bring more people outdoors, as<br />bonfire permits in BC get more restrictive, due to the<br />risk of forest fires.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Free, hands-on, open-to-anyone Sustainability mall<br />events are a new trend in BC. They started just a year<br />ago, when Solar Power Roadshow put together the Raging<br />Grannies, Vancouver councilors, electric bikes, a pop<br />music band, and a baking contest for a mall. That event<br />worked rather well. Another mall event that made the<br />papers' front page was an exciting tractor-pull race<br />using remote-controlled electric skateboards. These<br />powerful e-skateboards are used by some commuters as an<br />alternative to the car in traffic-locked Vancouver.<br />Then, last Halloween, we organized a used<br />Jack-o-lantern recycling drive that brought people to a<br />mall, to drop off clean, used pumpkins, for eastside<br />soup kitchens. </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Thanks to another shopping mall's initiative, kids now<br />know that sailcars and wind turbines came were used by<br />ancient Chinese people. Sail-wagons and sail-carts were<br />even used to build the Great Wall of China. Humans used<br />sail-wagons for 3,500 years. Germany had a sail-train<br />between two cities that ended in only 40 years ago.<br />Sail-power is coming back, as oil supplies shrink. Some<br />European ocean-going container ships are wind-assisted.<br />With help from mall staff, we led kids in a hand-on<br />sailcar workshop, which they decorated, raced, and took<br />proudly home.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Why do people come to malls for Sustainability events?<br />More than one person said, they're concerned about the<br />loss of nature, and the apparent lack of green<br />transportation options. To which we often reply, we<br />came by public transit or by an electric vehicle.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Sustainable energy awareness takes many forms,<br />including stage-magic shows that we've performed at<br />three malls. But, it's not always just a trick: A<br />patented process that uses molecular energy powers our<br />water devices. These magic shows always end with<br />everyone performing the '<span style="font-style: italic;">David-Suzuki-save-a-</span></span></div> <div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-style: italic;">tree-karate</span>' exercises. Thus, everybody leaves with more<br />energy than they arrived with!</span></div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">[end]</span></div> <div> </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" >Written by: </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" > Rob Matthies <br /> 349 East 6th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5T 1J9<br /> ( 6 0 4 ) 7 3 9 - 7 7 1 7</span></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" >About the author: Rob Matthies is a presenter with<br />Solar Power "Roadshow, an NGO educating kids from ages 5<br />to 75 in a fun way, and dedicated to the proposition<br />that "Anybody Can Make Energy." He travels on an<br />electric bike that will soon be charged with solar<br />panels.</span></div> <div><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></div> <span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" >MORE INFORMATION &amp; PHOTOS OF THE WRITER:<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/pd8pt"><span style="font-family:verdana;">http://tinyurl.com/pd8pt</span></a><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37721290-116406925064495365?l=republic-vancouver-article.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Tunes &amp; Balloonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236685502451732120noreply@blogger.com0