Your name and profession
John Klein, IT Support Analyst for the University of Regina
Describe yourself in ten words or less
I'm a gardener, husband, dog owning IT guy, blogger, & politician.
Where does your passion for sustainability derive from?
I live a pretty comfortable life, so one of my aims is obviously to preserve that. I also feel a civic responsibility to ensure that others can attain the same level of success, without unfair barriers that I didn't have to overcome. Without sustainability in everything we collectively do, we put artificial barriers in front of those who exist after us. To live unsustainably is to be unfair to the people around you, because it's taking without giving enough. My parents taught me to be fair, and I know what unfairness does to people, and I strive to prevent unfairness.
What progress have you seen in environmental initiatives in Regina over the past few years?
Some. There's been some progress. It's not been as fast as I'd like to see though, which is one of the factors in me deciding to run for City Council this year in Ward 1 (which is near the U of R). I've seen the City push the idea of composting continually, and they've contemplated a cosmetic pesticide ban, and contemplated a city-wide recycling-at-curbside program too. Yet some of these ideas have yet to come into production on the wide-scale like they could, and should.
There has been progress in rebuilding interest in community gardening since a large space for them was lost to property development across from the CBC building on Broad St. more than a decade ago. The gardens where I grow food has more than 250 plots, and it typically sells out by the early Spring. The University of Regina has also started a larger community garden than they've featured in previous years, this one called The Green Patch. It's an idea organized by Frederic Dupre of the Institute Francais, as a community outreach project, and it's great. I spoke with Frederic over last Winter while he was organizing it with the University's Facilities Management, Wascana Centre Authority, and Regina Public Interest Research Group (RPIRG), and provided some social networking support. Now Carmichael Outreach gets regular deliveries of fresh garden veggies to serve to hungry Reginians who can't yet make ends meet.
You are the President of Regina’s car share co-op, how did this idea come about? How have Saskatchanians been receptive to this idea?
The idea arrived in my email inbox about 5 years ago, and I went to a potluck supper meeting with 30 other people interested in the concept of car sharing. We formed a co-op to make it a reality, and two years later had a vehicle shared among fewer than 8 members. Two years after that, it's serving more than 30 drivers, still with one car, which is pretty efficient, but we want to grow far beyond that initial success.
Overall, most Saskatchewanians probably still don't recognize “car sharing” as being a term distinct from “car pooling”, but I'm working to change that. For the minority who do know, they like the idea, and the few hundred in the province who've been involved in some way with the project really love the idea.
What is the next GREENovation on the horizon?
I think Regina will be able to build a waste recycling facility at the Landfill to re-purpose early-wasted resources. Edmonton has done this, and makes millions of dollars in profits each year from diverting trash into treasure. There's also great potential for Regina to become a solar energy technology leader, with the U of R stating they are committed to green, clean energy technology research. Coupled with Regina's excellent number of sunny days year round, we've got great innovation on the horizon. We also happen to have a wee bit of wind, so wind power seems like an obvious next step also.
Are there any easy changes that people/government in Regina could make to have a major impact?
The City government can implement city-wide recycling, waste diversion, and composting to have immediate impacts on culture and waste levels. The people of Regina could ask their workplace to install a shower room and bike cage, so more people feel comfortable cycling. If more people used bus transit, and asked the City to put more resources into transit, then it would become more convenient and enjoyable.
Reducing the number of cars on the road (and in parking spots) is an important way to change Regina for the better too. Automobiles contribute greatly to pollution, but also to poor city planning and construction, creating neighbourhoods that are not walkable. The fewer cars, the more transit and bike lanes, and car sharing, car pooling and walking. Overall, people are healthier if they rely on automobiles less than we presently do collectively.
Growing a garden is the best way to have the most impact on environmental sustainability. Food is a major part of every person's day, and growing even some of what you need is a great way to defend your right to food. If you join a community garden, or Permaculture Regina, you'll instantly be surrounded by knowledgeable people willing to share advice and even labour with you as you learn gardening.
Plug a blog/ website that people should know about
There are so many websites I'd like to share with people, that's why I keep a blog at www.abandonedstuff.com . Of course I'd hope people visit www.reginacarshare.ca as well as find all of those on Facebook. Permaculture Regina is a great page on Facebook also. Regina Urban Ecology is an excellent place to learn more about Regina too including their new Crowdsourcing map designed to improve cycling infrastructure in Regina. http://reginaurbanecology.wordpress.com/2012/08/05/crowd-sourcing-regina-cycling/
Share something brilliant
I adore my parents' solar power statistics which are posted automatically on the Internet by the micro-inverters attached to a box called an Envoy. At any time, from any Internet device I can see if it's a sunny day where they live hours away, based upon power production. https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/3eyA10211 Check it out.