LOCAL CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS

Camp Kawartha has undertaken a $3.5 million capital campaign to support its vision of becoming a national leader in environmental programming. The Camp plans to build a new dining hall, kitchen and sleeping quarters, all demonstrating the latest in green architecture.

This certified “living building” would be the second of its kind in all of Canada. From living walls and a living roof, to geothermal heating and the use of all-natural materials, the building would show how people and nature can live together and be healthy for both. The building will be "net zero", which means zero toxins, zero waste and zero carbon and therefore be a showpiece for sustainability. Please consider donating to the campaign at campkawartha.ca.

At the Camp Kawartha's Annual General Meeting this week, Chris Magwood delivered a wonderful talk on "How Buildings Can (help) Save the World". Chris is executive director of The Endeavour Centre, a not-for-profit sustainable building school based in Peterborough. He pointed out that buildings are responsible for 25 per cent or more of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Surprisingly, from a GHG perspective, a building's energy efficiency is not the main issue. Rather, we need to look at "embodied emissions", which are the GHGs associated with producing the building materials. They represent 60 per cent of a building's carbon footprint, which is much more than the operational emissions from heating and cooling the building.

Magwood emphasized that reducing embodied emissions should be the building industry's main focus in fighting climate change. Buildings made from materials such as straw, hemp, bamboo and fibreboard are actually net storers of carbon, emit zero toxins and can be affordably built right now. Go to endeavourcentre.org for more information.