Time for a Little Professional Development

Courtesy Social Change Institute

I was lucky enough to snag one of the remaining spots at Social Change Institute 2011 at the Leadership Institute at Hollyhock, on spectacular Cortes Island, June 8 to 12. I’m hoping to meet some new people who are working towards similar goals, build my engagement network, and ideally pick up a few ideas and skills along the way. I expect I’ll be outside my comfort zone for much of this conference, but I also expect to come home inspired and charged up.

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“Powerful: Energy for Everyone” Premiere

I’m looking forward to catching the Vancouver premier of Powerful: Energy for Everyone, a new documentary about our dysfunctional global energy system, and how we might fix it. Filmmaker David Chernushenko promises to “tackle the spin of the big energy lobby and dispel the myths of a ‘green utopia’ envisioned by many.” The film is billed as a candid examination of what a sustainable future may actually look like. It’s Friday afternoon at SFU Woodwards, part of the Projecting Change Film Festival. A clip from the film appears below.

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Full Speed Ahead for B.C.’s Clean Economy

Great news for a change: British Columbia Premier Christy Clark has renewed her government’s commitment to climate leadership and strengthening the province’s clean economy.

A notice from Clark appears after the jump below. In it, she reaffirms B.C.’s commitment to its carbon tax, and also the Western Climate Initiative — a critical regional cap-and-trade agreement scheduled to begin in early 2012. Both provide critical policy signals to investors that the province is serious about a clean-energy economy. Clark also states that she is open to the idea of possibly using future carbon tax proceeds to fund public transit. (Hey, now we’re talking!)

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