I was listening to today's presentations when I started to see some of my own networking connections. It is one of my weaknesses--not recognizing my strengths or skills. In this case when talking about my social capital or networks, I felt like it was pretty much non existent. After the presentation about the Olympics I realize I do have some social capital--in Korea.

The city I lived in for the majority of my time in Korea is the capital city of that particular province. A mountain town/resort from that province was bidding for the 2010 Olympics and if I go by what the local Koreans were saying, it was down to Korea or Canada (not sure if that is actually completely true.) As an instructor-turned-professor at that university I was asked to proofread official English documents and statements for the Korean Olympic Committee bidding for the 2010 Winter games. Through my hard work at that school and the many contacts I made, I was asked to participate in a very small way in Korea's bid. Had Korea been chosen, who knows what might role I might have been asked to play.

On the provincial, civic and university level, I had also been asked on many occasions to be a judge at English speech contests, international events (where English was spoken) and even to record a tourist guide in English (GPS based) for tourists in that province. I was chosen for these roles based on my presence in the community (particiaption and engagement) and by the people who recommended me for the job (social network.) I now realize just how rich I am.

One more thing. Recently I was watching a Korean movie when suddenly I saw they were filming on my old campus and I could see my office window. The movie came out in 2007 and I could have been in my office when it was being filmed. I kinda feel special (and I am not one who feels special often.)

Rider pride

So I have been living in BC for 6 months now. Meh. To be honest I commend BC for being a green province and all the initiatives it has started and followed through with in terms of being environmentally sound but I am really getting sick of it.

So I am going to start to look into what my hometown and home province is doing. I need a shot of enthusiasm for "community" etc and I don't feel the motivation being a transient in this place. BC and more specifically, Victoria is not my home so I don't feel a need to get involved, to get informed or to even care. I am quite the opposite of "engaged"...I am somewhat intentianally "unengaged".

So what is Saskatchewan doing in terms of sustainability, community engagement and the environment?

Roadmap 2020 is site that outlines many of the plans and initiatives started by the city of Sasaktoon to become more sustainable. Not only does it address ways to become more sustainable, it also address the issue of climate change. It addresses the 2 issues together so that members of a community can see how they are related. Instead of throwing around the "sustainability" buzzword, which to be honest really doesn't mean much to the average person, Saskatoon is putting words into practice using terms and plans that the common person can understand.

Being in a climate that requires more energy for heating and not having a "clean" source of power I think it is commendable that the city is working hard to show its citizens ways to reduce their energy bills, which include both private and civic methods from personal housing to business plans as well as transportation.

I feel a surge of pride when I read more and more about Saskatoon's efforts. I feel like I am a member of that comunity and I look forward to getting involved when I go back. I am excited to put this degree to use. This brings me to think about what is necessary to engage a member of the community. Speaking from experience a memeber has to feel like where they live is his or her home. Trust and reciprocity are two important aspects (as talked about in class) and in my opinion they can only occur when a person feels a sense of belonging. What makes a person feel like they belong is different for each individual. Feeling I belong has yet to come to me mainly because of my personality and the fact that I am still adjusting to being a Canadian resident again (and a resident in a vastly different area of Canada to boot!) Add to that the fact that I don't have the money or time to socialize and you get a recipe for "unengagement".

Lazy landlady

I was cruising through some of my classmates posts when I read that someone hates their community. I strongly dislike my lazy landlady. It seems that instead of purchasing the proper recycling recepticals for sorting the recyclables she has resorted to chucking them in the garbage. Sometimes I think she does it on purpose to spite me because I am an enviro-sci student. My landlady talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. My roommate too. I don't push them to do stuff. I prefer to lead by example and provide info when they ask me about it.

So how do I engage these people in a way that doesn't have them running to do the opposite out of spite? (haha actually that is my landlady's MO whether environemtally related or not.) Do I just walk away and try to be content knowing that the seed of being a bit more sustainable has been planted? With these two personalities--yeah that is probably the best course of action but my head says I should try a different tactic. Perhaps I need to use reverse psychology.

I'm blogging about a blog that was blogged. So it's not new stuff here but it is interesting. The concept is about labeling products that we buy in grocery stores with their carbon footprint. So not only can people look at the nutritional label but they can also know how much it is in terms of its carbon. Although I can see the benefits of this I also think that it just provides one more headache for the public. Unless the public knows what that number means, people cannot make an informed decision. Ingredients lists are still Greek to me (an above average educated person) and adding one more criteria for us to choose from might not have the desired effect. That leads me to my next question...what is the desired effect of putting how much CO2 is "produced" from a bag of chips? A marketing gimmick? How did the company calculate that? What are the standards used to determine that? How can a consumer compared between name brands? Does it include the CO2 cost of transporting it to the store? What about the disposal of the bag after? Although potentially a good idea, this might turn consumers away from its intended path by overwhelming them. Why not just try to lower the production footprint instead? Will knowing how much CO2 is produced by a bag of chips really stop someone from buying it? As a consumer and a member of one of the worst polluting countries (in terms of CO2 emissions) I think not. This might be my pessimistic attitude but I really think the ignorant masses don't give a rat's @ss. Even if someone does care, as a lay person what comparative information is out there to put it into terms that he or she can understand.

Wait. I was actually happy about this when I first started this blog and now I think it is not as great of an idea.

Rant

Ok this is more of a rant about "sustainability" than about community. Recently I read an article about how Japanese companies were sending people home early to procreate. Then I read this article. Basically a Japanese man who was hit while riding his bike was turned away from 14 hospitals (because they were full) and eventually succumbed to his injuries and died (in the ambulance.) Maybe the country shouldn't be thinking about more babies if they can't take care of the people they already have...? I see the cyclical aregument of how they need young people to pay taxes to build hospitals to take care of old people yada yada yada...it's time for a few fat cat decision makers to feel the crunch and maybe lose a loved one or two...maybe then things'll change enough so that society won't be chasing its tail trying to keep up. It might be easier said then done if you are not willing to cut through all the excuses. How do people let it get that far? What are people so short sighted? Aren't people smart enough to look beyond their own immediate needs? And I'm not talking about just one country but the whole world.