Free Market Not for Profit

In my Sustainability and Community relations class this week we had presenters from BC Healthy Communities. And the one thing that struck me was at how many different organizations there were for everything, so many that do the same thing, and instead of doing the good work they intend to do, they end up competing for funding for these services. Is this a testament to the lack of interaction between people in communities, or is this something psychological to the tune of us mistrusting other's work.

This was just exemplified by the sustainability initiatives that are occurring here on Royal Roads campus. At the present time there are at least 5 different committees, groups, clubs or whatever on campus all with the goal of sustainability in mind. Now while this indicates a strong interest for the people on campus, its hard to initiate anything within one of those groups that another one is not already working on. So there is allot of overlap and confusion on that front. One of the services that BC Healthy Communities provides is a seed grant to get all those similar organizations together so that the overlap stops and people start working together. Presently each one has to compete for your time, money and even your emotions, people are constantly inundated with charities pleading for help, it gets to a point where the average individual becomes apathetic.

Is that sustainable?

Links to Charity guide

BC Healthy Communities

Is Medicare sustainable?

Now this issue is near and dear to my heart. Recently I've spent more time tied up in medical bureaucracy just to figure out what was going on with my foot. I've been to 3 different doctors, had x-rays, then put on a 4 month waiting list for an MRI, whose results took a month to collect to be put on yet another waiting list for a surgeon. Through all of it I'm wondering how efficient and effective this system of ours is? And if it's not effective, is it sustainable?

While Canada boasts the most cost efficient medical system in North America there are hundreds of forms and approvals and red tape that the average individual has to do. Now people like the friends of medicare would claim that this is a small price on our time to pay so that everyone can receive quality medical help. But what do those pieces of paper actually prove, and why do they need to be filled out? On another note as well, more and more organizations require doctors notes for sick days, and physical examinations for work and or insurance purposes. These are not covered under medicare and have to be paid for out of pocket. Is that necessarily sustainable?

For many Canadians such as myself this whole process is daunting and confusing. Which leads many to avoid going to the doctors at all costs. That may be an indicator that the present system is not sustainable; especially if a large portion of individuals avoid using the system when it may be medically necessary for them to actually use it.

But there are several other opinions on this intense topic for Canadians. Here are a few of their opinions:
Canadian Health Coalition
http://www.healthcoalition.ca/sus-e.pdf
The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies:
http://www.aims.ca/library/sustainability.pdf

The Hybrid Revolution

I realize that in our global community transportation is a necessary part of life. My question is how the only solution did, or at least what's being portrayed as a solution, become the hybrid car? When you look at the entire lifecycle of a vehicle, the largest portion of emissions CO2 and others occur from the manufacture of the vehicle itself. Now with safety regulations and other industry standards, those emissions will remain the same regardless of the type of vehicle. On the other hand the numerous batteries that are utilized in hybrid vehicles have to be created and the correct servicing for these additional portions must be accounted for which may increase its environmental footprint.

In either case, a new car being manufactured will lead to a tremendous impact on the environment. Maybe the solution is to refurbish an older vehicle, or take public transit, or just boycott that form of transportation all together. The world still requires shipping to circulate food, products and even people for the health of the world economy. But there has to be other ways of doing so. Further investigation needs to be done before we put all our "eggs" in the hybrid basket.