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Climate Action Muskoka

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—- Municipal Candidate Survey —- Rick Brooks

Lake of Bays Township – Councillor
Sinclair / Finlayson Ward – Acclaimed

1.     What actions have you personally taken to support a greener, more sustainable climate?

I have been a supporter for many years so “actions” I guess would start with the reality that we live off grid on solar. We as a couple are very active, our extensive garden of vegetables and herbs, a patch of milkweeds for the Monarchs, as well our producing our own maple syrup. As we live rurally, off grid and in the woods, an electric truck is not in my near future, however we are exploring for Susan’s next vehicle to be a hybrid SUV.

2.     What opportunities for climate leadership at the municipal level (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs)) would you champion in one or more of these areas: Buildings | Housing | Land use (sprawl) | Transportation | Other

As I just retired my architectural business, I am well aware of these issues and available options we can be considering, so I would simply add….

Buildings: All additions and new construction to be reviewed in the pre-design stage for the ability to consider sustainable and more energy efficient products….balancing that with current day costs as well as life cycle costing.

Housing: LOB is desperately in need of housing, however our needs are limited to the ability to provide essential servicing i.e. sewer & water. The needs of septic and well, which exists in most of LOB, dictates our types and scale of housing, but does not mean it should be limited to Baysville, where they do have sewer and water.

Land use (sprawl): I don’t see land use as a major issue in LOB, we have defined pockets of urban i.e Dwight, Dorset and Baysville and then the rural enclaves around several lakes, especially in my ward. The constraints put on these ‘pockets’ by our OP and By-laws has provided a good definition of where development can go and if anything may provide the basis for more intensification. Any issues that may come forward throughout this review, ideally will be considered next year as we review our OP again.

Transportation: LOB is a destination wherever you wish to go, so vehicles are going to be a mainstay for decades to come. Having said that, other than annual upkeep, our road system is not planning to change much as its dictated by the lakes and rock around us. As for the vehicles themselves we will only see a major buy-in to the electric vehicle with the increased placement of high capacity charging stations throughout the Township and the acknowledgement that our rural landscape is seeing more and more black or brown-outs, there is a real concern about having a sustained power grid to be charging a significant number of those vehicles. Given our over 218kms of roads in LOB, our staff do a lot of driving, perhaps there’s some economies can be gained by multi-tasking, having some more menial tasks or trips combined to save wear and tear, time on the road and reducing fuel consumption.

Other: I’m not suggesting I want another portfolio, but just asking, on the committee list below I do not see a LOB name….why?

3.     A long-term problem requires a long-term solution. What is your 100-year plan? If elected, what would be your first action?

Stop encouraging these simplistic surveys about what we ‘could or should’ be doing and simply demanding our cohorts on Council and in government to stop the merri-go-round of hopes and prayers and take meaningful action now. I don’t believe we need or want to see a 100 year plan, if we are honest about the state of our race, we do not have 100 years without meaningful change today. I would suggest a more suitable answer might be a 20 and 50 year plan. The evolution of technologies is moving so fast these days the answers are out there but perhaps are not yet discovered.

Let's take action together in 2022
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Political Action of the Week -Attend community open house on new hospitals for inclusion of climate solutions

Select Online Reads - The Magic Green Belt - Margaret Atwood

Muskoka Drawdown -  Frank’s guest is Gideon Forman, a climate change and transportation policy analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation.

Feature Podcast – For inspiration: Bill McKibben on CBC's Reasons For Optimism

Climate And The Law - Environmental groups taking provincial government to court over attack on Hamilton’s official plan

Buildings - Concrete Built The Modern World. Now It’s Destroying It.

Focus On The Science - Exxon scientists accurately predicted the pace and scale of climate change more than 40 years ago.

Quick N Delish - Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple and Red Lentil Soup.

Listen to The Music - “PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER” - C!C!C! with Patti Smith - Get inspired to join a Climate Rally 

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