Revelstoke 2050: The epicentre of sustainable lifestyles

This letter was first published in print in the January 2020 issue of Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine.

How will Revelstoke residents shape our community in the 2020s? For our first issue of the decade, we asked Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine readers to contribute Letters of Hope for the coming decade. We asked them to express their positive visions for the future of our community. What challenges will we face this decade and how can we thrive in our response? Please enjoy the ideas and visions from our readers expressed in our Letters of Hope.

Editor,

Snapshot 2050: Houses are net-zero, and high efficiency renewables are fully integrated and old news. Food is grown locally and integrated into architecture, and town planning is comprehensive. Communities are engaged in raising families, providing guidance to young minds, and riding on sunshine in Tesla-inspired transportation methods. As an advanced city, town planning is simplified using standard construction processes of the day with highly mandated goals of performance. As performance becomes the focus of homes, the demand for energy decreases dramatically. This ensures a sustainable future that leaves oil, gas, and coal in the ground.

Education is provided to citizens at a heightened level of efficiency, and the city attracts professionals from around the globe to come and view a snapshot of what makes Revelstoke special: a resounding example of sustainability on all fronts — socially, environmentally, and economically

Living report: Today. The theme for the 25th International Passive House Conference was on keeping oil, coal and gas in the ground. Many, many models have shown that increasing performance of our built environment steadily in one-per-cent annual increments ensures a future that keeps carbon in the atmosphere below critical thresholds. This theme also predicates that we do not have time for half measures. If we do not commit and implement ecological solutions for our way of living, integrate technology into our lifestyles, and build responsibly, we will not have a world to pass down to our children. We must focus on high-efficiency renewables to regain the balance in our world.

Biodiversity is depreciating at an alarming rate, and political problems arising from climate-related issues are complicating community fabrics around the globe. With climate-related disasters on the rise, so is the amount of climate refugees. On an economical basis, providing new homes for millions of people seeking climate refuge, droughts, insect infestations, and crop diseases is expensive.

On an environmental basis, repairing and remediating polluted lands and water is extremely expensive and does not fully replace the biodiversity. We have lived on this planet for untold thousands of years, in contrast the planet has perfected its recipe for sustaining life over billions of years. We are just beginning to understand the careful balance of living with nature through resilient cohesion and symbiosis: in harmony. With the collision of cultures being forced to co-exist under varied political systems, the social basis is deeply fractured, multi-faceted, and volatile.

Revelstoke can be the change we want to see in the world, serve as a model, and work together towards a bright future. Together we can maintain the beauty that is here, the harmony we enjoy, and the lifestyle we adore.

Greg Hoffart & Nik Winnitowy 2020