Tag: Earth Hour

Categories
Going Green

a touch of nature…

a touch of nature…

…makes the whole world kin. At least that’s what Shakespeare wrote. Everyone wants to help out the environment, even just a little. And the key to making that happen is to weave it into what you do. At vivaNext, we do what we can to help out by incorporating environmental and sustainable standards into what we do.

saving…

When we built a transit facility in Richmond Hill, more than 95% of construction waste was diverted from landfills by recycling. This equals about 582 tonnes, or enough to fill 32 city buses. The facility was built to LEED Silver standards, and includes a rainwater recycling system for the bus wash, which saves about 5.5 million litres each year. When we build rapidways, the old asphalt is taken to local recycling centres, saving valuable construction material for re-use.

planting…

Every rapidway project includes tree-lined sidewalks with special under-sidewalk root systems and tree and shrub species chosen to best suit their location. Including greenery in our communities has important side benefits, including improved health for residents, increased property values, better business outcomes, and reduced energy costs. Each project is unique, and where there are creeks and culverts, our work includes natural restoration, which creates better conditions for wildlife and aquatic species. For a peek at how we connect with nature, check out our video.

building!

And don’t forget the most important thing we’re doing – building rapid transit! Adding sustainable travel choices to our landscape is the most important thing we can do to help our communities thrive. Each bus can replace up to 70 cars and during peak hours along rapidway routes, can be up to 42% faster and certainly reduces emissions. Having fast, reliable transit within walking distance helps support the growth coming to our downtowns in Markham, Newmarket, Vaughan and Richmond Hill – and this central growth helps prevent suburban sprawl.

We’re doing what we can to help the environment and making it part of what we do. Earth Hour is 8:30-9:30pm this Saturday, and we’ll do that little bit extra by powering down and we hope you will too.

 

Categories
Community Events General Going Green

Why wait for Earth Hour? We can take steps to protect the planet today!

At 8.30pm on Saturday March 23, 2012 York Region residents will turn out their lights to pay homage to Earth Hour. This symbolic event unites millions of people around the world who are collectively working together to ensure our planet prospers for future generations.

Since Earth Hour was adopted by Canada in 2008, York Region residents have risen to the challenge of powering down for one hour. PowerStream, the local distribution company that services much of York Region reported 7.8% less electricity used in 2012 between 8:30 and 9:30pm, in comparison to a typical consumption pattern normally experienced on a similar type of day.

In reflecting on the true meaning of Earth Hour it raises the question – why wait until March 23 at 8:30pm to make a difference in saving energy or working to reduce climate change? Why not make small changes throughout the year? Small changes like carpooling or taking public transit will help reduce vehicle emissions and pollution. You can hop aboard a viva or YRT bus for the day, we would be happy to see you.

Once vivaNext rapidway construction is complete it will improve travel times and help create great renewed destinations to live, work, shop and play in Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Newmarket.

If we all tried, even for one day, to reduce our environmental footprint it would be a symbolic demonstration of our commitment to reducing climate change.  Don’t forget to power down this Earth Hour, our planet will thank you.

[poll id=”41″]

Categories
Community Events Going Green Rapidways

Can you guess what Earth Hour, vivaNext and your laundry all have in common?

earth-hour_2010_03_232This coming Saturday, March 27, at 8:30 p.m., hundreds of millions of people around the world will turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour in support of Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is an annual global event that is held on the last Saturday of each March to raise awareness of climate change, and to encourage each of us to make choices that will lessen our impact on the environment.

This remarkable initiative first began in Sydney, Australia in 2007 with 2.2 million participants taking part. The following year, it had grown to more than 50 million participants in 35 countries and by 2009, hundreds of millions of participants in 88 countries showed their support. Based on this phenomenal growth, there is every reason to believe that Earth Hour 2010 will be the biggest and best yet. Those of us who work in the vivaNext office plan to participate, and hope you will too.

So have you guessed what Earth Hour, vivaNext and your laundry all have in common yet? Just like hanging your clothes to dry, taking rapid transit is one of the little things you can do on a regular basis to lessen your impact on the environment.

Categories
Going Green

VivaNext office goes dark for Earth Hour

Viva’s blue buses are some of the greenest in the world. We weren’t in the office during the official Earth Hour, but we still wanted to do our part. For one hour on Friday, March 27, we turned off our lights and had a litter-less lunch. Staff members also received energy efficient light bulbs to take home.

 

Across Ontario the demand for power dropped over 6% and demand was down over 15% in Toronto alone. Around the world, over 4,000 cities from 80 countries turned off the lights. Organizers believe that about a billion people participated.

 

But vivaNext knows that turning off lights for an hour is only part of a solution. That is why we work year-round on transit solutions that will decrease the carbon in our atmosphere.

 

What did you do during Earth Hour to help our environment?