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Leimton
By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor

he stuff that you and I flush
| down our toilets and drains will

be the focus of the new Annacis
Centre of Excellence. The idea is to
make “sewage sexy.” Not many of use
give much thought to what happens to
the stuff that we flush down the drain;
however, wastewater is an important
consideration for a sustainable future.
Many places around the world and
some in Canada don’t even treat their
wastewater before flushing it out and
into the environment.

 

Making sustainable sexy
New government funded programs aim to make B.C. a leader in sustainability.

Last week, Metro Vancouver
announced that it has partnered
with UBC to open a new Centre of
Excellence at the Annacis Island
Wastewater Treatment Plant in Delta.
The $9 million project has successfully
been launched with the help of a $3
million contribution from the federal
government.

The new Centre of Excellence
aims to find new ways of using and
treating our sewage. In an interview
with The Province newspaper, UBC
civil engineering professors Eric Hall
and Don Mavinic emphasized the

importance and potential of the new
facility: “We look at wastewater as a
resource... not a problem.” This is the
message they hope to pass on to future
generations. Technologies have been
and are being developed to remove
nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus from
the waste and to generate electricity by
burning the methane.

If sewage treatment does not excite
you, perhaps one of the other Metro
Vancouver planned sustainable academy
will pique your interest. They have
planned one for potable water in the
Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve;

one for fish and community stewardship
at Kanaka Creek in Maple Ridge; one
for sustainable food production at
Colony Farm in Coquitlam and one for
cultural response to nature at Pacific
Spirit Park.

The importance of developing
sustainable initiatives that partner with
educational institutes to enlighten
and inspire upcoming generations is
crucial. In a world of finite resources,
creativity and innovation in addressing
issues of sustainability and sustainable
technology is paramount.

 

Somme) omar

 

16

7——— New Year Financial Health Makeover

By Grace Neptuno

ew year, new start. With all the focus on
changing your health (or unhealthy) patterns,

why not give your finances a little detox as well?

The following tips could help you on your way to a
healthy financial makeover. But just like with any healthy
makeover, the rewards found aren’t just in the pounds
lost but in the healthy habits gained:

1. The B-word: Like any healthy-eating resolutions,

you will need a plan of action. This goes the same
for a healthy financial makeover. You will need a
plan, a.k.a. a budget. If you binged a bit on your
spending during the holidays, it’s okay. A budget
helps keep your spending trimmed to a healthy size.
Don’t worry that you didn’t stick to your original
budget last semester. The new year is a good time to
start over. Set a goal like, “I will save $500 by the
end of the year.”

2. Write it down: A food journal allows dieters to

track their calories. Keeping a spending journal will
also help you track your dollars and cents; a bagel
here, a coffee there, cigarettes, movie rentals—these
items add up. Use a small notebook and track your
spending for a month, write it down every time you
give up some money. At the end of the month, take
a look at where you can make some cuts.

3. Planned spending: We all know about the dangers

of crash dieting and extreme workouts. Killing
yourself at the gym, starving yourself all day

then eating a piece of cheese isn’t the healthiest
option—we either pass out from hunger or eat the
entire block of cheese when no one is looking. This
goes the same for a financial crash diet. Cutting

out all the extras from your budget leads to.a save-
then-splurge cycle, wondering why you bought six

 

 

slow. Avoid the spending binge by budgeting for fun
too. Just be sure that the amount budgeted isn’t out
of control.

4. Avoid temptation: Just like you would avoid a
Friday night burger in order to stick to your healthy
eating plan, avoid financial cheating by steering
clear of the shopping mall. The fluorescent lighting,
the swarms of post-post-post-Boxing Day sales
signs, the aroma of one too many Fruits & Passions
scent samples, the Mac and Sephora Goths are there
to lure you into their stores and to take your money.

5. Enlist help: The reason there are things such as
Weight Watchers’ Clinics, personal trainers, and
friends is so that you can stay on track and receive

    

pairs of jeggings when you clearly needed none. Go

 

 

2 5
much needed encouragement during those tough
times. The same goes for a financial makeover.
Tell your friends and family that you’re trying to
be more conscientious about your spending and
share your financial goals with them. Chances
are, they may be in the same boat but just felt too
embarrassed to talk about it.

6. Reward yourself: Dieters are always being

encouraged to reward themselves but not with food.
This holds true for your financial makeover too. If
you set a goal of saving $500 by the end of the year,
take your $500 and put it towards your tuition; that’s
a little less loan to worry about next year. Or move
it to a higher-yield TFSA. Just like with exercise the
goal is to create a habit, with finances, the goal is to
create a habit of saving.

=f