GREEN MAP
Green Buildings and Infrastrucutre
The Forks Target Zero:
Prepared by: Andrew Ross, Dec. 2007
Welcome:
The Forks site was a long-time Aboriginal settlement, then a hub for the fur trade and later rail yards used for settlement and goods transportation for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. Now, it has not only shed its industrial past, but is returning to its previous roots as an environmentally sustainable place as it attempts to cut its carbon footprint to zero by 2010.
The Forks North Portage Partnership (FNPP) oversees planning and development at the Forks and developed the Target Zero Initiative in 2007. FNPP is a community development corporation that is run by a ten-member board.
What is a Carbon Footprint?
Our carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted as a result of our activities. From buying a car to buying goods shipped from other countries, many of our day-to-day choices generate carbon emissions and thereby contribute to accelerated global warming. The forms of transportation we choose; cars, air travel, public transportation and taxis make up as much as 80% of our household emissions.
Why a Zero Footprint?
The Forks receives about four million visitors a year. According to Jim August, CEO of FNNP, the Forks produces 5,610 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year a year, which, as he pointed out to the Winnipeg Free Press, “…is a lot of garbage, a lot of toilets being flushed, a lot of exhaust from cars and a lot of expensive power to heat and cool our buildings” (Sanders, 2007).
FNNP believes in the value of becoming a good green citizen, but also has economic considerations in mind. According to the studies they’ve conducted, some proposed components such as the geothermal heating system (see page 2) will soon pay for themselves through savings in energy costs. Much of the Forks’ buildings are of brick construction dating from its days as a rail yard. Insulating over the brick has not taken place to date because of the negative effect it would have on the character of these buildings. The net result of this is a cost of $500,000 a year to heat and cool the Forks Market building, and $1.5 million to heat and cool the whole site (Sanders, 2007).
Once the geothermal system is installed, it will be more economically feasible for other business owners at the Forks to consider tapping into the infrastructure and receive their heat and cooling geothermally as well.