Vancouver elects new "green" mayor Gregor Robertson

Gregor Robertson elected Mayor of Vancouver

Good news in my birthtown of Vancouver, Canada, an environmentally and socially conscious mayor was just elected in last weeks civic election.  Gregor Robertson, the co-founder of Happy Planet organic juices and soups will lead Vancouver into the 2010 olympics.  Robertson promises to end homeless and rebrand Vancouver as the greenest city in the world. Robertson believes the future must be a planet-friendly one, and that new business ventures must be ecologically sustainable.

What is even more intriguing is that he has been making waves south of the border too. Many high-profiled movers and shakers have been donating to his Vision party such as Oprah’s go-to guy on health issues Dr. Andrew Weil, founder of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona and Gary Hirshberg, founder of the multi-million-dollar U.S. organic yogurt company Stonyfield Farms (who by the way is also friends with Obama).

According to Hirshberg, friends for 15 years;

“Conservation efforts are not just green crunchy things to do, they’re a foundation for sound 21st-century economic policy,” said Hirshberg, author of the book Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World.  Robertson is the first non-American politician he has supported, maintains Vancouver is the perfect incubator to pursue these concepts, and could influence change in other Canadian cities — especially with a platform to speak to the world during the 2010 Olympics.

All I can say is well-done Vancouver, you have made me proud and given me hope that sustainability and stewardship will one day become the norm.

Vancouver, Canada

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