When you’re fighting for the planet, all bets are off. The future lays in ruin, toxified and slimed, unless the good guys win. The stakes are too high to worry about appearances.

Last night, city council voted on 32 “green” and “urban agriculture” grants totalling $210,000, stepping closer to Mayor Gregor Robertson’s often-stated goal of making “Vancouver the greenest city on Earth.” While the vote took place after the Courier’s print deadline, it was a fait accompli. Only a holy decree from David Suzuki could derail Robertson’s green grant plan. The cash will fund a list of little-known entities mainly involved in environmental education.

For example: Something called the Child and Nature Alliance Society will receive $2,000 to stage a “conference on the physical and mental health benefits of time spent in nature.” The Environmental Youth Alliance (yes, that Environmental Youth Alliance) will receive $20,000 for two projects: $5,000 to “explore small-scale grain production” on lawns and $15,000 to explore the “health and nutrition aspect of urban agriculture.”

Other grants ($5,000 to the Jewish Family Services Agency, $3,000 to the Vancouver Fruit Tree Project Society) push the boundaries of taxpayer tolerance. But the largest grant, $15,500 to the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC), may cross the line.

For some, bicycles are the chariots of the green revolution. Founded in 1998, the VACC is the mothership for cycling activists. Despite marginal success lobbying government and influencing media coverage, the VACC came of age after the 2008 election of Mayor Robertson, a fanatical suit-wearing cyclist, and his Vision council majority. They now had one of their own in the mayor’s chair. Results soon followed. Three bike lanes, costing millions, were installed on the Burrard Street Bridge, Hornby Street and Dunsmuir. Bike infrastructure (traffic circles, signage) sprung up around the city.

Robertson’s bike scheme drew angry opposition from business owners and disgruntled motorists, polarizing the electorate as a November election looms. Meanwhile, the VACC helps drive Robertson’s agenda, often praising the mayor and parroting Vision talking points. For example, in March 2010, grey-bearded VACC board member Arno Schortinghuis joined Robertson for the grand opening of the Dunsmuir Viaduct bike lane. As a soft rain fell, Schortinghuis said the lane was “one small step for a city, one giant leap toward Vancouver becoming the greenest city on Earth.” Most recently, last month Robertson and VACC members joined forces for a press conference at the BG Urban Cafe to promote the Hornby bike lane.

It’s a cozy relationship. Mutually beneficial. According to Erin O’Melinn, VACC executive director, the VACC relies on donations and grants. So far this year, it has received $12,250 from the city (not including the $15,500 green grant) and $23,100 in 2010. The cash, says O’Melinn, pays for programs such as Bike to Work Week and Bike to School courses for kids.

But like any marriage, tension is inevitable. Enhanced profiles equal increased influence. In July 2009, Robertson floated a $45-million plan for a cyclist/pedestrian bridge over False Creek. According to the plan, the bridge would run parallel to the Burrard Street Bridge, connecting Vanier Park with Sunset Beach.

Schortinghuis publicly panned the plan, calling it a “non-starter” with commuter cyclists. While VACC influence remains open to interpretation, to my knowledge, the mayor never again mentioned the bridge plan in public.

However, despite the odd disagreement, Robertson and the VACC remain politically tight. Which leads back to the $15,500 green grant earmarked for the VACC. Turns out, the VACC plans to funnel the $15,500 to SHIFT Urban Cargo Delivery, a downtown delivery business that uses tricycles to transport goods. Why? Because SHIFT wants the money. But only non-profit societies such as the VACC are eligible for city grants. Incidentally, SHIFT was co-founded by Graham Anderson, a VACC board member and contributor to the Vancouver Observer, an online newspaper founded by Linda Solomon, sister of Joel Solomon, a wealthy investor and Robertson’s main moneyman. As an Observer columnist, Anderson has praised Robertson’s cycling policies.

While unseemly, it’s all legal. But don’t worry about it. In the apocalyptic battle for the future of planet Earth, where the rest of us require reeducation, Anderson—like Robertson—is one of the good guys.

mhasiuk@vancourier.com

Twitter: @MarkHasiuk