Canadians want to reduce ghg footprint without changing shoes

Carol Goar illustrates Canadians' penchant for wanting to live a more sustainable lifestyle without making any significant changes. NIMBYism, consumerism and habitual behaviour are among the hurdles that need to be crossed. Without dismissing government's role and big carbon's influence, as long as people keep driving to the store to buy what they want, Goar asserts that these attitudes let government off the hook. I think she's got a point, but that there is more to the story.

Just Fair-Weather Friends of the Environment

As long as it isn't expensive, noisy, inconvenient, uncomfortable or labour-intensive, we're eager to save the environment.

Little wonder our greenhouse gas emissions keep climbing. Little wonder Canada produces more municipal waste per person than any other country. Little wonder we rank among the world's top consumers of fossil fuels. (The oil-rich Gulf states are worse.)

Our 20-year quest to preserve the ecosystem – without changing our lifestyle – has led to a succession of unrealistic plans, missed targets and ineffectual initiatives...

It is possible to get along without central air conditioning, a leaf blower, a snow blower, an espresso maker, a plasma TV, a winter vacation abroad, apples from South Africa and avocados from the Caribbean. People managed for generations.

However, we should also acknowledge that our government, and residents, won't solve the problem alone. True, we are energy hogs, but it's a global problem which will require co-ordinated, co-operative efforts across borders. We could be setting an example while doing our "small" part (I think Canada accounts for about 2% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions).

Unfortunately, our economic system, by its very nature, does not lend itself to "reducing" or "reusing". It is a system that relies on expansion, growth and private profits. Huge wealth is amassed for a very small minority whose influence is well beyond its numbers. It is a system that passes off the real costs of doing business (cleaning up their messes) to the public while decrying taxes.

Even as the world economy is going through a huge contraction - caused by a combination of the "growth/recession cycles" of capitalism, greedy deregulation, rapacious fraud and raiding of the public treasuries - the mainstream public discourse, with very few exceptions, unimaginatively remains limited to entrusting the same people who've gotten us into the mess to tinker around the edges.

Waxman-Markey bill undermined Obama on climate change

This is a good piece by Jim Hansen that talks about the limitations faced by Obama as Congress ties his hands, how that impacted the G8 talks this week, what is needed to truly make a dent in global warming and climate change and how to achieve those goals - a "fee & dividend system". The Waxman-Markey bill passed the House of Representatives in late June - 219 to 212.

G-8 Failure Reflects US Failure on Climate Change - Jin Hansen

With a workable climate bill in his pocket, President Obama might have been able to begin building that global consensus in Italy. Instead, it looks as if the delegates from other nations may have done what 219 U.S. House members who voted up Waxman-Markey last month did not: critically read the 1,400-page American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 and deduce that it's no more fit to rescue our climate than a V-2 rocket was to land a man on the moon.

For all its "green" aura, Waxman-Markey locks in fossil fuel business-as-usual and garlands it with a Ponzi-like "cap-and-trade" scheme. Here are a few of the bill's egregious flaws:

• It guts the Clean Air Act, removing EPA's ability to regulate CO2 emissions from power plants.
• It sets meager targets -- 2020 emissions are to be a paltry 13% less than this year's level -- and sabotages even these by permitting fictitious "offsets," by which other nations are paid to preserve forests - while logging and food production will simply move elsewhere to meet market demand.
• Its cap-and-trade system, reports former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs Robert Shapiro, "has no provisions to prevent insider trading by utilities and energy companies or a financial meltdown from speculators trading frantically in the permits and their derivatives."
• It fails to set predictable prices for carbon, without which, Shapiro notes, "businesses and households won't be able to calculate whether developing and using less carbon-intensive energy and technologies makes economic sense," thus ensuring that millions of carbon-critical decisions fall short....

The fact is that the climate course set by Waxman-Markey is a disaster course. Their bill is an astoundingly inefficient way to get a tiny reduction of emissions. It's less than worthless, because it will delay by at least a decade starting on a path that is fundamentally sound from the standpoints of both economics and climate preservation.

Hansen goes on to talk about an alternative to "cap and trade" which he calls "fee and dividend". He's critical of some leaders of larger environmental organizations who are willing to support anything in the name of doing something - even if that "something" will not be very effective. He calls for us to get off of coal and dirty petroleum within 10 years while working on a transition away from oil altogether in an effort to prevent catastrophic, irreversible climate change.

Hansen was one of the fearless voices who spoke up during the Dubya era.

Jim Hansen is director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, but he writes on this policy-related topic as a private citizen.

Garden sharing catching on...

"Friendly university graduate student looking for a small piece of land to grow and share fruits and berries."

Meet "Senior with chronic bad back, looking to share my backyard. Sharing the produce would be a God sent blessing."

A match made in heaven? No, a match made online.

Garden-sharing program bears fruit

Sharing Backyards started in Victoria three years ago when a volunteer took a garden-sharing list from a community garden bulletin board and posted it online, designing an interactive website that let people post their requests on a map of the city – indicating "lookers" with binoculars and "sharers" with a tree inside a plot.

The free program has spread to more than 20 cities across North America. Project leader Christopher Hawkins aims to inspire 500 new urban vegetable plots by early next year.

G8: PM representing big carbon

Not that it's any surprise, but Stephen Harpers continues to shill for the oil and carbon industries by maintaining our reliance on fossil fuels. Canada continues to snub medium and short-term targets while claiming that we'll get reductions of 70% by 2050 - a target which they have no intention of achieving. Consider this a sneak preview of what's to come at the Copenhagen talks in the fall.

Canada snubs G8 emissions target

The Canadian government refused yesterday to adjust its plan to combat global warming even though its objectives fall short of the new commitment from the G8 group of industrialized countries to slash greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.

Not much of a surprise here considering that just two years ago, the PM was a climate change-denier who was in the pockets of the oil companies.

Critics, from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to environmental lobby groups, said developed countries didn't show adequate leadership at the G8 summit here.

Resulting in an "out" for developing nations like China and India.

"Canada's current 2020 target, which is equivalent to just 3% below 1990 levels, falls far short of the emission cuts needed to avoid dangerous climate change," Climate Action Network Canada said in a statement...

Brazil also questioned the G8's leadership, saying the 2050 target was "not credible" unless it was accompanied by targets for 2020 -- the year when the UN says emissions must peak and start to move downward.

And round and round we go.

Check out Kelly Chrichton's report at Rabble.ca for more.

I scream, you scream, we all scream...

For Ice Cream

With more and more ice cream brands going organic, and incorporating healthier ingredients such as soy, yogurt and even rice (instead of heavy cream), there’s plenty of good reasons to indulge your sweet tooth.

Along with my all-too-eager husband, I tasted dozens of varieties. We stuck to brands that are available nationally, although there are dozens of small producers in every part of the country that produce excellent ice cream and let you keep your food dollars in your community...

Great Barrier Reef: Going, going, ....

Great Barrier Reef will be gone in 20 years

Charlie Veron, former chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, told The Times: "There is no way out, no loopholes. The Great Barrier Reef will be over within 20 years or so."

Once carbon dioxide had hit the levels predicted for between 2030 and 2060, all coral reefs were doomed to extinction, he said. "They would be the world’s first global ecosystem to collapse. I have the backing of every coral reef scientist, every research organization. I’ve spoken to them all. This is critical. This is reality."

I can just hear Stephen Harper whimpering at the G8 about how nothing can be proven until it occurs and that the global economic system is more important than any reef or jungle.

Face the G8

The G-8 Summit begins tomorrow in Italy.

From the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - Play the G-8 Summit game.

As noted in an earlier post, Canada ranks last among the G-8 countries in making progress on climate change.

Then there's the 5th Junior G-8 with kids from around the world. Let's hope the adults are sensible enough to listen to what the kids have to say.

OXFAM is calling for drastic action on climate change.

The globe's richest powerhouses must get serious about how First World pollution is spreading disease and hunger in the poorest countries, a new report says.

Toronto: Green bin mess?

A weekend expose in the Toronto Star of Toronto's green bin program revealed that some of the organic materials are being landfilled and even incinerated and the some of the compost produced in the process is toxic to plants due to high salt content.

Bags of green bin waste are stored at Toronto's Bermondsey Rd. recycling depot, awaiting their fate. (June 3, 2009)
Now the province is jumping in to supposedly fix the mess.

Province steps in to fix green bin mess

"We have to fix these problems," Environment Minister John Gerretsen said.

"I want to change the regulations out there and I want greater oversight from the beginning to the end of the process," he added, in an interview that followed the Star's revelations over the weekend about Toronto's organics program.

Notwithstanding the allegations raised, the city maintains that it is running a fine program.

Yesterday, the head of Toronto's organics program sent the Star a letter asking "our citizens" to continue to have faith in the green bin program.

"Despite some minor growing pains, Toronto's green bin program is one of the most effective in North America," wrote Geoff Rathbone, general manager of the city's solid waste management services.

Canada: Burn baby burn

This is not good news and all the more reason for OPSEU to continue to step up to the plate to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption.

Canada last among G8 on climate change action: report

Canada has been ranked last among the G8 nations in an annual climate change report funded by the World Wildlife Fund and the insurance firm Allianz SE...

Last year, Canada placed seventh. This year, it traded places with the U.S., which moved up a spot thanks to climate initiatives announced by the Obama administration.

Germany, the United Kingdom and France topped the list, partly because they have already achieved their Kyoto targets.

Perennial Flax - Linum lewisii

There have been so many changes in the garden it is hard to know where to start. But I am going to take things one step at a time with a flower of the week posting. Today we're gonna start with one of my favorite plants in the garden and that is the perennial flax or prairie flax, Linum lewisii.

Prairie flax is a wildflower common to dry slopes and ridges. It is a terrific native for xeriscaping and dry sandy locations. In fact this plant will stand taller in the sandy, well drained soil. New blooms will arrive every morning fading by mid-afternoon so look for it when you come in the morning. This plant will seed around under good conditions.

A New Front Meadow

Since starting at OPSEU at the beginning of June, it has been a steady job weeding and getting the memorial terrace garden at the front of the building prepared for planting. You could imagine that I was thrilled to finally get to the point where I could pick up the plants and get them in the ground.

Well the plants are in and due to some providential thundershowers seem to be settling in without any problems. I would like to thank everyone who stopped by to look on the garden and pass on their words of encouragement.

One element of the process that was a lot of fun (despite the terrible traffic on the hwy. 400) was picking up the plants from the nursery. Wildflower Farms on hwy. 12 just west of Orillia is a terrific place for anyone interested in starting their own native plant garden.

http://www.wildflowerfarm.com/index.php?p=home

A quick tour of their garden made clear how much attention and care this small company puts into their plants. The care taken to ensure the pedigree of each plant is unique in the industry. 90% of the plants are Ontario natives grown from seed and every plant has been grown with a good deal of tough love.

In the demonstration garden the owners leave all the plants to their own devices without any irrigation or fertilization giving the owner a terrific understanding of how each plant responds to the Southern Ontario environment.

Gary has recommended one way of introducing the garden could be to present a wildflower of the week on the blog. I’ll start later this week with our first plant. Of course anyone who wants to stop by to ask some questions or even get their hands dirty is more than welcome.

See you in the garden,
Jon

Busy Saturday...

Yesterday was a busy day in the city and I took part in my share of activities.

I began the day with my weekly visit to our local farmers market at the Artscape Wychwood Green Barn run by the STOP Community Centre. I picked up my favorites - some fresh Georgian Bay whitefish, Ontario strawberries and fair trade Mexican coffee.

(Farmers market is outside for the summer)

Next stop was the annual "Strawberries and Asparagus Festival" which was also held in my neighbourhood. The event was moved into the Phil White arena from the Cedarvale Park due to weather conditions. It's an awareness raising events for residents about how they can reduce greenhouse gases and take other environmentally friendly steps like creating a native plant garden. There was lots of good music. Fresh strawberries and asparagus on a bun with secret sauce for everyone.

Later in the day, I dropped by Foodshare's annual open house and caught the end of a very well attended panel discussion that included Executive Director Debbie Field, author and food activist Wayne Roberts, Judy Rebick and a couple of others.

At FoodShare we work on food issues "from field to table" - meaning that we focus on the entire system that puts food on our tables: from the growing, processing and distribution of food to its purchasing, cooking and consumption.

Both Debbie and Wayne have previous ties to OPSEU from the 1980s.

2008 Open House

Common theme for the day? Fresh, whole, healthy food.

History slipping into the sea...

An interesting read.

Channel Islands

Climate change threatens Channel Islands artifacts

Perched on the edge of this wind-swept Southern California island, archaeologist Jon Erlandson watches helplessly as 6,600 years of human culture – and a good chunk of his career – is swallowed by the Pacific surf...

The sea has long lashed at the Channel Islands , also known as the North American Galapagos – stripping away beaches, slicing off cliff faces and nibbling at hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cultural relics.

Past coastal erosion for the most part was a natural phenomenon, but the problem is feared to grow worse with human-caused global warming and higher sea levels.

In a race against time and a rising tide, Erlandson and other keepers of history are hurrying to record and save eroding artifacts, which hold one of the earliest evidence for human seafaring in the Americas...

A warming planet is speeding the melting of polar ice, threatening to expose frozen remains like Scythian warrior mummies in Mongolia . Thawing permafrost is causing the ground to slump on Canada ’s Herschel Island , damaging caskets dating to the whaling heyday. Accelerated glacial melting may flood pre-Incan temples and tombs in the northern Andean highlands of Peru...

On the road....

I don't usually travel in my role as OPSEU's green co-ordinator. It's kind of counter-intuitive. In fact, until last week, the only place I travelled to was Peterborough to see Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last spring. I do drive to work (which I don't usually do at my downtown government job), mainly because public transit would more than double the length of my commute.

However, as part of the training end of our plan to implement webconferencing, I thought it would be a good idea to visit some of the regional offices that are closer to Toronto. I initially set a maximum distance of about 90 minutes from Toronto which covers 6 or 7 offices. On Thursday I visited Guelph in the morning and Owen Sound in the afternoon (slightly out of my perimeter). On Friday, I went to the Hamilton and Niagara regional offices.

I was pleasantly surprised that we were joined by Region 2 Executive Board members - Mike Grimaldi and Deb Tungatt for the Hamilton session. Eddie Almeida joined in via webconference from the Guelph office. Thanks to all for taking interest and making the effort.

This coming week I'll be visiting Orillia, Whitby and Peterborough to conduct some more training with our regional office staff who are providing support for the program. I've been conducting the training by telephone for the offices that are further away.

Since I was already up in very picturesque country on Thursday, I decided to take the long way home from Owen Sound. Below are a few pictures. I missed a couple of shots as I was driving but I saw a flock of vultures picking away at a dead raccoon and a porcupine at the side of the road among other things.

I also discovered a very good Italian restaurant in the "middle of nowhere" (actually it was on the outskirts of Mansfield - ski country - at the corner of Road 17 and probably Airport Road).

Walters Falls

River flowing from bottom of the falls

Bruce Trail side trail from Walters Falls

More of the Bruce Trail

Wildflowers along the trail

Niagara escarpment rocks

Red clay somewhere along Country Road 17

OPSEU in motion - Profile

Grievance Officer Mark Barclay on his electric bicycle

Whenever the weather is half-decent, and sometimes when it's not, Mark's electric bike is a common sight at the front door of OPSEU's Head Office.

Another webconferencing update...

Plans to roll-out an Ontario-wide webconferencing network in OPSEU are proceeding well. New laptops have now been shipped to 18 out of 20 of the union's regional offices. I've been busy designing materials and and delivering training sessions to regional office and head office staff who will be supporting the program.

The scope for the first year will be on membership committees who have been directed to try webconferencing at least once in their current meeting cycle. However, the network will also be available for other working groups, training sessions, certain kinds of interviews, computer support and other initiatives.

OPSEU is using a webconferencing system called E-Pop which allows participants to meet online where they can see, hear and talk each other while sharing documents such as powerpoint presentations, word files, excel spreadsheets and other things such as webpages and video.

Detailed information about procedures and policies for using webconferencing are forthcoming through the usual union communication vehicles. Stay tuned cause you'll probably hear about it here first at GreenUnion.

Good, green jobs conference planning

I attended another planning meeting this evening for an October conference on good, green jobs. The conference is aiming to pull together environmentalists, community leaders and unionists to strategize around building a movement for good green jobs in the greater Toronto area. The conference and green jobs committee developed from the Good Jobs for All coalition conference held last fall, attended by over 1,000 people.

The agenda and planning is coming along well and I'm learning a lot and meeting new people.

This evening there was a speaker from the Mayors Tower Renewal program. He informed us about the pilot project running in 6 apartment buildings in four parts of the city - Kipling/Finch, Peanut Plaza, St. Jamestown and in Scarborough.

There are many challenges, not the least of which are finding willing apartment owners, providing local training & employment to local youth, and trying to develop local economies through local procurement of materials for the projects.

FoodCycles

Here's something I came across today in the Toronto urban agriculture category.

Plant the Hot Stuff: FoodCycles Seeds the Field

FoodCycles is an urban farm social enterprise based in the Greater Toronto Area that raises worms, produces nutritious, vibrant soil compost and grows food.

FoodCycles will be holding its first City Farm Work Bee from June 20 to 24th in Downsview Park at the corner of Keele & Sheppard. Check the website for more information.

(Photo Via Sunny Lam, FoodCycles)

Bottled water disaster...

Check out the following slide show about bottled water.

Water disaster

Hat tip to Sandra at OPSEU's Guelph office.

New zero-emission vehicle from Mitsubishi

Now this is pretty cool.

EDITORIAL: Zero-emission vehicles

A car that has neither an engine nor a muffler will debut on the Japanese market next month. Developed by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. the "i-MiEV" is the world's first mass-produced zero-emission minicar that does not need an internal combustion engine because it runs on a motor charged with electricity.

Expensive yes. But hopefully a sign of things to come.

PYWC - International Youth Day Event - August 7/8

The Provincial Young Workers' Committee is encouraging OPSEU's young workers to attend this year's International Youth Day Event to be held at the Toronto Regional Office on August 7 and 8.

You can find more information here.

I had the opportunity to participate last year in their event last year which focused on climate change.

Veggie planting time....

OPSEU's native plant garden is diversifying. This year, we planted a number of vegetables and fruits in part of the garden including tomatoes, cukes, zucchini, beans and blueberries. So drop by later in the season for some yummy treats.

The garden is taking great shape with Jon now working away several days a week. A lot of new plants will be going in the ground over the next couple of weeks.

Peru update: Decrees suspended for 90 days

Update from Amazon Watch

Peru Congress Suspends Two Divisive Decrees

Six days after National Police violently attacked indigenous people in Bagua, Peru protesting free trade decrees that threaten to open the Amazon to oil, mining, and logging operations the Peruvian Congress issued a 90-day suspension of legislative decrees 1090 and 1064 yesterday in order to restore dialogue. Indigenous peoples are seeking revocation not suspension of all 10 decrees, and it remains to be seen if the action will lead to a re-start of talks with Amazonian indigenous peoples.

"Let's talk. After you cool down in about 3 months, then we'll steal your land and decimate your way of life and culture."

International human rights organizations are also calling on the Peruvian government to cancel arrest warrants for and guarantee respect for the rights of indigenous leaders who were hundreds of miles away from Bagua during the confrontation. No dialogue process will be possible if the representatives of the various indigenous peoples fear for their safety.

"Good, we can talk to who we want. It's not like these indigenous leaders are elected or anything."

Update: Meanwhile, just 42 minutes ago, this report came in.

Police fire tear gas in Peru protests

Riot police have fired tear gas to keep protesters away from Peru's Congress as thousands march in favor of Amazon Indians who want it to overturn laws they say threaten their lands.

Some 4,000 students, labor unions and other native Peruvians from the country's Andean highlands to its jungle lowlands joined the mostly peaceful nationwide protests.

Peru: Scores dead in battle for the Amazon

The jungle massacre: Peru's tribal chief flees country

The leader of Peru's Amazon Indians will be flown to exile in Nicaragua after seeking asylum following violent demonstrations that killed scores of police and protesters...

Human rights lawyers have since accused the President Alan Garcia's regime of an orchestrated cover-up. Official figures put the death toll at just 32, including 23 policemen. News reports say the number of deaths is closer to 60, and vast numbers of missing people have yet to be accounted for.

Police open fire on Amazon Indians blocking the road in Bagua Grande in Peru's northern province of Utcubamba on Friday. (AP)

Trade unions are organising a strike across the country today, hoping to fan public outrage over the incident, which began when police fired tear gas and automatic weapons into noisy crowds of protesters...

The crisis follows months of escalating controversy over Mr Garcia's attempts to implement a free trade agreement with the US. New laws, brought in to increase the number of oil and logging concessions in the country's 67 million hectares of rainforest, appear to allow for the sale of tribespeople's ancestral territories.

In April, Aidesep supporters began blocking roads and rivers in rural areas of the country. A crucial oil pipeline across northern Peru has been shut down since the end of the month, costing the state oil company an estimated US $ 120,000 (£75,000) a day.

Indigenous people, who account for almost half of Peru's 28 million inhabitants, have for years had a tense relationship with the ruling class, who are largely descended from Europeans. Mr Garcia's has attempted to dismiss his Amazonian opponents as brutal savages, accusing them of "elemental ignorance".

"They just don't know their place. Can't they just learn that they lost, we won and their elemental culture has no place in the modern world".

Who killed the electric car?

Hat tip to Chris Moore who sent me a power point which I am unable to post so I'm linking to YouTube.

Green Jobs Conference

I attended another planning meeting for a Green Jobs conference to be held in the fall. The planning committee is a sub-committee of the Good Jobs for All coalition which was founded in the fall of 2008 by Toronto Labour Council and community partners.

More details to follow.

Webconferencing

I was very pleased to see the first 6 of 20 laptops go out the door to regional offices in Regions 6 & 7 (northern Ontario). June will be training month for regional support and OPSEU Direct staff who will be administering the program along with myself and our IT department. Big thanks to everyone who has helped move this forward.

I am designing and delivering the training program and sessions - something which I have a lot of experience with in my "regular" job at the Ontario Ministry of Education (which I'm on a leave from).

More reports to come.

Wonders of the Don Valley

These photos were taken by brother Manzur Malik on his i-Phone after our lunch at the Duncan House on Don Mills Road. The frogs were croaking. The birds were singing. It's a lovely little spot.  This is part of the natural habitat within a couple hundred meters of OPSEU's head office on Lesmill Road and part of the inspiration for our native plant habitat project.

Click the photos for a better look. 

OPSEU's native garden takes big leap....

I'm pleased to report that OPSEU has hired a summer student to help develop and maintain our native plant gardens at head office. Jon Woodside is a recent graduate from Ryerson University's Landscape Design program and from the University of Guelph. Pictures and more stories to follow.

Buying green furniture....

Not the colour green of course but sustainable.

Greener Bar Stools

As with any green shopping, there are a lot of different questions to ask in order to establish how environmentally-friendly an item of furniture is. What is it made from? Are the materials sustainably-sourced? Are the materials recyclable? Is the finish non-toxic? Does the manufacturer have a social and environmental responsibility policy? All this can take time, especially if you’re purchasing something you’ve never bought before. I’ve recently been trying to find some eco-friendly bar stools and would like to share what I’ve found here...

Geothermal: Possible downside

I came across this article today based on some observations made at the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant in Iceland.

Geothermal Is Not So Clean

Not long after the station started producing electricity, Reykjavik residents became aware that they had to clean silverware every three to four days instead of three to four months because it was always covered with black soot.

Truck drivers who drove daily to sand mines in the western part of Hellisheidi found that the rubber in the suspension and steering systems of their vehicles became hard and prone to breakage after only a year, whereas normally it would take three to five years for this to happen.

People suspected that the Hellisheidi plant was responsible for the damage, but at first this was never discussed openly.

Then in September 2008, people saw that the moss vegetation adjacent to the Hellisheidi plant was severely damaged.

Those are the symptoms. What is the problem?

Although no definite conclusions could be made because the effect of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) on moss has not been researched, there are strong indications that sulphur, derived from H2S, is the cause of the damage at Hellisheidi and nearby Nesjavellir.

The damage stems from the steam produced at the plant. Most of this is water, but 0.4 percent of the steam contains gases of various kinds - 83 percent is carbon dioxide (CO2), 16 percent hydrogen sulphide (H2S), and the remainder other gases. Trace elements in the steam include sulphur, mercury, boron, arsenic and aluminium.

The solution?

Johannsson says it is technically possible to reduce H2S levels from geothermal plants, but this is costly. "Various methods are known which are used all over the world," he says. "The disadvantages of these methods are that pure sulphur, sulphuric acid or gypsum are left behind and there is an over-supply of all these products on the world market. However, Reykjavik Energy are trying out an experimental project of pumping the H2S back into the geothermal system."

Well, if one is looking for another reason to promote native plants, here it is. 

Newest pest can cut you

An aquatic invader is camping out on the banks of the Trent-Severn Waterway, and from the sounds of it, is getting very comfortable...

The new undesirable in her sights is called the water soldier, Stratiotes aloides.

It resembles an aloe vera or spider plant, but with one significant difference: "It is very sharp..."

"From what we have seen, it has become an impediment to boaters," (Francine - ed) MacDonald said. "It could be a huge problem for swimmers."

Like spider plants, water soldiers have offsets, little plants that detach and take root at new locations, so moving water offers the perfect method for them to spread.

Unfortunately, so are careless gardeners. Water soldiers and many other invasive species can be purchased at Ontario nurseries.

"If you are going to use exotic plants, keep them contained, don't enable them to escape" by planting them in flood plains or near waterways, said MacDonald.

OPSEU has begun Year 2 of introducing native plants to its Headquarters at 100 Lesmill. 

Webconferencing update...

What's been keeping me so busy lately? Web conferencing for one. 

OPSEU's plan to develop the infrastructure for a province-wide webconferencing network is moving ahead for full implementation by the summer. Highlights include:

• acquistion of one new laptop and peripheral equipment for each regional office for use by members
• plans for training OPSEU staff who will be supporting the program 
• development of support materials

The OPSEU Executive Board proposed, and Convention 2009 agreed, that each OPSEU committee would attempt to use webconferencing for at least one meeting this year. 

I'm back....

Things have been so busy around the office these past few weeks since Convention that I haven't had an opportunity to update the blog. Please be assured that there will be lots of new content coming in the near future.

College Support Divisional

I had the opportunity to make a short presentation to the Colleges support staff annual Divisional meeting on Saturday. The main focus of my talk was about OPSEU's webconferencing plan. 

Gary, Divex Chair Betty Cree, Staff support Mike Culkeen

ecoFont

One of suggestions made at OPSEU's Green Stewards' meeting at convention last week was for people to begin using Eco-Font. I had never heard of it before. It's pretty ingenious. The main purpose is to save ink and raise awareness about conservation.  It's free for individual users at the ecofont website. 

Zero Mile Diet

From last year's Globe and Mail.

Growing the zero-mile diet

Green Living's Winners and Sinners

The best and worst eco moments of 2009... to date.

Cafeteria re-opens at OPSEU head office

Today's the big day everyone's been waiting for - the re-launch of OPSEU's cafeteria - The Solidarity Cafe - under new management - Anne-Marie Todd-Mowatt & Jeff Mowatt. The old cafeteria was closed last July after a truck rammed the exterior kitchen wall on a quiet Saturday afternoon. The new caterers have a number of environmentally friendly policies and practices. These include:

• locally grown and seasonal foods including cheese
• other local suppliers
• fair trade coffee
• use of real cups and dishes to minimize waste
• bio-degradable food containers
• green cleaning products

It is also expected that the cafeteria will begin using herbs grown right at head office. 

Green Union provided them with a couple of OPSEU water pitchers for drinking water. 

They make dynamite butter tarts! 

Just use less....

No, it's not "useless". It's use less. There's a reason that "reduce" is the first of the three Rs.

Hat tip to Jackie Larkin for this video.

Green meeting at Convention

We had a very well attended and successful green stewards meeting at Convention this year. Held on Saturday at lunch (while everyone is trying to check out), about 60 members attended the meeting.

Members were provided an update on OPSEU's greening initiatives over the past year. Reports were made by myself (Gary Shaul), OPSEU 1st Vice-President/Treasurer Patty Rout and Environment Committee members Sandra Snider and Jennifer Giroux.

Throughout the meeting, members shared their own stories about greening projects in their workplaces and communities.

Participants were all provided with an OPSEU silver bullet drinking container as a token of appreciation for their attending the meeting.

Our green stewards email list grew by about 50 names provided at the meeting and at our display table.

A fuller report and pics will follow.

Green Union on a break

As we're going into OPSEU Convention, I won't be posting until next week.

Greening sex

Someone(anonymously) left this article pinned to my office door so I thought I would share it with you. Could attract a whole new layer of readers with this one. :)

From today's Metro, Greening your intimate life

10 ways to make sex good for the planet, too
Sex can improve your memory, strengthen your sense of smell, reduce stress, and boost your immune system. If you toss in a little green, sex can be good for the planet, too.

Here are 10 ways to make your sex life a little more eco-friendly.

1. Go green together
   
2. Consider your birth control
   
3. Massage with natural oils
   
4. Bask in the light of beeswax, soy or vegetable candles
   
5. Frolic on organic bamboo sheets
   
6. Consume less energy
   
7. Explore your racy side
   
8. Lube it up naturally
   
9. Tinkle afterward
   
10. Bask in a green afterglow
    

You'll have to read the article if you want the details.

Buyer beware: Greenwashing abounds

Green trees

According to a report in today's Toronto Star, 

The labels on 98 per cent of those good-for-the-earth-and-your-body items you fill your shopping basket with are lying, a new study shows.

Of the more than 2,000 self-described environmentally friendly products in North America examined by the environmental marketing firm TerraChoice, only 25 were found to be indisputably "sin free." The rest were greenwashing, a term environmentalists coined to refer to misleading environmental ads or claims...

Greenwashing is especially prevalent in the promotion of cleaning products, cosmetics and children's toys and products, McDougall said...

The Competition Bureau of Canada set out new guidelines for environmental claims last year, but gave industry a year to bring advertisements and labels in line...

In Canada, most transgressions fell into three categories: lack of proof, vague language or "hidden trade-offs" – the practice of emphasizing a product's green aspects while concealing others that are environmentally damaging.

For instance, a "green" pad of paper might have come from sustainably logged trees but been milled in an ancient, carbon-dioxide spewing mill that still uses dioxin-producing chlorine to bleach the pulp, he said.

Sleight of hand

Check out the "Seven Sins of Greenwashing".

Graphics courtesy of Terrachoice.

Green cities of the future

Canada's Greenest Cities of Tomorrow

Our cities are leading the way to a cleaner urban future. Find out which ones will get there first. You’re in for a few surprises.

Leading the pack in Ontario are Sudbury for a number of initiatives including massive tree planting and Toronto for its apartment building retrofit program. 

Guelph, Hamilton, Mississauga and Kingston also make the list for a variety of initiatives.

Sarnia and Windsor on the other hand, are considered at the "back of the pack".

Beware: Biomass emissions

There are a lot of "green" claims out there these days. Car manufacturers are touting "green" SUVs because they're not as bad as hummers. Unnecessary lighting is "green" because it uses LEDs or compact flourescents. And so it goes. 

As alternatives to fossil fuels gain popularity and affordability, we should be conscious about looking at the whole picture before promoting new technologies and products. 

Biomass energy 'could be harmful'

Ploughing up pasture to plant energy crops could produce more CO2 by 2030 than burning fossil fuels, if not done in a sustainable way, it said...

The agency is calling on the government to introduce mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from publicly-subsidised biomass facilities, to help work out if minimum standards need to be introduced.

That's not to say that we shouldn't be supporting positive change and alternatives, but we need to ensure we've got a critical lens for seeing through false claims and certainly avoid promoting anything which is not helping to solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions.

Passover & the Environment

I came across this doing my unusual google searches.

Jewish Passover and its Connection to the Environment

We found Rabbi Yehudah Leo Levi from Jerusalem to answer a few questions of our own. This is what the Physicist/Rabbi/Author said:

Q: How is Passover connected to the environment?
A: The connection between Passover and the environment is somewhat indirect, but extremely profound. According to the Torah (Jewish tradition), one central purpose of the creation of the human being was to complete the development the world God had created in His wisdom. The human being was put into the wonderful Garden of Eden, not, primarily, to enjoy its delicious fruits, but rather "to serve it and guard it" (Genesis 2:15). Or, in the words of the Midrash: "When God created Adam, he took him to survey all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him: 'See My works, how pleasant and praiseworthy they are… be careful not to spoil and ruin My world. For, if you spoil, there is no one to repair after you" (Qoheleth Rabba 7:13).

In other words, the human being is to be a caretaker, not owner, of the world.

As in all things related to Jewish laws and customs, they are open to interpretation.

Greening OPSEU's Convention

Here is a list of green initiatives being taken by OPSEU and/or the Sheraton Centre where our annual Convention is being held April 23 - 25.

Communications

• OPSEU GHG reduction policy & green meeting guide to be distributed at Greening OPSEU table
• Encourage members to bring re-usable drinking containers
• Green stewards meeting – Thursday @ noon

Sheraton Centre initiatives

• compostable cups and water jugs in all meeting rooms
  
• composting bins
  
• recycling bins in all meeting & guest room
  
• use of Turtle Island for recycling of cardboard, paper and glass
  
• deal with Globe and Mail for newspaper recycling
  
• leftover food is sent to local food banks
  
• Sheraton now serves fair trade coffee after request from OPSEU & other labour groups
  
• coffee shop in mall will serve fair trade coffee after OPSEU's request
• Lighting is turned off when rooms are not in use
  
• Water conservation – low flush toilets
  
• Used soap sent to Mennonite churches for melting and reshaping
  
• Linen & towel reuse program
  
• Full auditing of water usage, energy usage and recycling
  

Transportation

• Variable mileage rate for members to encourage car-pooling
  
• New, fuel-efficient OPSEU van to be used for transporting goods to and from hotel
  

Convention kits

• Reusable, zippered, organic cotton bags

Paper reduction initiatives

• Pre-convention mailout – reduction of 35 sheets per package for reduction of 21,000 pieces of paper
  
• Use of partially recycled paper
  
• Back to back printing where possible for convention floor handouts
  
• Use of efficient document formatting
  
• Reuse convention signage from year to year
  
• No colour printing at Convention
  
• Delegates at hotel can opt out of getting daily newspaper – no plastic bag for newspapers
  
• Use of non-toxic markers
  
• Use of recycled flip-chart paper
  
• Use of Energy Star printers at Convention 
  

Display area

• Inform vendors about green “do’s and don’ts”
  
• Environmental groups invited to display
  
• Greening OPSEU display
  

Disposing of electronic equipment?

Do what you can: Electronics & household, hazardous waste

Here's an Ontario-wide program you can use to dispose of garbage-bound electronic equipment. 

To decrease the amount of potentially hazardous material accumulating in our landfills, the Ontario Government has designated Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES), a non-profit industry organization to manage a program that encourages reuse, recycling and, if needed, proper disposal of unwanted electronic equipment.

Programs are available in these Ontario communities. The focus right now is on computers, televisions and fax machines but more devices are slated to be added.

The site also facilitates the disposal of cleaning products and other hazardous chemicals.

The Big Pitch

OPSEU was invited to have a display table at "The Big Pitch", a student organized green fair held today at Centennial College in Scarborough. There were several booths and speakers including representatives from Live Green Toronto, Cathy's Crawly Composters (worms), BioChar, Evergreen, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) and Fielding Chemical Technologies. 

It was an interesting afternoon. Kudos to Zach Steel for pulling this off.

Gadget warning...

From Green Living Magazine

5 not so green gadgets

There's more to a truly eco-friendly technology than energy-efficiency. So the next time you're out shopping for the latest electronics, keep these tips in mind.

Here's a summary of the gadget types to avoid:

• Plasma screen TVs
• TVs from manufacturers that don't have takeback programs
• Greenwashed gadgets (they sound green but in the end, more energy is used in their life-cycle than a standard gadget
• Gadgets with a stand-by mode (without Energy Star rating)
• Electric appliances (compared to gas appliances)
• Bonus gadget: Desktop computers compared to laptops

Some cool Earth Hour photos

Click on a photo to see the lights go out. Tip of the hat to Francis Rustia for these pics.

Earth Hour 2009

More than 1,000 cities in over 80 countries observed Earth Hour 2009 on Saturday March 28th, as homes, office towers and landmarks turned off their lights for an hour starting at 8.30 pm local time to raise awareness about climate change and the threat from rising greenhouse gas emissions. Collected here are a series of before-and-after photographs - which (starting with the second one below) will fade between "on" and "off" when clicked.

Sample pic. Check out website to see the special effects.

350 parts per million

This just in.

The Invitation

Dear World,

This is an invitation to help build a movement--to take one day and use it to stop the climate crisis.

On October 24, we will stand together as one planet and call for a fair global climate treaty. United by a common call to action, we'll make it clear: the world needs an international plan that meets the latest science and gets us back to safety.



This movement has just begun, and it needs your help.

Here's the plan: we're asking you, and people in every country on earth, to organize an action in their community on October 24. There are no limits here--imagine bike rides, rallies, concerts, hikes, festivals, tree-plantings, protests, and more. Imagine your action linking up with thousands of others around the globe. Imagine the world waking up...

Wake up call for environmentalists....

A very good read, however challenging and even slightly disheartening. I can't say the same doesn't apply to Canada as much as to the US.

Why we are going quietly nuts
Lessons from cognitive dissonance theory for U.S. environmentalists

If we accept the worst, or precautionary assessment, then U.S. environmentalists have perhaps a year to avert cataclysm, and nothing we are doing now will work. We are dealing with this terrible situation in a very ordinary and human way: by denying it.

Our denial comes in a variety of forms: we believe that President Obama can and will solve the problem; we ignore Jim Hansen's assessment and timeline; we concentrate on our jobs and organization agendas and pass over the big picture; we focus on the molehill of climate policy rather than tackle the mountain of climate politics; we assess our efforts by looking back on how far we have come and do not measure the distance still to be traveled; we scrupulously avoid criticizing each other, lacking conviction in our own courses of action and not wishing to invite criticism in turn; and we are irrationally committed to antique approaches that are self-evidently inadequate.

Reminder: Earth hour photo submissions close at 5:00 today

OPSEU's first Earth Hour Party incentive plan ends at 5:00 p.m. today. We have had photos from 11 members submitted so far.

London G20 Summit set to begin

G20 summit: the groups behind the protests

Note how central the environment is to this year's G20 summit protesters.

A coalition of more than 100 trades unions, charities, churches and pressure groups that marched in London yesterday under the banner of "Jobs, justice and climate."

The groups include the TUC, the Salvation Army, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Oxfam, Tear Fund, the National Pensioners Convention, Stop Climate Chaos, Action Aid and the Muslim Council of Britain. Their message to the G20 summit is that "only just, fair and sustainable policies can lead the world out of recession".

Vancouver winter games: 300,000 tons of emissions

Winter games of the future?

If that sounds like a lot of greenhouse gas emissions, that's because it is. Of course it includes not just the construction of the Olympic venues, but also the transportation, airfare in particular, for the tens of thousands of participants and fans from across Canada and the world. Despite spending billions for this global warming extravaganza, organizers are scrambling to find a few million to purchase carbon offsets to allay any guilt.

2010 Games officials eye global warming costs

Organizers of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games said on Monday they are confident they can find sponsors to help with the estimated C$4.5 million ($3.6 million) cost of keeping the event from adding to global warming...

The Vancouver Organizing Committee said it is in talks with carbon offset management companies it hopes will help sponsor the cost of buying credits, which it said is running between C$10 and C$20 a tonne.

The Suzuki Foundation, which is working with VANOC, released its own report on Sunday warning that global warming is a threat to traditional winter Olympic sports in Canada as shorter winters leading to less ice and snow.

Ironic. Not only will BC residents likely be saddled with huge debt that will take years to repay, the Olympic efforts will contribute to the deterioration of winter sports in Canada.

Cheese subscriptions...

Here's something new.  You've heard of buying a piece of a cow in order to get milk? Or a share in a farm in order to get fresh produce? Now you can buy a subscription to a cheese dairy.

Monforte's Ruth Klahsen sells 'subscriptions' to build a new dairy

Ms. Klahsen was the first artisan cheesemaker to get major attention from both Toronto chefs and food critics alike, touching off a revolution in the artisan cheese world and encouraging countless artisans to follow in her footsteps...

But making ends meet isn't easy for an artisanal dairy in Ontario. In Vermont, a budding cheesemaker can launch an operation with $40,000 and a credit card. Here, in this province, it costs closer to $1-million to build a regulation dairy.Subscribers typically buy a "share" in the farm's harvest. Last year, I paid $770 to a farmer and received about $35 worth of produce a week, over a 25-week growing season.

Farmers like the model because it allows them to raise money at the beginning of the growing season, when they need it most. Consumers like it because it allows them to participate in the production of their food - without having to wield a hoe.

This is the first time this financial model has been applied to a food processor.

"I hope this gets copied by everybody," says Ms. Klahsen, who has so far raised $60,000 through subscriptions.

She needs to raise at least $300,000 via subscriptions before she can access bigger-ticket loans from banks and government...

For more info, go to monfortedairy.com.

OPSEU members party on Earth Hour...

Earth Hour was a big success in Ontario this year with a 6% overall drop in power usage and about a 15% drop in Toronto. 

Thanks to all OPSEU members who took part in Earth Hour 2009. There were eleven prize winners in OPSEU's first Earth Hour photo contest. 

Here they are. Photos are posted in the order they were received. 

Hi There. Here is dated photo.
I am the person 3rd from left in 2nd row. thanks. Chao Ma, Local 596

The attachment is from Donna Calhoun, Local 542 celebrating Earth Hour in Collingwood, ON with 10 friends at Georgian Manor Resort.

Hi there, Please find attached the photo for our Earth Hour Party!
Thanks organizing this! Happy Earth Hour!

Janice Cho, Local 270, MTO, Region 2

Here is my photo from our earth hour celebrations, we decided to have a campfire seeing it was so warm outside!
Julia Buck - Local 362 - MNR

This photo was taken on March 28/09 in my back yard,we had a BBQ. Steak, Ribs, Sausages, baked potatoes, etc, with a fire to help keep us warm. 

Avis Thompson, Local 164

Many of the families on our street went for a walk during earth hour.  Here we are heading out for the walk.  After that it was Monopoly by candle light. Les Yatabe, Local 507

We had a dinner party by candlelight to celebrate Earth Hour.  

Elaine Mallory, Local 603, MNR, Sault Ste. Marie

Hello, My roomate and I held an Earth Hour party last night for a group of friends (12!).  I have attached a picture from when we went up to my roof, in downtown Toronto, and watched all the lights go off at 8:30 p.m.  

Heather Meger, Local 596

We celebrated by having a late candlelit dinner, with my daughter Keleigh, and her friends, Shannon and Cheresa and my chum Melissa Harvey.  Brian O'Toole ( my husband) took the picture.  Cheers...Brenda O'Toole - Local 365 - Trent University

PS.  We should have at least one Earth Hour a month!  

Here are some photos of our CCAC Pediatric team Curling party, held at the RCMP curling club in Ottawa on Saturday March 28^th, 730-10pm.  We were 5 OPSEU members: Lori Savage, Shari Greenhorn, Shannon Haggerty, Anne Carpen, and Lorina Mahon. Some of us invited our partners, our children, and our friends to help make the games livelier. The lights were on while we curled on the ice (for safety reasons) but we turned out the lights in the lounge at 8:30 - 9:30pm Thank you for supporting Earth Hour. 

Shannon Haggerty, Region 4

Here is a photo of me and my friends during Earth Hour.  Unfortunately you cannot see my black dog who also took part in the festivities. 

Melissa Daigle - Local 500

It is quite odd that that there are so many people vociferously opposed to Earth Hour calling in to radio talk shows. There were many reasons I heard. First, the climate change deniers. I heard a denier/skeptic say that he was going to participate anyway "just in case" he's wrong. He won a $150 prize.

Others feel that turning off the lights is a token gesture and that we ought to be engaging in conservation all the time or we'll be rationing electricity on a permanent basis. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. Of course we need to do more than turn off the lights for an hour, but Earth Hour raises awareness about wasted electricity while sending a clear message that every effort counts and that together we can make a noticeable and important difference.

Earth Hour 2009 - Have a party!

Dear OPSEU members,

Looking for something to do on the evening of March 28th? Why not throw an Earth Hour party? The first 30 OPSEU members who submit a photo of their Earth Hour get-together will receive $25 to help with refreshments.

Earth Hour is inspired by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund). The idea is to turn off all your lights between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 28 and be part of a global action that is hoping to reach over one billion people in 1,000 cities. Earth Hour began in Australia in 2007. Check out all the Ontario communities that are participating this year. Ontario Power Generation will be monitoring the electrical grid in Ontario and reporting on the results.

OPSEU’s Executive Board endorsed Earth Hour in 2008. OPSEU turned the lights off in our four owned buildings. OPSEU has signed up again and will extend Earth Hour to as many of our leased offices around the province as possible.

As in 2008, we are encouraging you to flick the switch for Earth Hour (or longer) to share your concern about climate change. You can download and print an Earth Hour participant or party host window sign. OPSEU is going one step further this year and encouraging you to host an Earth Hour party. It could be as simple as a candlelight dessert or a walk in the park. Or perhaps board games or music making?

$25.00 prize criteria

Open to all OPSEU members. Party must have a minimum of five people. A photo should be time and date-stamped and received by email no later than Wednesday April 1 at 5:00 p.m. All lights must be off in the photo. Send your pics to earthhour@opseu.org. The first 30 members to submit their pics will win a prize. We will post the photos on OPSEU’s environmental blog – GreenUnion.

For more information, you can contact earthhour@opseu.org.

In solidarity

Warren “Smokey” Thomas, President

Patty Rout, First Vice-President/Treasurer

p.s. – Don’t forget to take a picture of your Earth Hour party to receive a special thank you prize of $25.00

NUPGE joining Earth Hour

NUPGE joins Earth Hour calling for climate action

"But don’t stop at turning off the lights. Think about what else can be done to reduce your footprint like taking transit, unplugging unused electrical appliances and washing your clothes in cold water. The list is endless and your action will make a big difference.

In order to make Earth Hour more than a symbolic event, it is important people understand that we each have a role to play in the fight against climate change. Our everyday actions, like turning off unnecessary lights, individually add up to make a big difference. Individual action also is important because it sends a strong signal to business and government that Canadians want action."

Community orchards...

Speaking of locally sustainable food, I attended a meeting in my general neighborhood last night to hear the details about a proposed orchard that is being organized by some members of the community in the north end of my ward. 

They hope to plant 40 fruit trees this spring in Ben Nobleman Park which is at the corner of Eglinton and Allen Road.

Although popular in England and gaining steam, in Vancouver, Boston and elsewhere, this will be Toronto's first community orchard where members of the public can volunteer and reap part of the harvest.

Ben Nobleman Park Orchard Proposal

Community orchard in England

Local sustainable food...

As people become more and more aware of the link between transportation of food and the production of greenhouse gases, locally grown and sustainable foods are becoming more popular. There are a growing  number of retailers, restaurants and caterers that sell locally grown food products. 

Local Food Plus has a lot of information and a list of these food providers.  So next time you are planning a local meeting or some other event, consider using locally grown food products  as much as possible. 

What is Local Sustainable Food?

Simply put, local sustainable food is a long-term, comprehensive strategy whose time has come.

Going beyond organic certification or “buy local” campaigns, local sustainability integrates economic, social, and environmental considerations, and rewards local farmers, both conventional and organic, who employ ecological practices.

Local Food Plus believes a food system is sustainable when it addresses the issues affecting agriculture by being:

» Financially viable for all stakeholders
» Primarily local and regional
» Ecologically responsible in its operations
» Socially responsible

Reducing first responders idle time

OPSEU received an invitation from Fleet Challenge to participate in a consultation on issues related to the idling of emergency vehicles - ambulances and police cars in particular. There are at least two key issues related to idling emergency vehicles - greenhouse gas production and worksite air quality. We were asked to send a front-line paramedic to the meeting in order to assure that this perspective was part of the process. 

First responder vehicles idling at an accident scene

OPSEU's paramedics were represented at this meeting by Brad Thomson, health & safety rep from OPSEU's ambulance division. Here is his report from the March 13 meeting.

From my perspective the meeting was very interesting and the changes to fleet vehicles purposed can affect most vehicles used as Ambulances in the province.

The meeting began with introductions and a get to know each other session. The large group was divided into groups of 6-8 people. Most groups had a broad mix of participants, all including a rep from Fleet Challenge. The group that I worked with included a rep from GM engineering, head of Hamilton Police Fleet division, owner of a business in Ancaster that designs "alternate power units" [Simplicity Air] and myself. 

For the day Fleet Challenge had us all respond to a general questionnaire specific to fleet vehicles and their perceived uses/emissions. Following that session we worked in our small groups trying to come up with ideas to reduce idle times, to provide alternate power sources for all the vehicles secondary equipment, and any ideas to reduce vehicle emissions period.

My group specifically did well  Some examples include using a separate small diesel generator, shutting down half of the cylinders in the motor while at idle or even programming the vehicle to shut off at idle and start up by removing your foot from the brake and back on the gas, or increase use of lithium ion batteries. 

I have requested to be kept up to date on any progress or future meetings.
Thanks again for including me in this process. I find the concept of Fleet Challenge very interesting and hopefully, very successful.

Brad

World Water Day meetings & demos in Turkey

Yesterday was World Water Day. Here's an account of the goings on in Istanbul, Turkey by the World Water Council (industry), the People's Water Forum and the police by Wenonah Hauter of Food and Water Watch, Mary Ann Manahan of Focus on the Global South, and Maude Barlow, the senior adviser on water issues to the United Nations General Assembly.

Water Rights Activists Blast World Water Forum as "Corporate Trade Show to Promote Privatization"

Maude Barlow: They basically say that they are the collection of people around the world who care about water, and they come together every three years to have this great big summit. And every single year, the police presence gets more and more like the World Trade Organization, every single year, from the very beginning, when there was none, to this. But basically, the World Water Council, which puts this on, is really the big water corporations and the World Bank and some UN agencies and some northern development agencies, some academics, the odd small NGO -- small as in, you know, NGOs, but really, it is the corporations, and it's a big trade show.

Green Product Guide

Find safe, healthy & green products

This came to my attention today from the GreenNexxus newsletter. I haven't checked it out yet but it looks interesting. Comments are welcome.

* What chemicals are in your baby shampoo?
* Was sweatshop labor used to make your t-shirt?
* What products are the best, and what products should you avoid?

Bottled water study - Variety of contaminants

Tip of the hat to Jen Giroux for this story.

Bottled water has contaminants too, U.S. study finds

Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants, including cancer-linked chemicals three times higher than California's health standard, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group.

The findings challenge the popular impression - and marketing pitch - that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say...

However, all the brands met federal health standards for drinking water. And most of the detected contaminants are common in tap water, too.

Lab tests detected 38 chemicals in 10 brands, with an average of eight contaminants found in each kind of bottled water. Tests showed coliform bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium...

The researchers also said the Wal-Mart brand exceeded California's limit by five times for a second chlorine byproduct, bromodichloromethane.

The Environmental Working Group said it notified California's attorney general of its intent to sue Wal-Mart. The group wants the company to label its bottles in California with a warning of cancer-causing chemicals. Wal-Mart did not respond to a request for comment.

There was also a recent article brought to my attention by a couple of people about possible dangers in tap water from chemicals. The Canadian government is supposed to be looking for a company that can do research and testing to see the extent of the problem. OPSEU has installed filters on select taps in most of its offices.

Feds to test taps for cancer contaminants

The federal government is ordering tests of Canada's drinking water over concerns it may contain contaminants thought to raise the risk of cancer and other health problems.

Health Canada is now seeking a contractor to determine if the contaminants - known as disinfection byproducts - flow from the country's taps.

Water-treatment plants have long used disinfectants such as chlorine and ozone to eliminate bacteria from drinking water. But in the 1970s, scientists discovered the disinfectants react with organic materials in untreated water, such as decaying vegetation, to form the byproducts.

There are hundreds of byproducts. Some of the more common ones are trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, bromate and chlorite...

Last May, the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported there were 1,760 boil-water advisories across the country - excluding those for 93 First Nations.

Passive houses...

One of the original Passive Houses at Darmstadt, Germany

While I know there have been many efforts to reduce energy consumption in homes, I didn't realize there was a term for it - "passive houses". Once again, when we see what's happening in Germany and the rest of Europe, it's easy to see how far behind we are in Canada. And every day that we don't take action is another day we've fallen further behind.

The term passive house (Passivhaus in German) refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency in buildings. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling...

The Passivhaus standard for central Europe requires that the building fulfills the following requirements:[12][13]

* The building must not use more than 15 kWh/m² per year (4746 btu/ft² per year) in heating and cooling energy.
* Total energy consumption (energy for heating, hot water and electricity) must not be more than 42 kWh/m² per year [14]
* Total primary energy (source energy for electricity and etc.) consumption (primary energy for heating, hot water and electricity) must not be more than 120 kWh/m² per year (3.79 × 104 btu/ft² per year)

Another NUPGE videoconference

The National Union (NUPGE) is continuing to roll out its Polycom video-conferencing system. The National Executive Board was provided with an update yesterday on several issues by President James Clancy. There is a unit in the head offices of each of the NUPGE affiliates. There were eight units connected for yesterday's meeting from across Canada.

OPSEU's unit has been installed in the auditorium/theatre.  Once the unit is set up and everything's plugged into the right places.  One of my roles at OPSEU is to show people how to turn on the system and connect to videoconferences.  It's almost as easy as making a phone call.

Of course I'm oversimlifying slightly but as more and more organizations turn to different conferencing technologies, the manufacturers need to keep it as simple as possible (despite the complex technology behind the scenes) for the people using the equipment. 

Corporate triage

OPSEU calls for action on Niagara Parks

Maid of the mist, Niagara Falls

The health and sustainability of Ontario parks, depends on the integrity and accountability of the organizations which manage them.  The Ontario government is the primary legal steward for our collective, natural heritage. It is recognizing more and more that committed, concerted and creative efforts are needed to slow down the freight train of global warming. OPSEU is calling on the Ontario government to re-assume responsibility for the management of the Niagara Parks Commission. 

OPSEU has been the union of choice for members at the Niagara Parks Commission since its inception in 1967. OPSEU has long been working to highlight and fix problems at the Niagara Parks Commission, like here, while defending jobs - many which are "green jobs" - against contracting out to the lowest, private-sector bidder or even non-bidder. There's big money in ferries. The G&M is taking a closer look at the situation.

Niagara Parks' union wants Ontario to take control of park's commission - Globe and Mail

Citing a “record of mismanagement and secrecy” at the Niagara Parks Commission, the union representing Niagara Parks workers wants the Ontario government to assume management of the 1,720 hectares of land under the commission's control.

The call comes days after The Globe and Mail reported on a controversial, no-bid, 25-year lease extension for the Maid of the Mist tour boat operation, the oldest and most popular attraction at Niagara Falls, which nets the parks commission millions of dollars in fees....

That record, the union said, includes a non-tendered marina lease, unmet crowd targets for a new $40-million attraction, and questionable spending while workers have been laid off, leading to a decline in maintenance of the commission's popular parks and infrastructure.

“Our members report that the park's infrastructure and lands are deteriorating while the commission makes irresponsible spending decisions,” OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas said in the release.

OPSEU Newser

Edited to add: There's at least one website focussed on the Maid of the Mist deal. 

Suzuki on forests

Some good information in the context of the big picture by David Suzuki. 

Forests are another piece of the global warming puzzle

But the Nature study shows that tropical forests absorb more carbon than we realized...

One thing we do know is that we cannot rely on tropical forests to prevent dangerous levels of climate change. But the amount of carbon they store gives us another compelling argument for protecting forests, as they may at least provide a buffer while we work on other solutions, such as reducing our energy consumption and switching to renewable sources of energy.

Clearly, it’s not the only reason to protect forests. Looking at the ability of forests to absorb carbon allows us to see that they have economic value beyond resources such as lumber that we have traditionally considered. Forests are a source of medicine, food, and clean drinking water and are habitat for over half of all land-based plants and animals on the planet. Forests also provide spiritual, aesthetic, and recreational opportunities for millions of people.

Mileage tax in US?

I haven't heard this one before. 

Mileage tax idea gains congressional support, raises privacy concerns

Despite opposition from the White House, a proposal to tax motorists on the number of miles they drive each year is gaining speed on Capitol Hill.

Its popularity is increasing as Congress searches for alternatives to the federal gasoline tax, which is not indexed to inflation and which has not been raised since 1993....

(Barbara) Boxer said the 2007 collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis – which killed 13 people – is a reminder that Congress must move quickly to increase spending on the nation's infrastructure. She said there's now a backlog of projects that would require $495 billion just to maintain the current system.

Habitat loss hurting Ontario wildlife

One more reason why OPSEU's move to reclaim habitat for native plants and animals at head office is a good idea.

Protect at-risk species: report
Environmental commissioner says habitat loss main problem

Ontario's environmental commissioner is urging the province to legislate more protection for biodiverse areas such as the Frontenac Arch, near Kingston.

In a 74-page report critiquing the province's new Endangered Species Act, Gord Miller said the state of Ontario's species at risk has worsened in recent decades and the main cause of that is habitat loss...

"Without concrete measures and swift action, many of Ontario's wild species and the natural areas they depend upon may be lost forever," the report states.

Ontario currently has 183 species identified as extirpated, endangered, threatened or of special concern. At least six species native to Ontario have become extinct in modern times.

You can view the entire report here.

Climate change: It's a union issue

That's the name of the generic course that a number of unions worked together on last year with Jackie Larkin in Vancouver. The OPSEU reps included Kay Singh, Geraldine Ryan and myself.

The Canadian Labour Congress has now posted the course online. If you'd like to see it, here's the link:

Climate change: It's a union issue

OPSEU has drawn from these materials to design a one-day OPSEU-focused course. It was piloted last fall. It is expected to be ready for delivery in OPSEU's regional member educational program later this year.

March 22 - World Water Day - Let's Toast

I received notice of this campaign from Joe Cressy at the Polaris Institute yesterday. Please get involved. 

Take Action Now

1.   Sign-Up and pledge to making a toast to public water.  Click here or visit www.insidethebottle.org to sign-up.

2.   Download a sample Toast to Public Water here.

3.   Encourage your friends and colleagues to join in and make a toast.

"We raise our glasses to the back-to-the-tap movement."

Municipal bottled water campaign

OPSEU leant its name to a campaign co-ordinated by the Polaris Institute to provide useful information to mayors and municipal politicians in every municipality in Ontario. Our partners in this mailout included: 

• Canadian Federation of Students
• Council of Canadians
• CUPE Ontario
• Development and Peace
• KAIROS
• Public Water Institute of U of T
• Polaris (Inside the Bottle)
• Sierra Youth Coalition
  

The bottled beverage industry has become quite aggressive in lobbying municipal politicians as more and more of them break away from bottled water, and in the case of Niagara Falls, plastic bottles altogether.  There are currently at least 13 municipalities in Ontario with a bottled water ban. 

Here is OPSEU's Bottled Water Fact Sheet. 

Ottawa River: Nuclear dump?

NDP says resources minister misled public about water leak at reactor

The NDP wants the federal minister of natural resources to apologize for leading Canadians to believe that no radioactive water ended up in the Ottawa River after a recent leak at the nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ont.

Nathan Cullen, the NDP’s natural resources critic, said that on five different occasions Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt misled the House of Commons about the Dec. 5 leak....

The NDP also took issue with the minister’s statements in the House during the week of Feb. 2. While the minister denied a leak of radioactive water into the Ottawa River, she did not deny a controlled release of radioactive water, although she didn't reveal it either.

While the Harper government, Atomic Energy Canada (AECL) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) might not think there's a problem dumping radioactive nuclear waste in a river which supplies drinking water to Ottawa, the NDP is not the only one with concerns.

Ottawa riverkeeper raises alarm about reactor leaks

Meredith Brown, Ottawa's Riverkeeper released a two-page report last week. 

"Under the best of circumstances I am uncomfortable with the very idea of a nuclear reactor operating on the banks of the Ottawa River," said Brown.

"However, when that reactor is old and prone to leaks, I am particularly concerned. Even more alarming is the fact that these leaks are not reported to the public in detail in a timely manner...

"I did the math on the amount of tritium (a highly carcinogenic substance) contained in the heavy water being released. The results were alarming..."

Recently, Sun Media uncovered that the 51-year old reactor released radioactive tritium into the air during an incident on Dec. 5, 2008. It was also discovered the reactor had been leaking up to 7,000 litres of water a day for more than a month from a crack in a weld.

Brown's short report is worth reading and ends with the following action item, 

We look forward to your support and promise to keep you informed. Lastly, I personally encourage you to tell your elected representatives that you find the present situation unacceptable.

Tip of the hat to staff reps Annelle Vercuiel and Kathleen Demareski from OPSEU's Toronto office for this story.

Under the Sea 3D

On Saturday night I went to see the recently released "Under the Sea 3D", the latest IMAX film from Director Howard Hall and his production team. Having never seen an IMAX 3-D film, I wasn't sure what to expect. It was a huge "WOW". The photography is truly breathtaking and the 3-D effects make you feel like you're right there with the fish and sharks swimming around you. I wholeheartedly recommend this 40 minute documentary to everyone, but particularly anyone with younger children.

The movie was filmed in underwater locations in Australia and Papau New Guinea. Here's the non 3D trailer.



The climate change message was a bit subtle - i.e. increased carbon dioxide levels are killing coral reefs and destroying habitat for thousands of species of fish. There was a slightly unsettling reassurance by narrator Jim Carrey that since we now know about the problem, we expect action to be taken. Not sure it works that easily.

Here's the New York Times' positive review of Under the Sea 3D.

Seedy Saturday

On Saturday afternoon I dropped by Toronto's Seedy Saturday which took place this year at the Artscape Wychwood Barns. What a huge, enthusiastic (and mostly young) crowd. It was shoulder to shoulder as people from around town came by to purchase or swap seeds for this year's spring planting. There were also many other environmentally friendly booths at the event. There were a number of workshops which I ended up not attending.

I was really glad to run into Greg Hagan, OPSEU's native plant advisor and my mentor and hero when it comes to anything to with indigenous plants. Greg is looking forward to moving the native plant gardens at OPSEU forward in 2009.

You can find more pictures and a detailed report of Seedy Saturday on the TasteTO website.

Closer to the land: Freedom of expression and the environment

On Friday night I attended "Closer to the Land: Freedom of Expression and the Environment" organized by PEN Canada as part of Freedom to Read Week at the public library . The format was a kind of roundtable discussion facilitated by CBC Radio's Matt Galloway.

The meeting opened with two poems written by Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Nigerian writer and tv producer who was executed by the Nigerian regime in 1995 for defending the Ogoni people from the brutal and environmentally destructive policies being implemented by the regime and Shell oil. It was very moving causing me to co-dedicate this blog to Saro-Wiwa in addition to Rachel Carson (see bottom of the right column).

A petition was also circulated addressed to Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for the release of writer Hossein Derakhshan, also known as the Blogfather of Iran. An empty seat sat on stage for Derakhshan, representing the writers who have been silenced by repressive regimes around the world.

The roundtable included

Ken McGoogan
Biographer and historian, author of Race to the Polar Sea: The Heroic Adventures of Elisha Kent Kane

Trevor Herriot
From Saskatchewan, naturalist, writer, illustrator, author of the multiple-award-winning book River in a Dry Land, and the recently released Grass, Sky, Song, Promise and Peril in the World of Grassland Birds.

Taras Grescoe
From Montreal, non-fiction writer and author of Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood.

Sarah Harmer
Music icon and environmental activist - active in the preservation of the Niagara Escarpment and in particular, opposed to the expansion of gravel pits and stone quarries on Mount Nemo north of Burlington. 

There were some interesting stories about what each had learned about their respective issues and struggles. Some debate ensued as to whether they should be called "activists". As well, a repeated theme was related to information flow - on the one hand, there is tons of information available about the environment which may be causing some people to be experiencing overload while at the same time government agencies are often less than forthcoming about releasing information.

Another theme was on the importance of individual action as well as a very strong hope that Barack Obama be able to deliver on some of his promises related to the environment. I felt there was some muddled thinking when it came to discussion of political action and the responsibilities of governments and corporations but overall it was an interesting discussion.

At the end of the discussion and question period I had a chance to meet Juno winner Sarah Harmer and Taras Grescoe whose new book I purchased.

PEN Canada helps writers around the world who have been persecuted for the peaceful expression of their ideas.

UnionBook launched

Check out the latest social networking site - UnionBook, a project of Labour Start. Sign up and look for the OPSEU group. UnionBook was launched in February 2009 and is hoping to attract trade unionists from around the world. It is based in England.

Harper playing catch-up with Obama's green plan

Tories in sprint to match Obama on climate change

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he is breathing a sigh of relief that U.S. President Barack Obama is serious about climate change, but the pace of change in Washington could leave him struggling to catch his breath.

"Breathing a sigh of relief"? I hardly think so.

From world-leading automobile fuel standards to a clean energy surge and greenhouse gas restrictions, the U.S. is set to accomplish over the next year what Canada has been promising for a decade.

And hasn't delivered under either Liberal or conservative governments.

While the Tories have put pollution regulations on hold until the American playbook becomes clearer, Obama called Tuesday in his address to Congress for an emissions cap-and-trade system that is anticipated to raise $300 billion in new revenue and set the course for economic recovery.

Great idea. Use the carbon credits and sales to underwrite infrastructure development. Harper must be starting to grit his teeth.

"History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas," Obama said, calling climate change, along with health and education, his top priorities for the year ahead.

Public services are back in the spotlight but what will Obama do with the over-the-top, bloated military budget?

The Conservatives have pledged to keep pace with Washington both to do what is politically popular and to stay competitive economically, but signs have emerged that Harper's team has not completely changed its stripes.

How surprising.

Asked this week about threats in the U.S. to ban oil imports from Alberta, Harper insisted Canadian taps would continue to slake the U.S. thirst, regardless of political rhetoric.

Yes, we'll destroy half a province for the sake of some short-term oil sales so that Americans can continue to drive their hummers. That should be very popular.

It was reminiscent of the diatribes he once reserved for opposition parties urging a carbon tax or Kyoto compliance. This time, his target was green U.S. governors like California's Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has passed legislation to outlaw dirty energy sources in favour of cleaner fuels.

That certainly sounds attack-worthy from Harper's perspective.

But Harper attacks the state's environmental stewardship at his peril; the White House and Congress are littered with Californians leading the climate change fight.

When are we going to unelect this guy?

There are serious consequences for allowing the lag to grow between the United States and Canada's green efforts. How prepared is Canada to play host to green manufacturing? Will the incentives be there to encourage manufacturers to open shop in Canada? Can our community colleges and universities provide the kinds of relevant training and knowledge for a greener economy?

Green jobs meeting...

I had an opportunity to participate in a very interesting discussion about green jobs in the Toronto area. The meeting was organized by Labour Council President John Cartwright. While there are many potential areas for growth in this area - both in terms of jobs and UNION jobs - the main focus of the discussion was on the rezoning and redevelopment of the Kodak lands, the city's light rail transit plan and the  Mayor Miller's energy retrofits of 1,000 apartment buildings which is being provided expertise by the Clinton Climate Initiative. 

A recurring theme in each of these areas of interest - aside from the issue of construction and other support jobs - was the issue of procurement of parts and other materials. Where will they be made? Who will make them? How do we get industries to locate their green businesses in Toronto area jurisdictions? 

The Story of Stuff

I think I posted this last year, but it is worth posting and watching again. In light of the economic downturn in which the message seems to be all about consumption and "confidence", there is an inherent contradiction between the obessive "shop until you drop, let's kick start the economy"proposal and the carbon footprint of all that stuff.

The Story of Stuff.

Tip of the hat to OPSEU member & leader Dora Robinson for this story.

Ontario's new Green Energy Act

More details and comments to follow but this is a huge story for Ontario.

Ontario Green Energy Act

For a look at the legislation and other links, click on this link.

Winterlude in Ottawa

I took a break and went to Ottawa with a friend for the weekend. It was my first experience attending the Winterlude festival. We had a great time. While I will admit to driving there, the car was parked pretty much most of the time. 

Skating was one theme of the weekend. We skated 6 kilometres on the Rideau Canal one day and then on the rink at Rideau Hall the next (which can be booked for events). 

Rideau Hall rink all to ourselves

After the skate, we took the tour of Rideau Hall and who should we meet on her way out the door but G-G, Her Excellency, Michaëlle Jean who stopped briefly to give us a warm hello in the Reception Room. 

Did a lot of walking around - the Central Block Parliament Building, Chateau Richelieu lobby, National Art Gallery and Byward Market. Saw a fantastic light & sound show followed by a show by Canadian R&B great Jully Black. The ice sculptures were like none I had ever seen before. 

Cinderella's pumpkin carriage pulled by 4 ice horses

Power plant made from plastic water bottles at the centre of the ice sculptures. 

The closest I got to a Blackberry all weekend. (Just kidding, actually, I don't have a cell phone)

Green job opportunities...

Know anyone looking for a job? How about some young people looking for summer opportunities?

Check out Goodwork, Canada's Green Job Site. Some recent jobs include:

• Credit Valley Conservation Youth Corp Crew Leader (3 positions) 
  
• Organic farming intern (Durham region)
• Organic grain marketer (Berwick ON)
• Office and Finance Manager, CERCOPAN: Centre for Education, Research, Nigeria
  
• Solar panel installer (Alberta)
• Communication co-ordinator - Climate Action Network Canada
• Arctic climate intern (unpaid)

The Big Ask...

Very powerful video from Friends of the Earth. It was filmed last year. Not sure when it was released but it's the first time I've seen it.

Act Now



Hat tip to Dora Robinson.

Briarpatch - Call for sustainability content

Briarpatch unplugged, or, How I learned to stop destroying the planet and love the global recession

What if the economic recession we're presently experiencing is not just a regrettable temporary setback in the never-ending march of growth-fuelled prosperity, but the beginning of a painful but ecologically necessary process of scaling back our footprint to a more sustainable level?

What principles should guide our efforts to reorganize our lives and communities on a human scale? What initiatives already underway deserve to be profiled, celebrated, and imitated? What can we learn from what other people are doing in other parts of the world? What books and films shed light on the key issues and should be reviewed? How can our efforts to cope with the global recession pave the way to a more stable and sustainable future?....

If you've got something to contribute to this discussion, then we want to hear from you. We are looking for articles, essays, investigative reportage, news briefs, project profiles, interviews with luminary thinkers, reviews, poetry, humour,
artwork & photography that explore how we can unplug from the growth machine and cope with the global recession....

Queries are due by March 23, 2009. If your query is accepted, first drafts are due by May 1, 2009. Your query should outline what ground your contribution will cover and
include an estimated word count and a short writing sample.

Please review our submission guidelines before submitting your query. Send your queries to: editor AT briarpatchmagazine DOT com.

We reserve the right to edit your work (with your active involvement) and cannot guarantee publication. Briarpatch pays $0.05/word.

OPSEU Officers pilot webonferencing

In a first for OPSEU, the Executive Committee conducted a full business meeting on February 12th. The Executive Committee is comprised of the top 9 elected leaders in the Union. 

Spread out over seven locations around the province, the Officers shared information, discussed several issues and took votes where required. The meeting was not without a couple of technology glitches but those were met with good humour and did not prevent business from proceeding. 

The session was part of a pilot which has seen committees, province-wide local executives and staff groups try out the pilot webconferencing technology - E-Pop. The hardware requirements include a PC, highspeed internet connection, webcam and audio headset. 

Some of the wrap-up comments from the Officers included "wonderful despite some small glitches", "it encourages more concise meetings", "a success", "a lot of potential" and "good in the winter". 

As the webconferencing pilot co-ordinator, I look forward to wrapping up this phase and producing recommendations for the next steps - a province-wide deployment. If your OPSEU committee or group would like to try it out, please contact me at 416-443-8888 x 8723. 

Many thanks to OPSEU's Information Services department as well as OPSEU Direct, Vice-President Patty Rout and Laura Delaney from E-Pop for their support. 

Pictures to follow. 

Australian eucalyptus fires

Australian Bushfires Pump Out Millions of Tons of Carbon

The deadly bush fires in Australia have released millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equivalent to more than a third of the country's CO2 emissions for a whole year, according to scientists.

The 10 worst packaging offenders

The 10 worst packaging offenders

Hat tip to Marinela Gabat for this story.

Microwave popcorn

Earth Hour 2009 - March 28

The official Earth Hour 2009 video.

OPSEU will be participating in Earth Hour again this year. Stay tuned for the details. 

Energy saving tip - computers....

From Green Nexxus

Is your computer running up your power bill?

Does your computer run around the clock, 24/7? If so, you're missing out on an opportunity to knock a few dollars off of your monthly power bill...

The solution? You can use sleep and hibernate settings, so your system drops into a power-saving mode when not used for a few minutes. (Click Control panel - Power options). And for even more savings, shut down your computer when it is not in use, and plug everything into a power bar that you can click off to completely eliminate those trickles of phantom power.

McGuinty promises action on the environment...

McGuinty aims to create thousands of 'Green jobs'

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday a proposed Green Energy act would help create more than 50,000 new jobs over the next three years...

According to McGuinty the bill would help the government ensure our province's future by:

• Supporting and expanding economic investment, thus building a stronger, greener economy with an estimated 50,000-plus direct and indirect jobs over the next three years
• Expanding Ontario's use of clean and renewable sources of energy.
• Better protecting our environment and combating climate change.
  

Considering McGuinty's move last year to place most of our eggs in the multi-billion dollar nuclear basket, we'll have to see the actual content of this Green Energy Act before making any judgments.

Stephen Chu lays it out....

Obama's new Energy Secretary Stephen Chu did not mince words when he laid out the dangers and challenges that lie ahead if serious efforts to tackle global warming are not addressed.

Obama's energy secretary outlines dire climate change scenario

Unless there is timely action on climate change, California's agricultural bounty could be reduced to a dust bowl and its cities disappear, Barack Obama's energy secretary said yesterday....

The language he used yesterday, though stark, was in step with a co-ordinated effort by Obama's officials and Democrats in Congress to project an image of consensus among policy makers in Washington on the need to move America away from fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions...

Obama ran a presidential campaign pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by the middle of the century. He made his first move to redeeming that promise last week when he ordered the environmental protection agency to reconsider its refusal, when Bush was president, to allow California and 13 other states regulate car exhaust emissions.

He also directed the car industry to produce cars that can achieve 35 miles per gallon by 2020...

But the extent of public support is less clear, and a number of leading Republicans remain implacably opposed to the idea that global warming exists. Recent opinion polls suggest that the economic recession has eclipsed concern about the environment.

Democrats insist that the downturn should not prevent action on greenhouse gas emissions. "If you want to fight this recession, do it by mobilising to become energy independent with clean energy and really save this planet," said Boxer.

But America's credit crisis appears to have stopped the growth of the wind and solar power industries in their tracks. Factories building components for wind turbines and solar panels have been letting staff go.

Public opinion, credit markets, dinosaur legislators. Seems there's no end to the reasons not to take action. Let's see if Obama will continue to stand up against the republican energy lobby that has a vested interest in NOT tackling global warming.

Electric avenue....

"We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we'll take it higher"
(Eddy Grant)

Plotting the long road to one million electric cars

(CNET) -- Meeting the Obama Administration's goal of putting 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015 will only happen with a coordinated set of policies and technology advances, according to an electric vehicle association...

On the technology side, batteries remain the biggest hurdle. The EDTA said the Department of Energy should fund to develop and test energy storage and fuel cells systems.

"Energy storage capability is the key to the success of the vehicles and also is the enabling technology for using renewable power as a transportation fuel," according to the EDTA's policy recommendation report.

Speaking of batteries (and lithium), this is an interesting article about Bolivia's lithium reserves. Aside from practical reasons such as access to resources, I hope that Obama will normalize relations with Bolivia.

Evo Morales hopes Bolivia's lithium reserves will allow it to join an exclusive club of countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, whose natural resources make them indispensable to the global energy future...

Bolivia says it hopes to one day be the world's leading producer of lithium, and with at least 73 million metric tons waiting to be mined, the country is positioned to follow through.

Google earth goes underwater....

I thought I'd seen it all on the internet until I installed Google Earth when I read that you could explore underwater as well as the entire landmass of the planet. I was impressed. I could even see my house (which is not underwater fortunately).

Dive in! You will need to download an install Google Earth.

Google Earth allows web users to explore world's oceans in 3D

The Ocean tool combines renderings of underwater terrain with expert content from marine biologists and oceanographers, allowing web surfers to swim around virtual underwater volcanoes, watch videos about exotic marine life, read about nearby shipwrecks, and contribute photos and videos of their favourite diving spots.

Google said that humans had only ever explored around five per cent of the world's oceans, which cover more than 70 per cent of the earth's surface and contain 80 per cent of all life.

Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, said the launch of Ocean in Google Earth provided an opportunity to change people's perspective about the importance of the oceanic ecosystem in the overall health of the planet.

"In discussions about climate change, the world's oceans are often overlooked, despite being an integral part of the issue," he said. "Biodiversity loss in our oceans in the next 20 to 30 years will be roughly equivalent to losing an entire Amazon rainforest, but this goes unnoticed because we can't see it."...

Using satellites to abate climate change

Interesting development on the technological front.

New satellite techniques for looking at climate change

Using the novel polarimetric mode of the PALSAR synthetic aperture radar (SAR) aboard Japan’s ALOS satellite, Dr Shane Cloude of the UK-based AEL Consultants has mapped the biomass of Scotland’s forests. This marks the first time biomass data has been extracted over a large area using this sensor mode...

This information will assist politicians and non-governmental organisations in planning strategies for combating global warming through international monitoring and carbon sequestering.