Green Union is on a break...

See you after Labour Day.

The throwaway society & seas of plastic

Talks Capt. Charles Moore on the seas of plastic



Excellent presentation by Captain Charles Moore from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation about the proliferation of plastics in our oceans. Tip of the hat to Dora Robinson for this video. Moore discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (twice the size of Texas)while sailing in the Pacific Ocean.

Check out this video for more information.

Winds of change rock Wolfe Island

More windmills. More controversy (among some). More NIMBYism (among a few).

And if opinion might be split locally about the merits of the Wolfe Island Wind Project, there can be no argument about that appraisal. The turbines are a dominating – some say overbearing – omnipresence.

The project is the second-largest in Canada and a submarine cable to the mainland delivers enough wind-generated juice to provide power for tens of thousands of homes.

Owner Canadian Hydro boasts that wind power "creates no air pollution or greenhouse gases (which contribute to climate change), leaves behind no hazardous or toxic wastes and uses no water."

Part of the problem with the wind model that's been rolled out in Ontario (and probably most other places) is that energy generated is not used locally but "shipped" elsewhere. If local residents knew that their own power was generated locally, there would be more support. Which brings us to the larger problem that many of the areas with the best wind are not densely populated.

1st Ministers Conference

A good op-ed from Rick Smith of Environmental Defence about the importance of not letting Alberta & Saskatchewan off the hook at the expense of the rest of the provinces in righting climate change.

Clean energy, not photo-op, should be premiers' priority

If the premiers all agreed in general terms about the level of pollution cuts needed and the system to accomplish this, then Ottawa's job would be relatively straightforward.

But Alberta and Saskatchewan, instead of wanting to make pollution cuts, actually want to increase their contribution to global warming by exploiting the tar sands.

All the talk about technology reducing tar-sands emissions is sadly that – just talk. If new technology like carbon capture and storage can in fact be proven effective, it's years away, which is time we don't have if we are serious about battling global warming.

Unfortunately, Harper is all too sympathetic to tar-sands development, meaning he will be predisposed to building a national pollution system that makes Quebec, Ontario and other provinces pick up the slack for growing tar-sands pollution.

If we are to meet national reduction targets, then having one sector grow its pollution can only come at the expense of other sectors making even deeper cuts to accommodate it.

Blue vervain or Verbena hastata

Blue vervain has been blooming in the OPSEU garden for the past month and just keeps on giving. It grows only to a couple feet tall, making it useful in the garden but it will form colonies by slow growing rhizomes and will seed about so don't try to force it into a formal design.

The ideal location for blue vervain is slightly moist soil in full sun but we are having good luck even on the sandy soils around OPSEU. It is very adaptable and despite sandy conditions it has not showed any signs of drying up.

Though Verbena should not be taken in excess as it is mildly toxic, it has been used medicinally in teas as a mild sedative to calm nervousness or insomnia as well as for colds and fevers where it helps induce sweating.

Regina premiers' conference coming up...

Climate showdown with premiers Aug. 5-7 in Regina

Regina (31 July 2009) - Progressive groups, including the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union (SGEU/NUPGE), are gearing up for a "Climate showdown in Regina" coinciding with the summer meeting of Canada's premiers and territorial leaders.

The talks on climate, energy and trade issues are scheduled Aug. 5-7 in the Saskatchewan capital. Som of the key groups involved include the Council of Canadians, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club of Canada.

Stomping for local grapes....

Grape Stomping Protests Support Grape Growers

Environmental Defence and our partners in the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance are stomping grapes to support Ontario's grape growers...









But we're not just squishing grapes. We're calling on the Ontario government to make sure that wine sold as "Cellared in Canada" has grapes that are grown in Ontario. Right now, "Cellared in Canada" wine only has to have 30% content from Ontario grapes. The rest can come from overseas. That doesn't make sense for Ontario grape growers, or for the environment.

We want the Ontario government to:
• Increase the Ontario Content in "Cellared in Canada" immediately to 50%
• Increase the Ontario wine market share to 51% at LCBO outlets [Ontario's wine stores] throughout Ontario
• Increase access to more retail stores across Ontario to sell more 100% grown Ontario wine.

US-China climate change agreement

U.S. and China sign memorandum on climate change

The United States and China, the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, signed an agreement on Tuesday that promises more cooperation on climate change, energy and the environment without setting firm goals.

Presto. I supposed it's easy to agree without targets.

"It is not an agreement per se for each side to commit themselves to some particular target. It sets a structure for dialogue," said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.

The memorandum listed 10 areas of cooperation, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, cleaner use of coal, smart grid technologies, electric cars, and research and development.

I guess we'll have to see what, if anything, comes of this.

Culver's Root or Veronicastrum Virginiana

It is good to be back in Canada and I am looking forward to getting back to the OPSEU garden after a few weeks of vacation. One of the plants I am most looking forward to seeing is the Culver's Root. I'm not sure if these plants will bloom this year so I'm excited to find out.

Culver's Root is a terrific addition to the back of a border planting. Here in the OPSEU garden there are three patches of it behind in the upper terraces. This is a long lived perennial that is often found in prairies, thickets and open woods. The leaves are whorled around the stem creating an intense structure that is unique among native plants in the area. Reaching heights of seven feet, this is not a plant for a intimate garden but neither is it a bully. Culver's Root does not need stalking like most other tall perennials.

Prairie Dropseed

Prairie dropseed of Sporobolus heterolepsis is one of the most garden worthy grasses in the world. This native grass stays fairly short compared to most full-sun clumping grasses and it does well on alkaline or calcereous soils. In the OPSEU memorial garden it is the most abundant species - creating structure throughout the year, providng a full ground cover to deter weeds and reduce evaporation of moisure from the soil.

Prairie dropseed is rather slow to develop but also long-lived, establishing a sustainable meadow. So while there is no dramatic flower, the form makes it a perfect foil in the garden. Turning a golden colour over the winter the grass also tends to have a scent of toasted cilantro.

Watch for it this fall.

Disastrous drought threat grows in the prairies

Parched Prairies: Latest drought a sign of things to come?

Cracked soil and cloudless skies have fuelled fears that 2009 could become etched in the minds of farmers as one of the worst recorded droughts in recent history.

Dave Sauchyn, a University of Regina geography professor, says two major droughts in a decade is a "disconcerting" indication that climate change prediction models could be right – that the worst is yet to come....

Six of the top 10 costliest disasters in Canadian history have been droughts, and their effects spread far beyond the agricultural sector. It can take decades for the land to fully recover.

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.