THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER
Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment
Fisherville, Ontario, Canada
Tel. 416 410-0432, Fax: 416 362-5231
Editorial: editor@gallonletter.ca
Subscriptions: subscriptions@gallonletter.ca
Vol. 12, No. 1, January 22, 2007
Honoured Reader Edition
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This is the honoured reader edition of the Gallon Environment Letter and is distributed at no charge: send a note with Add GL or Delete GL in the subject line to subscriptions@gallonletter.ca. Paid subscribers receive a more complete edition without subscription reminders and with extensive links to further information following almost every article.Organizational subscribers also receive the monthly Sustainable Technology & Services Supplement. If you would like to subscribe please visit http://www.cialgroup.com/subscription. Individual subscriptions are only $30 including GST. Organizational subscriptions are $184 plus GST and provide additional benefits detailed on the web site. If you feel you should be receiving the paid subscriber edition or have other subscriber questions please contact us also at subscriptions@gallonletter.ca.
This current free edition is posted on the web site about a week or so after its issue at http://www.cialgroup.com/galloncurrent.htm Back free editions dated from January 2007 are available at http://www.cialgroup.com/whatsnew.htm
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ABOUT THIS ISSUE
Are we making progress on the environmental front? Unfortunately the answer is probably no, with global environmental problems currently growing somewhat faster than we are addressing them. But we can make progress and for this first issue of 2007, we thought we would focus on the positive, highlighting some of the areas in which progress is being made and hopefully providing encouragement for greater effort.
Among our good news stories in this issue are the Doomsday Clock, the state of cities, the booting of deadbeat companies from the Global Compact, the European Policy on New Chemicals (REACH), the success of the Montreal Protocol, the world's largest solar roof, and the greening of federal politics. If you wonder how we can view these as good news we ask you to remember the glass partially full and slowly filling theory. We are looking forward to at least a few more good news stories to fill our pages throughout 2007!
If our green good news is too much of a stretch for you on these winter days then check out our review of a new environmental novel from Dreamcatcher Publishing. While the printing and transporting of the novel will have had some negative impact on the environment, we guarantee that the laughs that it generates are completely environmentally friendly. In this issue we also have a Letter to the Editor with some environmentally encouraging comments from Chris Winter of the Conservation Council of Ontario, an update on the Parliamentary Committee looking at Canada’s Clean Air Act, a call for papers for the Ecological Integrity and a Sustainable Society Conference, and a note about places to see before it is too late. As always, an environmentally eclectic issue!
Next issue we plan to follow up on some recent developments in what is often called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). In the meantime, don’t forget to nominate a worthy councillor for the Gallon Environment Letter’s Eco-Councillor award. See details at the end of this issue.
Don't forget to nominate a worthy councillor for the Gallon Environment Letter's Eco-Councillor award. See details at the end of this issue.
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GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER SUGGESTS YOUR RESOLUTIONS FOR 2007
Eighteen years ago Canada's largest grocery retailer launched a line of green products with the slogan Something Can Be Done (tm). As we enter yet another New Year it seems to this observer, and sometimes participant, that far too much of the debate suggests that nothing has been done and that nothing much will be done. Though I do not expect that they will have much impact on most of the entrenched protagonists, I would like to begin 2007 with a set of suggestions that might at least serve to encourage initiatives which improve everyone's understanding of environmental issues and solutions.
To industry in general: stop funding those whose mission is to deny environmental problems and spin doctors whose job is to push confusing or incorrect information. Instead put your efforts into understanding the views of your critics, providing the public with balanced information that will help them understand why views differ, and designing and implementing solutions that will be beneficial for both the environment and the economy. There are few environmentalists today whose mission is to shut down industry and create unemployment: the environmental community often appears to be more concerned about long term economic well being than some of the leaders of the corporate community.
To environmental groups: put your campaigns in context and resist the urge to exaggerate. Almost all environmental initiatives are worthwhile but there is so much that can be done that I wonder why we are often missing the big picture in our quest for almost trivial improvements. For example, in Toronto today there is a very high profile campaign to ban disposable shopping bags, as if that would solve a massive part of our waste management problem. There is no doubt that Toronto society could, and should, move away from single use shopping bags but banning such bags would be hardly noticeable in the huge problem of over-packaging which our society still faces. In Hamilton, Ontario, there is a major campaign to win a municipal ban on new drive- throughs at coffee shops and take out restaurants. To listen to the rhetoric, one would think that banning drive-throughs would solve the city's air pollution and climate change problem. The reality is that banning drive-throughs would have an infinitesimal impact on these environmental scourges while the same amount of effort put into bylaws requiring reduced energy use in commercial establishments and improved urban design could have a measurable impact on air pollution and climate change. Let's not ignore the little things but let us also put them in the context of helping to solve the big problems.
To the oil industry: the major part of Canada's increased greenhouse gas emissions since 1990 arises from exploitation of the oil sands yet few Canadians would argue that the oil sands development should not go ahead. Instead of fighting Kyoto, the oil industry should begin implementation of strategies that make the oil sands carbon neutral and it should help its Conservative government friends understand that such strategies almost certainly involve domestic and international carbon trading.
To governments in general: stop viewing the throwing of money as the only solution to environmental challenges. Gallon Environment Letter is particularly disappointed that Canada's new government has reverted to this time-honoured but extremely wasteful strategy for solving the climate change challenge. We had expected better of a fiscally conservative government. Basic research needs government support but the technologies and systems for getting Canada on a path of reduced greenhouse gas emissions are well beyond the basic research stage. In addition to some funding for home and industrial retrofits Canada needs a culture in which everyone understands and implements the concept of ecoefficiency. We need policies and programs which encourage Canadians to invest money in energy efficiency and environmental improvement. Unfortunately past government initiatives have usually had the opposite effect, encouraging Canadians to do nothing about energy efficiency and environmental improvement until government presents them with a handout of money.
To federal politicians: cut the war of words over the environment, if for no other reason than it is not doing you any good. Most Canadians recognize that we do face serious environmental challenges and they want to see politicians of all parties working hard to design and implement solutions. Now more than ever is the time for a concerted non-partisan environmental agenda.
To all Canadians: make sure the environment is an issue in the 2007 Federal Election, and in any other elections which happen this year, and vote preferentially for those candidates of whichever political party show themselves to be knowledgeable about the environment and determined to move forward those economic and societal changes which will restore Canada to a position of global environmental and Sustainable Development leadership.
Have a good 2007.
Colin Isaacs
Editor
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GOOD NEWS ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL FRONT
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If a common thread runs through our good news feature this issue, it seems to hang on international cooperation, more holistic policy development, innovative technology, corporate accountability, and greening of politics. We hope that our governments are reading and taking note. At the same time, good environmental news comes not only from major players in the system but also from individuals and groups. We have tried to give examples of all kinds of good news activity.
As we have already pointed out in the About this Issue section, good news and bad news are often differentiated only by whether one is inclined to view the glass as partially full or substantially empty. In that regard we must note that, however much has been achieved, there is almost always more to be done. There are precious few human-induced environmental challenges that have been completely solved. But even in those areas where very little has been done, one can view a tiny amount of progress as better than no progress at all.
Sometimes even bad news is good news if it encourages us to recognize that something must be done. For example, the tsunami in Thailand has raised awareness of the importance of the mangrove jungle protecting the coast line. If we applaud the federal government for doing a tiny bit on climate change, maybe they will recognize that if they do much more and do it better they might actually win enough votes to win re-election.
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DOOMSDAY: GROUNDS FOR OPTIMISM BUT...
A warning about 2007 possibly being the year of the apocalypse could be considered good news similar to a doctor telling you that you have high cholesterol and clogged arteries: at least the doctor was not a priest called to perform last rites and the warning may give you time to adopt a healthier lifestyle to prevent a heart attack. Last week the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists BAS moved the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock two minutes closer to midnight. It now sits at five minutes to midnight with midnight being the indicator of global catastrophe.
The Clock was set to 7 minutes to midnight in 1947 and has at times been as far away from midnight as 17 minutes. It has been less than 7 minutes in only a few years due to US-Soviet atomic testing and arms race: 2 minutes (1953) 3 minutes (1949, 1984), 4 minutes (1981), 6 minutes (1988). While only symbolic, the resetting of the clock closer to midnight reflects the concern of the BAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Washington, DC) and the Royal Society in London about "the perils of 27,000 nuclear weapons, 2000 of them ready to launch within minutes; and the destruction of human habitats from climate change."
The BAS statement continues: "The dangers posed by climate change are nearly as dire as those posed by nuclear weapons. The effects may be less dramatic in the short term than the destruction that could be wrought by nuclear explosions, but over the next three to four decades climate change could cause irremediable harm to the habitats upon which human societies depend for survival."
Climate change poses dire threats but the expansion of nuclear power to meet energy demands increases the risk of nuclear proliferation. The BAS recommends that nuclear power not be seen as a panacea for meeting energy needs in a low-carbon future. Instead, funding and investments should focus on innovative technologies such as fuel cells, biomass and carbon sequestration. Scientists are encouraged, not to 'retire in resignation and despair to their laboratories but to publicly engage in these issues and make their voices heard. And we implore governments to actively engage the scientific community for sound, nonpartisan technical advice. We urge immediate attention to climate change and caution those who believe nuclear energy is a problem-free solution."
Martin Rees, President of the UK's Royal Society, suggests there are grounds for optimism in technologies such as information technology, miniaturization and biotechnology as he sees these are sparing of energy, raw materials and boost quality of life but science needs to engage with politics to prevent "new threats more diverse and more intractable than nuclear weapons." These technologies are much more accessible to fanatic individuals for bio- or cyber-attacks to "cause massive disruption through error or terror." He suggests that "There surely will be more and more doors that we could open but which are best left closed for ethical and prudential reasons.' Scientists, like the original atomic scientists, will have to safeguard humanity from the threats they helped to create.
Paid subscribers see links to original documents and references here.
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WORLDWATCH: 2007 STATE OF THE WORLD OPTIMISM ABOUT CITIES
In 2005, about 3.2 billion people, or 49% of the world's total population of 6.46 billion, lived in cities. About 1 billion live in slums without adequate shelter or basic services. Urbanization in Europe and North America is relatively stable with 75% of the population already living in cities but Africa and Asia are rapidly urbanizing. It is expected that 88% of the human population growth from 2000-2030 will be urban dwellers in low-and medium-income countries in Africa and Asia and half of the city dwellers in those countries will live in slums.
The latest Worldwatch Institute's State of the World report focuses on urbanization. On the whole, most of the cities in the world are unsustainable but the high density offers the opportunity for economies of scale to provide services to the poor and protect natural resources. Among the signs of hope as outlined in the chapter by Kai Lee of Williams College in Massachusetts are:
Lee suggests that cities will always engage in trade and interaction with markets including outlying rural areas so that sustainable cities doesn't mean self-sufficient cities. Cities depend on many ecosystems and Lee writes that none of the cities discussed are sustainable yet because that dependence is not durable over the long run. However, he concludes on an optimistic note, "Creating urban habitats that deliver the bounty of nature in a sustainable fashion to the inhabitants of cities in all societies is an opportunity within our reach, as well as a cardinal test of our humanity."
Lee, Kai N. An Urbanizing World in Worldwatch Institute. 2007 State of the World: Our Urban Future. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. http://www2.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall06/032923.htm and www.worldwatch.org [Find State of the World and click] Can. $28.00
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GLOBAL COMPACT TURFS OUT NON-REPORTING COMPANIES
On January 1, the United Nations Global Compact Office scheduled the removal of 203 additional companies from its list of participants for failure to meet consecutive Communication On Progress (COP) deadlines. In October 2006, 335 inactive companies were delisted. Companies are regarded as inactive if they have missed two consecutive annual deadlines for reporting. Delisted companies are not supposed to use the Global Compact name or logo.
The UN Global Compact initiatve was launched by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 1999 with the purpose of promoting corporate responsibility through corporate policies and practices aligned with the principles in areas of human rights, labour standards, environment and corporate governance such as anti-corruption. It is common for companies to announce that they have joined the Global Compact or have made progress in their CSR reporting (see for example GL Vol. 8 No. 8 November 18, 2003). Each company determines how to implement the principles.
Georg Kell, Executive Director of the Global Compact said it was disappointing to have to delist companies but it was necessary to ensure the integrity of the efforts of the thousands of other participants who have committed to the ten principles which have as a goal a more inclusive and sustainable marketplace including corporate responsibility in the context of international development and poverty reduction. More than 3,000 companies from 100 countries are signatories to the Global Compact. Reporting on progress is required annually and can be included in other public reports such as annual financial, sustainability or other reports. A recent publication encourages the use of the new Global Reporting Guidelines GRI G3 for the Communication On Progress.
The reports are intended for the companies' own stakeholders and the Global Compact Office doesn't express an opinion on the accuracy of the statements but does indicate Notable COPs which meet best practices such as a statement of support for the Global Compact by the CEO, indications of policies, commitments and systems for implementing the principles and for success or failure. The latest Notable COPs (since July 2006) include
Three of the Global Compact principles are specifically environmental:
Principle 7: Business should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.
Principle 8: Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility and
Principle 9: Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
An Environmental Principles Training Package with training modules, case studies and PowerPoint slides is available.
GL thinks that while it may take a while (at least two years) for a company to be delisted from the Global Compact, it is good news when companies who claim corporate responsibility by merely adding their name or membership to various initiatives without any action also get their name on a list that says they failed to follow through.
Only one Canadian company, Cansult Limited of Markham, Ontario, which was acquired by another company in the fall of 2006, was booted out from the Global Compact for not making regular progress reports while 14 Canadian companies remain active participants.
Paid subscribers see links to original documents and references here.
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REACH: EUROPEAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY TURNS REGULATION TO OPPORTUNITY
After at least five years of work, the European Council and Parliament have finally adopted a policy for introduction of new chemicals. REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) will enter into force June 1, 2007. The long process involved compromises. (See also GL Vol. 11, No. 2 February 14, 2006)
A joint press release from European environmental groups said that the compromises left REACH in critical condition. They say that there are too many loopholes and self-regulation which may allow chemicals in manufacturing and consumer goods which cause cancer, birth defects and reproductive illnesses. Meaningful safety data for those chemicals used in volumes under 10 tonnes per year, 60% of the chemicals covered by REACH, does not have to be provided. Producers can keep chemicals on the market if they can "adequately control" them instead of substituting safer chemicals. On the other hand, the new law is seen as a modest step to requiring companies to provide safety data for large volume chemicals, such as those used in consumer products, providing a mechanism for substituting of persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals with safer substances and allowing some public access to information about hazardous chemicals in products. The groups say, "In the past, companies could sell almost any chemical they liked without providing health and safety information; and hazardous chemicals were only restricted in response to scandal on a case-by-case basis."
In response to the legislation, the European Chemical Industry Council CEFIC set up a professional services body called REACHCentrum. Since the law applies to both producers and users of chemicals, CEFIC sees the law as the biggest change in environmental regulation of chemicals ever seen and advises that "Organisations who ignore REACH not only face loss of business, but possible legal action in due course. Preparing for compliance now will not only enhance your credibility as a responsible chemicals producer/ manufacturer, it will save you time and money: precious resources you cannot afford to waste."
The CEFIC service will include:
One commentator has suggested that the REACH program will provide a long term career opportunity for toxicologists.
Paid subscribers see links to original documents and references here.
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GERARD MEGIE: A MONTREAL PROTOCOL LEGACY
The latest scientific assessment of global progress on ozone depletion is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Gerard Megie of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of Paris, France who died in 2004. While discussing Megie's contribution, this dedication also highlights a number of important issues related to his contributions which could be used as models for global environmental problems such as:
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MONTREAL PROTOCOL
While not yet an entirely sure thing, the international agreements to deal with the loss of ozone in the atmosphere which threatened life through excessive UV radiation appear to have made considerable progress in much less than fifty years. This year 2007 - The International Year of the Ozone Layer - marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Montreal Protocol. Canada will host the 19th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in Montreal September 17-21 for the 20th anniversary.
As required by the agreement, a periodic assessment is done to measure progress and the state of scientific understanding. The 2006 State-of-Understanding Report was the result of work of 309 scientists from 34 countries including Canada. 205 scientists prepared the report and 183 participated in the peer review. Theodore G. Shepherd of the University of Toronto was one of five members on the Scientific Steering Committee. The result is "their current understanding of the stratospheric ozone layer and its relation to humankind." Previous reports indicated that the Montreal Protocol was working as the action of nations led to stabilizing or decreasing tropospheric abundance of more ozone-depleting substances as well as of stratospheric chlorine. This report continues to see progress.
The science has strengthened the understanding that man-made ozone depleting substances have been the principle cause of ozone depletion in the earth's atmosphere over the past few decades. The parts of the atmosphere are affected differently by ODSs. The troposphere, the layer extending from the earth's surface to 8 to 14 kilometres, is the region where most weather happens. The stratosphere extends from the troposphere to about 50 kilometres. A growing amount of satellite and other data is also providing insight into how the mesophere, the layer above the stratosphere, extending to 85 kilometres, interacts with the lower layer in ozone depletion and recovery.
Fewer Ozone-Depleting Gases in the Atmosphere
By 2005, the total abundance of anthropogenic (human caused) ozone-depleting gases in the troposphere had decreased by 8-9% from the peak in 1992-94, consistent with estimated changes in emissions, known lifetimes and transport of the ODSs.
The substitutes used for CFCs, HCFCs (HCFC-22, -141b, and -142b) which are also ODSs but less so, increased less than projected, implying lower emissions. Bromine from both halons and methyl bromide decreased by 3-5% since 1998 with methyl bromide abundance decreasing by 14% between 1997-2004. This decrease was more than expected and implies that reducing methyl bromide emissions reduces atmospheric abundance faster than has been thought.
The stratospheric abundance of ODSs has also decreased since its peak in the late 1990s. However, stratospheric bromine has increased (this mimics what happened to bromine in the troposphere where it increased before decreasing). Bromine is a major contributor to stratospheric ozone depletion. Source gases described as very short-lived containing bromine and chlorine make a significant contribution to total stratospheric bromine. Previous assessments expected the stratospheric ozone depletion to reverse within a decade. Bromine is now estimated to be 60 times stronger (rather than 45 times as previously thought) as chlorine in causing global ozone depletion, increasing the Ozone Depletion Potential of bromine containing compounds.
Ozone Recovery in Progress
The next step was to ask whether this control of ozone-depleting substances ODSs was leading to responses of stratospheric ozone and UV radiation which are affected not only by ODSs but also by aerosols (fine particles in the air), climate change, volcanic eruptions, solar variations and natural dynamical variability. ODS and many of their substitutes are also greenhouse gases. These factors mean that even a return to pre-1980 values of ODS may not return the ozone and UV radiation to their pre-1980 levels.
Large Antarctic ozone holes continue to occur but in 2002 and 2004 were smaller. This seems to be due to dynamical activity (e.g. unusual major stratospheric sudden warming) rather than due to decreases in ODSs. The Arctic ozone depletion is very variable due to meteorological conditions related to severe ozone depletion and increased greenhouse gas concentrations. In 2004-5, the exceptionally cold winter led to the largest ozone loss ever. Science is as yet unable to predict long-term trends or to detect the early stages of recovery. While UV radiation levels have decreased since the late 1990s as ozone levels increase, UV radiation is still increasing at some Northern Hemisphere monitoring stations.
In non-polar regions (60 deg S to 60 deg N) the best estimate appears to be that stratospheric ozone will return to its pre 1980 level by about 2050 or so. The Antarctic hole is expected to continue to 2060-2075 with not much improvement in the next few decades. That is about 10-25 years longer than estimated in the 2002 Assessment. Large Arctic ozone losses are expected in cold winters for the next 15 years. Arctic ozone levels are expected to return to pre-1980 levels before 2050 (with the caution of the limits of prediction).
As ozone depletion lessens, other factors such as aerosols and air pollution will play a greater role in UV radiation levels. Human activities other than ODSs also affect stratospheric ozone levels: e.g. methane from wetter and warmer soils increases ozone production in the lower stratosphere while nitrous oxide emissions from artificial fertilizer use reduces ozone in the middle and high stratosphere.
Failure to comply with the Montreal Protocol would delay or even prevent the recovery of the ozone layer.
It is interesting to note that many of the same noises about the science being unproven and about global economic catastrophe were made by certain companies in the Montreal Protocol time frame as are now being made about the Kyoto Protocol. Indeed, some of the very same players and mouthpieces were involved then and now. It is good to note that the modern day dinosaurs can be wrong. Although some were affected more than others, most in the industry didn't suffer economic meltdown because of the Montreal Protocol.
Paid subscribers see links to original documents and references here.
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A SOLAR ROOF THAT IS PREDICTED TO PROVIDE 20% OF POWER
Solar Integrated Technologies SIT (Los Angeles) has won a US $13 million dollar contract to install a solar roof at UK-based grocery retailer Tesco's distribution centre under construction in Riverside, California. Riverside is at 33 degrees north with about 3,000 hours of sunshine per year. Southern Canada is at about 43 degrees north with about 2,000 sunshine hours per year. The 2 MW Tesco photovoltaic system in Riverside will be installed on two of the five buildings in the complex, covering 500,000 square feet of the total of 640,000 square feet of roof space. This solar installation is said to be the biggest roof-mounted photovoltaic system in the world. SIT also provides software so clients can measure energy savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions, in this case expected to be 2.6 million kilowatt hours per year. The system is expected to contribute a fifth of total energy use and a reduction of 1,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The initiative is part of Tesco's corporate responsibility initiative and commitment to a low carbon footprint. The UK government is applying pressure on UK retailers to make environmental improvements especially on climate change
Paid subscribers see links to original documents and references here.
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CANADA'S GREENING OF FEDERAL POLITICS
The good news is that Canadians are expressing their concern about climate change and the environment. Running in a federal by-election in November, Green Party of Canada leader, Elizabeth May, won 25.8% of the vote a big increase over the 5.5% of votes won by the Green Party in the January 2006 federal election.
In running for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, Stephane Dion set a high bar by running and winning on the concept of sustainable development with environment being one of the essential pillars. In his recent speech to the Economic Club of Toronto and the Toronto Board of Trade, he continued to express his goals under the title Economy and Environment: Smart Money is Going Green. Balanced budgets, debt reduction and competitive taxes are key but a sustainable economy must face the challenge of global warming. Companies have enormous economic opportunities in selling solutions to the world, for example Goldman Sachs indicates that investments in environmental technologies have increased 7-fold in three years, rising from $400 billion in 2003 to $3 trillion in 2006. He said, "Yes, Canada will cut megatonnes of emissions, but we will also make megatonnes of money."
Neither by-election nor leadership election are necessarily indicative of the Canadian public's choices in a general election but if the environment theme turns out to be critical in the next election, it could be a first in Canadian history.
The self-named "Canada's New Government" is apparently getting the message that environment should have been on that top five priorities list. That "New" label may start to look like "inexperienced". On January 4, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper removed much-criticized-for-ineffectiveness Environment Minister Rona Ambrose with more experienced Treasury Board Chair John Baird, he admitted to having misread the Canadian public's concern about the environment. The press release for the cabinet change promised:
GL's editor was on CH TV commenting on the cabinet shuffle with Jeff Walker, Senior Vice President, Decima Research and Garth Turner, ousted Conservative MP now sitting as an independent. Turner was very pessimistic about Baird saying his appointment was excessively partisan, purely political with no environmental commitment. Baird certainly spent a lot of time in the House of Commons attacking the Liberals, a strategy which is wearing thin as Canadians expect a more positive government program. Baird claims success in shepherding the Accountability Act through the minority government although GL is not so sanguine about the future benefits of the Act, being convinced that the sponsorship scandal was less a fault of law than a result of the uncanny and perverse ability of people and corporations to find their way around laws. Walker said that the Harper government would have to show environmental improvement in a very short time to be convincing to Canadians who list environment as number one priority.
GL's editor expressed the view that Rona Ambrose herself was only half the problem, the other half being the policies of the Conservative Party, so replacing the minister was a necessary condition but insufficient. Morag Carter of the David Suzuki Foundation attributes most of Ambrose's failure to the Prime Minister, "There's been a lot of talk about Rona Ambrose' poor performance as environment minister, But the reality is that she got her marching orders directly from the prime minister."
Serving as a get-tough-on-welfare bums minister and also as energy minister in the Ontario provincial government, Baird is an experienced politician and should the policies of the government change, he is more likely to be able to oversee their implementation than Ambrose. It is a big if, but it wouldn't be the first time that desire for political success has led to positive action in support of the environment. The trouble with such an approach is that the government has already shown its antipathy to the environment by its cancelling of a number of useful environmental programs and funding. Although there have been announcements of reinstatement of funding for selected programs, implementation details are few. If unemployment or other economic pressures push environment further down in opinion polls, the government would quickly abandon its environmental plans.
Canada. Office of the Prime Minister. Harper strengthens ministerial team. Ottawa, ON: January 4, 2007. http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=1481
Paid subscribers see links to original documents and references here.
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BOOK REVIEW: THE WHITE IRIS
To those who are sad for some reason, say, due to SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) or because we are not making as much environmental progress as we might wish, a cheerful and very clever antidote is a newly published novel by Nova Scotia lawyer Sandy MacDonald. The White Iris takes place in the fictitious village of Wintry Hope on the Northumberland Strait in a setting of sea, pink-red volcanic rocks, a wide and varied beach, a brook, swamp, pastures and highlands. The village itself is "a few houses at the foot of the hills, farms, barns with fishing boats next to them and at its centre, an enormous church. Built by ambitious settlers, it can hold two thousand people even though Wintry Hope, the surrounding villages of Krydotan and Claving Antom, together with all their farm animals, number under two hundred."
Although the book can be read with pleasure as casually as one wishes, GL advises readers who enjoy the crafty construction of clues written by Agatha Christie to pay the same kind of attention to this story: although this isn't a mystery in the traditional sense, there is suspense and few words are wasted. Everything somehow ends up connected to everything else (the landscape, the people, the environment) to hilarious effect.
Mirabella Stuart, one of the three main characters, comes instantly to life on the first page as she "walked briskly from her trailer to the garden, carefully avoiding the view. Gawking was for people who didn't have enough work to do. She threw herself to her knees beside a row of kohlrabi and started plucking weeds" and there is visited by the provincial Agricultural Representative who wants to give her advice so she can win a prize at the Eastern Fair but doesn't know any of the vegetables she grows such as girasoles, scorzonera, garden cress, witloof, and Pe-tsai. He is only interested in commercial vegetables: carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and turnips. When she asks why his department doesn't try to market these more interesting vegetables, he replies, "Consumers don't like anything different." She decides not to tell him about the three hundred jars of green-gourd-marmalade-sauce in the storage space under her trailer but while that sauce may have no commercial value because people don't change, Mirabella responds "We'll see about that." The sauce certainly adds value right to the very end of the story. Mirabella's personality is never described as obsessive but she is shown to be so, for example she washes the salt shaker after using it for a meal. She has few feelings of pleasure and long job lists for her own excessively clean mobile home, for cleaning as housekeeper at the mansion of the president of the lobster processing company, for writing her After the Fall column for the Northumberland Catholic, and for the direction of the church choir.
A second character is introduced as an "APT Agent", APT being the short form for Animals are People Too. The Agent has a love of the brook and marsh. which she studies, "according to her APT Society manual for studying Earth's treasures." One of her hopes is to find among the plentiful blue irises a white-flowered iris, of which the last plant was reported by The Flora of Nova Scotia to have been collected in 1922 near Louisbourg. She brings her lunch, sampling equipment, sketch pad and recording device. When chemical analysis shows the water contains elevated levels of phosphates, sodium hydroxide, alcohol ethoxylates, dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and so on, she sets out "with meticulous patience and skills of a scientist to find out what's wrong."
The third character appears first and often as her alter ego, Desdemona Pacifico-Rossini, a renowned and beautiful opera star with an abundance of talent whose singing is a gift to her audience. When Fiddy Washburn comes back to being herself, she keeps her dreamy optimism, hopes and self-confidence despite some obvious flaws in her dreams. There is something special about Fiddy.
As is usual for successful comedy, the levity is set off by the poignant and even dark side which includes a surprising amount of blood and gore, most of it animal but also some human. The story begs a sequel especially as there is one minor character who surely could not have met the fate described at its last scene. Mostly on the dark side, there is the pain of people facing who they are, how they live given they have limited options (ie no money), whether they should change or feel guilty as sin about not doing so.
MacDonald has some writing techniques which he uses well to create considerable entertainment. One is adding a relevant detail further along in the story than expected. Another is narrowing onto a scene, telling the truth with that focus but then it turns amusing to see what else the scene contains when it broadens. Another technique is ending a scene at some point of disaster for one character, moving to a scene with another character, and then returning to the first. The timing seems to be just right for a chuckle. The fine observations of natural life and maritime rural panoramas add to the visual richness MacDonald achieves with his theatrical use of language.
GL claims no expertise in literary review but thinks that those who share appreciation of unconventional humour such as Bill Richardson's Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast will enjoy this book, which has been nominated for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.
MacDonald Sandy. The White Iris. Dreamcatcher Publishing. Saint John, New Brunswick: 2006. Trade Paperback. $19.95 Order from major book stores or direct Dreamcatcher Publishing 506 632-4008 http://www.dreamcatcherpublishing.ca/ [Find White Iris] also read parts at http://thewhiteiris.ca/novel.html
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Re: GL V11 No. 14
Greetings Colin:
A great issue on Corporate Social Responsibility. Thanks.
CSR has made great inroads in the corporate world and there are some excellent organizations (Social Investment Organization) and businesses (Jantzi Research) tracking CSR and making that information available to individual and institutional investors. But the most interesting development I've seen of late is the emergence of a strong economic and social support system for a conserver lifestyle. In other words, the progressive and intelligent companies are moving beyond CSR as an internal process to focus on the actual products and services they deliver. Match this with the nation-wide, local-through-national shift on the part of the electorate to embrace environmental issues and we are well-positioned to see a significant increase in the marker share for the conserver economy. It's premature to say we are at a tipping point for an orderly transition to a sustainable economy, but at the very least we are building the economic and social infrastructure that will be there to help people the next time there's a blackout, or gas prices double, or gridlock becomes unbearable, or....
All the best,
Chris Winter
Conservation Council of Ontario
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CLEAN AIR ACT STALLED
Canada's Clean Air Act, unacceptable to the opposition parties for good reason, was sent to a special legislative Committee, which has met once on December 14, 2006 on organizational/procedural issues. According to the committee web site when GL checked it, there is no work plan. The next committee meeting is set for January 29 3:30-5:30PM with the order for business being selection of witnesses and scheduling of meetings. The meeting will be televised. The mandate of the Legislative Committee on Bill C-30 is to amend the "An Act to Amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, the Energy Efficiency Act and the Motor Vehicle Consumption Standards Act (Canada's Clean Air Act)."
According to the minutes of the meeting, the members of the committee present were: Bernard Bigras, Nathan Cullen, Hon. John Godfrey, Laurie Hawn, Brian Jean, Marcel Lussier, Fabian Manning, Christian Paradis, Hon. Karen Redman, Francis Scarpaleggia, Mark Warawa, Jeff Watson and Blair Wilson. The Chair is Laurie Hawn of Edmonton Centre, a Conservative Party MP. Another MP Paul Dewar also attended. Members are to submit potential witnesses to the Clerk of the Committee by January 19, 2007. Chad Mariage is the Clerk of the Committee. Contact information is: Chad Mariage Clerk of the Committee: Sixth Floor, 180 Wellington Street House of Commons Tel: 613-995-0047 E-mail: CC30@parl.gc.ca
Paid subscribers see links to original documents and references here.
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EISS CALL OF PAPERS
The Ecological Integrity and a Sustainable Society Conference will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 24-29, 2007 jointly organized by the Global Ecological Integrity Group and the Elizabeth May Chair in Sustainability and Environmental Health at Dalhousie University. The deadline for the Call for Papers was January 15 with submissions to maychair@dal.ca. http://ecologyintegrityconference.dal.ca/
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LAST CHANCE TO SEE - PLACES
One of the organizers to the EISS Conference (see above) , Colin Soskolne, who has been Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Alberta since 1985, hiked to the Uhuru peak of Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro in the fall of 2006. Not requiring technical climbing, the ascent to the peak is however in a high altitude which causes Acute Mountain Sickness and prevents many of the climbers from reaching the top. Mount Kilamanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa (5,895 metres) and the tallest free-standing volcano in the world. Although blizzards with Arctic temperatures can occur year round, climate change is melting the mountain's famed snowcap.
Chris Wodskou, CBC's producer of the radio show The Current, prepared a "travelogue of sorts" on October 2, 2006 which GL thought echoed Douglas Adams' book Last Chance to See in which Adams travelled the globe to see threatened animals such as the Komodo dragon. Wodskou described parts of the world which climate change will alter forever such as Venice, the Canadian Rockies and Mount Kilimanjaro. Of course, if a lot of us put these places on our "must-see-before-we-get-too-old list" and fly there without offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, climate change will affect these places even faster.
Paid subscribers see links to original documents and references here.
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NOMINATIONS FOR 2006 ECO-COUNCILLOR AWARD OPEN
Nominations for Canada's Third Annual Eco-Councillor Roll of Honour for 2006 are now being received. Here are the details:
1) Nominate an elected municipal politician (mayor, alderman, alderperson, councillor, member of municipal council, First Nation Chief or Councillor) who has performed outstanding environmental service in a neighbourhood, municipality, province, or First Nation. The outstanding environmental service should be connected to the person's role as an elected politician and may be in the form of pushing for an excellent environmental policy or program or running an outstanding environmental project. We leave the definition of what constitutes an environmental project to you, except to note that GL particularly likes the concept of Sustainable Development which incorporates environmental, economic, and social aspects.
2) Send a brief description, no more than 300 words, describing the outstanding environmental performance performed by the individual.
3) Include the name of the politician, their municipality or council, position, and contact information. Also include the name and contact information of the nominator.
4) Unfortunately we must limit nominations to elected politicians in Canadian municipalities and First Nations.
5) To ensure we find the very best of Canada's environmentally-oriented local politicians, we will accept self-nominations. However, politicians who nominate themselves should include third-party endorsation either in the form of a letter from a local environmentalist or a copy of an article from a newspaper or independent newsletter describing their work.
Send your nominations by email to colin@cialgroup.com with the subject line Eco-Councillor contest. Attachments containing supplementary information are acceptable but should consist of no more than 2 pages. A new feature this year: the deadline for entries is extended to February 15th 2007. However we urge you not to wait until the last minute as your intention to nominate may get forgotten during the holiday period.
Remember, only municipal councillors who are nominated can make it on to the Gallon Environment Letter Honour Role of Eco-Councillors.
The winning entries will be announced at Americana to be held in Montreal in Vancouver in March 2007. The Eco-Councillor Role of Honour top nominee, as decided by our panel of judges, will be invited to Montreal to receive a presentation. Those nominated for the 2004 and 2005 Rolls of Honour may be nominated again for 2006, except for Councillor David Alexander, City of Welland (Ontario), who was one of the two 2005 winners and who has agreed to join our panel of judges this year.
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