CIAL Group What's New

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September 24, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. September 19, 2007 has been posted as the current issue click here.

Organizational Subscribers also receive the following:

IN THIS SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES SUPPLEMENT

Small Business Role in Climate Change

Carbon Neutral Promise: Ontario Liberals

New Rules for Ships to Prevent Oil Spills

Environmental Labelling of Carbon Offsets

Biosecurity Breaches at a High Containment Labs

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Last issue we discussed aviation and the environment. It is difficult to buy an airline ticket these days, especially in Canada a Europe, without the airline or some third party offering to sell you some offsetting carbon credits. In this issue we explore in some detail the retail and business to business availability of carbon credits, we address some of the critics of carbon offsets, and we try to explain in everyday language what carbon offsets and credits are all about. We also look at some of the problems. We hope the information helps you decide whether these are right for you.

Carbon credits are not the only new game in town. The Bush administration is trying to sell Canada on Extended Producer Responsibility, something that many Canadian environmentalists generally support, except this time it is for spent nuclear fuel. Tell us what you think!

We continue our 30-second summaries of current news with a carbon offset story and an announcement of the name of the new Executive Director of the David Suzuki Foundation. We hope to have an interview in an upcoming issue. A Letter to the Editor has some disagreement with our last issue on climate change and air travel. Our readers’ bookshelf feature continues with a contribution from David Brooks and we have a guest column that describes in as compelling a way as we have seen for a long time why Canada faces such serious drinking water problems on so many first nation reserves. The Environment Commissioner of Ontario has a job opening (deadline today) - details are provided below, some of Ontario’s top nuclear engineers have been defeated by an algae, and GE is promoting its compact fluorescent lightbulbs as perpetual motion machines. Last year we reported that the Federal government had prevented one of its employees who is also a novelist from attending the launch of his novel about climate change. We wonder, therefore, why they allow one of their employees who is also a pro-genetically modified blogger to blog with impunity! Finally, we introduce our next issue theme of environmental education and our first annual guide to Canadian universities with news about an environmental education initiative from South Africa. Organizational subscribers also receive our monthly Sustainable Technologies and Services Supplement with news and information about small business role in climate change, carbon neutral promise: Ontario Liberals, new rules for ships to prevent oil spills, environmental labelling of carbon offsets, and biosecurity breaches at a high containment lab.

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August 6, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 8 August 2, 2007 has been posted as the current issue click here.

Although only one of the many small contributors to climate change, air travel has become a target of some in the environment community. In this issue we look at how bad is air travel (not quite as bad as you might think), what can be done to reduce the climate impacts (lots, but the solutions are complex), and how can ordinary travellers help make a difference. Even the question of whether air freight of food is good or bad for the environment and the economy of developing countries is far from simple.

We usually try to keep the feature topic to no more than about half of each issue of GL, to allow room for letters, news, and other topics of interest to our environmentally eclectic readers. We have gone over that in this issue because there is so much fascinating analysis and data about flying and climate change. If you are looking for fascinating factoids for your next cocktail party or Trivial Pursuit game, our air travel feature in this issue is for you. Even so we have made room for a bunch of other topics

This time last year Gallon Environment Letter described some of the inadequacies of the Air Quality Index that is used to measure air pollution in many parts of Canada. Now the federal government has announced that it will be spending $30 million on an Air Quality Health Index, restarting a study of the AQHI with a pilot project in Toronto. Our editorial looks at why the AQHI may not be the answer. Our Letters to the Editor cover LCA, melons, and diapers. Our readers love to write and we encourage you to keep those letters coming. As part of Our Readers' Bookshelves feature, Skip Willis has submitted a brief review of a book on Carbon Finance; a new UK report reinforces the science behind the harm that smog causes to plants; we review the OECD's new environmental review of China (China seems to be having some success in decoupling air pollution from economic growth and is performing better than Canada on some indicators of pollution per unit of economic activity); for students looking for an environmental degree, Seneca College in Toronto still has places and scholarships available in its site remediation degree program; Sierra Legal is changing its name; we have a couple of 30-second summaries from our readers; and plants are getting a voice. It is a big issue for your summer weekend reading!

Sale of carbon offsets is one of the potential solutions to the air travel problem that is being adopted by airlines in many parts of the world, including both Air Canada and Westjet. In the next issue we plan to review what is going on in the retail carbon offset business and to offer our advice on what the consumer can do to determine if the purchase of a particular offset product is actually helping to reduce the greenhouse gas problem in a worthwhile way.

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September 2007 100 Years of Forestry-Special Lecture and Homecoming: Robert Bateman. Toronto, Ontario, Canada

National Symposium on Parks & Grounds and National Awards Ceremonies. Communities in Bloom Metro Moncton, New Brunswick - September 19 to 22, 2007

October 2007 Connecting Communities: Rural and Urban. Annual Rural Policy Conference. Vermilion, Alberta

The Next Great Transformation: Sustainable Enterprise: A Conversation about the Future. Eden Project, Cornwall, England.

Nature Matters: Materiality and the More-then-Human in Cultural Studies of the Environment. Toronto, Ontario Canada

December 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia

July 17, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 7 July 9, 2007 has been posted as the current issue click here.

Editorial by Colin Isaacs: US COAL INDUSTRY LEADER DECLARES BOYCOTTS AS FAIR GAME

CANADIAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY - WHAT'S THE SECTOR'S BIGGEST SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE?

Organizational subscribers receive our Sustainable Technology & Services Supplement with this issue. Articles in the STSS include:

Life Cycle Assessment (or Analysis) is gaining popularity in Canada and in the US as a tool for developing environmental policy and programs and as a mechanism for decision-making when encountering forks in the road. Put simply, LCA means quantifying and analysing every aspect of the environmental impact of an activity or material good from cradle, generally defined as the obtaining of the necessary raw materials and other inputs, to grave, or the final disposal of the product or residues at the end of their usable life. LCA, however, though it seeks to be as science-based as possible, is far from a simple tool. Applied properly it can certainly help make policy decisions and improve choices. Applied improperly, it can be just another greenwash that confounds decisions and puts us on yet another unsustainable path. In this issue we provide some of the background to the relatively new science of Life Cycle Assessment and we provide a few examples of how helpful it can be in study of matters such as biodegradable bags and biodiesel. For reasons that environmental veterans will understand, this issue focusses a little more than is environmentally warranted on the LCA of diapers. The conclusions may surprise all but the most memory-enhanced veterans. We'll be covering more about LCA and how it can be used in future issues - we hope the background on LCA in this issue will mean that we can jump right into LCAs of products and services without having to revisit the methodologies by which this tool is applied.

Sometimes, as we have previously pointed out, industry leaders say and do some pretty silly things. This time the foolishness comes from the coal industry, where at least one senior leader is urging a boycott of companies that want to do something about climate change. Our editorial points fingers and wonders why only one Canadian company is on the coal industry's boycott list.

With this issue we introduce a new feature called 30 Second Summaries. In this feature we will regularly provide a quick update on mostly non-commercial news from readers. The 30 second Summary in this issue includes some snazzy items from CCPA, Charles Caccia, and from our first EcoCouncillor award winner, who has recently published a new book.

While thinking of the Canadian Chemical Producers' Association, they are seeking input into their development of a new concept of chemistry. Scroll down to the article containing the name Brian Wastle to see what they are thinking and how you or your organization can help them.

Finally, some input to our On Readers' Bookshelves feature from Rick Findlay at Pollution Probe, an invitation to submit an entry to Ekotopfilm 2007, a job opening at Stratos, a most timely upcoming conference entitled "Keepers of Water II: Keeping the Peace", and our concluding funny story about a green bank robber.

Organizational subscribers also receive our Sustainable Technologies and Services Supplement with a lot more information about LCA, Eco Design, green asphalt, and how a recent court decision on tobacco warning labels could in future set a precedent for environmental and health impacts of other products.

In our next issue we plan to look at what is one of this year's most controversial environmental topics, especially in Europe: air travel. You can be sure that we will be doing our best to view it through the lens of Life Cycle Assessment.

August 2007 46^th Conference of Metallurgists hosting CU2007 the 6^th Copper/Cobre Conference. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

September 2007 Recycling Council of Alberta Conference "20/20 Vision". Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Cycle 2007: 3rd Canadian Forum on the Life Cycle Management of Products and Services - Towards a Life Cycle Economy Montreal, Quebec Canada

November 2007 2007 SETAC North America 28th Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario Annual General Meeting, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

December 2007 SETAC Europe LCA Case Study Symposium with a focus on energy, Goteborg, Sweden

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June 19, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 6 June 18, 2007 has been posted as the current issue click here.

Editorial by Colin Isaacs: WATER CONTENT, NOT WATER BOTTLES, SHOULD BE THE BIG CONCERN

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says the Great Lakes are very important but then goes on to blame the federal government for failing to provide leadership in cleaning them up. Can this be the same Ontario Premier whose Environment Ministry issued a press release in 2004 with the headline McGuinty Government Taking Strong Action to Help Protect and Clean up the Great Lakes? In this issue, as in all issues, Gallon Environment Letter brings you information and opinion, not excuses.

McGuinty's rant provides relevant background to this issue’s feature on water issues. Our editorial, which tackles a sacred cow of many environmentalists, is bound to raise some hackles but we hope that it also gives pause for thought about our most common refreshments. Berkeley National Laboratory has published some good information demonstrating that water is over-used in our economy in many more ways than just as a beverage. Many of those ways are, quite interestingly, linked to our insatiable appetite for energy. Canada is weak on water data but we have dug up some water-related energy data which we hope you will find interesting.

We also look at the link between water and food, where between 2,000 and 3,000 litres of water are used to produce the daily food for each person, and at some of the factors continuing to impair water quality in the Great Lakes. Alcoa is reporting that it intends to dramatically reduce water use at its facilities in China. Greater Vancouver is improving its water treatment system, remember the boil water orders of last year, and will be reducing the use of chlorine, an issue that Pollution Probe raised in 1982 but which seems to have been forgotten by most governments. It is difficult to discuss water issues in Canada without mentioning the huge volumes used in the oil sands projects. Hence we ring the alarm bells, as the National Energy Board, not usually known for its radical views, has already done.

We announce to all who missed the ceremony the winners of our 2006 EcoCouncillor Award - congratulations to the 2006 winners and municipal officials take note - it is only a matter of a few months before we open nominations for the 2007 award.

Two Letters to the Editor made it into this issue - keep them coming - and we correct an error from our last issue: George Kerr was Ontario's first Environment Minister but the first Environment Minister in all of Canada was in Alberta! Our new feature, On GL's Readers' Bookshelves, has come up with a book which our reader describes as 'provocative, exciting and positive' - now that really is something for an environment book! We have articles on two more books: Mathsemantics, from which we share a fascinating quiz, and The Gift of Nothing which we bought for a child but which is equally appropriate as a gift for an adult when you need just a little more than nothing but still want to avoid buying something unnecessary. Talking of Mathsemantics, Environment Minister John Baird showed CBC's Don Newman how little he understands about basic percentages. We give you our take on the Minister's climate change interview and on the much better informed Pembina Institute position on Canada's climate change program.

The Conference Board of Canada has come out with a report on Innovation which blasts Canada for falling behind in environmental and social responsibility. We present the highlights and, as always, provide our paying subscribers with a link to the source of more information.

We have suggested before that abandonment of environmental responsibility by government is likely to lead to more litigation. Now a couple of Quebec cases are going further, with lower courts suggesting that even if a company has a permit for environmental emissions from the government of Quebec, affected neighbours can still sue successfully for harm inflicted. The cases, involving Domfer Metal Powders, Inc. and St. Lawrence Cement, are now proceeding to the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court upholds the decision of lower courts and awards multimillion dollar settlements against the companies, our entire system of government approvals for industrial emissions may be thrown into turmoil. We say: not a moment too soon! This is a case that is well worth watching.

In a recent conversation with GL's editor, Toronto Mayor David Miller agreed that the real test of the 'greenness' of a government is the extent to which it has incorporated environmental and social responsibility into its day to day business. In that regard it is a pity that Canada's government did not use the recently announced new rules for passports to save greenhouse gas emissions by switching from a five year to a ten year document life. We look into the matter.

In our next issue, unless something even more interesting diverts our attention, we are planning a special feature entitled Unlocking the Mysteries of Life Cycle Analysis. Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy this issue.

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Very occasionally Gallon Environment Letter circulates an information item outside of our regular email publication. This is one of those rare occasions.

Inside Queen's Park (PDF copy attached for GLHonoured Readers/Subscribers) is a newsletter published by a
good friend and colleague of GL. The attached issue may be of special interest because it includes a summary of the results of an opinion poll about the environment which reaches somewhat different conclusions than the polls upon which GL usually relies.

IQP is not especially about the environment but it serves very well to keep one informed about the activities of the Ontario Legislature and the Ontario government. If these topics are of interest to you we recommend a subscription to IQP. Further information and an order form are available at http://www.gpmurray-research.com/~gpmrl/iqp.htm

Colin Isaacs
Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment
publisher of the Gallon Environment Letter
and Ecological Farming in Ontario
phone: (416) 410 0432
fax: (416) 362 5231
email: editor@gallonletter.ca

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June 2, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 5 May 28, 2007 has been posted as the current issue click here.

For our organizational subscribers this issue is accompanied by our monthly Sustainable Technology & Services Supplement. Articles in the STSS supplement include:

Our 2006 EcoCouncillor Awards (yes, there are two this year) will be announced at a reception in Calgary on Saturday afternoon, June 2. All readers of Gallon Environment Letter in the Calgary area are invited to attend - see below for details.

Our theme this issue is the environment content of current magazines. From March through May we have seen many environmental articles in Canadian magazines. We bring you some of the highlights.

Ethanol is touted by governments on both sides of the Canada-US border as a green fuel, but some of the citizens in towns chosen for ethanol plants disagree. We bring you a summary of some of the opposition to ethanol plant siting and ask the question: Would you want an ethanol plant in your neighbourhood?

Sir Nicholas Stern recently visited Canada and received generally favourable media coverage regarding his analysis of the consequences of inaction on climate change. In our editorial, GL asks Where Is Canada's Nicholas Stern? We look at what used to be the manure management conference and at the upcoming EECO. Last issue we started our favorite ecobooks section and this issue we share one of the first book reviews we have received. In response to a comment from a reader about the role of warranties in extended producer responsibility, we reviewed the issue and found at least a partial solution, in Singapore.

If you have environmental knowledge, experience and enthusiasm then maybe the David Suzuki Foundation has a job for you. See this almost one-of-a-kind job posting in this issue. We regret we have to bring you two obituaries, each important in their own way and one of pecial importance to many in the environmental movement. A charity known by the acronym LUTW is helping to conserve mountain gorillas and to provide health care to villagers in remote areas. We explain how and why.

Organizational subscribers receive in this issue the Sustainable Technologies & Services Supplement with more articles and additional content.

In the next issue we plan to provide an update on international and national water issues, an area that is still of vital importance but that may not be getting its share of attention as Canada spends so much of its time debating climate change and air quality problems. Enjoy this issue and remember to keep those Letters to the Editor coming. We hope to see you in Calgary.

June 2007 Gallon Environment Letter. ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2006 ECOCOUNCILLOR AWARDS CEREMONY Calgary, Alberta

Banrock Station Wines and Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. Bring Back the Salmon Credit River Tour. Mississauga, Ontario

Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN) in collaboration with the Province of Ontario. Brownfield Training Workshops. Four locations in Ontario.

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May 3, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 4 April 25, 2007 has been posted click here.

Editorial by Colin Isaacs: FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL BUDGETS ARE BECOMING MEANINGLESS

In the Sustainable Technologies & Services Supplement which Organizational Subscribers receive with this issue:

This issue continues our focus on Extended Producer Responsibility initiatives for a wide range of products from batteries to packaging to chemicals to pesticides, much of this last being, in our opinion, a classic greenwash. While initiatives only cover a small part of the developed world, we think it is interesting to note how much can be done without destroying the economies of those jurisdictions that are taking waste reduction and recycling much more seriously.

Our editorial looks at recent federal and provincial budgets and explains why we are not reporting on their environmental features. However, we do tackle one budget feature which we see as woefully inadequate: the supposed cancellation by the Federal budget of accelerated depreciation for oil sands developers. Other topics in this issue include an update on municipal pesticide bylaws, recommendations for the use of Life Cycle Assessment in development of policy, 2 letters to the editor, another commentary on the Ontario Species at Risk Bill, an analysis of worrisome birth gender ratio changes (something that is not unique to the Chippewas of Sarnia, Ontario as many in the mainstream media have suggested), an interesting symposium, an awards program for developing country projects, an audit of multi-residential household waste in Vancouver, and an analysis of the greenness of Members of Parliament. Unfortunately, for now , the study is of MPs in New South Wales, Australia, but maybe some media outlet or NGO will try for a Canada version! We hope you enjoy and keep those letters coming.

Organizational subscribers also receive the monthly Sustainable Technologies and Services Supplement with this issue. Topics in this issue include: BASF: Benchmarking Chemicals; China's Restrictions on Hazardous Substances Law; Jobs and Recycling Linked in North Carolina; Producer Responsibility for Cross-border Waste; Alberta Purchasing: Happy to Hear from Vendors; and Al Gore: Nashville Training Session.

There is so much happening in environment and business as well as in Sustainable Development that we are not sure whether the next issue will be about the federal climate change program, now two weeks late based on the promise of delivery in two weeks that the Prime Minister gave last month, the Toronto Green Living Show (April 27-29 Automotive Building, Exhibition Place http://www.greenliving.ca), or the huge number of mainstream magazines that have published green issues in the last few days. Maybe we will include all of the above, perhaps we will include none of them.

November 2007 Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust & Conservation Foundation of Greater Toronto.
Charles Sauriol Environmental Dinner Brampton, Ontario

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March 28, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 3 March 19, 2007 has been posted click here.

Late last month an expert panel of scientists issued a call for immediate action on climate change to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. While there is not a lot that is new in this report, we do expect that its timing as well as its focus on solutions may make it one of the more seminal international reports on the topic. We have postponed to the next issue continuation of our feature on extended producer responsibility to bring you an in-depth summary of the Road Map the scientists are proposing.

While on the topic of postponements, we should let nominators and nominees know that, for logistical reasons, we have postponed celebration of the Gallon Environment Letter 2006 Eco-Councillor award to the early summer. We will be announcing the date and location of the award ceremony in April and we are confident that everyone will be very pleased with the change of venue.

Also in this issue we report, with great pleasure that a well-known environmental business person has been appointed to the Order of Canada; we look at the problem of pollinators and why we must not let ourselves become fruitless; we review, and recommend you read, a book on corporate communications that we really do not like; the federal government's GeoConnections program provides a real link between mapping and Sustainability; we explain why organic farmers are very concerned about US government approval, and now a court moratorium, on genetically modified alfalfa, we pay tribute to our much loved local ornithologist John Miles, and we review the world's first post petroleum cookbook. As you will see as you peruse this issue, that's not all. The good people of Hibernia, Indiana, are having raccoon for supper.

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April 2007 Manitoba Environment Industry Association MEIA Annual General Meeting 2007 Featuring Manitoba's Premier Gary Doer as keynote speaker. April 17, 2007.

The Canadian Environmental Conference & Tradeshow CANECT '07 Metro Toronto Convention Center. April 16-17, 2007.

Canadian Interoperability Day. April 20, 2007 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario.

May 2007 Citizens for Renewable Energy Workshop & Annual Meeting. The Inspiration of Energy Conservation. Sunday May 27, 2007 St. Clements Ontario (west of Waterloo)

June 2007 International Joint Commission IJC - 2007 Great Lakes Biennial Meeting and Conference, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois June 6 – 8, 2007.

Climate Change Strategies & Environmental Communication Conference in Boston, MA. June 6 & 7, 2007. Organized by the Ethical Corporation.

Canadian Pollution Prevention Roundtable – June 13, 14 & 15, 2007 in Winnipeg, MB

6th Annual Ontario Power. Presented by Insight Information. June 13-14, 2007. Toronto, Ontario.

Greening of Industry GIN2007 Conference Sustainable Social and Ecosystem Stewardship - June 15-17, 2007. Waterloo, Ontario.

Canadian Industrial Emergency Conference & Expo September 19 & 20, 2007 London Convention Centre London, Ontario, Canada

Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo November 28 & 29, 2007 Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre Vancouver, BC, Canada

July 2007 - TRAINING COURSE IN EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Montreal

Note: The Gallon Environment Letter GL will post a selection of events from non-profit groups and from organizational subscribers. The general principle for the free listings is one event a year held in Canada and on the types of issues discussed in GL relating to business, environment and sustainable development. The decision of whether to post, what to include and how long the posting is listed is the decision of the GL editor. Please allow plenty of lead time and send events in plain text to editor@gallonletter.ca with the Subject line as "Event for Free GL Posting"; if commercial please include name and email for the contact person for your organizational subscription of the Gallon Environment Letter. Listings are not an endorsation of the event or the group. Otherwise GL offers space identified as paid space for 250 words at the price of $100 in the electronic edition which would include a listing on the events web page.
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February 22, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 2 February 19, 2007 has been posted click here.

FIRING OF CESD DISTURBING - Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Extended Producer Responsibility has been one of the more popular pieces of jargon in environmentalist and Environment Canada circles for several years but not everyone means the same thing when they use the term. In this issue we explore what EPR is and come to the conclusion that, until we have national agreement on what EPR means, it is not a particularly useful term for defining government or industry programs. Nevertheless, there is clearly a role for extending producer responsibilities to environmental improvement of products: our feature suggests some of the initiatives that may be worthy of extension to a broader range of products and producers. You may find our review of Noah Sach's article, Planning the Funeral at the Birth, particularly interesting when thinking about EPR and what can be done.

The House of Commons Special Committee on the Clean Air Act is making remarkably little progress: our editorial explores where things may be going, and where we suggest they should go, with this very unusual Parliamentary Committee. In both our editorial and our review of current federal environmental attack advertisements we note that the current environmental race in Ottawa seems to be a race to the bottom. Apart from some funding for climate change and air pollution in Québec and for the Great Bear Rain Forest in BC, we wonder when the federal government will actually do something that improves the environment. Funding for research, while laudable, and promises of future actions, just promises, do not qualify in our definition of actions that improve the environment.

Another Ottawa event of concern has been the firing of Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner Johanne Gélinas by Auditor General Sheila Fraser. In the absence of any real information from Fraser, Sustainable Development mavens on the Hill are alive with gossip on this topic. We bring you the best that we have been able to find, along with an in-depth analysis of what Fraser did say (not much) and what Gélinas should have been doing (exactly what she did, as far as we can tell). GL believes that Liberal MP David McGuinty has the correct solution to this problem.

As always, you will find some additional interesting tidbits throughout this issue from industry, government, and environmental group sources. Frequent correspondent Peter Burstyn has come up with a very interesting idea for implementing residential energy efficiency. We encourage your letters, whether suggestions or comments, positive or negative. In the next issue, in addition to our unique reporting and commentary on environment and Sustainable Development news and events we will continue to explore EPR-type programs, reviewing some of the worthwhile initiatives that are effectively reducing environmental footprints. ****************************************************

For our Organizational Subscribers this issue is accompanied by our Sustainable Technologies and Services Supplement. Articles in this section include:

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January 31, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 1 January 22, 2007 has been posted click here.

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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Please note: The Honoured Reader edition of the Gallon Environment Letter does not contain most of the links of the paid subscription. However, any urls listed, checked at the time of publication of each issue, may no longer be current.

	CIAL Group Archive - What's New to 24 September 2007
Home Pollution Prevention Sustainable Development Community SED Information & Analysis Gallon Environment Letter Events	For current click What's New ......................................................................................................................................................................................... September 24, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. September 19, 2007 has been posted as the current issue click here. Editorial by Colin Isaacs: EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY FOR SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL Theme: VOLUNTARY RETAIL CARBON OFFSETS WHAT ARE CARBON OFFSETS? KATOOMBA: VALUING THE ENVIRONMENT GL: LOVE OF FLYING GONE AIR TRAVEL AS AN INDIRECT CO2 EMISSION GL: HANDS-ON CARBON OFFSETS CONSUMER'S GUIDE TO RETAIL CARBON OFFSETS The Top Eight Offset Providers Steps in Carbon Offsets Criteria for Offsets Additionality Buyer Beware Personal or Organizational Carbon Calculators Standards CARBON OFFSETS AND HIGH FLYING Hot Air CARBON OFFSETS COMPARED TO INDULGENCES CO2: HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE EEA PURCHASES GOLD STANDARD OFFSETS US FOREST SERVICE OFFSET PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SIDE EFFECTS OF OFFSETS: IRON DUMP VATICAN NOT YET FIRST CARBON NEUTRAL SOVEREIGN STATE CONFERENCE BOARD OF CANADA: CARBON EMISSION CONFERENCE LETTER TO THE EDITOR 30-SECOND SUMMARIES THE BOOKSHELF GUEST COLUMN: CANCELLATION OF SAFE DRINKING WATER CONFERENCE by Hans Peterson PhD, Voluntary Executive Director, Safe Drinking Water Foundation ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER OF ONTARIO: POLICY AND DECISION ANALYST JOB A BIT TOO MUCH BLARNEY: BIOTECH BLOG ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND INFORMATION SHARING: SOUTH AFRICA TOP ENGINEERS DEFEATED BY SIMPLEST ORGANISMS BY THE NUMBERS: WEBSITE CONTROLLED BY GE PROMOTES LIGHTING MIRACLE ************************************************** Organizational Subscribers also receive the following: IN THIS SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES SUPPLEMENT Small Business Role in Climate Change Carbon Neutral Promise: Ontario Liberals New Rules for Ships to Prevent Oil Spills Environmental Labelling of Carbon Offsets Biosecurity Breaches at a High Containment Labs ************************************************ ABOUT THIS ISSUE Last issue we discussed aviation and the environment. It is difficult to buy an airline ticket these days, especially in Canada a Europe, without the airline or some third party offering to sell you some offsetting carbon credits. In this issue we explore in some detail the retail and business to business availability of carbon credits, we address some of the critics of carbon offsets, and we try to explain in everyday language what carbon offsets and credits are all about. We also look at some of the problems. We hope the information helps you decide whether these are right for you. Carbon credits are not the only new game in town. The Bush administration is trying to sell Canada on Extended Producer Responsibility, something that many Canadian environmentalists generally support, except this time it is for spent nuclear fuel. Tell us what you think! We continue our 30-second summaries of current news with a carbon offset story and an announcement of the name of the new Executive Director of the David Suzuki Foundation. We hope to have an interview in an upcoming issue. A Letter to the Editor has some disagreement with our last issue on climate change and air travel. Our readers’ bookshelf feature continues with a contribution from David Brooks and we have a guest column that describes in as compelling a way as we have seen for a long time why Canada faces such serious drinking water problems on so many first nation reserves. The Environment Commissioner of Ontario has a job opening (deadline today) - details are provided below, some of Ontario’s top nuclear engineers have been defeated by an algae, and GE is promoting its compact fluorescent lightbulbs as perpetual motion machines. Last year we reported that the Federal government had prevented one of its employees who is also a novelist from attending the launch of his novel about climate change. We wonder, therefore, why they allow one of their employees who is also a pro-genetically modified blogger to blog with impunity! Finally, we introduce our next issue theme of environmental education and our first annual guide to Canadian universities with news about an environmental education initiative from South Africa. Organizational subscribers also receive our monthly Sustainable Technologies and Services Supplement with news and information about small business role in climate change, carbon neutral promise: Ontario Liberals, new rules for ships to prevent oil spills, environmental labelling of carbon offsets, and biosecurity breaches at a high containment lab. ************************************************ August 6, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 8 August 2, 2007 has been posted as the current issue click here. Editorial by Colin Isaacs: IS THIS ANOTHER CASE OF RIGGING THE SCALE? COMPARING AQI AND AQHI Theme: AIR TRAVEL IPCC: AVIATION AND THE GLOBAL ATMOSPHERE INTERNATIONAL AVIATION GHG EMISSIONS POST 2012 Allocation of Bunkers Standards Taxes and Charges Emissions Trading HEAT: STRAIGHTEN UP AND DON'T FLY PRICING OF AVIATION CARBON IPCC WORKING GROUP DRAFT ANALYSES THE AIR TRAVEL PROBLEM Aviation CIVIL AVIATION FACES GREEN CHALLENGE MODAL SHIFT: SOME COUNTER-INTUITIVE ASPECTS OFF-ROAD: LAWNS AND GARDENS/LEISURE IATA: ANNUAL REPORT Fuel Use and Climate Change Save a Minute Campaign GO Teams Route Optimization Passenger Freight Aircraft Airports IATA: STRATEGY TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE TRANSPORT: CANADA'S NATIONAL INVENTORY OF GHG SOURCES Aviation ORGANIC STANDARDS AND AIR FREIGHT Air Freight Key to Ghana's Pineapple Market LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ON GL'S READERS' BOOKSHELVES 30-SECOND SUMMARIES OZONE HURTS PLANTS' ABILITY TO REDUCE GLOBAL WARMING OECD ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF CHINA Decoupling Environmental Pressures from Economic Growth Energy Consumption Transport Food Culture Perverse System Effects International Agreements Ozone Depletion Climate Change SENECA COLLEGE CEMENTS SITE REMEDIATION SCHOLARSHIP NAME CHANGE FOR SIERRA LEGAL RING RING: WATER ME, I'M YOURS ************************************************ ABOUT THIS ISSUE Although only one of the many small contributors to climate change, air travel has become a target of some in the environment community. In this issue we look at how bad is air travel (not quite as bad as you might think), what can be done to reduce the climate impacts (lots, but the solutions are complex), and how can ordinary travellers help make a difference. Even the question of whether air freight of food is good or bad for the environment and the economy of developing countries is far from simple. We usually try to keep the feature topic to no more than about half of each issue of GL, to allow room for letters, news, and other topics of interest to our environmentally eclectic readers. We have gone over that in this issue because there is so much fascinating analysis and data about flying and climate change. If you are looking for fascinating factoids for your next cocktail party or Trivial Pursuit game, our air travel feature in this issue is for you. Even so we have made room for a bunch of other topics This time last year Gallon Environment Letter described some of the inadequacies of the Air Quality Index that is used to measure air pollution in many parts of Canada. Now the federal government has announced that it will be spending $30 million on an Air Quality Health Index, restarting a study of the AQHI with a pilot project in Toronto. Our editorial looks at why the AQHI may not be the answer. Our Letters to the Editor cover LCA, melons, and diapers. Our readers love to write and we encourage you to keep those letters coming. As part of Our Readers' Bookshelves feature, Skip Willis has submitted a brief review of a book on Carbon Finance; a new UK report reinforces the science behind the harm that smog causes to plants; we review the OECD's new environmental review of China (China seems to be having some success in decoupling air pollution from economic growth and is performing better than Canada on some indicators of pollution per unit of economic activity); for students looking for an environmental degree, Seneca College in Toronto still has places and scholarships available in its site remediation degree program; Sierra Legal is changing its name; we have a couple of 30-second summaries from our readers; and plants are getting a voice. It is a big issue for your summer weekend reading! Sale of carbon offsets is one of the potential solutions to the air travel problem that is being adopted by airlines in many parts of the world, including both Air Canada and Westjet. In the next issue we plan to review what is going on in the retail carbon offset business and to offer our advice on what the consumer can do to determine if the purchase of a particular offset product is actually helping to reduce the greenhouse gas problem in a worthwhile way. .......................................................................................................................................................................................... August 6, 2007 Events Posted click here New additions are: August 2007 Forests in Settled Landscapes. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. September 2007 100 Years of Forestry-Special Lecture and Homecoming: Robert Bateman. Toronto, Ontario, Canada National Symposium on Parks & Grounds and National Awards Ceremonies. Communities in Bloom Metro Moncton, New Brunswick - September 19 to 22, 2007 October 2007 Connecting Communities: Rural and Urban. Annual Rural Policy Conference. Vermilion, Alberta The Next Great Transformation: Sustainable Enterprise: A Conversation about the Future. Eden Project, Cornwall, England. Nature Matters: Materiality and the More-then-Human in Cultural Studies of the Environment. Toronto, Ontario Canada December 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia March 2008 CleanBusiness2008 Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ************************************************ July 17, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 7 July 9, 2007 has been posted as the current issue click here. Special Note: THE GARY GALLON MEMORIAL SWIM Editorial by Colin Isaacs: US COAL INDUSTRY LEADER DECLARES BOYCOTTS AS FAIR GAME Theme: LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT WHAT IS LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT? WHAT ARE THE MAIN PARTS OF LCA METHODOLOGY ISSUES AN EXAMPLE: BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS HOW IS LCA USED? Policy Implementation of LCA TRENDS IN LCA HISTORY OF LCA SETAC THE NIAGARA INSTITUTE: EARLY ADOPTER OF LCA METHODS IN CANADA THE CURRENT SITUATION: LCA OF DISPOSABLE AND REUSABLE DIAPERS LCA OF BIODIESEL NEW INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL CHAIR IN LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT 30-SECOND SUMMARIES CANADIAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY - WHAT'S THE SECTOR'S BIGGEST SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE? ON GL'S READERS' BOOKSHELVES EKOTOPFILM 2007 STRATOS: JOB OPPORTUNITY KEEPERS OF THE WATER EVEN THE CROOKS ARE ADOPTING THE ENVIRONMENT ************************************************ Organizational subscribers receive our Sustainable Technology & Services Supplement with this issue. Articles in the STSS include: Alcan: LCA in Product Stewardship LCA Template: Oil Sands LCA of Services ISO LCA Standard Changes Applying LCA in Eco-design in the Steel Industry Green Asphalt Tobacco Case: Potential to Relate to Environmental Product Issues ************************************************ ABOUT THIS ISSUE Life Cycle Assessment (or Analysis) is gaining popularity in Canada and in the US as a tool for developing environmental policy and programs and as a mechanism for decision-making when encountering forks in the road. Put simply, LCA means quantifying and analysing every aspect of the environmental impact of an activity or material good from cradle, generally defined as the obtaining of the necessary raw materials and other inputs, to grave, or the final disposal of the product or residues at the end of their usable life. LCA, however, though it seeks to be as science-based as possible, is far from a simple tool. Applied properly it can certainly help make policy decisions and improve choices. Applied improperly, it can be just another greenwash that confounds decisions and puts us on yet another unsustainable path. In this issue we provide some of the background to the relatively new science of Life Cycle Assessment and we provide a few examples of how helpful it can be in study of matters such as biodegradable bags and biodiesel. For reasons that environmental veterans will understand, this issue focusses a little more than is environmentally warranted on the LCA of diapers. The conclusions may surprise all but the most memory-enhanced veterans. We'll be covering more about LCA and how it can be used in future issues - we hope the background on LCA in this issue will mean that we can jump right into LCAs of products and services without having to revisit the methodologies by which this tool is applied. Sometimes, as we have previously pointed out, industry leaders say and do some pretty silly things. This time the foolishness comes from the coal industry, where at least one senior leader is urging a boycott of companies that want to do something about climate change. Our editorial points fingers and wonders why only one Canadian company is on the coal industry's boycott list. With this issue we introduce a new feature called 30 Second Summaries. In this feature we will regularly provide a quick update on mostly non-commercial news from readers. The 30 second Summary in this issue includes some snazzy items from CCPA, Charles Caccia, and from our first EcoCouncillor award winner, who has recently published a new book. While thinking of the Canadian Chemical Producers' Association, they are seeking input into their development of a new concept of chemistry. Scroll down to the article containing the name Brian Wastle to see what they are thinking and how you or your organization can help them. Finally, some input to our On Readers' Bookshelves feature from Rick Findlay at Pollution Probe, an invitation to submit an entry to Ekotopfilm 2007, a job opening at Stratos, a most timely upcoming conference entitled "Keepers of Water II: Keeping the Peace", and our concluding funny story about a green bank robber. Organizational subscribers also receive our Sustainable Technologies and Services Supplement with a lot more information about LCA, Eco Design, green asphalt, and how a recent court decision on tobacco warning labels could in future set a precedent for environmental and health impacts of other products. In our next issue we plan to look at what is one of this year's most controversial environmental topics, especially in Europe: air travel. You can be sure that we will be doing our best to view it through the lens of Life Cycle Assessment. ************************************************ July 17, 2007 Events Posted click here New additions are: August 2007 46^th Conference of Metallurgists hosting CU2007 the 6^th Copper/Cobre Conference. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 3rd International Conference on Life Cycle Management, Zurich, Switzerland September 2007 Recycling Council of Alberta Conference "20/20 Vision". Calgary, Alberta, Canada. October 2007 Waste Reduction Week in Canada Cycle 2007: 3rd Canadian Forum on the Life Cycle Management of Products and Services - Towards a Life Cycle Economy Montreal, Quebec Canada November 2007 2007 SETAC North America 28th Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario Annual General Meeting, Guelph, Ontario, Canada December 2007 SETAC Europe LCA Case Study Symposium with a focus on energy, Goteborg, Sweden January 2008 27th Annual Guelph Organic Conference Guelph Ontario Canada August 2008 5th SETAC World Congress Sydney Australia ......................................................................................................................................................................................... June 19, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 6 June 18, 2007 has been posted as the current issue click here. Editorial by Colin Isaacs: WATER CONTENT, NOT WATER BOTTLES, SHOULD BE THE BIG CONCERN Special Announcement: ECOCOUNCILLOR AWARD: CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS Theme: WATER AND OIL CONNECTIONS ALL WETT CANADA: WATER-ENERGY STATISTICS WATER SCARCITY AND FOOD ENERGY TOXICS IN THE GREAT LAKES PCB Regulation ALCOA IN CHINA: ENERGY-WATER USE VANCOUVER SEYMOUR-CAPILANO WATER PROJECT Filtration Plant Other Elements of the Seymour-Capilano Water Utility Projects OIL SANDS AND WATER IN ALBERTA LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CORRECTION: CANADA'S FIRST ENVIRONMENT MINISTER ON GL'S READERS' BOOKSHELVES WANTED: INNOVATION IN CANADA ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND LIABILITY MATHSEMANTICS JOHN BAIRD FLUNKS PERCENTAGES 101 ON CBC NEWSWORLD Pembina Institute Analysis of the Canada's Climate Change Plan Canada's Submission to the UNFCCC PASSPORT CHANGES THE GIFT OF NOTHING ANSWERS TO MATHSEMANTICS QUIZ SAMPLE QUESTIONS ************************************************ ABOUT THIS ISSUE Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says the Great Lakes are very important but then goes on to blame the federal government for failing to provide leadership in cleaning them up. Can this be the same Ontario Premier whose Environment Ministry issued a press release in 2004 with the headline McGuinty Government Taking Strong Action to Help Protect and Clean up the Great Lakes? In this issue, as in all issues, Gallon Environment Letter brings you information and opinion, not excuses. McGuinty's rant provides relevant background to this issue’s feature on water issues. Our editorial, which tackles a sacred cow of many environmentalists, is bound to raise some hackles but we hope that it also gives pause for thought about our most common refreshments. Berkeley National Laboratory has published some good information demonstrating that water is over-used in our economy in many more ways than just as a beverage. Many of those ways are, quite interestingly, linked to our insatiable appetite for energy. Canada is weak on water data but we have dug up some water-related energy data which we hope you will find interesting. We also look at the link between water and food, where between 2,000 and 3,000 litres of water are used to produce the daily food for each person, and at some of the factors continuing to impair water quality in the Great Lakes. Alcoa is reporting that it intends to dramatically reduce water use at its facilities in China. Greater Vancouver is improving its water treatment system, remember the boil water orders of last year, and will be reducing the use of chlorine, an issue that Pollution Probe raised in 1982 but which seems to have been forgotten by most governments. It is difficult to discuss water issues in Canada without mentioning the huge volumes used in the oil sands projects. Hence we ring the alarm bells, as the National Energy Board, not usually known for its radical views, has already done. We announce to all who missed the ceremony the winners of our 2006 EcoCouncillor Award - congratulations to the 2006 winners and municipal officials take note - it is only a matter of a few months before we open nominations for the 2007 award. Two Letters to the Editor made it into this issue - keep them coming - and we correct an error from our last issue: George Kerr was Ontario's first Environment Minister but the first Environment Minister in all of Canada was in Alberta! Our new feature, On GL's Readers' Bookshelves, has come up with a book which our reader describes as 'provocative, exciting and positive' - now that really is something for an environment book! We have articles on two more books: Mathsemantics, from which we share a fascinating quiz, and The Gift of Nothing which we bought for a child but which is equally appropriate as a gift for an adult when you need just a little more than nothing but still want to avoid buying something unnecessary. Talking of Mathsemantics, Environment Minister John Baird showed CBC's Don Newman how little he understands about basic percentages. We give you our take on the Minister's climate change interview and on the much better informed Pembina Institute position on Canada's climate change program. The Conference Board of Canada has come out with a report on Innovation which blasts Canada for falling behind in environmental and social responsibility. We present the highlights and, as always, provide our paying subscribers with a link to the source of more information. We have suggested before that abandonment of environmental responsibility by government is likely to lead to more litigation. Now a couple of Quebec cases are going further, with lower courts suggesting that even if a company has a permit for environmental emissions from the government of Quebec, affected neighbours can still sue successfully for harm inflicted. The cases, involving Domfer Metal Powders, Inc. and St. Lawrence Cement, are now proceeding to the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court upholds the decision of lower courts and awards multimillion dollar settlements against the companies, our entire system of government approvals for industrial emissions may be thrown into turmoil. We say: not a moment too soon! This is a case that is well worth watching. In a recent conversation with GL's editor, Toronto Mayor David Miller agreed that the real test of the 'greenness' of a government is the extent to which it has incorporated environmental and social responsibility into its day to day business. In that regard it is a pity that Canada's government did not use the recently announced new rules for passports to save greenhouse gas emissions by switching from a five year to a ten year document life. We look into the matter. In our next issue, unless something even more interesting diverts our attention, we are planning a special feature entitled Unlocking the Mysteries of Life Cycle Analysis. Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy this issue. .......................................................................................................................................................................................... June 12, 2007 Gallon Environment Letter: Introducing Inside Queen's Park Very occasionally Gallon Environment Letter circulates an information item outside of our regular email publication. This is one of those rare occasions. Inside Queen's Park (PDF copy attached for GLHonoured Readers/Subscribers) is a newsletter published by a good friend and colleague of GL. The attached issue may be of special interest because it includes a summary of the results of an opinion poll about the environment which reaches somewhat different conclusions than the polls upon which GL usually relies. IQP is not especially about the environment but it serves very well to keep one informed about the activities of the Ontario Legislature and the Ontario government. If these topics are of interest to you we recommend a subscription to IQP. Further information and an order form are available at http://www.gpmurray-research.com/~gpmrl/iqp.htm Colin Isaacs Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment publisher of the Gallon Environment Letter and Ecological Farming in Ontario phone: (416) 410 0432 fax: (416) 362 5231 email: editor@gallonletter.ca .......................................................................................................................................................................................... June 2, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 5 May 28, 2007 has been posted as the current issue click here. Editorial by Colin Isaacs: WHERE IS CANADA'S NICHOLAS STERN? THEME: GREEN ISSUES OF MAGAZINES OUTSIDE MAGAZINE The River Is Running ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: A NEW GREEN GIANT ALTERNATIVE JOURNAL: CALLING FOR SUBMISSIONS CANADIAN LIVING 100-mile Diet OPPOSITION TO ETHANOL PRODUCTION PLANTS Gopher State Ethanol Plant: Warning of Environmental Problems Citizen Opposition Groups Iowa Sierra Club New York Governor Retreats from Ethanol as Priority Renewable ENERGY CONSERVATION AND GENERATION FOR FARMS AND FOOD PROCESSORS EECO 2007 TORONTO JUNE 19-20 ON GL'S READERS' BOOKSHELVES INTEGRATING SERVICE INTO PRODUCT DESIGN CEO SOUGHT FOR THE DAVID SUZUKI FOUNDATION GLEN DAVIS: SUPPORTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT GEORGE KERR: FIRST ENVIRONMENT MINISTER IN CANADA LIGHT UP THE WORLD FOUNDATION FUNDRAISING Solid State Lighting for the Developing World For our organizational subscribers this issue is accompanied by our monthly Sustainable Technology & Services Supplement. Articles in the STSS supplement include: Biomethane in Germany California Dreamin' - Trade Mission New Green Labelling Rules May Be Coming Business at the Base of the Pyramid Philips Lighting: Smile ************************************************ ABOUT THIS ISSUE Our 2006 EcoCouncillor Awards (yes, there are two this year) will be announced at a reception in Calgary on Saturday afternoon, June 2. All readers of Gallon Environment Letter in the Calgary area are invited to attend - see below for details. Our theme this issue is the environment content of current magazines. From March through May we have seen many environmental articles in Canadian magazines. We bring you some of the highlights. Ethanol is touted by governments on both sides of the Canada-US border as a green fuel, but some of the citizens in towns chosen for ethanol plants disagree. We bring you a summary of some of the opposition to ethanol plant siting and ask the question: Would you want an ethanol plant in your neighbourhood? Sir Nicholas Stern recently visited Canada and received generally favourable media coverage regarding his analysis of the consequences of inaction on climate change. In our editorial, GL asks Where Is Canada's Nicholas Stern? We look at what used to be the manure management conference and at the upcoming EECO. Last issue we started our favorite ecobooks section and this issue we share one of the first book reviews we have received. In response to a comment from a reader about the role of warranties in extended producer responsibility, we reviewed the issue and found at least a partial solution, in Singapore. If you have environmental knowledge, experience and enthusiasm then maybe the David Suzuki Foundation has a job for you. See this almost one-of-a-kind job posting in this issue. We regret we have to bring you two obituaries, each important in their own way and one of pecial importance to many in the environmental movement. A charity known by the acronym LUTW is helping to conserve mountain gorillas and to provide health care to villagers in remote areas. We explain how and why. Organizational subscribers receive in this issue the Sustainable Technologies & Services Supplement with more articles and additional content. In the next issue we plan to provide an update on international and national water issues, an area that is still of vital importance but that may not be getting its share of attention as Canada spends so much of its time debating climate change and air quality problems. Enjoy this issue and remember to keep those Letters to the Editor coming. We hope to see you in Calgary. ************************************************ June 2, 2007 Events Posted click here New additions are: June 2007 Gallon Environment Letter. ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2006 ECOCOUNCILLOR AWARDS CEREMONY Calgary, Alberta Banrock Station Wines and Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. Bring Back the Salmon Credit River Tour. Mississauga, Ontario Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN) in collaboration with the Province of Ontario. Brownfield Training Workshops. Four locations in Ontario. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... May 3, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 4 April 25, 2007 has been posted click here. Editorial by Colin Isaacs: FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL BUDGETS ARE BECOMING MEANINGLESS THEME: EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY Part 2 BC EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY The Pollution Prevention Hierarchy Categories EU EPR INITIATIVES NSW: FOCUS OF EPR RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES INNOVEST: CHEMICAL LIABILITY FROM PRODUCTS ELECTRONICS PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY INCREASING Nova Scotia New E-Waste Law Greenpeace Greener Electronics NEW DIRECTIONS GROUP: LCA CROPLIFE CANADA GREENWASHES THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF STEWARDSHIP JAPAN'S ECO-FRIENDLY PROCUREMENT OIL SANDS - CANADA HOUSE OF COMMONS STUDY Get Rid of the ACCA Keep the ACCA The ACCA in the Budget OAKVILLE: PESTICIDE BY-LAW LETTERS TO EDITOR BILL 184: ONTARIO SPECIES AT RISK - CONSULTATIONS BILL 184: FEATURES GENDER RATIO CHANGING FOR JAPANESE AND WHITE AMERICANS PUBLIC SCIENCE IN CANADA SYMPOSIUM 2007 SWISS RE: RESOURCE AWARD GARTNER LEE: GARBAGE SCAN HOW GREEN IS YOUR MP? ************************************************ In the Sustainable Technologies & Services Supplement which Organizational Subscribers receive with this issue: BASF: Benchmarking Chemicals China's RoHS Jobs and Recycling Linked in North Carolina Producer Responsibility for Cross-border Waste Alberta Purchasing: Happy to Hear from Vendors Al Gore: Nashville Training Session ************************************************ ABOUT THIS ISSUE This issue continues our focus on Extended Producer Responsibility initiatives for a wide range of products from batteries to packaging to chemicals to pesticides, much of this last being, in our opinion, a classic greenwash. While initiatives only cover a small part of the developed world, we think it is interesting to note how much can be done without destroying the economies of those jurisdictions that are taking waste reduction and recycling much more seriously. Our editorial looks at recent federal and provincial budgets and explains why we are not reporting on their environmental features. However, we do tackle one budget feature which we see as woefully inadequate: the supposed cancellation by the Federal budget of accelerated depreciation for oil sands developers. Other topics in this issue include an update on municipal pesticide bylaws, recommendations for the use of Life Cycle Assessment in development of policy, 2 letters to the editor, another commentary on the Ontario Species at Risk Bill, an analysis of worrisome birth gender ratio changes (something that is not unique to the Chippewas of Sarnia, Ontario as many in the mainstream media have suggested), an interesting symposium, an awards program for developing country projects, an audit of multi-residential household waste in Vancouver, and an analysis of the greenness of Members of Parliament. Unfortunately, for now , the study is of MPs in New South Wales, Australia, but maybe some media outlet or NGO will try for a Canada version! We hope you enjoy and keep those letters coming. Organizational subscribers also receive the monthly Sustainable Technologies and Services Supplement with this issue. Topics in this issue include: BASF: Benchmarking Chemicals; China's Restrictions on Hazardous Substances Law; Jobs and Recycling Linked in North Carolina; Producer Responsibility for Cross-border Waste; Alberta Purchasing: Happy to Hear from Vendors; and Al Gore: Nashville Training Session. There is so much happening in environment and business as well as in Sustainable Development that we are not sure whether the next issue will be about the federal climate change program, now two weeks late based on the promise of delivery in two weeks that the Prime Minister gave last month, the Toronto Green Living Show (April 27-29 Automotive Building, Exhibition Place http://www.greenliving.ca), or the huge number of mainstream magazines that have published green issues in the last few days. Maybe we will include all of the above, perhaps we will include none of them. May 3, 2007 Events Posted click here New additions are: June 2007 EECO 2007 Conference on Environment and Energy Toronto, Ontario September 2007 Public Science in Canada. Gatineau, Quebec November 2007 Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust & Conservation Foundation of Greater Toronto. Charles Sauriol Environmental Dinner Brampton, Ontario .......................................................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................................... March 28, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 3 March 19, 2007 has been posted click here. Editorial by Colin Isaacs: AN OPINION ON TAXATION IN A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY THEME (Report for United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development): CLIMATE CHANGE: AVOIDING THE UNMANAGEABLE AND MANAGING THE UNAVOIDABLE THE CONSENSUS ON HUMAN INDUCED CLIMATE CHANGE INTEGRATING MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION THE ELEMENTS OF A ROADMAP BENEFITS OF ACTING NOW OUTWEIGH COSTS OF DELAY ************************************************ JACQUES WHITFORD CO-FOUNDER APPOINTED TO ORDER OF CANADA WE MUST NOT BECOME FRUITLESS COMMUNIQUÉ: THE CANADIAN POLLINATOR PROTECTION INITIATIVE SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: CLIMATE CHANGING SPORTS RECYCLING COUNCIL OF ONTARIO: MOVING GEOCONNECTIONS: MAPPING FOR ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GEOCONNECTIONS: INTEROPERABILITY DAY FRANK LUNTZ: WORDS THAT WORK ALBERT BATES: POST-PETROLEUM SURVIVAL GUIDE AND COOKBOOK GL IN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE BIOTECH: FIRST US MORATORIUM ON PREVIOUSLY APPROVED GM CROP SHORT-EARED OWLS RACCOONS FOR DINNER ************************************************ ABOUT THIS ISSUE Late last month an expert panel of scientists issued a call for immediate action on climate change to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. While there is not a lot that is new in this report, we do expect that its timing as well as its focus on solutions may make it one of the more seminal international reports on the topic. We have postponed to the next issue continuation of our feature on extended producer responsibility to bring you an in-depth summary of the Road Map the scientists are proposing. While on the topic of postponements, we should let nominators and nominees know that, for logistical reasons, we have postponed celebration of the Gallon Environment Letter 2006 Eco-Councillor award to the early summer. We will be announcing the date and location of the award ceremony in April and we are confident that everyone will be very pleased with the change of venue. Also in this issue we report, with great pleasure that a well-known environmental business person has been appointed to the Order of Canada; we look at the problem of pollinators and why we must not let ourselves become fruitless; we review, and recommend you read, a book on corporate communications that we really do not like; the federal government's GeoConnections program provides a real link between mapping and Sustainability; we explain why organic farmers are very concerned about US government approval, and now a court moratorium, on genetically modified alfalfa, we pay tribute to our much loved local ornithologist John Miles, and we review the world's first post petroleum cookbook. As you will see as you peruse this issue, that's not all. The good people of Hibernia, Indiana, are having raccoon for supper. ************************************************ ........................................................................................................................................................................................... March 28, 2007 Additional Events Posted click here April 2007 Manitoba Environment Industry Association MEIA Annual General Meeting 2007 Featuring Manitoba's Premier Gary Doer as keynote speaker. April 17, 2007. The Canadian Environmental Conference & Tradeshow CANECT '07 Metro Toronto Convention Center. April 16-17, 2007. Canadian Interoperability Day. April 20, 2007 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario. May 2007 Citizens for Renewable Energy Workshop & Annual Meeting. The Inspiration of Energy Conservation. Sunday May 27, 2007 St. Clements Ontario (west of Waterloo) June 2007 International Joint Commission IJC - 2007 Great Lakes Biennial Meeting and Conference, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois June 6 – 8, 2007. Climate Change Strategies & Environmental Communication Conference in Boston, MA. June 6 & 7, 2007. Organized by the Ethical Corporation. Canadian Pollution Prevention Roundtable – June 13, 14 & 15, 2007 in Winnipeg, MB 6th Annual Ontario Power. Presented by Insight Information. June 13-14, 2007. Toronto, Ontario. Greening of Industry GIN2007 Conference Sustainable Social and Ecosystem Stewardship - June 15-17, 2007. Waterloo, Ontario. September 2007 Canadian Industrial Emergency Conference & Expo September 19 & 20, 2007 London Convention Centre London, Ontario, Canada November 2007 Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo November 28 & 29, 2007 Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre Vancouver, BC, Canada February 22, 2007 Events Posted click here June 2007 - ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY AND A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY CONFERENCE Halifax July 2007 - TRAINING COURSE IN EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Montreal Note: The Gallon Environment Letter GL will post a selection of events from non-profit groups and from organizational subscribers. The general principle for the free listings is one event a year held in Canada and on the types of issues discussed in GL relating to business, environment and sustainable development. The decision of whether to post, what to include and how long the posting is listed is the decision of the GL editor. Please allow plenty of lead time and send events in plain text to editor@gallonletter.ca with the Subject line as "Event for Free GL Posting"; if commercial please include name and email for the contact person for your organizational subscription of the Gallon Environment Letter. Listings are not an endorsation of the event or the group. Otherwise GL offers space identified as paid space for 250 words at the price of $100 in the electronic edition which would include a listing on the events web page. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... February 22, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 2 February 19, 2007 has been posted click here. Editorial by Colin Isaacs: MORE TALK, NO ACTION Table of Contents: Theme: EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY WHAT IS EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY? ELEMENTS OF EPR APPROACHES TO EPR ISSUES WITH EPR PRODUCTS AND THE EXTERNALITIES COSTS AND BENEFITS WDO: EPR BLUES GREENPEACE: GREENER ELECTRONICS DISPOSABLE PRODUCTS SIEMENS: PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY INNOVATION SASKATCHEWAN WASTE ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT REGULATIONS LETTER TO EDITOR COMMUNICATIONS: CONSERVATIVE AND NEW GOVERNMENT ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY OPPOSITION SUPPORTS KYOTO MOTION FIRING OF CESD DISTURBING - Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development AG MEETS WITH PARLIAMENT'S ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE THE MANDATE OF THE CESD HISTORIC DECISION TO CREATE CESD NEW ZEALAND COMMISSIONER OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPLACEMENT CESD A SERIOUS THOUGHT ************************************************ ABOUT THIS ISSUE Extended Producer Responsibility has been one of the more popular pieces of jargon in environmentalist and Environment Canada circles for several years but not everyone means the same thing when they use the term. In this issue we explore what EPR is and come to the conclusion that, until we have national agreement on what EPR means, it is not a particularly useful term for defining government or industry programs. Nevertheless, there is clearly a role for extending producer responsibilities to environmental improvement of products: our feature suggests some of the initiatives that may be worthy of extension to a broader range of products and producers. You may find our review of Noah Sach's article, Planning the Funeral at the Birth, particularly interesting when thinking about EPR and what can be done. The House of Commons Special Committee on the Clean Air Act is making remarkably little progress: our editorial explores where things may be going, and where we suggest they should go, with this very unusual Parliamentary Committee. In both our editorial and our review of current federal environmental attack advertisements we note that the current environmental race in Ottawa seems to be a race to the bottom. Apart from some funding for climate change and air pollution in Québec and for the Great Bear Rain Forest in BC, we wonder when the federal government will actually do something that improves the environment. Funding for research, while laudable, and promises of future actions, just promises, do not qualify in our definition of actions that improve the environment. Another Ottawa event of concern has been the firing of Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner Johanne Gélinas by Auditor General Sheila Fraser. In the absence of any real information from Fraser, Sustainable Development mavens on the Hill are alive with gossip on this topic. We bring you the best that we have been able to find, along with an in-depth analysis of what Fraser did say (not much) and what Gélinas should have been doing (exactly what she did, as far as we can tell). GL believes that Liberal MP David McGuinty has the correct solution to this problem. As always, you will find some additional interesting tidbits throughout this issue from industry, government, and environmental group sources. Frequent correspondent Peter Burstyn has come up with a very interesting idea for implementing residential energy efficiency. We encourage your letters, whether suggestions or comments, positive or negative. In the next issue, in addition to our unique reporting and commentary on environment and Sustainable Development news and events we will continue to explore EPR-type programs, reviewing some of the worthwhile initiatives that are effectively reducing environmental footprints. ************************************************ For our Organizational Subscribers this issue is accompanied by our Sustainable Technologies and Services Supplement. Articles in this section include: Bob Page: New Position Book Publishing: Reducing Carbon Footprint Alternative Silviculture Americana Training Course in International Environmental Law Research Network for Business Sustainability A Free International Comparative Legal Guide ........................................................................................................................................................................................... January 31, 2007 The Honoured Reader (free) edition of the Gallon Environment Letter Vol. 12 No. 1 January 22, 2007 has been posted click here. Editorial by Colin Isaacs: GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER SUGGESTS YOUR RESOLUTIONS FOR 2007 Theme: GOOD NEWS ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL FRONT Table of Contents: DOOMSDAY: GROUNDS FOR OPTIMISM BUT... WORLDWATCH: 2007 STATE OF THE WORLD OPTIMISM ABOUT CITIES GLOBAL COMPACT TURFS OUT NON-REPORTING COMPANIES REACH: EUROPEAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY TURNS REGULATION TO OPPORTUNITY GERARD MEGIE: A MONTREAL PROTOCOL LEGACY MONTREAL PROTOCOL A SOLAR ROOF THAT IS PREDICTED TO PROVIDE 20% OF POWER CANADA'S GREENING OF FEDERAL POLITICS BOOK REVIEW: THE WHITE IRIS LETTER TO THE EDITOR CLEAN AIR ACT STALLED EISS CALL OF PAPERS LAST CHANCE TO SEE - PLACES NOMINATIONS FOR 2006 ECO-COUNCILLOR AWARD OPEN ************************************************** 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. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... Please note: The Honoured Reader edition of the Gallon Environment Letter does not contain most of the links of the paid subscription. However, any urls listed, checked at the time of publication of each issue, may no longer be current. Gallon Letter Gallon Newsletter Sustainable Development Newsletter

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