It’s not easy looking green (especially in redneck country)

According to an Alberta government memo obtained by the Edmonton Journal, Alberta is spending $25 million on a campaign to “reinforce a positive, accurate picture of Alberta.” The problem is that, because of the oilsands, Alberta is viewed as a producer of dirty energy. “We have to produce clean energy – that’s job one,” says Paul Stanway, Communications Director for Premier Stelmach, “but job two is to tell the world we’re producing clean energy.”
The big question is — does the world want to listen?

Links: Original article in the Edmonton Journal

Small cars; the next big thing?

You may be of an age to remember the gas price shocks of the late 70s and early 80s. You know, the ones that everyone to park their behemoth gas guzzlers and started driving smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles? You may also recall then, that when prices tanked later in the 80s, the popularity of compact cars crumpled and cars evolved into SUVs?

That bumpy ride continues today. As gasoline prices soar to record levels, car buyers are once again shifting gears. They’re looking for smaller cars and alternative-fuel vehicles. And, according to a recent Globe and Mail article, car manufacturers are trying to find ways to protect their market share by responding to the current demand.

A greener way to go

Dying to be green? The TreeHugger’s Green Guide provides tips on how to take your green lifestyle to the grave. Literally.

The guide recommends, for example, forgoing the carbon-heavy cremation process and opting instead for biodegradable caskets made of materials like bamboo, willow and banana. And what about the chemicals used in the process of embalmment?  Environmentally harmful… ditch them.

When one considers the amount of energy used in the manufacturing of steel and hardwood caskets, not to mention the associated use of glues, plastics and paints, it’s easy to see how activities surrounding our departure from this life can affect the environment.

Eco-friendly funerals are rising in popularity to the point where “natural cemeteries” have already come to life in the U.S. Several groups are plotting similar operations in Ontario.

To find more ways to go green six feet under, check in with the Green Burial Council before you check out.

Clothesline ban no longer hanging in the wind

The clothesline ban in Ontario won’t be hanging around anymore. That province’s Energy Minister, Gerry Phillips, has announced the province will be banning the ban, a move that will, no doubt, delight environmentalists and birds all across the province.

One does have to wonder, however, with today’s increased environmental consciousness, why it would have taken this long to peg this particular law as problematic. The clothesline ban was initially implemented for aesthetic reasons. The presence of clotheslines in one backyard, according to this 2007 article, drew complaints from a number of residents, saying it reminded them of urban slums.

It begs the question, though, that if aesthetics were reason alone to implement the law to begin with, what of the other optical undesirables in our society, like microwave towers, ad-plastered bus stops, and billboards. What of garishly coloured newspaper boxes that line street corners in jagged-angled rows – or even worse, how their contents litter city streets and parks at the end of the day?

The point is that a law which was originally rooted in aesthetics, but that hampered efforts to conserve energy has been hung out to dry. And that means something, even if it is a little late in the game. It means that as a society we know that beauty is subjective and the need to conserve energy is widely regarded as truth. Maybe only some of us know that beauty is negotiable, transient and sometimes superficial but at least most of us know that climate change isn’t.

More information on the ban removal.

Green wine? Thanks, but we’ll stick to reds.

An article in the January 15th issue of the Queen’s Journal describes how Lifford Wine Agency plants a coniferous tree for every bottle of its Plantatree wine sold. Drink one bottle every 23 days says the company, and you’ll be carbon neutral for the year. Maybe it’s the wine, but when we did the math, things got a little fuzzy.

The problem is that each tree absorbs about 0.3 tonnes of carbon in its lifetime – not in a year. Seeing as the life span of your average conifer is around 200 years, that’s not a lot of carbon per year – about 0.0015 tonnes compared to the five-tonnes per year carbon footprint of your average Canadian. At that rate, by our count, you’d have to drink about 3,335 bottles per year, or one about every two and a half hours. Or maybe they sell their wine in 280-litre bottles. Though we’re certainly not suggesting you drink your way to carbon neutrality, the deal does some good for the environment, and maybe a bit more for the wine maker.

Radio show reflects the “Green Majority”

Did you know there is a Canadian radio show dedicated solely to the environment? The Green Majority works to raise awareness about green issues while also stimulating the environmental movement.

Produced by student volunteers at CIUT, the University of Toronto community radio station, The Green Majority airs every Friday at 10am on 89.5KHz across Southern Ontario. The program can also be heard on channel 826 of the Star Choice satellite network and channel 946 of the Rogers digital channel platform.

And if none of those broadcasts work for you, the program is podcast from the Green Majority website.

Spring has sprung, the gas is riz

According to a Canada Press story carried by CTV, two separate and unrelated aspects of gasoline pricing are converging to give us near-record gasoline prices. The price of oil is at record highs AND refiners are scaling back on production to accommodate annual refinery maintenance. In the article, experts pontificate on why, as the summer driving season approaches, we’ll be paying more at the pumps. The good news is that because of the strong Canadian dollar, it could be worse. On that bright note…

Prowling the Pumps – April 15, 2008

Lurking at service stations across the country to find the lowest and highest gasoline prices in Canada

Average Canadian Gasoline Price: 116.9 cents per litre

Least Expensive Gasoline in Canada (cents per litre)

Gasoline prices vary from place to place primarily because of market size, throughput efficiencies and local price competition. Being close to refineries helps keep prices low, as is the case with Edmonton (three refineries with a total throughput of 477,000 barrels per day), St. Catharines (one refinery at Nanticoke with a throughput of 120,000 barrels per day) and Sussex (near the largest refinery in Canada at Saint John with a throughput of 300,000 barrels).

Kingston, on the other hand has no refineries. It does, however, boast two universities and six prisons, so maybe the throughput efficiency is extremely high on visitor days.

Most Expensive Gasoline in Canada (cents per litre)

Obviously, Yellowknife and Gander are about as far away from refineries as you can get. But Montréal? Well, to every rule, there is an exception. In this case, a 41.6 cent cent per litre gas tax (second highest in Canada) cancelled out the low prices that should have resulted from Montreal’s close proximity to, three refineries. Labrador City is hit doubly hard with distance and the highest gasoline taxes at 42.1 cents per litre.

Eco-friendly gardening gets a green thumbs up

It used to be that one would get green with envy when ogling the perfection of a neighbour’s garden. That may still be true today, but these days it’s also better to just simply get green, period.

According to some, just because gardening gets you close to nature, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good for nature. Just look at all the environmental issues waiting in the weeds. The most obvious one is carbon emissions from equipment such as lawn mowers and leaf blowers. According to Metro Vancouver, lawnmowers account for three to five per cent of Canada’s air pollution overall.

Less obvious factors that make gardeners’ thumbs less green than once thought include high water consumption, excessive tilling and even the paper consumed to produce gardening catalogues.

This article from thespec.com presents practical tips like using a push mower to reduce emissions, going organic, planting native vegetation, and many more, in case you think your garden could use a touch more green.