Hailing higher prices

Like truck drivers and airline employees, taxi drivers depend on the price of fuel for their livelihood. But, as with all Canadians, they’re also being directly affected by the rising cost of the fuel that makes their jobs possible. And as fuel costs go up, so too go taxi fares.

Toronto cab drivers recently obtained permission from the city to increase their rates, and the trend extends across the country, from Calgary to Montreal.

Depending on your ability or willingness to pay the new fees, the news could mean an added consequence of rising fuel prices (as if there needed to be another), or a trip on your city’s already taxed public transit system. But taxis aren’t the only fare-based public transportation whose costs are on the rise.

Ferries are also feeling the effects of rising fuel costs, similarly hoping to raise their fees to compensate. The potential rise in price has been enough for no less an organization than BC Ferries to call for fixed links between Canada’s west coast islands, much to the chagrin of locals who enjoy their relative isolation. And on the east coast, Nova Scotia has just committed millions to offset fuel costs and maintain existing ferry routes.

What’s clear is that consumers can’t be expected to remain insulated against the costs of high fuel prices, even when they eschew their own vehicles. The only way to hit the road without concern for fuel costs remains a long, hard walk, and even that has a carbon footprint to consider.

City of Calgary Mayor’s Environment Expo 2008

On Tuesday morning, I wander Calgary’s city hall atrium. It is crammed with kids, cameras and a potentially messy collection of cement, mud, paint and water — all on tables ready to be handled. It’s chaos kept under control until the City of Calgary Mayor’s Environment Expo 2008 can officially open for business, after which the atrium full of mostly elementary school students can have at the demonstrative toys splayed out over 50 booths (16KB PDF).

Stepping to the microphone, Dave Day, Calgary’s Environmental and Safety Director calls out: “Is everybody happy today?” The ones who respond say yes, and the ones still too distracted to pay attention seem to feel the same way.

Running from June 3 – 5, The Environment Expo is a showcase of public and private environmental initiatives ranging from water conservation to recycling. From booths such as the City of Calgary’s Water Services’ demonstration of river runoff (the students I saw perusing it were more interested in whether the mockup’s fish was made of plastic) to the Ghost Watershed Alliance Society’s mud-filled aquarium-turned-watershed, the Expo is a chance for students to grasp their environmental options. While shopping around, students can take the time to touch the items on display or experiment with different varieties of energy-using appliances.

The booths include public organizations such as the city’s recycling arm, private companies like Waste Management showcasing recycling initiatives (and a very cool miniature metal dump truck) and nonprofit organizations from Scouts Canada to the Sierra Club of Canada. And out front, parked on city hall’s front steps and dwarfing WM’s tiny dump truck, the city is showcasing its new fleet of lower-emission and hybrid vehicles, set to be showcased at “Bio-Diesel and Hybrid Vehicles,” one of the expo’s daily workshops (376KB PDF).

Geared toward students from elementary to high school, the events offer another fun way for students to learn, with performances, lectures, demonstrations and even shadow puppets.

But the city and other public and private organizations aren’t the only ones speaking out, and the students here aren’t just passive observers. School groups, such as the 24 grade fours from St. Bonifice, are also applying the environmental lessons they’ve learned at school in the months leading up to the expo, like the recyclable uses of newspaper (insulation) and coloured glass (road paint).

And if their enthusiasm is any indication, it’s clear these are lessons that have already made an impact.

Before I leave, I’m drawn in by one of St. Bonfice’s finest, Wilson, as he shouts a convincing “step right up, step right up!” Clustered around boards showing the school’s environmental theatre project, “Deal or Die”, and trivia about conservation, the booth’s student volunteers man a pair of trivia contests. I dare to enter one.

“What greenhouse gas do landfills release,” he asks, listing off four of the key gases.
“Methane,” I reply as St. Bonifice’s grade fours give me a showmanly “correct!”
“What do I win,” I ask.
“You’re getting knowledge,” they reply.
True enough.

Even a walk to the corner store leaves a footprint

Environmental impact depends on what you eat

Full Story [The Gazette]

Pirates, rustlers and the future of fryer grease

With the popularity of biofuels rising like fat to the top of a grease trap, a new kind of “entrepreneur” is turning grease into gold. And while recycling fryer grease into fuel may be a fine use for something that’s otherwise only responsible for fattening Americans and scarring teenaged fry cooks, these particular entrepreneurs are no-good, low-down thieves.

Call them grease “pirates” or “rustlers”, the conclusion remains the same: these are thieves stealing a once-worthless commodity that’s now capable of fetching $6,000 from a well-stocked Burger King grease bin. Try making that kind of oily coin at minimum wage.

The intent behind the fanciful names seems clear: in a rapidly changing environment where the old laws (i.e. grease = garbage) don’t apply, it’s natural to compare our shifting society to the High Seas (or the Old West. Though the frontiers that made those two periods so infamously, even romantically, volatile have been long since explored, it appears the “green” frontier is just beginning to open up, bringing its own particular brand of lawlessness.

So call these thieves “pirates” or “rustlers,” say they’re negotiating new waters or forging on in the new frontier, the reality is the same: these are environmental profiteers, out there making a buck, and in the end that’s always been the way of the future.

Walking without a carbon footprint

Does fretting about the size of your carbon footprint sometimes leave you paralyzed? If so, consider taking a deep breath. Because, after all, if you can’t walk to the grocery for fear of spewing CO2 into the atmosphere, you’ll starve before long, and corpses emit greenhouse gases of their own.

If ever there was a case study in paralyzing minutiae, it must be this article from the Montreal Gazette. Offering a calorie-counter’s obsession, Monique Beaudin draws attention to British environmentalist Chris Goodall and his book, How to Live a Low Carbon Life. One of the points made in the book, notes Beaudin, is that even a walk to the store for milk incurs the carbon footprint of milk production, making a walk for milk more harmful than a drive around the block.

But the point of Goodall’s book, as he notes in the article, wasn’t to dissuade people from walking to the supermarket, only to make them think about the issue. Unfortunately, as Beaudin’s grave headline (“Even a walk to the corner store leaves a footprint”) shows, that same awareness carries the very real threat of paralyzing committed devotees.

In a similar vein, Neil Reynolds’ “Road to hell is paved with public transit” blog entry takes a similarly breathless reading of a report suggesting that public transit, because of a relatively low percentage of ridership, actually produces more greenhouse emissions per capita than a city’s cars.

While the report’s author, Randal O’Toole, may be contending that existing patterns of use don’t always bear out transit systems, and it does bear noting that not all transit systems are created equal, it stretches credulity to suggest that “your public policy decision here appears remarkably obvious. Get people off buses and get them into cars.” Disregarding public transit is narrow-minded and short-sighted, hinging on the assumption that ridership patterns aren’t likely to change, which they already have.

The issue with both articles is that they draw huge conclusions from tiny details, the same obsessive tendencies that come from any trend rewarding obsession. As Goodall says, every action does have an environmental consequence. The danger, then, is only in snapping to judgment about how to deal with that fact, whether starving at home for fear of emitting greenhouse gases or dismantling light rail lines to build more roads.

Take a breath in, and then out again. That’s CO2 you’re emitting, by the way, which is just fine in this case.

Go-go gadget camping gear

Can 21^st century camping be luxurious without being decadent? Today, a common picture of a family camping trip includes a campground lined with RVs from which children on scooters or quads come spilling out. People sleep on beds, eat packaged foods and even bring their televisions.

It used to be that real camping meant becoming one with nature – when you slept there was nothing between you and the stars but tent canvas, when you ate it was heated over a roaring campfire and your entertainment was not derived from flipping channels but hiking along waterway channels perhaps.

Now there are a few people, and companies, who believe you can have the best of both worlds and save energy at the same time. One observer paints a pretty picture of campers who can sip wild-strawberry daiquiris, boil water in less than two minutes, and light up their tents, among other luxuries, and all in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way. It all boils down to hand-cranked items such as flashlights and portable blenders, solar powered tents, propane powered camping appliances and even making producing your own energy using nifty gadgets such as the Voltaic Solar Bag. Get this – it’s a backpack with solar panels that can generate up to 14.7 watts of homemade electricity. Nifty huh?

When you’re traveling overseas, sometimes your needs are not luxuries but necessities. Among this classification would be a sustainable way to drink water without leaving a trail of plastic bottles. Now you can have your own revenge on Montezuma. Enter the Steripen Classic – a handheld water purifier that uses ultraviolet light to destroy bacteria and viruses. Go ahead … drink from the tap.

Meanwhile, back at home, treat any travel experience, near or far, as one that requires care and consideration before you leave the driveway. You can reduce your own environmental impact by preplanning trips and using modern-day travel gadgets

That’s right – be comfortable, be luxurious and be green at the same time – it’s the 21^st century way. But remember the wilderness motto: take only photos and leave only footprints.

Feeling gassy?

You’ve heard this: We are all hothouse tomatoes, trapped under invisible, gaseous glass and if we don’t stay green we’re going to go overripe faster than you can say ketchup. What’s more, you’re probably aware that the invisible gases fuelling our environmental woes are being tackled with emissions standards, cap-and-trade carbon credits and carbon taxes.

So, since you know all of that, a few simple questions: Do you really know what a greenhouse gas is?

Can you name one? Two? Six? Do you know when and where you produce them?

Well, if you can’t, have no fear; Flow is here to give you the basic whats and wheres of greenhouse gases. After all, they’re as tricky as substances can be. For one, they’re all invisible.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the four primary greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and ozone (144KB PDF), with each of them assigned a numeric “Global Warming Potential” (GWT) value. The remaining three, all man-made, are sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons.

Below are a few examples of where your actions may have produced some of these tomato-shriveling gases.

Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Where: Your soda
Car exhaust, feedlots, industrial pollution, fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide is the dominant greenhouse gas for a reason—it’s in almost everything we burn, and it’s what we exhale. It’s so common, and because it’s impractical to suggest we all stop breathing, for now let’s concentrate on the C02 that makes those little fizzing bubbles in our Mountain Dew.

Nitrous oxide (N2O)
Where: Your steak
Before your sirloin was medium-rare, it was so rare that it walked, mooed and produced nitrogen-rich manure. Vegetarians aren’t off the hook either, especially if the plants they eat were grown with nitrous fertilizers. If there’s a plus side to animal waste, though, it’s that it doesn’t need to be wasted.

Methane (CH4)
Where: Your trash
Along with CO2, methane is one of the two gases found in “landfill gas”, which smells as appetizing as it sounds. But new energy techniques are trapping this noxious gas and turning it into viable fuel that, when burned, leaves only CO2.

Ozone (O3)
Where: Your car
In fairness to your car, ozone pollution isn’t all its fault. But when its exhaust comes in contact with so-called “volatile organic compounds” in the air, ground-level ozone is created. And while Canadians may be committed to stopping the depletion of the ozone layer, those added ozone gases aren’t helping.

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
Where: Your magic
As far as direct contributions, you’re probably safe here. Short of the electrical industry, which uses the gas to insulate high voltage circuit breakers, the closest you’re likely to come to releasing sulfur hexafluoride is when you decide to wow your friends with your incredibly low voice and magical powers. But while you might not be a burgeoning magician, you certainly do use the magic of electricity every day.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
Where: Your cold air
What would summer be without the comforting cold of an air conditioner? Well, for starters, it would see a lot fewer HFCs, which are used in air conditioning units. And before you rush off for your backup popsicle, just remember that your freezer is chock full of HFCs too.

Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
Where: Your foil
If you’re a fencer and read “foil” with horror, relax: This is the kind of foil that wraps up leftovers, not competitions. PFCs are released during the process of turning alumina into aluminum, a metal you’ve used if you’ve ever had brisket left over to wrap up or used virtually any other modern metal convenience.

Seven greenhouse gases and seven familiar ways we generate them in our daily lives. Their effects are varied, but in addition to their eponymous greenhouse effect, they’re also known to increase the acidity of our oceans. And since the gases clearly aren’t just generated in the limited fields of soda, magic or food wrappings, it’s important to understand exactly how and where they are produced, and how the industries responsible for generating greenhouse gases are dealing with them.

It’s always better to understand the ways your energy use affects the world you live, because even if you’re behind on your reading there’s always time to “ketchup”.

Now, you too can avoid greenwashing (in only six easy installments of…)

Environmentalism – it’s now available in a variety of sizes, styles and shades of green, depending on your mood. It can be canned, boxed or bagged – or vacuum packed into bite-sized pieces for the small G’s among us. If it’s not organic, it’s biodegradable or recycled and if it’s not any of those things, proceeds go toward planting a tree. And it’s likely being launched on Earth Day.

From Flat Tire Footwear made from recycled tires to Monopoly with renewable energy utilities to wine that offsets your carbon emissions by planting a tree, every company and its mascot has some green claim to fame. One could almost say that the threat of climate change has been a real boon to companies and marketers. A 2007 study revealed Americans are more likely to base their purchasing decisions and product referrals to friends around their knowledge of a company’s environmental practices. Today, 35 million Americans are said to regularly purchase environmentally friendly products.

And marketers are catching on.

So, thanks to a surge in green marketing, so called “eco-friendly” products are being churned out like sausage, which leaves many of us wondering which ones contain the real meat.

While the term “greenwashing” has been around for decades it has only recently become the term du jour in media. This may be attributed in part to the November 2007 study conducted by TerraChoice (90 KB PDF), an environmental marketing firm that also certifies companies for use of Environment Canada’s EcoLogo. The Six Sins of Greenwashing study found 99 per cent of 1018 products surveyed were guilty of making at least one of six types of misleading environmental claims.

In recent months there has been what almost seems like unprecedented use of the term. With it comes a new era that takes the existing environmental consciousness and combines it with a more critical eye toward any green claim. A 2007 Ipsos Reid survey reveals some 70 per cent of Americans view such claims as mere marketing gimmicks. Some people are even saying overabundance of green marketing can lead to consumer complacency as they start to think industry is already solving the world’s environmental woes.

But not everyone sees greenwashing as a bad thing. L. Hunter Lovins, co-author of the book, Natural Capitalism says “Hypocrisy is the first step to real change.” In a recent interview, the cowgirl cum Rocky Mountain Institute founder cum professor cum CEO of Natural Capitalism Inc. said she actually thinks greenwashing can be a good step to change.

“If a company makes a claim about something, then you can hold them accountable,” says Lovins, citing General Electric’s “ecoimagination” campaign as an example. “As they make small steps to bring their performance in line with what they’re marketing, to avoid a backlash for greenwashing, they actually see the benefit of that improved performance, and it becomes something they integrate into their business for real.”

Scott McDougall, Canadian CEO and president of TerraChoice doesn’t completely agree however. As his marketing firm works to standardize and legitimize green claims, McDougall believes it is important greenwashers get spotted before consumers lose trust in the industry. Ultimately, he believes Lovins’ theory only works if the greenwashers get busted in the act.

“If the greenwashing is, in itself, successful, there would be no reason to do anything other than the greenwashing,” explains McDougall who believes his company’s Six Sins of Greenwashing study should help educate consumers in spotting the lemons among the good fruits of true environmental responsibility.

“There’s a fine balance we hope to achieve with this study, which includes intervening constructively enough so that consumers don’t give up on trying to find green products and not so much that marketers don’t give up on trying to make and sell green products,” explains McDougall, adding consumers are a powerful vehicle for change and they require some level of trust in the claims being made.

“If their skepticism becomes outright distrust, they’ll simply give up and we will lose this very powerful movement for change.”

At the end of the day, however, it seems the onus is on us as a society to choose which companies to patronize, and also to make our own internal inventory of what truly motivates our purchasing decisions. In other words – let’s get real with ourselves. Are you refusing to purchase that bottle of biodegradable soap because you’re skeptical, or because it costs slightly more?

As well, it is important to reflect on our criticisms of eco-marketing as a society. It seems that anyone with a soapbox and an axe to grind is rearing to chop someone’s claim to pieces. You could virtually nit-pick any green claim until there’s nothing left. Face it – life leaves a footprint.

But now you too can take actions to reduce yours and support companies that make genuine attempts to do the same. But you’ve likely already read about that, maybe on a flashy banner ad, or in a colourful high-gloss flyer… made from recycled paper of course.

Human Resources Council of Canada site duplicated

The Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada has posted a warning about a fraudulent, duplicate site.

Designed to extract payments from foreign workers the fraudulent site lists fees of $3,500 and even features a seemingly authentic letter taken and edited from the council’s original site.
Because The Canadian Centre for Energy Information uses the council’s careers page in our own “Careers in energy” section, we at Flow would like to assure our readers that we take this kind of fraud very seriously. We will continue to verify our links, and the veracity of the information that goes into every Flow article.

Offshore wind projects: high seas and even higher costs

There’s no question, among Britons, anyway, that Britannia rules the waves. Now, the managing company of the British monarchy’s property Crown Estate, is hoping to expand that rule by building 25 gigawatts worth of new offshore wind farm sites by 2020— part of meeting the EU’s target of generating 20 per cent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.

Not only is the project slated to boost Britain’s total offshore wind generation to 33 GW, but the added 5,000 turbines will make Britain the world’s leader in offshore wind generation.

Despite the Crown Estate’s understandable bullishness on the project, however, thousands of new, renewable energy generators doesn’t necessarily offer the UK clear sailing.

The latest example of a declining offshore wind project is the London Array which recently lost one of its major investors after Royal Dutch Shell cited the rising costs of steel and turbines.

As Bloomberg reported in May, offshore wind turbines are almost twice as expensive as their land-based counterparts. And with a limited number of specially designed barges available, it becomes doubly difficult to build and maintain turbines in the middle of potentially choppy waters.

But despite these difficulties, investment in offshore wind farms continues, and the UK seems determined to rule both its waves and its wind.

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