The virtues of pain at the pumps

An editorial in the Globe and Mail argues that, in the long-term, rising gas prices will help Canadians live a more sustainable lifestyle. 

Full Story [The Globe and Mail]

Growing up green

The Calgary Herald’s Emma Gilchrist outlines ways to get kids involved in sustainable living. 

Full Story [Canada.com]

Biofuel roundup

With consensus growing for abandoning edible crops as biofuel sources, “second generation” biofuels are gaining momentum. With that momentum comes an almost weekly announcement of new biomasses that could serve as fuel sources, each with a more promising raft of features than the last.

Corn-based ethanol, it’s worth noting, was also once set to be the panacea to end all our fuel woes.

While secondary sources can include everything from garbage to food waste and manure, one of the most marketable aspects of many recent biofuel sources is that, as plants, given that they require nothing more than the sunlight, the ultimate source of almost all the world’s energy. Here, then, are three new biofuel sources that have “cropped” up recently in the news.

Algae
Though technically a “third generation” biofuel, algae sits (or floats) alongside other recent innovative biomasses as a readily available, otherwise useless crop that can be grown with little more than sunlight. In fact, it already grows with such aggressiveness that Chinese volunteers were forced to scoop tonnes of it out of their water before the Summer Olympics.

It’s also been proposed on a large scale as a means of geo-engineering the planet’s climate, sucking out excesses of CO2. So, whether it’s processed for our gas tanks or fertilized to consume our carbon dioxide, it’s no wonder that this much-maligned slime is finding a friendlier, more public face.

Camelina
Also known as “wildflax,” camelina brings a list of features long enough to make it pretty irresistible as a biofuel source. It grows in suboptimal soil, has high yields, its oil is resistant to the cold (always an important factor in considering Canada’s fickle climate) and it can even be grown in rotation with traditional wheat. Not only does it grow voraciously without interfering with food crops, then, but it actually gives us more of the food we’d otherwise be using in our fuel tanks.

Must be win-win, no?

Miscanthus
Like switchgrass, another often-cited biofuel source, miscanthus is a grass capable of aggressively growing to meet the needs of hungry fuel producers. Like camelina, miscanthus also grows well in soil that otherwise wouldn’t be usable for crops, compounding its virtues by producing the necessary sugars for extracting into biofuels. But while its proponents may be singing its praises, comparing it with two other prominent, would-be biofuel sources shows that while corn may already have been discounted as a fuel source, the search for the next major source of biofuel is no easy choice.

Green roofs: natural insulation springs up again

The roof above your head might be getting greener, and it won’t be water damage. Well, hopefully.

“Green roofs” can be applied to houses or commercial buildings by designing or retrofitting a roof to accommodate a waterproof membrane, followed by soil or other growing medium and topped off with vegetation. In some cases, the roof might even include an irrigation system. The vegetation can be anything from grass or other ground cover, shrubs and even trees.

And it’s no marginal trend.

Toronto has developed a green roof policy and Vancouver is the home of British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Centre for the Advancement of Green Roof Technology.

Many organizations “cultivating” an interest in the concept list advantages including improved air quality, lower heating and cooling costs and noise level reduction due the insulating value of the substrate, aesthetics and herb and vegetable gardens. Thankfully, no grazing cows have prompted any complaints.

It’s worth nothing that the concept isn’t entirely new. The green roof was probably planted in Canada by Thorfinn Karlsefni and his Viking friends when they settled Vinland in 1010. Viking buildings can still be seen at the L’Anse aux Meadows historic site in Newfoundland.

Later, prairie settlers often built and lived in sod houses during their first few years of homesteading. The prairie grass covering the roof may have made for good insulation but wasn’t always waterproof. Some “soddies” even had green walls, and perhaps this is the next idea to bear fruit — simply coat the sides of buildings with growing media and layer on the seeds for the ultimate extension of the Chia pet.

After all, why shouldn’t the walls match the roof?

Geothermal energy heating up in Manitoba

On August 18, in an effort to reduce greenhouse gases and help Manitobans cope with rising energy costs, the Manitoba government announced a province-wide geothermal rebate program. The program covers new homes, retrofits for existing homes, commercial buildings and district geothermal systems.

More than 6,000 Manitobans are already using geothermal heating and cooling systems.

The program is similar to those offered by the federal government through the Office of Energy Efficiency, and by the governments of British Columbia (1.47 MB PDF), Saskatchewan (204 KB PDF), Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

For more information on earth energy and geo-exchange, visit the Canadian Geo Exchange Coalition.

Carbon offsets in Ontario

Ontario has begun to put a price on carbon, and they’ve started by looking in farmers’ fields.

Based on agricultural projects, the Ontario government recently announced three new “carbon offset” programs, moving the province one step closer to a cap-and-trade system with Quebec.

Earlier in the year, the two provinces signed a “memorandum of understanding” as a first step toward an interprovincial cap-and-trade system, which would offset pollution beyond a certain level with purchased credits from projects like those recently announced. Quebec, for one, was already a member of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), an organization of American states and Canadian provinces that has long been in discussions toward creating a cap-and-trade system, even recently releasing a set of draft guidelines (340 KB PDF) outlining the eventual agreement’s goals.

The offset projects represent three distinct ways of reducing emissions: reducing nitrogen-enriched fertilizer use, preventing its release as a greenhouse gas; employing low-till and no-till farming techniques, similarly reducing the amount of gas released from the soil; and afforestation, planting trees on deforested land that wouldn’t otherwise be used for crops.

Nationally, attempts to institute a province-spanning cap-and-trade system ran out of steam earlier at the end of 2007, though British Columbia later announced it would pursue an internal cap-and-trade policy compatible with the WCI’s.

BC’s movement toward a cap-and-trade system was also an important lesson for its energy suppliers in Alberta, showing that the voluntary nature of similar emissions trading programs may belie the fact that powerful energy alliances may ultimately make those decisions mandatory. And with Quebec and Ontario the most populous provinces in confederation, their determination toward a cap-and-trade system could well become the standard across the country.

While it may not exactly be a grassroots movement, it’s beginnings are certainly beginning in the soil.

Is eating kangaroo meat environmentally responsible?

Kangaroos emit less methane than cattle and sheep and could help Australia curb its greenhouse gas emissions. 

Full Story [National Post]

Homeowners nearly unanimous on need to reduce their environmental impact, yet few doing ‘a lot’ to reduce greenhouse gases

According to a new survey by Ipsos Reid, Canadians think it’s important to reduce their impact on the environment but are more likely to be motivated to reduce energy use because of rising costs, not a desire to save the planet. 

Full Story [CNW Group]

BMW cars became more fuel efficient last year

According to a European environmental group, BMW has made more progress than its competitors in reducing vehicle fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the past year. 

Full Story [CTV.ca]

Prowling the Pumps – August 26, 2008

On the case, lurking at service stations across the country to find the lowest and highest gasoline prices in Canada.

Average across Canada

Our two-week decline ends with a whopping 0.2¢ per litre increase despite average prices dropping (very slightly) in most jurisdictions. Worst case scenario is that this is the beginning of a reversal. The Pump Prowler wants to believe gasoline prices are still falling; this week’s increase is just a bump on the curve.

Least Expensive Gasoline in Canada (per litre)

The low-cost five weren’t as low cost as they were last week, but the increases were slight. Kingston maintains its unrelenting grip on the lowest gasoline prices in Canada, but Ontario cities no longer dominate the inexpensive few. Chicoutimi enters the low-cost five for the first time, despite some of the highest gasoline taxes in Canada. And Edmonton and Lloydminster are back.

Most Expensive Gasoline in Canada (per litre)

Same cities, same order. But, gasoline prices either dropped or remained the same in the pricey five. Hence the overall drop in gasoline prices.

Oil prices continued to rise, with West Texas Intermediate moving to $116.27 US per barrel from $114.53 last Tuesday. Between the Tuesdays, it rose as high as $121 because of tensions between Russia and the U.S. and the potential for Tropical Storm Faye to re-enter the Gulf of Mexico. That’s a climb of $3.17 over the last two weeks, and we can expect more as Tropical Storm Gustav continues to build as it tracks toward the Texas/Louisiana coast.

So last week the Pump Prowler mused that oil prices were becoming less volatile. Almost immediately they shot up about six bucks per barrel, then came right back down. So maybe there’s still a bit of volatility. At least prices came back down again.
We’ll see what happens next week.

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