Dragons turn into pussycats when local product pitched

An environmentally friendly alternative to road salt was well received on a recent episode of CBC’s “Dragons’ Den”.

Full Story [Ottawa Sun]

Solar energy to power key Vatican buildings

The Vatican went green today, with a new solar energy system that produces 300 kilowatt hours of clean, heaven-sent energy per year.

Full Story [canada.com]

Energy generation gets a dose of cool

Energy innovations can be found in the strangest of places.  Even at Da Club.

Anyone who’s even been in the groove (or whatever the kids are saying these days) on the dance floor has probably felt it. The feeling that you could dance all night long. That you had energy to burn. 

Energy to burn? Why should it go to waste?

That’s the thinking behind the funky energy-generating dance floor. It works by converting the kinetic energy of dance into electricity. The design principle is quite simple. The dance floor is made to ‘bounce’ under the always moving and grooving weight of the dancers. Underneath, the floor is hooked up to power-generating blocks that convert the kinetic energy into electricity, which is fed into batteries.

The batteries are (more or less) constantly charged. The idea is the energy generated is then used to power parts of the nightclub. Perhaps generating enough energy to offset club lighting or power an extra disco ball. They still make those, right?

Sound futuristic?   An energy-generating dance floor was debuted in 2006 at the aptly-named Sustainable Dance Club in Rotterdam.  It’s a club that thinks big about sustainability. They envision toilets that flush with rain water, walls that change colour in reaction to temperature changes, a rooftop garden, “biological beer,” and other elements that combine to create a sustainable clubbing environment.  

Groovy.

Everything is coming up green

It’s fitting that a conference on a green energy source like hydropower would help to set a new “green” standard for conferences. And that’s just what the Canadian Hydropower Association achieved with its ninth annual forum held in Ottawa.

At the conference opening, Canadian Hydropower Association Chair Colin Clark pointed out that there were no paper napkins or similar disposables.

“We’re aiming to leave zero waste,” said Clark, who also is executive vice-president and chief technical officer of Toronto-based Brookfield Renewable Power. With more than 160 generating facilities in North America and Brazil, Brookfield is a key player in hydroelectric power, generating 95% of its energy from renewable source.

The CHA took its zero footprint mandate seriously. Registrants were asked upon arrival about their mode of transport. If they came by car, they were asked whether it was a shared vehicle. The CHA used the collated responses to purchase carbon credits from Planetair, a carbon offsetting company which counts federal political parties and others among its partners.

Indeed, it seems everything is coming up green these days, even energy-focused conferences.

Canada’s history with hydro power

Hydroelectric power. It’s as much a part of Canadian history as Hudson Bay blankets, Mounties, maple syrup and canoes. Today, hydro power accounts for 60% of electrical generation in Canada.

In addition to being a key thread in Canada’s socio-economic fabric, hydro is a key player in the climate change scenario. So says Roger Lanoue, president of the International Secretariat on Water and former vice-president of strategic planning at Hydro-Québec.

Lanoue questioned how anyone could say “anything contrary” about hydroelectric generation.

From the very first station installed at the Chaudiere Falls on the Ottawa River in the heart of the capital city in 1881, hydro power has been fundamental element of Canada’s economy since the 1880’s. According to Lanoue, hydro power played a key role in the success of the pulp and paper, smeling, mining, manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

“Hydro is so much part of the mix that it takes a conscious effort in some circles to even contemplate other options,” he said, adding that millions of Canadians even today remain unaware of its importance.

He pointed out that as a source of electricity, hydro is more stable than nuclear generation and that power exports represent a significant source of income for some provinces, mainly those without fossil fuel reserves. As a green energy technology, hydro has a 60:1 ratio of benefit to capital cost ratio versus 8-12:1 on other sources. “It’s at least six times more efficient than any other technology.”

On climate change, Lanoue said an average global temperature of 11 degrees Celsius would bring on another ice age which would cover much of both hemispheres. At the other extreme, a 21-degree average would bring on unstoppable global desertification. Either scenario would be untenable for all mammals, including humans.

To put that into perspective, Lanoue noted that in the 1800s, the average temperature had risen only three degrees since the last ice age, to 14 degrees. A measure of the global warming phenomenon is that it took only another 150 year for the average to reach the current 15 degrees and that some estimates indicate that it will reach 16 degrees by the middle of the next decade.

Indeed, moving forward, it seems hydroelectric power will continue to play a key role for Canadians over the next hundred years. This time it will be in our efforts to combat climate change.

Communications the key to acceptance?

When it comes to environmental initiatives that will benefit us as a society, but cause a minor amount of grief for a few, is it better to seek permission or beg forgiveness?

It seems the principle of begging forgiveness isn’t as sound as one might think. The dramatically different public reactions to a pair of transmission line projects in British Columbia underscore the critical importance of involving consumers early in the process, says Jane Peverett, president of BC Transmission Corporation (BCTC).

She explained to the ninth Canadian Hydropower Association annual forum that plans to upgrade a 70-kilometre connection between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island looked “easy on paper”. Approximately 3.7km of the line went through backyard rights-of-way in Tsawassan. Replacing several wooden poles with a single steel one seemed “a reasonable solution – we thought.”

But that small element of the mainly underwater project encountered coordinated opposition, including civil disobedience which led to the arrests of a couple of protesters. The provincial government was eventually persuaded that the BCTC had done due diligence, so the project was able to proceed.

BCTC licked its wounds, examining what went wrong and how it could regain public confidence. Research indicated that as far as new infrastructure goes, transmission lines rank second only to landfills in terms of public concern, the third being nuclear power.

The aggressive opposition to the small project underscored the need for clear communication, not only with consumers directly affected but also those on the periphery. Projects had to be justifiable and there was a clear need for credibility.

So when BCTC unveiled plans for a $600-million “and counting” proposal for a 240km overland line on an established right-of-way in the B.C. interior – which involved the addition of a third 500KW high-tension line – it mounted a pre-emptive strike. It consulted politicians, local planners and community groups, and held a series of open houses.

When it finally took the project to the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) two and a half years later, it was approved without an oral hearing. That result drew a murmur of admiration – and possibly envy? – from several members of the forum audience.

Peverett said project benefits must be seen as outweighing costs and the regulatory review process must be “fair, open and transparent”. She said regulators such as the BCUC “tend to be quiet folk who don’t talk about how good they are” so it largely fell to BCTC to promote the regulator. Finally, it was crucial to show that consumers had been treated fairly. “Acceptance, I think, is what we’re looking for,” she said.

Score one for asking permission.

“Naked as newts” on climate change

It all comes down to dollars and cents. If consumers and policymakers are forced to choose between a healthy environment and a healthy economy, the decision seems quite easy.

Which is why the hot topic of climate change is getting somewhat of a cold shoulder on the political front.

At least that’s what Toronto Globe and Mail columnist and co-author of “Hot Air: Meeting Canada’s Climate Change Challenge”, Jeffrey Simpson sees on the horizon for Canada. He expects climate change to be “somewhat” relegated to the back burner by the re-elected Conservative minority, forced there by world oil price trends and the ongoing international market meltdown.

Speaking to the ninth Canadian Hydropower Association annual forum, Simpson said there is a rational case for using carbon tax in concert with cap-and-trade initiatives, tougher emissions standards and selective subsidies in the fight against global warming.

He lauded British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell’s carbon tax and federal Liberal leader Stéphane Dion’s recent “green shift” election campaign. Simpson suggested the gradual introduction of a carbon tax as proposed by Dion could change consumer buying patterns.

Case and point. In recent months when oil prices soared, sales of sport utility vehicles “tanked” while sales of hybrids and other fuel-efficient alternatives increased commensurately. “So the market, in effect, did its job.” A promising sign that we can mend our bigfoot ways. But according to Simpson, consumer change is generally a slow and sometimes grudging process.

And when economic times are tough, environmental concerns “tend to subside” making climate change policy less of a priority.

Canadians were well ahead of their politicians on the climate change issue. From 2006 to 2008, successive polls indicated an overwhelming call for action on global warming. “We led the world in plans,” Simpson said, drawing a chuckle as he faulted governments for being “naked as newts to the rest of the world” in terms of turning plans into action.

Even as Canadians pressed for change, Not-In-My-Back-Yard remained the watchword. Consumers are in favour of more wind and solar power, but keep the turbine and panel arrays away from my little patch of green. Clean hydroelectric power is great, but don’t flood any areas near me.

“Canadians are still open to ideas about how to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, but they’re very wary about how it should be done – and at what cost.” Simpson added that Canadians are at the early stages of a revolution away from fossil-fuel dependence to a different energy mix as they become increasingly aware of the liabilities and global environmental degradation.

Simpson lamented the lack of a national energy policy, including a federally-financed national power grid, as the provinces go their own way and the federal government keeps its grip on trade and economic issues. That being said, there was no mention of hydroelectricity in the re-elected Conservatives’ campaign plan.

Overall, Canadians remain wedded to the easy options, according to Simpson: government subsidies, energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances. Conversely, higher prices for energy remain as unpopular today as when the Progressive Conservative government of Joe Clark was defeated on the “short-term pain for long-term gain” concept of an 18-cent increase in gasoline excise taxes.

For now, the market has spoken.

Wednesday words

Cat cracking  |  a refinery process that uses catalysts in addition to pressure and heat to convert heavier fuel oil into lighter products such as gasoline and diesel fuel

Food lovers go green

A new course offered by Toronto’s George Brown College aims to teach students how to reduce their carbon footprint when creating a meal.

Full Story [metronews.ca]

World on cusp of clean tech revolution: Merrill Lynch

Clean technology is set to become the “sixth revolution” and could even rival the industrial revolution according to Merrill Lynch.

Full Story [canada.com]

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