CAUTION: Serendipitous roads may cause new perspectives

It was early March, just before Covid-19 exploded into our collective consciousness. We – my partner and I – decided on a quick weekend getaway to celebrate an anniversary. We live in Kitchener and had wanted to visit the Lake Huron shore. We found a resort just north of Grand Bend and made our plans to escape. And when I say ‘plans’, I do mean so, given that we drive an electric vehicle, and one that happens to be best suited to inter-urban transit.

Don’t get me wrong; I love driving ‘Mr. Bobby Button’, the moniker (and character) attached to the 2017 Mitsubishi MiEV that can be seen tooting around KW in all seasons. BB is about the size of a Smartcar-on-steroids, has all-wheel drive and can turn in a phone booth, and is remarkably spunky when the light goes green. This generation of EV, however, was built just-before the innovations embedded in today’s EVs that practically eliminate ‘range anxiety’. BB has an ‘effective’ full range of 150 kilometres on a full charge but temperature, ancillary electrical use (radio, phone charger, heater, etc.) and travelling speed can combine to reduce the 150 km range by a third or more. That’s not much of a problem when you are doing errands or running across town and back; you plug in at home and are fully good-to-go by the morning. But when you’ve got an extended journey ahead of you in an EV of BB’s vintage, you need to put a bit of extra planning in place to ensure that you arrive at your destination without the necessity of pushing the last kilometre or two!

And, truth be told, I’m a bit of a nervous-Nelly when it comes to range anxiety. When driving gas vehicles, the EMPTY light was a frequent travelling companion and a reminder to stop….soon-ish. In BB? Not so much. There have been a couple of ‘adventures’ that came close to running down the battery and getting the travelling party stuck in the middle of a farmer’s field. Oh, and there’s that other time that saw yours-truly come close to committing B&E to access an electrical outlet in a barn by the side of a country road somewhere west of Belleville.

With that in mind, the route was carefully planned, thanks to the ‘Queen of Google Maps and the EV Charging Apps’. Oh yes, there’s an app for charging your EV (recommended), or for scouting out potential stopping points (also recommend, and be sure to check the latest check-in). Actually, there’s three or four apps that you need in this part of SW Ontario. In Quebec and eastern Ontario, one app gets you from Montreal to Kingston….but then you’ll encounter a patchwork of stopping points, some demonstration projects brought forth by municipalities and some for-profit, app-based solutions. In southwest Ontario, there’s pretty good coverage in the cities like Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Stratford, Guelph and Brantford. For our trip to Lake Huron, we’d first need to stop and top-up in Stratford. And then find another place to stop before getting to the shore, as the top-up only takes BB to 80% charge and the temperature was cool to the point of chilly (and passengers likewise).

We made the first leg to Stratford without incident, although that luck wouldn’t be repeated on the homeward journey as the erstwhile-working charging suddenly wasn’t working on Sunday! But that’s a story for another day.

The battery in BB read 40% when we plugged in to the fast-charger, ChaDeMo (google it….I can’t remember what that stands for at the moment). It takes about 20 minutes to get to 80% from empty, although I’ve never risked that; in this case, the charge took about 15 minutes, which afforded us the perfect opportunity to advance scout the next stopping point.

As I mentioned, the Queen had a full array of apps to check and then cross-check with Google maps to plot time, distance and likelihood that I’d have a mini-meltdown before we reached the charging point. At this stage, I was focussed not so much on the bucolic nature of the quaint town housing the charging station – and much more focussed on not running out of ‘juice’ somewhere between Varna and Staffa….which last time I check an atlas were both located near the Black Sea? How could that be?

I should mention that in addition to the high-powered, separately-powered ChaDeMo fast-charger (15-20 minutes), there’s a mid-range charger (that runs on 220) that takes 4 hours to reach full charge from empty…and a plug-in, take-with version that can take up to 12 hours to get you to full charge from empty. Oh, and because we don’t drive a Tesla, Elon’s e-stations do absolutely nothing for us ‘plebs’. So figuring out which station was working in which location, and with which app to pay for the privilege of powering our progress, is kind of important.

The Queen remarked that there seemed to be a new station, just up and running in the town of Exeter, which was conveniently located on our route to the shore from Stratford. With an almost-full charge under our engine’s fanless belt, we headed out with a load of enthusiasm and just a tad of concern about what would await us at the destination. We checked out the Google maps, saw that Exeter is located about 20 kilometres from the Lake Huron shore near Grand Bend, with an extra dozen clicks taking you up the shore to Bayfield. Exeter is also the largest and best-appointed town once you’ve left Stratford if you’re heading in the Grand Bend/Bayfield direction. The perfect waypoint, as it turned out.

And talk about serendipity! I was almost out of coffee and the charging station was located in the parking lot of the Timmie’s on the main street (actually, Main Street)!

The station was easy to find (which is NOT ALWAYS the case), the app connected easily (again, NOT ALWAYS the case), and we both let out a bit of an exhale knowing that we’d leaped the final range hurdle, with an 80% charge more than capable of speeding us the 20+ kilometres to our final destination, where we’d plug-in the overnight charger. I ducked inside, grabbed another double-double, and sat back, enjoying the respite while the vehicle charged. The Queen, not content with EV apps and Google maps, turned her attention to another favourite, real estate dreaming.

Firing up the MLS, we noticed a couple of properties for sale and for lease in Exeter, and specifically a couple of properties in the historic downtown core. Now, there was no impetus to look at properties but why not follow the way that the road was taking us, and Exeter was leaving us happier and recharged by the minute. Once we reached the max, we headed down to the core and spied out the listings. One or two looked promising – again, not sure promising what – so in the days after we reached out to the agents to explore what-ifs. And then the pandemic hit HARD, lockdown came, and more pressing realities pressed the idea away…..for a while.

In early September, to recharge from a strenuous summer spent developing two print issues and delivering a wealth of online content, we decided to head back to the shore for a Covid-safe weekend, this time staying in Bayfield. It was a lovely time, and on the road back home we decided to stop in Exeter to recharge the vehicle. There’s also a lovely park in Exeter, and we’d recently added a puppy, Zoey, to the family. Zoey needed a good stretch-of-the-legs in some deep, green grass and lungs full of fresh, clean air. So Exeter it was (we could have made the full trip to Stratford with the full charge and the warmer temperatures). The fact that we could stop at Timmies and recharge the vehicle (and the driver) only added to the appeal. We also took the time to drive to the downtown core and see how the local merchants and businesses were doing. We were happy to note that most businesses had managed to sustain operations in spite of the historic challenges, and that people were (safely) going about their daily activities, a smile in their eyes as they greeted us from behind the masks.

When we returned to Kitchener, we made a few enquiries in regard to real estate in Exeter. Well, as things would happen, an interesting proposition was brought to us by a friend of A\J: there was a street level shop in a building in the middle of the historic downtown core, and the rent would be ‘subsidized’ by the philanthropically-inclined new owners for a year (at least). But we’d need to be ready to put staff in that office once the pandemic lifted – and be ready to use this gift as an opportunity to learn, listen and grow more earthy in our opinions and in our writing. We’re there now.

We’ve got plans again, tentative plans given the uncertain circumstances. But the plans are rooted in the core mission of our organization: to become the most effective story-teller of environmental stories that are read by a broad cross-section of Canadians. We’ve got roots in cities and bigger towns, graduating from Peterborough to KW, with stops in Toronto in between. We’ve got roots in academic circles of informed-opinions and opinion-formers. We’ve got roots in the eNGO community, and frequently seek to empower collaborations that deliver 1+1=3. But, as an organization, our roots had not yet extended to the fertile soil of a community like Exeter. So, we leaped…. again….and we’re ready to take bigger leaps in the near future.

We’ve already made some friends in the community, and have discussed how we can best become a good neighbour and an economic development supporter. We’re ideating lectures and panels and musical events. We’re engaging with schools and businesses and organizations to understand their environmental stories – and to share them with our national readership. Admittedly, we’re doing it slowly; slowly but surely. We’re planting the seeds that we hope will grow into strong roots that will allow our writing, our story-telling, to blossom and flourish.

In Exeter, Ontario, at the crossroad to Lake Huron shore, on the road to serendipity… and opportunity.

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Almost every sector of the economy would benefit from oil sand development. But through all the positive economic growth Canada would receive, it is necessary to look at the impact on the environment it will have.

The refined oil will be transported through pipelines. Any released bitumen through a spill, leak, or rupture can contaminate the surrounding land or water. Tailing ponds to store the liquid to retrieve the oil can be shown to leak chemicals into the surrounding water supply like the Athabasca River and the Mackenzie River. Additionally, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conducted in the area shows that the overall quantity of chemicals (PAH) is lower than that which naturally occurs in recovering petrol. A change in formula can have health risks to the surrounding population.

These chemicals can cause upper respiratory issues on site. Moreover, the chemicals that are released through a spill, leak, or rupture, that do not work directly on-site will soon have more complicated issues like headache, nausea, skin rashes, and respiratory symptoms which coincide with exposure to crude oil.

Working on the oil sands can have an increased health risk, and during the current COVID-19 pandemic it will make it much worse. According to unnamed contractors, workers did not have inadequate distancing, testing, or sanitization Those that currently work at CNRL Horizon in the Alberta Oil sands have stated, “We don’t feel safe here, but we keep working because everybody wants to work,” one contractor at Horizon said.

It is difficult for these workers to bring complaints about these safety issues to those higher on the corporate ladder,  due to fear of losing their job. The liability does not fall on the oil sand operators anymore regarding the environment or the health and safety of the workers.

“We’re all feeling like, head down, blinders on. Don’t even look around you and just try to get through your shift without getting sick.”

It is frivolous to think that mining for crude oil will disappear in the next 10 years. But companies should have federal and provincial policies in place to protect the health of their workers – and the general public – from irreversible harm. “Personally, with experience in seeing all sides of corporate and environmental relationships, I know products must exist for now. But it is difficult for me to understand why an unexplored market could be so scary to a company when investments are made all the time for new products. 

Do you think you could help me understand?

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Environmental Value

Rivers come in many different shapes and sizes and present themselves as habitat for many species across the globe. Rivers are known to have some of the richest biodiversity in the world, and yes it goes beyond just fish. From snails, to alligators, to pollutant-sucking plants and piranhas; the habitat these rivers supply is of immense value to the world’s aquatic organisms. According to the Living Planet Index, freshwater vertebrate species have declined by 81% since 1970, which is a steeper decline than both terrestrial and marine species. Conserving freshwater species is important to ensure that our ecosystems are resilient to changes in the environment, as these ecosystems provide us with many other benefits related to culture and economics as well.

Additionally, rivers help us regulate our climate, which is becoming more important with increasing concerns of climate change. Rivers across the world help reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by flushing carbon from land into the ocean. Scientists have estimated that the world’s rivers transport 200 million tons of carbon to the ocean every year. This equals about 0.02% percent of the total mass of carbon in the atmosphere. Over thousands of years, that number really adds up to significant amounts of carbon taken out of the atmosphere, which can no longer contribute to atmospheric warming and climate change. Rivers also play a significant role in several other environmental processes such as nutrient cycling and air quality regulation.

Cultural Value

Rivers are vital to maintaining the function of ecosystems and the environment, yet their cultural importance is often overlooked. Since ancient times, rivers have influenced the way we live our everyday lives and our relationship to the environment, whether through farming, fishing, or powering homes. Fishing communities have always relied on the conservation of this resource to supply food and promote trade, especially among indigenous communities. Several agricultural communities benefit from rivers since farmers can use natural streams to develop and enhance irrigation systems to reliably water their crops. Despite the Nile River being the longest in the world, its cultural importance is like that of the Don River in Toronto. The Nile River was the means of life for settlements since 6000 BCE. The Nile holds religious significance since civilizations believed that the gods were responsible for annual flooding of the river, which deposited fertile soil along the riverbanks. Furthermore, the river was also a source of recreation among Egyptians, commonly used for water jousting and swimming.

In southern Toronto, like any other port, the city’s shoreline and the Don River have been built out extensively over the past century. Because of this development, and the sharp angles of the mouth of the Don River (which do not allow for the slowing of water like a winding river does), there is extensive flooding during rainy seasons. The federal, provincial, and municipal  governments have invested millions of dollars to re-naturalize the mouth of the Don River to reduce flooding within the city. The re-naturalization project has allowed for the revitalization of contaminated port lands in which oil and chemical industries historically dominated. Moreover, this will also allow city dwellers to escape the “city aesthetic” and immerse themselves in nature, hopefully improving mental and physical health. The Don River and Nile River are two of thousands that have the power to cultivate life and stimulate economic growth.

Economic Value

Rivers are of great economic importance, with many coastal communities globally depending on rivers to support their livelihoods. The most apparent economic value of our rivers is the drinking water source it supplies; it is estimated that 2 billion people receive their drinking water supply from dammed rivers. Indirectly, our existence fully depends on a river’s water supply as the driver of agricultural irrigation and hydropower. Less apparent is the dependence of the transport, tourism, and fishing industry on rivers. Historically, societies have always been found near water, due to the ease of transportation from ports. Rivers and their canals were vital to the transport of goods and people globally, and today there are more than 17,700 km of commercially significant navigation channels in the United States alone. Additionally, river tourism is a major economic resource supplying transportation, spectacular views, as well as supplying a sense of heritage and adventure. Rivers, particularly those that are left in their natural state, support some of the largest freshwater fish harvests in the world. A good example would be the Mekong River in East Asia which has an annual harvest of 4.4 million tonnes, valued at $17 billion USD per year. Unfortunately, migratory freshwater fish populations have declined by 76% since 1970, with the biggest driver being habitat degradation. Continual degradation of rivers due to human activities will undoubtedly jeopardize the vital source of food and livelihood that water supports, especially for vulnerable, rural communities and third world countries.

With increasing threats such as habitat degradation, climate change, and much more our rivers are at greater risk than ever before. River restoration projects are receiving more attention as a result, yet more can be done. In conclusion, there are many distinct reasons that make it necessary to maintain the health of our rivers across the world. From preserving the environment, to conserving our own culture and economies, humans have a high stake in the wellbeing of our rivers and their ecosystems. Individually, being a steward for rivers will help them continue to thrive for future generations.

This article is part of our March 2021 Western Student Editorial Series – a series that showcases the works of students in the Collaborative Specialization in Environment and Sustainability program. Read more articles from this series here!

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Municipal transit systems have been heavily criticized in the past for failing to connect people in growing suburban developments, lacking efficiency in dense urban areas, or simply not having enough ridership to make a difference. Rachel Brown, a recent graduate working in the sustainable transportation sector, had some of these feelings growing up; “As soon as I had access to a car, transit wasn’t my main mode of transportation,” she said, “it took way longer, it was inconvenient for me to walk to a bus stop from my house. For me to get on a bus and go to my friend’s house took almost an hour, where I could get in a car and drive to my friend’s house in fifteen minutes.”

This is coupled with the fact that learning to use the bus can be intimidating for many people. There are still many mental and physical barriers that prevent people choosing transit- think of a young student who may not understand how to use the bus, or a newcomer to Canada not yet confident in their English. Without a simple, stress free transit system, many people may be deterred from giving transit a chance.

“Transportation can be crucial for linking communities to vital resources.” -Rachel Brown

Brown highlighted the positive effects a functional, appealing transit system can have on communities, “Transportation can be crucial for linking communities to vital resources, so as an example you could live in Scarborough or a community hub that you’re connected to culturally, spiritually, religiously- maybe you’re just going to school downtown- but having that ability to get to those resources is really important.” Brown added it’s about breaking down common behaviours and norms in society; “My first option should be taking the bus, or the train, or bicycle…It shouldn’t be automatically just driving in a car.”

So how do we move from a single car culture to a transit culture? For public transit to be more competitive with other modes of transportation, things need to change. Municipalities across Canada have acknowledged some of these problems and found solutions to improve transit within their communities.

Kingston’s Transit Orientation Project

Back in 2012, many high school students in the city of Kingston, Ontario opted out of riding public transit. While the buses were free, many students admitting the idea of going on the bus gave them fear and anxiety because they did not know how to use it.

Dan Hendry, with the Limestone District School Board, saw an opportunity to increase transit ridership in Kingston, while simultaneously providing students with the confidence and tools to use transit and gain the freedom of mobility. He developed the Transit Orientation Project, an education program designed to encourage teenagers to ride the city buses and provide them with independent mobility. At the time, 30% of greenhouse gas emissions from Kingston came from transportation³, and if more individuals took the bus, it would have a significant impact on city emissions.

“It’s this idea of normalizing the usage and understanding of how to use it,” Hendry explained. Hendry took students on the bus and taught them about anything from bus etiquette, to the social, economic, and environmental benefits that come with riding the bus. The students were taken to get their bus pass the same day.  Hendry said students asked “about anything from stopping the bus, as funny as that sounds, but how do you get on the bus? Off the bus? When do you pull the trigger? Do you get off the front or the back? Can you put your bike on the rack? What about getting a transfer?”

The program was all about highlighting the freedom students would have using transit. With a bus pass, students were able to get to work, volunteer, and participate in after school activities. The bus passes were also used for field trips, experiential learning opportunities, and other activities which opened community resources to students.

The first program in 2012 began with grade nines. By 2015, students from grade nine to twelve had a transit pass. Hundreds of bus lessons later, and the program helped transit ridership in Kingston increase by 87%.

In Charlottetown, PEI, they had experienced a similar problem. The city noticed that newcomers and seniors were the primary demographic using transit. Inspired by the work in Kingston, they embarked on a similar teen transit ridership program.

As the Manager of Environment and Sustainability in Charlottetown, Ramona Doyle was involved in the project. Doyle mentioned educating the public on sustainability solutions like bus ridership serves two purposes; “One is trying to create a population that buys into the concept of sustainability and sees it as a community value because that will then come back to elected officials in terms of priority in the community….And two, just to create a population that really cares and understands the space we have is limited and precious and worthwhile preserving.”

Doyle and Hendry both noticed the positive impact the programs had on families in their community. They mentioned that in the months following the program, they saw students encouraging their parents and family members to use transit, teaching them what they had learned from the program.

“It’s all about ‘normalizing transit at a young age, for families as well, and making it more accessible…focussing not just on a bus but on freedom, [students] have just one more tool in their kit.” -Dan Hendry 

While the pass may not be profitable while students are in high school, the teen transit program fosters future paying customers, and encourages these individuals to use the bus into adulthood and reduce the possibility of becoming automobile dependent in the future. “It’s all about ‘normalizing transit at a young age, for families as well, and making it more accessible, focussing not just on a bus but on freedom, [students] have just one more tool in their kit,” Hendry said, adding, “Transit has been stigmatized for a long time. And it’s not just underfunded but seen to be important… so I think if people see how to use it and understand it at a young age, they will have it as a tool for life”.

Word of the program success has spread beyond Charlottetown and Kingston. Cities across Canada including St. John’s Burlington, North Bay, Peterborough, and Belleville are currently hoping to, or in the process of, running similar programs.  

Belleville ‘On-Demand’ Transit System

Every night, a handful of city buses in Belleville, Ontario would lap the same routes over and over, often driving around an empty bus. At night, demand was low, and the number of passengers dropped significantly. Hoping to maximize the ridership fares per revenue hour, the city moved to a fixed nighttime route which used less than a third of their normal fleet. It didn’t take long for residents to complain these buses were slow, and many individuals ended up having to travel far distances to reach a bus stop.

This was not sustainable.

In 2018, the city partnered with Pantonium Inc, a Toronto based company which uses algorithms and cloud-based technology to optimize transit fleets.  They created a pilot project with Belleville which offered on-demand transit to the community during nighttime routes. Using the EverRun software platform created by Pantonium, passengers could use an app on their phone, call in, or even email to signal a city bus to pick them up at any bus stop of their choosing, then drop them off at any other stop in town. As more passengers used the system, drivers would receive updated routes in real-time which could cater to multiple passengers at once, maximizing efficiency.

Luke Mellor, the Marketing Director at Pantonium Inc, explained why the project was needed in Belleville; “The service has to cover the whole city and there is not a lot of demand, so they can’t afford to put a lot of vehicles out there. So, what you have is a very sparse network that takes forever to get around. We saw this nighttime, low-density bus service as a niche where on-demand bus service would work very well.”

“If you can get those people that don’t have cars and provide them a service that’s good for their mobility needs, then they won’t get cars. That’s at least the hope, you can prevent the mode-ship from going in reverse.” – Luke Mellor

Belleville was able to increase efficiency using far fewer buses to cover the same distances while providing the same level of service during low demand periods while avoiding wasted emissions and eliminating the need for bus transfers. The service was very adaptable, “It’s a little more flexible I think than a fixed route in managing demand,” Mellor said, “if you can get those people that don’t have cars and provide them a service that’s good for their mobility needs, then they won’t get cars. That’s at least the hope, you can prevent the mode-shift from going in reverse.” The program was so successful, Mellor mentioned when the program first started, they saw nighttime ridership increase by over 300%.

This program was unique as it opened the door for this technology to be replicated in suburban developments or sparse, low-density communities which may not have a solid transportation system in place. Mellor admitted that in terms of using cloud technology to optimize transit fleets, we are still behind the curve and there is a long way to go. Regardless, he is hopeful in how the EverRun software will grow, “Imagine if every city in Canada had 2-10 buses, 24 hours a day that could pick you up and drop you off at any bus stop in the city. That would be a service that would actually get people out of their cars. Especially for equity and justice, not everyone can afford a car, but everyone needs to get around a city.”

Read more Pantonium and the EverRun software at this Link. 

More Than Transit

This is not just about transit, this is about fostering connected, healthy, sustainable communities.

Sustainability has become increasingly integrated into our decision making. Each community is different, and sustainable solutions that work for some may not work for all. But moving toward a more sustainable transit culture and away from a single-car culture has shown to better communities’ time and time again. This is not just about transit, this is about fostering connected, healthy, sustainable communities.

As Dan Hendry put it, “It’s not just about the bus, it’s about moving from point A to point B, this is jobs, volunteering, first dates, meeting friends…Transit can positively affect your life even if you don’t use it. Whether that be the grocery store clerk getting to work on time, whether that be reduced flows in traffic and congestion, whether that be the environmental benefit if people care about that, and with 7.8 billion people I think we should.”

Want more stories like this? This article is featured in our next issue, Getting There: The Ecosystem of Human Movement. Check out the next issue for more!

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Today, Alternatives Journal is releasing our latest issue, Getting There: The Ecosystem of Human Movement.

The carbon footprint of an individual within a developed country is drastically higher than someone in a developing country. The reason behind this is partly in how we choose to get around. We drive to work every morning. We board cruises and airplanes to glamorous, far away destinations. We like to be always on the move.

The question becomes; how do we move from point A to point B and design the systems that help us to do so in a way that lowers our carbon footprint and leaves behind a positive lasting impact on the natural, social and economic environment? These questions will be answered in our latest issue, Getting There: The Ecosystem of Human Movement.

In this issue, we will discuss population growth and planning. As our population changes, we have become required to rethink city planning and discover the positive impacts of sustainable solutions such as greenways, bike lanes, improving city walkability, and retrofitting existing transportation infrastructure to better facilitate the movement of people and goods.

This issue will also explore the sustainability of traveling and the tourism industry. In the last few months, many airlines and cruise ships have had to park their fleets and seen a massive decline in customers. However, in the wake of a global pandemic that forced us to cancel our vacation plans, we were presented with the opportunity to reflect on how we travel and what tools we can use, like carbon offsetting, to help mitigate the impact we have.

Finally, this issue will critically assess our public transportation systems. How do we move away from a single car culture to a transit culture? What is the economic value of public transportation? How are other communities making their public transportation systems more sustainable? Asking these questions will have positive trickle-down effects to the entire community – whether that be through improving our physical and mental health, ability to access employment, or by protecting our natural spaces.  This issue will answer these questions and hopefully prompt you to ask a few new ones.

This was an incredibly special issue. In the summer of 2020, four students from the Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES) at Western University undertook this issue as co-op placements. There is an old Persian saying: “If you want to make God laugh, make a plan”. At A\J, we had lots of plans for how this summer was supposed to unfurl. We had a great team and a great work plan arranged in the early winter to start in May 2020. Of course, those plans were made oblivious to the deadly and tragic impacts of Covid-19 that were about to ensue.

Thankfully, the ‘sustainability’ focus of their education – with strong leadership from our issue’s guest editor, Professor Stephan Vachon (and the CES director) – allowed the team to dodge the flaming chainsaws of uncertainty and chase the golden unicorns of new opportunities. This issue is a testament to the power and capacity that emanates from campuses in London, Ontario and across the country, from coast to coast to coast. 

ABOUT AJ

Small but mighty, Alternatives Journal (A\J) is Canada’s environmental voice. Publishing intelligent and informed environmental journalism since 1971, A\J fosters positive change and seeks sustainable solutions that our 30,000+ readers can use to improve their communities and our world.

References to this issue can be found at this link. 

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Almost all environmental concerns lead back to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. I mean, of course it all leads back to the climate crisis. Most people can agree that it is primarily caused by human activities such as resource extraction and use and agriculture. 

By 2017, Canada became the 10th largest CO₂ emitting country. The oil and gas sector and the transportation sector were the largest GHG emitting sectors in Canada. These two sectors combined account for almost 52% of Canada’s total emissions. Of that, the oil and gas sector accounts for 27% of total emissions and the transportation sector accounts for 24% of emissions. According to Natural Resources Canada, between 1990 and 2017, oil and gas sector emissions increased by 84% and transport emissions increased by 43%. 

This past semester, I took a course called Energy and Sustainability and part of our first assignment was to simulate and compare energy models, policies and statistics for three countries. Using this knowledge and experience, I decided to take a different approach in this article and propose suitable energy policies that could reduce GHG emissions from these two sectors, if applied. With current measures in place, it would fluctuate between 745 to 775 from now to the year 2050. 

Energy Policy Solutions, the energy simulator applied to this research, was developed by Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology and the Pembina Institute. According to Energy Innovation, it was developed to assist policy makers in identifying and implementing cost effective policies towards a low carbon future. As they say on their website, “Well-designed energy policies can reduce pollution, cut consumer costs and minimize dependence on foreign energy suppliers. Done wrong, they can do the reverse and increase pollution, lock in carbon intensive  technologies and waste money”.

In 2017, Canada’s total GHG emissions were 716 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCo₂eq).

One policy that could be applied to the transport sector is passenger transport and demand management (TDM). This policy is made up of a set of regulations that work towards reducing demand for passenger travel in private vehicles. Some of these policies include improving public transit systems, creating more walking and bike paths, zoning for high density transit, road and congested parking pricing and increased parking fees. These are already effective in municipalities across Canada and more should be encouraged. 

The city of Waterloo, for instance. In an attempt to meet a 2020 emissions reduction target, the city created a local car share system, a region-wide anti-idling bylaw, a regional electric vehicle charging network, an ION light rail transit service and much more. After applying this policy on a national level, CO₂ emissions in Canada for 2050 project to 739 mmtCO₂ from 752mmtCO₂ on the policy simulator.

Another policy that could be applied in the transport industry is an electric vehicle subsidy of passenger light duty vehicles (LDVs). According to Policy Solutions, this policy would make the government pay for a percentage of the purchase price of new electric passenger light duty vehicles. After applying a 50% electric vehicle subsidy, CO₂ emissions would be reduced from 752 mmt/yr to 728 mmt/yr.

For the oil and gas sector, one policy that could work is methane capture. This policy “reduces methane emissions for the industry sector by increasing the capture of methane currently being released into the atmosphere”. Methane is a type of GHG emitted during coal, natural gas and oil production, agriculture processed and the decay of organic waste.

If 97% of the methane capture potential is achieved, CO₂ emissions can fall from 752 mmt/yr to 682 mmt/yr. According to Policy Solutions, if 100% of the methane capture potential was achieved, process emissions in 2050 would be reduced by 81% in natural gas and petroleum, 8% for mining and 86% from the waste management sector.

Lastly, another possible policy for the oil and gas industry is cogeneration and waste heat recovery. As described by Energy Innovation, “this policy contributes to reducing fuel consumption in the industry sector by increasing the use of cogeneration, also known as, “combined heat and power” and “recovery of waste heat to perform useful work”. Simply put, it refers to a process where waste heat from coal fired power stations is used for space or water heating in our residential or commercial buildings. If this policy reaches its full potential, fuel use can be reduced by almost 8% across all industries in 2050. After applying this policy, CO₂ emissions will reduce from 752 mmt/yr to 734 mmt/yr by 2050. 

Only four policies have been selected for two of the GHG emitting sectors in Canada. What impact do they all have together? After applying these policies, passenger transport demand management, methane capture, light passenger electric vehicle subsidy and cogeneration and waste heat recovery, CO₂ emissions in Canada will reduce from 752 mmt/yr to 635 mmt/yr.

This research only answers the questions on “What effective measures can we take?” and not the “How do we do it?” part. Seeing how much impact four policies have means that the results would be outstanding if not only were more policies were applied but other CO₂ emitting sectors were analysed too.

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The simulator is available to the public, so you can also try out how policies on different sectors can affect emissions in Canada, Alberta,  Mexico, Poland, Indonesia, India, China and the USA via this link: https://policysolutions.pembina.org

The post Energy Policy Options for Canada appeared first on A\J.

I have goosebumps hearing this from the mother of an 11-year old boy during the parent roundtable session of a Youth Action on Climate Change (YACC) workshop. 

“Last night, my son wasn’t even sure if he wanted to come to this workshop. He said, ‘Mom, what’s the point? I can’t do anything. I’m just a kid and these problems are too big.’”

I have goosebumps hearing this from the mother of an 11-year old boy during the parent roundtable session of a Youth Action on Climate Change (YACC) workshop. 

But nine months after launching the initiative, I am well aware that this young boy is not alone in his feeling of defeat. This is the norm, not the exception when it comes to young peoples’ feelings about climate change. 

Today’s youth are the first generation to have lived their entire lives under the threat of catastrophic climate change and they are one of the most vulnerable groups to the impacts. The effects of climate change threaten the most basic rights of young people, including their health, access to food and water, education – even their survival. 

Ultimately, many young people feel as though climate change is leaving them without a future. An Australian study of 10-14 year olds, found that 50% of children were deeply concerned about climate change, while 25% were concerned that the world would end in their lifetime. 

Can you imagine growing up thinking that the planet is going to die before you do? 

We have a climate emergency on our hands alright, and it’s the way that we teach young people about climate change. We are communicating the climate crisis in a way that supports an entire generation of hopeless activists who believe they’ve lost the fight before they’ve even begun.

We need to change the way that we talk to young people about climate change.

There is a need now more than ever, to educate youth about the possibilities of a drastically changing climate. While the statistics are daunting and the numbers terrifying, youth deserve to know what they’re up against. I’m certainly not arguing whether or not the facts have a place in climate discussions and I’m not suggesting we sugar-coat the harsh realities of climate change. What I am suggesting is that we do more than just teach youth to be scared.

There is a scene in the movie Tomorrowland, where the main character Casey finds herself in classroom after classroom, learning about the devastating effects that climate change is having all around the world. In each class she eagerly raises her hand, waiting to be called on by a teacher, but is continuously ignored. When she is finally called on she asks “so what can we do about it?”.

This is the question at the forefront of every young person’s mind when we talk about climate change. Don’t just tell young people that the glaciers are melting, teach them how to stop it. Don’t just tell youth that fossil fuels are bad for the atmosphere, teach them about renewable energy sources. Don’t just tell your students that eating meat is bad, give them alternatives to industrial agriculture. We spend far too much time talking about climate change impacts and not nearly enough talking about climate change solutions.

A Yale Climate Change Communication study, found that humans don’t respond well to negative information – go figure, nobody likes to lose. We need to feel like we can make positive change, because if it feels like nothing can be done, it’s unlikely we’ll be motivated to act. The feelings of this 11-year old boy in Waterloo are echoed among youth around the world: if they see a problem as too big, they stop believing that anything can be done to solve it. 

Studies suggest that the best way to motivate young people to do something is to follow up the scary facts that we teach them with a solution, in order to focus young minds on action. Surveys conducted of young Norwegians in 2014 showed that young people wanted to learn more about how they could contribute to reducing the dramatic consequences of climate change and focus more on the positives. 

Young people need to feel as though they are “doing something” about climate change; it’s why millions around the world have mobilized in front of parliament buildings and in city streets every Friday for almost a year.  

Since August 2018, students around the world have been walking out of school and striking in protest of the governments’ inaction on climate change. The #FridaysForFuture strikes started by Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, have provided youth one pathway in which they feel like they can be effective in fighting the climate crisis.

These strikes have been effective in terms of capturing global attention and raising awareness of the youth-climate movement. But, personally, I think they’re exceptionally underestimating the potential of young people. 

The strikes revolve around the idea of youth asking decision makers to make change for them; the narrative doesn’t leave any space for young people to actively be part of the solution. 

In a 2018 study, adult decision-makers referred to a need to reach a global climate agreement for, but not with young people, expressing well-meaning sentiments, but failing to acknowledge that youth could play an active role too. 

At the University of Guelph, we recognized the active role that youth could play in addressing the climate crisis, which is why we founded Youth Action on Climate Change (YACC). Social movement activities like protests have a short shelf life and we wanted to ensure that youth-generated momentum wasn’t lost. As a result, we created a different pathway in which youth can feel like they’re being effective in fighting the climate crisis; we developed a space in which youth can collaborate with other like-minded young people and play an active role in building climate solutions. 

The program takes a solutions-focussed approach that answers the inevitable “what now?”.

Our goal is to empower youth to design, build, and engage with their own climate solutions, instead of just relying on adult decision makers to save them who, let’s face it, don’t have a great track record. Now, less than a year into its existence, YACC has helped youth in Guelph and Waterloo region launch entirely youth-led projects focussed on developing community-based solutions around active transportation, energy transitions, and sustainable food systems.

At our Guelph launch event, we brought together almost 100 young people to talk about climate issues in the community, which ended up being the foundation for what is now an entirely youth-led research project on cycling infrastructure in the city. Youth as young as 14-years old are executing their own survey and participatory mapping project to highlight barriers to youth bike-ridership in the community and make recommendations to council that will make Guelph a more “bikeable” city. 

The program quickly caught the attention of youth in Waterloo. Last month we launched YACC in Waterloo Region, bringing together about thirty young people to discuss their climate concerns and solutions. Beginning in September, these young people in will be leading projects to make the region’s food systems more sustainable and help businesses in the community transition to renewable energy.

When we first started YACC, we were surprised to learn that there were few existing initiatives like it, in which young people could play an active role in solutions-building. 

Research shows that schools, communities, and governments rarely engage with young people’s ideas, experiences, and understandings of climate change. This lack of support is leaving youth to cope with the overwhelming threat and responsibility of climate change on their own and adds to these existing feelings of hopelessness in the climate movement. 

Through YACC, we have started to change this in order to more actively engage with young people on climate issues and support them in building solutions, but we can’t do it alone. We need schools, communities, and governments all around the world to recognize that youth participation in the climate movement is not tokenistic and start properly engaging them in solutions-building. 

We need to start talking to youth about climate solutions as co-creators, not as victims or beneficiaries of our decision-making. Youth have a valuable, active role to play in shaping our world’s climate solutions and until we properly engage them, we’ll never be able to solve this planet’s climate crisis. 

To learn more about Youth Action on Climate Change (YACC) or to get involved, please visit our website, http://youthactiononclimate.com, or email us at youthclimatesolutions@gmail.com

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It’s 2019 and people are becoming more aware of the seriousness of the climate crisis and more importantly, the part we as nations, communities and humans play in addressing it. In recent years, a large number of communites in Canada have been developing sustainable energy plans. For instance, Oxford County, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia are committed to achieving 100% renewable energy sources by 2050. Vancouver is also aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% below 2007 levels. The cities of Guelph and Markham are going Net Zero Carbon by 2050. So, what about the community I live in, the Region of Waterloo?  

In 2013, local organizations and community members of the Waterloo region collaborated with the Sustainable Waterloo region, Reep Green solutions and the Region of Waterloo to develope the Climate Action Plan. This was done in order to join a nation-wide effort to reduce total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada. Cities across Canada are decreasing their total GHG emissions to reach a community reduction target. The Region of Waterloo is aiming to reduce its GHG emissions by 6% from 2010 levels by 2020. 

According to Ken Seiling, a former (and the longest sitting) Chair for Waterloo Region, 6% was the chosen target because Climate Action Waterloo Region (ClimateActionWR) believes it is realistic and achievable. There are many important projects in the community that can help us reach this goal, which will mean reducing GHG emissions by 842,000 tonnes by 2020. To visualize this, just 1 tonne of GHG is equivalent to the area of an average two-storey three bedroom house.

Between 2010 and 2015 alone, ClimateActionWR has stated a 5.2% reduction in GHG emissions, which is equivalent to 235,935 tonnes of CO2 emissions or 58,000 cars removed from the roads.

I wanted to know more about where the target stands currently, what the region has been doing to reduce emissions and achieve its targets, and how all the organizations involved work together.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to sit down with Tova Davidson, the Executive Director for Sustainable Waterloo Region, and Samantha Tremmel, the Interim Plan Manager for ClimateActionWR.  

Tova Davidson

What does Sustainable Waterloo Region have to do with the ClimateActionWR? I wondered. “Climate Action Waterloo Region is a programme Sustainable Waterloo Region and Reep Green Solutions run together,” explains Ms. Davidson. It collaborates with local organizations, community members and municipalities to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions. She also adds that “Part of their [Climate Action WR’s] job is to support and promote other organizations in the work they are doing to reduce emissions. They do this through conversation, policies and connections to the community.” The 6% reduction by 2020 is not Climate Action WR’s only target. They have a long term “80 by 50” target too, which simply means reaching an 80% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050. 

So, how has the city been working to achieve the 6% target? In Waterloo, the 2015 emissions breakdown shows that the transportation sector is the largest emitter of CO2 at 49%, followed by industrial, commercial, and institutional work places at 27%, our homes at 18%, agriculture at 5% and waste management at 1%. Ms. Davidson mentions that the transport sector is a major focus for the Waterloo Region because it carries the largest footprint. 

Uptown Waterloo. Image Credit: Explore Waterloo Region

Actions taken to reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector include an initiative called the Community Access Bikeshare (CAB). CAB is a project designed to provide affordable public access to bicycles to get to meetings or run errands, as well as a way to encourage exercise. Kitchener-Waterloo currently has nine bikeshare locations. Similarly, another initiative is the community carshare, a way for households to own fewer vehicles and for the city to provide hybrid taxis that reduce fuel consumption, save money and lower GHG emissions. Lime, a transportation company who has placed electric scooters around the University of Waterloo campus and Waterloo Park, is also supported and promoted by ClimateActionWR. “It’s an interesting project and a decarbonization and pilot programme,” says Ms. Davidson. The ION light rail, which I greatly appreciate for its clean design and air conditioning this hot summer, is also a part of the initiative to reduce GHG emissions. The ION light rail only started its operation this June, but with the operation of fourteen electric, zero emission trains, some of the standard public buses have been taken off the roads. 

An initiative taken by the waste management industries include the green bins, as over 50% of household waste by weight is organic and can be used as compost. When not properly disposed of, organic waste creates a potent GHG called methane during decomposition. Between 2010 and 2014, over 11,000 tonnes of GHG has been reduced by Waterloo Region residents using the green bins.

Lastly, for our workplaces, one initiative that’s been taken up is implementing green building standards. The municipality provides initiatives for developers to voluntarily adopt more sustainable building standards or energy efficient designs. These incentives may be reduced development charges, permitting additional floor area, or an expedited review process for buildings that meet higher construction and performance standards. Other workplace initiatives include LED street light retrofits, which are expected to reduce GHG emissions by 920 tonnes per year.      

Other programs Sustainable Waterloo Region run include the ‘Regional Sustainability Initiative’. “It’s a target setting program for businesses, and we work with municipalities, schools, individual organizations and independent businesses to help them measure their carbon footprint. We set a target over a ten year period and we work to meet that target,” says Ms. Davidson. 

The evolv1 building located in the David Johnson Research and Technology Park, Waterloo, is Canada’s first zero carbon building, according to its developers The Cora Group. The building is also a part of the work Sustainable Waterloo Region is doing, and their office is in the evolv1 building. “Right now, we are working on not only scaling this building and getting other people to understand what happens in evolv1, but also on the culture of sustainability in terms of ‘how do we get people to see themselves as sustainability actors and behave in a way we need them to?’”

All the partner organizations of Sustainable Waterloo Region are always hiring for various paid and volunteer positions posted on their website and social media accounts

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A disturbing mix of flood hazards are present in the capital city of Ghana, Accra. The city has annual floods that result in a disturbing loss of lives and livelihoods. These perennial floods come with the onset of the rainy season in June each year and can be traced back to a core failure of city planning processes, waste management efficiency and civic recalcitrance towards responsible waste management.

Background Information

A disturbing mix of flood hazards are present in the capital city of Ghana, Accra. The city has annual floods that result in a disturbing loss of lives and livelihoods. These perennial floods come with the onset of the rainy season in June each year and can be traced back to a core failure of city planning processes, waste management efficiency and civic recalcitrance towards responsible waste management.

Photo: Flood cause-effect: Drainage blocked at Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: News Ghana

The Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, commonly known just as “Circle” by locals, is a sprawling transportation hub where thousands of commuters connect with mass transit buses, taxis and passenger buses to go about their daily movement.

Photo: Kwame Nkrumah Interchange (Circle). Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: Douglas Anane-Frimpong

A consequence of this heavy human traffic is the accumulation of waste produced by people in the form of rubber bags, food waste from vendors, disposable packaging and all forms of undesirables. These undesirables end up clogging gutters and blocking run-off water routes, particularly the Odaw River located at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange; a major water route, which when clogged, contributes to significant flooding. 

Photo: De-silting of Odaw River, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange (Circle). Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: Citi Newsroom

One particularly devastating flood disaster occurred on June 3rd 2015 in Accra, Ghana at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange. Flooding from continuous rainfall triggered an explosion at a fuel station that led to over 150 deaths. 

Photo: Rains and Living Hell Fire at GOIL filling station – Kwame Nkrumah Circle during flood on 3rd June 2015. Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: Walter Adamah, Twitter

On this fateful day, June 3rd 2015, people finding shelter from torrential rain at a fuel station were instantly vaporized when a massive fire engulfed the area; the fire’s cause was attributed to flood effects. 

Photo: Burnt out shell of GOIL filling station, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, following June 3rd 2015 fire. Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: Christian Thompson/AP

The wider conversation around environmental management in the form of efficient city planning and urban zoning coupled with responsible waste management with respect to impact analysis continues. In a country racked by wanton corruption and irresponsible and self-seeking decision making by administrative officials, one can identify this undesirable perennial flooding situation as metaphorical ‘Tears of a Nation’. 

Photo: Sanitation, euphemism for corruption in Ghana? Image Credit: MyJoyOnline TV – Ghana

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VOLKSWAGEN’S MANAGERS, its market value and its global reputation have all taken a big hit since it was revealed that 11 million of the company’s “clean diesel” cars were actually polluting up to 40 times more nitrous oxides than the legal limit.

In the wake of the scandal, blame has been placed on everything from the failure of deregulation to the avaricious corporate culture. These are all important considerations, but to what extent are we missing the point when we – the drivers of those so-called clean-diesels – absolve ourselves of any wrongdoing?

Don’t get me wrong, what VW did was nothing short of criminal (I would be remiss if I did not declare that I have signed on to one of the many class action lawsuits launched against VW). However, do we not do ourselves a deep disservice if we pin our society’s unsustainable transportation practices all on the producers?

Like millions of other VW owners, I too had a moment of fury when I found out my clean diesel was not so clean after all. Yet, as the shock wore off, I started to feel a sense of responsibility for the ecological catastrophe that is now encapsulated by the words “Volkswagen scandal.” Before we go on heaping all the blame on this one bad apple, we would do well to take a deep long look in the mirror to assess our own culpability.

There’s a palpable assumption that everything will be okay again if we just implement a more robust regulatory structure and a genuine corporate culture of social responsibility to ensure this kind of scam doesn’t happen again. But clearly, those assumptions do not account for the fact that nearly every one of us in Canada is producing an unacceptably high volume of greenhouse gases (GHGs) on a daily basis regardless of how clean and green our vehicles may be. After all, we are among the worst per capita emitters of GHGs in the world (the worst, according to the World Resources Institute, which includes land-use change and forestry in its calculations). Transportation is the biggest culprit in Canada, with the sector contributing nearly a quarter of all domestic emissions. Canadians are not driving less, but rather hoping that their purchases of cleaner vehicles will help reduce their environmental footprint. 

I now contemplate my next vehicle purchase with a skeptic’s eye toward potential greenwashing. But it would be a shame if the lesson from this scandal ended there. It would be much better if this whole mess forced us to own up to our own role in contributing to climate change and pollution and made us think twice about our excessive consumption of transportation.

This article orginally appeared in Alternatives Journal’s Current Events section on October 16, 2015 under the title “Sharing Volkswagen’s Blame“

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