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March 24, 2009

20 years on, the ocean still runs black

Posted by Elaisha Stokes at 10:07 AM ET | Comments (0)

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, off the coast of Alaska. In the early morning hours of March 24th, 1989, 11 million gallons of crude oil entered the ocean when the oil tanker collided with the local ocean reef.

While Exxon Valdez ranks relatively low on the scale of largest oil spills in terms of volume, it is considered the worst human-induced environmental disaster to ever occur at sea. The leaking crude oil spread more that 700 km from the spill site, devastating the oceans ecosystem. The WWF estimates that the initial impact of the oil killed 250,000 seabirds, 4,000 sea otters, 250 bald eagles, and more than 20 orca whales. In addition, the herring fishery completely collapsed, causing local fishermen to loose upwards of US $286 million in revenue and bankrupting the Alaska Native Corporation.

To this day, the arctic ecosystem has not recovered. The oceans still run black. Environmental experts estimate that more than 21 000 gallons of oil remain in Prince William Sound. In any other environment the remaining crude would have dispersed or biodegraded by now. But Prince William Sound is a closed ecosystem. It is not subject to the pounding waves necessary to both disperse the oil and feed to local oil munching bacteria that allow for biodegradation to occur. And so the oil remains, with ample time to seep further into the shoreline, and continue to devastate the fragile ecological balance of the region.

Sadly, 20 years on, it appears the powers that be have learned nothing from the disaster. Recent plans by the United States government to sell offshore oil drilling rights in the Bering Sea, which provides half of all seafood consumed in the US, illustrates that cash is still king when it comes to ecology. The bottom line? Until we can find alternatives to fossil fuels, drilling and transport of crude oil will continue, putting our most precious resources at perpetual risk.

More entries on: Environment

February 25, 2009

National Geographic exposes oilsands "holocaust"

Posted by Graham F. Scott at 10:14 AM ET | Comments (3)

The current issue of National Geographic features a harrowing feature article on the Alberta oilsands which is well worth your time. Don Martin writes in a CanWest news service wire story that privately, many government and energy industry insiders regard the piece as a public-relations disaster. National Geographic is widely read, and any article like this, especially one with some pretty amazing and disheartening photography, will expose millions of readers around the world to the stark devastation being wrought in Northern Alberta. Some are apparently calling this the industry's "baby seal moment," in that a few well-chosen images will do more to damage Canada's environmental reputation than decades' worth of environmental campaigning thus far.

You'd hope that people wouldn't have to wait for National Geographic to do an epic photo essay to start giving a damn about the devastated hellscape that is metastasizing around Fort McMurray, but here we are. The oil industry PR forces will be spinning hard to try and contain the message that this is, in Martin's words, "an emerging dirty-oil holocaust" — so what are we going to do to make sure that message keeps spreading?

[hat tip, Canadian Magazines blog]

Here's part one of a documentary made by Vice magazine on the same topic. Thanks to AJ in the comments for pointing us to it. The whole series is available here.

More entries on: Environment

February 18, 2009

Vacation the Exxon way

Posted by Elaisha Stokes at 11:54 AM ET | Comments (0)

The second annual Radical Innovation in Hospitality Awards have announced this years top winner: A luxury oil rig hotel and spa, designed by Morris Architects. Judges were amazed at the fresh, innovative and sustainable concept, which promises to save some of the 4000 oil rigs currently floating in the gulf of Mexico after they are decommissioned later this century, and turn them into luxury aquatic holiday settings.

Maybe it's just me, but the idea of spending my precious vacation time marooned somewhere in the gulf of Mexico on the remains of a floating oil rig sounds like the worst kind of vacation hell. I will concede that refurbishing a decommissioned oil rig is more favorable than the alternative explosion (the typical method of removing rigs,) but why not a floating wind farm? A bird sanctuary? An oceanic research vessel? The possibilities seem endless, but I will note that none of them involve me, a margarita, and the sweet smell of crude.

Am I the only one who thinks this is laugh out loud ridiculous? Would you spend your vacation this way?

More entries on: Environment

February 17, 2009

Water water everywhere, and not a drop to drink

Posted by Elaisha Stokes at 11:09 AM ET | Comments (0)

Environmental innovation is often focused on big, costly projects — a massive wind turbine farm, a smart grid, or perhaps a policy change on carbon emissions. But when it comes to going green, it's often the bare bones, DIY projects that have the greatest impact.

Enter Solvatten, a simple jerry can that harnesses solar energy to purify drinking water. By using energy from the sun, the container is able to heat and purify up to 10 litres of water. When the water is safe the drink, a small indicator light changes from red to green. The pathogen-killing process takes between 3-4 hours.

Access to a stable, clean supply of drinking water is a major issue in the developing world. 1.6 billion people world wide do not have access to electricity. That means that drinking water must be boiled over firewood or charcoal in order to destroy pathogens. Using Solvatten just once a day, 250 days in a year, could save up to 2,500 kg of firewood. That means less soil erosion, less CO2 emissions, and a truly green approach to development.

More entries on: Environment

February 04, 2009

Water Shortage Projections

Posted by Anna Bowen at 02:52 PM ET | Comments (0)

The center for Environmental Systems Research at the University of Kassel, Germany, just released a comprehensive mapping system outlining areas that may experience high levels of water shortage stress in the next seven or so decades. These suggestions about projected per-capita water availability follow on the heels of a wealth of new books on the subject over the last few years including Water: The fate of our most precious resource (2003) by Marq De Villiers; Maude Barlow's Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water (2007); and Vandana Shiva's Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit (2002).

These expectations are based on projections about future temperature and rainfall changes; economic and societal changes; and population growth. Projections of this kind by their nature can never claim unerring accuracy, but the implications remain grim and suggest a need for more awareness about the future of this resource worldwide.

More entries on: Environment

Get Smart

Posted by Elaisha Stokes at 01:10 PM ET | Comments (0)

Looking for an alternative to carbon offsets to save the climate and go green? Well look no further, the smart grid has arrived.

Actually, it hasn't arrived. And it probably won't arrive for a very long time, although President Barack Obama recently encouraged congress to pass a bill that could see the beginning of the smart grid in as few as three years. But for now, it remains an ideal vision for a far off future.

The smart grid is an electrical grid that uses digital technology to distribute and allocate electricity directly from producers to consumers, based on demand and efficiency. Studies estimate that updating the current U.S. electrical grid to make it only five percent more efficient would be the equivalent of removing 53 million cars from the roads. The United States Energy Department estimates that an updated power grid could result in savings between 43 and 117 billion dollars over the next 20 years, saving that would make even a Republican weak in the knees.

So what's the hold up? Surely it can't be cost. The first and only smart grid, currently located in Italy, was produced and executed at a cost of 2.1 billion dollars, but currently delivers savings of 500 million annually. Moreover, the technology used in smart grids has been in play for years, primarily in the manufacturing and telecommunications sector. It seems the only element holding the smart grid back is regulation.

Many of today's utility companies are reluctant to take a leap of faith and invest in the digitization of the power grid without substantial government incentive. Last Tuesday's Clean Energy Venture Summit in Austin, Texas, saw many of the energy industries leading executives calling for immediate action. "We're sitting on an aged, old infrastructure while emerging countries like India and China are moving to the next generation of networks and generation sources," said Brad Gammons, vice president, IBM global energy and utilities industry group. And in this case, that means subsidies.

The smart grid isn't perfect. Implementation will require nation-wide cooperation. But I like the smart grid. It's the best solution to the energy crisis I've seen in a long time, certainly better than the practice of carbon offsetting, which simply redistributes CO2 emissions instead of actually reducing them. We live in a digital age - why shouldn't our electrical grid be digital too?

More entries on: Environment

February 03, 2009

The road to greener pastures?

Posted by Elaisha Stokes at 11:24 AM ET | Comments (0)

Earlier today the Obama camp revealed a new plan to increase funding to the highway and transport sector in the U.S. as part of a national economic recovery plan. The details are still under debate in the senate, but at present $25 billion has been set aside for infrastructure projects, namely building new roads.

This all smacks of hypocrisy to me. Obama has long been lauded as a new "green" president. There has been speculation that he may refuse oil and gas products from Canada due to the "dirty" nature of our extraction practices. He recently created a "green task force," lead by vice president Joe Biden, and charged with the task of creating green jobs for middle class Americans that pay well and can't be outsourced. Yes, Obama is green. Or at least he's green on paper.

While a $25 billion dollar road construction project will create jobs, those jobs will only be temporary. On the other hand, the long term costs such a project would have on conservation efforts within the U.S. will last several generations. Roads expose wildlife to human encroachment. They barricade animals and divide up roaming territories. They contribute to emissions of harmful greenhouse gases. And while infrastructure is certainly a critical component to nation building, arguably the U.S. already has more than enough roads.

It was not long ago that Aldo Leopold advocated against the creation of transport infrastructure in his Land Ethic. Have we forgotten what it takes to truly go green? Or is today's environmental movement just a lot of hot air?

More entries on: Environment

January 08, 2009

Rinky-dink ink tinkering isn't the answer

Posted by Graham F. Scott at 11:57 AM ET | Comments (0)

A Dutch design firm has released a new computer font, Ecofont, that they say uses less ink, and can therefore reduce the e-waste that results from depleted toner cartridges. It's a regular-looking font except that it's riddled with holes, and the firm, Spranq, claims this reduces toner use by up to 20 per cent.

Their hearts are in the right place, but this is clearly public-relations bunk. (And I realize I'm playing into it by linking to them.) There are plenty of environmental problems in the world, and technology waste is some of the most difficult to deal with. But the real effect of this font is statistically insignificant, and no one should be fooled into thinking it's a real solution to any of our pressing environmental problems.

This kind of "environmental" measure is increasingly common — easy to implement, emotionally gratifying, socially acceptable, and totally ineffectual. You would be better off turning on the ink-saving features now available in every modern printer; even better would be choosing not to print that two-line email in the first place.

This morning on Twitter I linked to a new advertisement from the World Wildlife Fund that makes a crucial point: consumers and end-users are being constantly scolded to change their behaviours and reduce their environmental footprint while government and industry continue to allow damaging beahviour to go unchecked. Individual efforts like installing compact fluorescent lightbulbs and downloading an "Ecofont" are fine, but they won't get us where we need to go unless the biggest and baddest polluters are brought to heel.

More entries on: Cultural industries | Environment | Planet Earth | Time Wasters | Visual art

Jet-setting goes green

Posted by Elaisha Stokes at 11:33 AM ET | Comments (0)

If you're one of the millions of Canadians striving to lower your eco footprint, travel just got easier. Yesterday, Continental Airlines successfully completed their first flight using fuel derived from algae. That's right, now you can jet-set around the world on little more than the energy of an autotrophic organism!

The aviation industry, bemoaned for its astronomical contributions to global CO2 emissions, is eager to make the switch to biofuels within the next five years. Algae is viewed by many as the fuel of the future, because it doesn't compete with food crops and can produce up to thirty percent more fuel than other energy crops. Not to mention it's rapid replication.

Pilots, start you engines...

More entries on: Environment

January 07, 2009

Chernobyl in the Jungle

Posted by Elaisha Stokes at 03:40 PM ET | Comments (4)

Looking for an adventurous and educational holiday to beat the winter blues? Why not tour the chaos and misery of the mess Texaco Oil left behind in the Amazon Basin. For the last fifteen years Chevron Corp, which acquired Texaco Oil in 2001, has been in a deadlock legal battle with the citizens of Lago Agrigo, Ecuador. With the case against the oil giant is set to conclude latter this year, locals are busying themselves touring the public around the toxic waste dump they now call home.

Among the claims against Texaco Oil:
1. Soaking dirt roads with crude to keep down the dust
2. Encouraging local oilfield workers to smoother their legs and scalp with crude
3. Dumping 18 billion gallons of wastewater into unlined waste pits
4. Burning natural gas and solid waste, resulting in deadly air pollution

The result has been over 1400 deaths from cancer in the tiny community, nearly twice Ecuador’s national rate. While it’s impossible to predict who will win the legal battle, local experts believe the payout from Chevron could be as high as $27.3 billion.

For more on this story and other eco-catastrophe, check out forecast earth.

More entries on: Environment | From the intern desk | Global politics | Human rights | Planet Earth

November 14, 2008

Saving the environment in Ontario just became illegal

Posted by Melissa Wilson at 10:47 AM ET | Comments (3)

How's that for a sensationalist headline? I couldn't resist.

The Ontario Highway Transport Board has recently ruled that rideshare website Pickup Pal is breaking the law by allowing users to coordinate carpools and offer rides to mutually convenient destinations for a fee.

The Toronto Star reports that the decision was instigated by chartered bus company Trentway-Wagar Inc. who got their panties in a bunch over claimed lost revenue sucked up by rideshare services. They insisted that Pickup Pal was violating the Public Vehicles Act by allowing users to offer up their cars as "public vehicles" without the proper green light.

What's next, the Sheraton waging war against CouchSurfers? Nannies lashing out against babysitters?

During a time when Tim Hortons cups are fodder for intense political debate and parents obsess about the environmental repercussions of disposable diapers, it's more than a little disappointing that the OHTB folded so quickly. I suppose in poor economic times, capitalism and the bottom line trumps community and environmental concerns every time.

I have no doubt that the dollar will recover, but what card will be played next to squash low-budget, community-based organizations like Rideshare.

To salt the wound, the ruling came shortly after legislation to legalize ridesharing in Ontario, for the purpose of reducing emissions and easing congestion, was proposed last month.

Here's hoping it passes.

More entries on: Environment

November 13, 2008

Review: Thomas L. Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Posted by Daniel Tseghay at 12:52 AM ET | Comments (1)

Thomas L. Friedman, Foreign Affairs columnist of The New York Times, has written a new book called Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - and How It Can Renew America. This is Friedman's contribution to the growing literature on environmental issues, and it's an ambitious one.

The first few sections of the text do an admirable job of laying out the problem. The world is getting hot, warming at unexpectedly exponential rates. Some of the consequences will include what he calls "Global Weirding". Not only will the globe become intolerably warm; but even the smallest of atmospheric changes will bring with it strange occurrences and unpredictably bizarre events.

The world is proverbially flat because of the rise of the middle-class in places like India and China. A greater percentage of people in the world are becoming affluent. Crowded, naturally, refers to the incredible population growth around the world and, once again, places like India and China.

In his story, Friedman's primary culprits are what he calls "Dirty Fuels". Coal, oil, and other "fuels from hell", as he puts it. The world is getting hot because of the carbon they emit. The growing wealth of India and China's middle-class, and their accompanying consumption needs, are increasing demand for dirty fuels. And the growing global population is increasing this demand even further. So, not only are things very bad, but they can get much worse if we don't act.

We must, Friedman argues, develop our Energy Technology. Advocating strong state intervention, Friedman says we need a complete re-structuring of our energy system. We need funding for innovation; tax breaks for alternative energy producers; as well as carbon taxes and price floors for oil (if the price gets too low, there will be no real incentive for finding clean alternatives). In one evocative section, Friedman paints a picture of a future Energy Internet of perfect efficiency and synchronization between our energy needs and their supply.

Friedman's one contentious argument is that the leader of this new movement must be America. Speaking, it seems, directly to his American audience, Friedman warns that if they do not re-organize with clean-energy, other countries will. And if those other countries, like China, do so before America, well, they'll develop more efficiently, make more money and become more powerful. I can't help but think: so what? His unabashed Americanism was just a little bit annoying considering the critical condition of the environment.

America should become a participant in the creation of clean-energy. And it should do so, not for a sense of global dominance, but because of the danger we collectively find ourselves in.

More entries on: Environment

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