Article by 100 MPG Challenge organizer and environmental activist John Vissers.

For more information, please visit The Liveable Region Coalition website.

Sometimes, All I Need Is the Air That I Breathe…

Well, all the time actually. Inhale, exhale; if I can’t do that not much else really matters.

Growth projections don’t matter, profit margins don’t matter, even commuting time doesn’t matter.

After five years of defending our air quality, learning far more than we ever wanted to know about the politics of power and the power of politics, we defeated the Sumas Energy 2 multinational corporations at their own game. We won because we were right, and we knew it. We’ve learned so much. We know our Fraser Valley air-shed is unique and vulnerable. We know that vehicle emissions are responsible for a majority of the air pollutants that plague us. We know that any increase will negatively affect our physical, economic and agricultural health. We also know that our region is expecting to double its transportation needs in the next twenty to thirty years. How will we accomplish this without destroying the environment that both sustains us and is dependant on us? The immortal line from Pogo; “We have met the enemy, and he is us!” now faces us squarely, and to turn away would surely be the highest form of hypocrisy. We are the enemy, we always have been. We’ve been in denial for too long. Stopping SE2 did absolutely nothing to improve the air quality of our region. The way things are going, it’s going to get worse, a lot worse. But it doesn’t have to.

Most of you have by now read or heard about the “Gateway Program”. Our BC government is planning a massive three to four billion dollar overhaul of highway infrastructure to meet the growing needs of our region. You are going to pay for it. Like all government plans, some parts are good, some parts are so-so, and some parts are just awful. The good parts of this plan will better connect cities and shorten routes. The mediocre proposals will address some commercial traffic issues. The really awful parts will encourage more of us to travel further for work and pleasure without the transit options we need to develop a sustainable future.

Our Government is asking us to help refine this program to better reflect concerns from the many diverse towns and cities that will participate. Until now, Abbotsford has had little to add. We are, after all, “way out there” and of no real consequence. Except, of course, the problem of just where all the exhaust fumes from twice as many cars and trucks will wind up; Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack and Hope. Keep in mind that our present mobility is not a right, it’s a privilege. When the costs to our health and our environment outweigh benefits, it becomes an unsustainable abuse. Most of us want the world to be a better place. We want to make sure it will support our children and their children. We just don’t want to do the hard work ourselves. Its time we started taking responsibility for our lifestyles. I for one will be at the Gateway Open House from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm on Saturday, April 29 at the Abbotsford Recreation Centre 34690 Old Yale Road. I hope to learn more about the program and add my concerns. I hope I’ll see some of you there.

OK, together now; breathe in, breathe out. Feels good, doesn’t it? Enjoy, and defend it while you still can.

jv
April 24, 2006

You can contact John Vissers by e-mail.

Well, that didn’t take long…

Seems the One-Tonne Challenge website is now finally discontinued, with no links any longer available for the OTC branded information.

The general Climate Change website is still available, however.

I suppose the last thing for me to do, is take the graphics wrap off of my car.

Onwards to the next project…

The Vancouver Sun ran a piece on the weekend about some Icelanders trekking across Canada’s north in some heavily modified Ford F350 diesels. Being a (novice) off-road enthusiast myself, I was immediately facinated with the story and the journey.

Originally planned out as a six week journey, the Icelandic team refers to their adventure as Arctic Trails, and you should check out their website.

Interesting to note however, is a change in their itinerary. Exceptionally warm weather has brought about some very major changes to their route…

A crowd of people on snowtracks welcomed us at the harbour in Kugluktuk. We have discussed with the locals about possible routes from here. It has been extremely mild here this year, temperature sometimes up to 4 to 5 degrees Celcius during the day. We are told that “iceroads”, where we intended to drive, don´t exist any longer. That means that we are forced to face facts and change plans.

Climate change in action. There are warning signs from even the most remote places.

Speaking solely for myself, this federal election in Canada has proved to be a very searching time.

Let me preface with some background on this. I’ve voted in four federal elections since 1993. I did not vote in the 1988 election, which was held just shortly after I turned 18.

I was a member of the Reform Party for the 1993 election, but let it lapse and did not renew it for the 1997 election, despite still being a believer in Manning’s vision.

By the time of the 2000 election, the Reform Party had become the Canadian Alliance, and though I was not impressed to have lost Preston Manning, I still supported the party over the other ‘options’.

Thoroughly confused about who was who in the 2004 election, I still felt obligated to support the newly amalgamated Conservative Party of Canada with my fourth ‘right of centre’ federal vote.

Now with yet another leader change, and what I see as a watered down version of the Reform Party, the 2006 election would be the first time I openly consider spoiling my ballot. With no less than 61% of the popular vote going to a ‘conservative’ party in the Fraser Valley since 1997, I was beginning to believe that my ‘one vote’ would be of no consequence.

I know some of you (including the Sierra Club) would readily agree that the Conservative ‘environment platform’ is about as light as a helium filled balloon on a windy day. I too sense that is the current reality.

While I still support the social values held by the majority of the so-called Conservatives, I feel a great sadness watching Canadians take part in ruining the planet, and feel compelled to view this as disobeying our calling.

Moving from spoiling my ballot as a first choice, I decided that voting for the Green Party as a protest was a better option… however, at one point, there was no Green party candidate in my riding… which got me thinking this through some more.

Last week I attended an all candidates meeting in Abbotsford to see what the candidates had to say, and to see what issues were most important to people.

Tonight, Conservative candidate Ed Fast met with about 40 people in Abbotsford, a cross-section of the environmentally minded/engaged in our community. We pressed Ed for two hours on environmental issues. Climate change, GMO, fish-farming, water supply, natural resources, energy, agriculture, wildlife, wetlands… all these topics came up. I believe Ed was honest and forthcoming, and was humble enough to admit he doesn’t have all the answers.

To his credit, Ed was active in the fight against SE2 here in the Fraser Valley, and has since voiced support for the Kyoto/climate change issue within the Conservative ranks, despite many in his party who have little regard for it’s importance. (See here as well.)

I specifically asked Ed about the Conservative environmental platform, noting that it was indeed very light. I wanted to know how the Conservatives were going to develop a realistic game plan and deliver some results. I noted that in my own experience with the One-Tonne Challenge, awareness of the issue has been achieved, but with just beginning on the action phase, now is not the time to lose momentum.

What Ed did commit to, was to represent our concerns to Ottawa, not represent Ottawa to us. He is willing to be a strong environmental voice in Ottawa, and agreed to become educated on the issues as they are presented to him. He will make environmental concerns one of his ‘top three’ efforts while in parliament, if elected. He also supports proportional representation, as do I.

So where does this leave things?

I will say this:

On January 23rd, I will vote.

If you are a Canadian of voting age, I hope you will too.

The citizens of the Fraser Valley in Britich Columbia can finally breathe easier knowing that SE2 will not likely ever be built. I believe in clean energy, but this was the wrong place for this proposed natural gas power plant.

Sumas Energy 2 Will Not Appeal Canadian Court Decision

…While we continue to strongly believe in the need for this facility and our legal right to construct and operate it, we have concluded that it is in our best interest not to file an appeal of the recent court decision. The decision not to appeal is due in part to the high cost of obtaining permits in today’s regulatory environment, and to current market conditions including the high cost of natural gas and the slowness of utilities to commit to future long-term power supplies…

Sincerely,

Chuck Martin
Sumas Energy 2

Needless to say, the residents of the Fraser Valley who have fought long and hard for 6 years to stop the project are thrilled and relieved beyond words. We are hoping this is the end of SE2, but should it come back, we will be ready. This is a victory for all Canadians as it was a precedent setting case. This is also a victory for the many Americans who have been fighting long and hard with us, side by side. We are looking forward to getting our lives back. There will be a party in Abbotsford to celebrate!”

Patricia Ross
Deputy Mayor,
City of Abbotsford.

You can visit BC MLA Barry Penner’s SE2 webpage here, and you might also want to check in on the SE2 Gasp website, if you are new to this issue.

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Reduce, Re-use, Recycle. You know the mantra.

We took the easiest one - ‘Recycle’, and made an industry out of it.

Now, with Climate Change staring us in the face, we are awakening to the reality that ‘Reduce’ should have been our first choice.

Let’s get some sobering facts straight.

Did you know that Canadians are using a greater amount of energy per capita than those in the United States? David Suzuki’s website has additional information and some sobering anecdotes to consider.

With less than 0.5 % of the world’s population, Canada still manages to be the 8th largest producer of GHG.

(Source: US Energy Information Administration.)

So what do we need to reduce?

Let’s start with our personal GHG emissions. Personal vehicles account for 50% of the total GHG that individual Canadians create. Heating and cooling our homes is nearly 30%. The other 21% is comprised of water heating, appliances and lighting.

There are many things you can do to easily reduce your GHG emissions by 20%. Your vehicle is a primary contributor to global climate change. Changing that alone could make a huge difference. Take my own car for example. I reduced my GHG by 5 tonnes per year by making a change to the smart car from a reasonably fuel efficient Suzuki Sidekick.

Project Green is Canada’s plan for honouring the Kyoto commitment.

Many people still stop me to ask what the One-Tonne Challenge is. Invariably, I will give them some One-Tonne Challenge literature, and explain that it is a federal program designed to challenge Canadians to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, or ‘one-tonne’.

A tonne is 1000 kilograms, and specifically, it’s carbon-dioxide (CO2) that we’re talking about.

Every time you drive a car, use natural gas to heat your home, or do anything else that uses energy from fossil fuels you are adding to the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) which are causing climate change.

You can learn more about hte One-Tonne Challenge by visiting the Goverment of Canada website. There is an FAQ section as well.

You may also want to get a quick overview of the Climate Change Impacts that are already of great concern in Canada.