Climate Change Connection – Update 146 – January 15th, 2008

(1)   Event – Carbon Trading:  Solution to Climate Change or Corporate Resource Grab?
(2)   Event – Eco-Films at the Park Theatre
(3)   Update on UN Climate Change Conference 2007
(4)   Winnipeg bike survey
(5)   REPORT – Getting to 2050: Canada’s Transition to a Low-emission Future
(6)   REPORT – Cool Farming:  Climate impacts of agriculture and mitigation potential
(7)   New CCC webpage –  MANITOBA EMISSIONS DATA
(8)   Did you know? Snowblower stats for Canada
(9)   Plastic bag update

(1)  Event – Carbon Trading:  Solution to Climate Change or Corporate Resource Grab?
A conversation with author, Larry Lohmann about climate change, privatization and power.
 
Who: Larry Lohmann, the editor of Carbon Trading: A Critical Conversation on Climate Change, Privatisation and Power, an exhaustively-documented new book critiquing “carbon trading”.
What: A free, public presentation on the problems caused by carbon trading and its failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
When: 8:00 p.m., Thursday, January 17, 2008
Where: Mondragon Bookstore and Coffeehouse, 91 Albert Street.
Why: Already a huge force in Europe, Carbon Trading is now starting to establish itself in North America as governments’ and corporations’ primary way of addressing the climate crisis.  But what does it mean for the biggest polluters to be handed de facto property rights over our atmosphere?

In his talk, Lohmann will focus on the social and environmental impacts of emissions trading and carbon offsets, why failed approaches are so popular among the world’s elites, and what Canada and the US can now learn from the rest of the world.  He will explore the connections between carbon trading and neo-liberalism, and how we can organize for more effective, community-based approaches to the climate crisis.

Lohmann will also describe his campaigning at the recent the UN Climate Summit in Bali, Indonesia last December, as well as describe the failed strategies the global financial community is still trying to force on negotiators from developing countries.
 
Carbon Trading: A Critical Conversation on Climate Change, Privatisation and Power is available for download at http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk.

For more information, or to arrange for an interview with Lohmann, contact:
Kate Dykman, University of Winnipeg Students’ Association
Phone: 789-1435
Email: uwsunset@yahoo.ca
Website: www.risingtidenorthamerica.org

(2)  Eco-Films at the Park Theatre
Last Wednesday of the month, Jan – May

Jan. 30 —  Banana Split – a journey through the daily challenges of farmers in banana-growing regions
Feb. 27 — The Fight for True Farming – offers alternatives to the social and environemtnal impact of factory farming
March 26 — Thirst – explores grassrotots campaigns against the privatization of water
April 30 — Crapshoot – looks at the failure of our current sewage disposal system and alternatives
May 28 — Slow Food Revolution shows regional, Slow Food movements around the world

Admission is $8 regular, $5 for members, and a 3 film pass is $20.

7 pm start time.  Call 947-6511 for more information.

(3)  Update on UN Climate Change Conference 2007
Last month, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) brought together more than 10,000 participants from over 180 countries to discuss climate change.
The delegates adopted the Bali Action Plan. Although this document does not include the emission reduction targets sought by the European Union, it does set the course for a new negotiating process that will conclude by 2009 and will lead to an international agreement that will replace the Kyoto Protocol after it expires in 2012.

To view the Bali Action Plan visit http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_13/items/4049.php.

To view daily reports and happenings visit http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop13/.

To view a news article about Australia ratifying the Kyoto visit http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/12/03/un-climate.html.

(4)  Winnipeg bike survey
http://www.biketothefuture.org/external/cycling_survey.htm

Bike to the Future and University of Winnipeg SUNSET (Sustainable University Now, Sustainable Earth Together) researcher Ray Yuen are conducting a survey about cycling in the City of Winnipeg. They invite everybody, cyclists and non-cyclists, to respond to the survey and contribute to their research about cycling choices and behaviours.  The more responses they receive, the better data we can collect.

The survey is 44 questions on one web page, and it’ll take you 5 to 10 minutes to complete.

Please help these groups make Winnipeg more bike friendly!

(5)  REPORT – Getting to 2050: Canada’s Transition to a Low-emission Future
http://www.nrtee-trnee.ca/eng/publications/getting-to-2050/index-getting-to-2050-eng.htm

Advice for Long-term Reductions of Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollutants – National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE)
Reducing our own GHG emissions means that Canada is facing a transition to a low emissions society — a transition that will be driven by environmental, economic and social factors. We have a substantial national interest in understanding and anticipating the nature and scope of that change and in proactively seeking to manage our response, with respect to both mitigation and adaptation measures, in a way that benefits Canada. This Advisory Report addresses the issue of how to mitigate potential effects of climate change, through deep emission reductions.
To download a copy, visit http://www.nrtee-trnee.ca/eng/publications/getting-to-2050/index-getting-to-2050-eng.htm.
(6)  REPORT – Cool Farming:  Climate impacts of agriculture and mitigation potential
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/cool-farming.pdf
Agriculture is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Greenpeace’s new report Cool Farming details the destructive practices resulting from industrial agriculture and presents workable solutions to help reduce its contribution to climate change. These practical changes will benefit the environment as well as farmers and consumers throughout the world. This summary of a longer report details for the first time all direct and indirect contribution agriculture has on climate change. It was written by Professor Pete Smith, a lead author on the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on climate change, and his research team at the University of Aberdeen.

To download the document visit http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/cool-farming.pdf.

(7)  New CCC webpage –  MANITOBA EMISSIONS DATA
http://www.climatechangeconnection.org/Emissions/Manitoba_emissions.htm

Data in the emissions portion of our website has been updated to include Manitoba’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2005 and a new section on large final emitters was added.

Our emissions are now 20% higher than our Kyoto target. Let’s get moving people! 2012’s not far away!

(8)  Did you know?  Snowblower stats for Canada
Statistics Canada  | Nancy Hofmann

Most parts of Canada experience snow every winter. Clearing driveways and sidewalks is backbreaking work, but household snowblowers can make the job easier and faster. However, gas-powered snowblowers affect the environment since burning fossil fuels emits air pollutants. The amount of particulate matter emitted depends on the make, age and model—some new motors are more efficient.
 
Canadians spend a considerable amount of money on their household snowblowers. In 2003, more than 200,000 households purchased a snowblower, with half spending over $800.
Just over 20% of households3 owned a gas-powered snowblower in 2006.4 Snowblowers were most popular in New Brunswick, where they were owned by 36% of households (http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/16-002-XIE/2007003/10456-en.htm#chart2).  Only households in two provinces, Alberta and British Columbia, had fewer than the national average.
Snowblower ownership is affected by a variety of socio-economic, cultural and climatic influences. Average snowfall is one factor that could impact the rate of ownership (http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/16-002-XIE/20
07003/10456-en.htm#chart2).  Cities in Eastern Canada appear to have higher snowblower ownership rates, as well as higher levels of snow accumulation. However, in the Central and Western provinces, there is often less snow, but still relatively high ownership rates.
Other factors influencing snowblower ownership might include the length and size of driveways, household incomes and average temperatures. For instance, although Regina ranked fourth for the proportion of households with a snowblower, it had the lowest average snowfall (http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/16-002-XIE/2007003/10456-en.htm#chart2). However, of those cities studied, Regina was the second coldest city, after Winnipeg. Perhaps snowblowers allow residents to avoid the cold.
References:
Environment Canada, 2007, Snowblower Emissions, www.etc-cte.ec.gc.ca/databases_e.html (accessed October 16, 2007).
Statistics Canada, n.d., CANSIM Table 203-0005.
Data excludes apartment dwellers.
Statistics Canada, Households and the Environment, 2006.

(9)  Plastic bag update
Last year I committed to be plastic bag free.  I am proud to report, I did not receive one plastic bag last year!  It ended up to be a fairly easy challenge.  There were rolling apples, glares, and a purse full of groceries at times but I did notice I wasn’t the only one that had my bag with me.  More and more people are bringing reusable bags to the store.  Dare I say it has become trendy to have your own bags.  I do admit to sending off some of my own glares when I see people asking to double bag everything – even the four litre jug of milk that has a built in handle!  I also did see a store use plastic bags to protect each of the 12 glasses the person in front of me bought – I didn’t realize plastic bags were good for protecting glass.  I am planning to continue my challenge.

MORE on plastic bags…
Resource Conservation Manitoba – Sorting out plastic bags – January 2008
There’s no escape! Plastic grocery bags are everywhere. They proliferate in boxes, desk drawers, cars, basements, lockers, closets and utility rooms. They blow around roadways, contributing to litter. They fly off landfill sites, causing a hazard to wildlife.
RCM estimates that Manitobans carry home more than 200-million disposable plastic bags provided by grocery stores and retail shops every year. How can we make this stop? What’s a person to do?
What RCM Recommends:
* Purchase and use reusable bags.
* Remember to bring one with you when you go out. As one cheeky British campaign puts it, “Take the old bag shopping.”
* Before your order is processed, tell the cashier that you have your own bags.
* If you need to accept a disposable plastic bag, reuse it as many times as you can before disposing of it.
* Make sure any disposable bags in your care do not become litter.
* Encourage stores to take back the plastic bags they have provided.

RCM’s Position
Widespread reliance on plastic grocery bags for retail customer use contributes to unnecessary resource use, waste, litter and nuisance. Given that alternatives are available and desirable, Resource Conservation Manitoba supports:

1. public education on waste, litter and reusable alternatives,
2. making reusable grocery bags conveniently and inexpensively available in retail stores,
3. an eco-charge of $0.25 per bag with proceeds dedicated to community waste reduction education, and
4. a target of reducing the use of disposable plastic grocery bags by 90 per cent within three years of implementation of this policy.
RCM notes that a comprehensive approach to waste reduction and management would include plastic bags as a material designated under an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program. However, while details of EPR programs are being developed in Manitoba and nationally in Canada, the above interim measures are required to raise consumer awareness and promote a shift to reusable alternatives in place of single-use disposable plastic grocery bags.
You Were Asking
Where do I get reusable bags?
Ask for them wherever you shop, at your grocery store and other retail outlets. Environment stores have them for sale. From time to time, community non-profit groups may sell reusable bags as a fund-raiser.

What is the best material?
It’s a matter of intended use and personal taste. Reusable bags are typically made from materials such as nylon, cotton canvas, hemp, polyester, or woven polypropylene. If you are planning to fill the bags with heavy goods, you’ll want something strong and durable, but probably not too big. Since you will be using them repeatedly over a long time, check for washing instructions.

What about paper bags?
Paper shopping bags can be used for some, though not all, of the purposes for which plastic bags are normally used. However, from a life-cycle perspective, production of paper bags takes more energy and uses more water in processes that produce more waste. They are heavier, less versatile and less convenient. For example, moisture (e.g. rain) reduces bag strength, and paper does not protect contents from water.
Why not just ban plastic grocery bags altogether?
That’s certainly an option. Leaf Rapids has pioneered this approach in Manitoba, and in January 2008 the town of Huntingdon became the first municipality in Quebec to ban disposable plastic bags at the checkout. San Francisco has gone the same route, and other US jurisdictions are said to be contemplating the move. Even China has taken steps to limit plastic bag use.
RCM has not called for a complete ban at this time. There are specific uses where a plastic bag may be the container of choice. For example, if a consumer is carrying meat products from a store, a disposable plastic bag may be more sanitary than a reusable cloth or nylon bag.
Background Notes and Considerations
* Plastic grocery bags are convenient for consumers and retailers. They protect goods that are being transported by customers, are inexpensive, and enjoy wide consumer acceptance. Reusable bags are also strong, convenient, a great promotional vehicle for retailers, and popular with consumers.

* Some conventional plastic grocery bags can be reused — as garbage can liners, for pet waste, to protect school books, for storing small items and for other purposes.

* Disposable grocery bags are generally made from either #2 plastic (high-density polyethylene, or HDPE) or #4 plastic (low-density polyethylene, or LDPE). These materials are derived from refined petroleum and can be recycled where programs exist.

* Only a small proportion of petroleum goes into the production of plastic bags. Most is used as fuel for transportation, for space heating and in industrial processes.

* Plastic bags constitute less than one per cent of landfill waste by weight.

* In practice, plastic bags are awkward to handle and expensive to recycle, because they are so light. Depending on size and weight, it can take up to 150,000 bags to make a tonne. Collecting, baling and shipping all those bags uses a lot of energy and costs money. But if we are going to have unused post-consumer plastic bags, they do need to be recycled.

* In Winnipeg, plastic bags can’t be put into household blue boxes because the bags clog the automated machinery that sorts the co-mingled recyclables.

* It can take 1,000 years or more for a conventional plastic bag to decompose in a landfill.

* Biodegradable plastic bags will more quickly break down into smaller bits of plastic in a landfill. However, the residues are still petroleum-based plastic.

* Compostable bags can be made from non-fossil fuel materials such as vegetable oil and corn starch. They are more expensive than regular plastic bags. Composting them in a backyard bin can work if people have active (hot) and well-managed compost piles. They do also compost in a landfill
, although in that case they produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

* In 2002, Ireland imposed an eco-tax of about $0.17 per bag at retail. Distribution of plastic grocery bags fell by 90 per cent following the introduction of their policy.

Plastic Bags in Perspective
The primary reasons to take action on plastic bags are to reduce waste, conserve resources, reduce off-site litter from landfills, and encourage individuals to take responsibility for reducing environmental harm. On a list of major environmental problems, plastic bags would rank somewhere behind climate change, energy use in homes and in transportation, waste from industry and households, agricultural and forest practices, environmental toxins, and other more urgent challenges.
RCM calculates that annual per capita plastic bag consumption by Manitobans uses petroleum roughly equal to 1.9 litres of gasoline per person. That’s about what a reasonably fuel-efficient mid-size car would burn in driving 23 km in the city or 31 km on the highway. If people were to reduce their annual driving by that amount, they would achieve approximately the same net resource conservation benefit as eliminating their use of grocery plastic bags for a year.
Does this mean we should ignore plastic bags? No. Remember, RCM is recommending strong measures aimed at achieving a 90 per cent reduction in plastic bag use.
If we want to tackle climate change and cut fossil fuel consumption, let’s not lose sight of the critical need to drive less, heat our homes more efficiently, and buy local goods that don’t require transportation from far-away places — in addition to cutting our use of disposable plastic grocery bags.
Notes: About Those Numbers
* HOW MANY BAGS?
Estimates vary widely for annual per capita plastic bag use in the absence of a reduction program — 328 in Ireland, 250 in Australia, 153 in Scotland. RCM adopts an estimate of 4 bags per capita per week, which amounts to 208 bags per person each year. A similar figure has been advanced for Ontario residents. Manitoba’s population as of October 1, 2007 is 1,190,400 (Statistics Canada). So the total number of plastic grocery bags distributed in Manitoba annually would be around 247,603,200.
* HOW MUCH PETROLEUM?
US sources indicate that producing the 100-billion plastic bags used annually in that country takes 12-million barrels of oil, an amount which would otherwise produce 240-million gallons of gasoline (see for example reusablebags.com). These seem like fairly ‘ballpark’ figures, but they provide a helpful indication. If Manitoba’s consumption of plastic bags is about 208 per year by each person, then the equivalent amount of gasoline that could have been produced by the petroleum that was used to make those bags would be 1.9 litres per person.
On that amount of gas, a reasonably fuel-efficient mid-size car would travel 22.6 kilometres in the city or 31.1 kilometres on the highway. (The vehicle arbitrarily selected is the 10th most fuel efficient vehicle on a list of 115 prepared by the Office of Energy Efficiency of Natural Resources Canada. Consumption for this vehicle is 8.4 l/100 km city, 6.1 l/100 km highway. See federal Fuel Consumption Ratings.)
* IT ADDS UP!
Based on the above assumptions, retail plastic bag use in Manitoba consumes petroleum resources approximately equal to 2-million (2,261,760) litres of gas every year – enough for 27-million (26,903,040) kilometres of city driving or 37-million (37,021,440) kilometres on the highway. So choosing reusable shopping bags can definitely make a difference!
Populous China gives thumbs up to global campaign against use of plastic bags
Christopher Bodeen | The Associated Press  | January 9th, 2008
BEIJING – Declaring war on the “white pollution” choking the world’s most populous country, China is banning free plastic shopping bags and calling for a return to the cloth bags of old – steps largely welcomed by merchants and shoppers on Wednesday.
The measure eliminates the flimsiest bags and forces stores to charge for others, making China the latest nation to target plastic bags in a bid to cut waste and conserve resources.
Beijing residents appeared to take the ban in stride, reflecting rising environmental consciousness.
“If we can reduce waste and save resources, then it’s good both for us and the whole world,” said college student Xu Lixian, who was buying tangerines out of cardboard boxes at a sidewalk stall.
The ban takes effect June 1, barely two months before Beijing hosts the Summer Olympic Games, ahead of which authorities have been demolishing run-down neighbourhoods and working to clear smog.
Under the new rules, businesses will be prohibited from manufacturing, selling or using bags less than 0.025 millimetres thick, according to the order issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet. The council’s orders constitute the highest level of administrative regulation and follow-through is carefully monitored.
More durable plastic bags will still be permitted for sale by markets and shops.
The regulation, dated Dec. 31 and posted on a government website Tuesday, called for “a return to cloth bags and shopping baskets to reduce the use of plastic bags.”
It also urged waste collectors to step up recycling efforts to reduce the amount of bags burned or buried. Finance authorities were told to consider tax measures to discourage plastic bag production and sale.
Internationally, legislation to discourage plastic bag use has been passed in parts of South Africa, Ireland and Taiwan, where authorities either tax shoppers who use them or impose fees on companies that distribute them. Bangladesh already bans them, as do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages.
Last year, the northern Manitoba town of Leaf Rapids became the first in Canada to ban plastic bags. Other communities were planning or considering similar legislation. San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban petroleum-based plastic grocery bags last year.
In France, as in parts of Canada, supermarket chains have begun shying away from giving away plastic bags. German stores must pay a recycling fee if they wish to offer them. Ireland’s surcharge on bags imposed in 2003 has been credited with sharply reducing demand.
In Beijing, the elderly proprietor of a combined clothing shop and grocery shop, who gave only his surname, Wang, said the Chinese measure could reduce sales initially but would be beneficial in the long run.
“It’s a bother, but these bags really do create a lot of pollution, so it should be a good thing,” said Wang. He said the measure would make little difference to his costs since he spends just 10 yuan – about US$1.35 – a month on bags.
Xu, the college student, said the move showed China was serious about joining global efforts to stem environmental deterioration.
“I think this really shows that China is being a responsible country,” said the 21-year-old.
Employees at larger supermarkets and convenience stores said they were unclear on the measure and did not know what their employers’ response would be.
The regulation comes as Beijing steps up efforts to fight pollution that has accompanied China’s breakneck economic growth. Factories and plants that churn out low-cost products for the world’s consumers have severely fouled the country’s air and water.
The order continues a years-old campaign against plastic waste, or “white pollution,” that initially targeted the plastic foam lunch boxes whose decaying shells were once ubiquitous in China.
Shopkeepers started handing out cheap, flimsy plastic bags to customers about 15 years ago, roughly the same time that China shifted from being a net oil exporter to being a net importer. In recent years, large western or Japanese-style supermarkets have begun to supplant traditional markets, eliminating the need for shoppers to bring their own bags.
“Our country consumes a huge amount of plastic shopping bags each year,” th
e State Council said in a statement.
“While plastic shopping bags provide convenience to consumers, this has caused a serious waste of energy and resources and environmental pollution because of excessive usage, inadequate recycling and other reasons,” the statement said.
Plastic shopping bags are given out with even the smallest items, although the statement gave no estimates as to the specific number of bags consumed in China or the potential savings in terms of the petroleum used to produce them.
In the United States, which has less than one-quarter of China’s 1.3 billion people, the Sierra Club’s Sierra magazine estimates almost 100 billion plastic bags are thrown out each year. The Sierra Club estimated that if every one of New York City’s eight million people used one less grocery bag per year, it would reduce waste by about 2.3 million kilograms.
The environmental group Greenpeace issued a statement welcoming the Chinese ban.
“The State Council’s announcement to ban free plastic bags is a perfect case to combine the two of the major forces in environment protection: public participation and government policy guidance,” Greenpeace said.
Some of the ways places across the world are striving to lower the use of plastic bags by shoppers in a bid to stem waste:
–
CANADA FIRST
In Leaf Rapids, Man. – the first municipality in all of North America to propose, pass and adopt a law forbidding the use of plastic bags by shops – it’s either paper or cloth, please.
Martin Van Osch, the chief administrative officer of the town of about 550 people, said “compliance has been universal” since the law took effect in April 2007.
The law calls for fines of as much as C$1,000, though no one has yet received one, Van Osch said.
“The businesses in town have supported the plastic bag ban,” he told The Associated Press. “They all offer reusable cloth bags and the town has its own cloth bag.”
–
BANNED IN AFRICA
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania’s Zanzibar islands have banned the flimsy plastic bags that float through the air, introducing minimum thickness requirements. Many independent supermarkets in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, now charge a small fee for each plastic bag but also give away a free, reusable basket with a minimum purchase.
–
GERMAN PRECISION
Most stores provide German consumers with the option of a plastic bag or a canvas-or cotton-made tote – for a fee. Plastic bags, depending on their size, range from the equivalent of seven US cents to as much as 74 cents. Canvas or cloth bags can be had for about $1.47.
Many German consumers carry their own bags when doing the shopping and it’s not uncommon to see some using wicker baskets or wheeled carts.
Regardless of whether their customers use the plastic bags, all stores that offer them have to pay a recycling fee.
–
IRISH INGENUITY
In March 2003, Ireland introduced a 22-cent levy on every plastic shopping bag. That, the government said, resulted in a big drop in the number of bags that stores were handing out. Some switched to paper bags, others stopped handing out bags completely. In July 2007, Ireland raised the fee to 32 cents.
–
BAGGING BRITAIN
There is no national policy regarding plastic bags in Britain. Instead, it has been left up to towns and stores themselves to sort out the trash.
Shopkeepers in the English town of Modbury, which counts some 1,500 residents, eliminated disposable plastic bags altogether, while some of the country’s big grocery chains have offered customers money-saving incentives to reuse old bags.
–
SWEDISH SENSIBILITY
The government is encouraging plastic bag producers to continually develop greener bags and two of the Nordic country’s biggest grocery chains – ICA and Coop Konsum – have made biodegradable paper bags and reusable cloth bags available to shoppers.
Last month, ICA started issuing a plastic bag that biodegrades and Coop plans a similar one next month.
–
U.S. STEPS
San Francisco became the first city to ban common plastic shopping bags last year, and at least 30 villages and towns in Alaska have followed suit.
The New York City Council was set to vote Wednesday on a measure that would require large stores to recycle plastic bags. Under the law, chain stores that have more than five locations, as well as stores occupying 5,000 or more square feet, would have to establish their own in-store recycling program for the bags.
Stores would be fined for not complying but there would be no penalty for consumers.
The Pacific Protection Initiative, an effort launched in California to address problems of plastic marine debris, reports that the following U.S. cities are also considering fees or outright bans of plastic bags: Austin, Texas; Bakersfield, Calif.; Boston; New Haven, Conn.; Portland, Ore.; Phoenix; and Annapolis, Md.

Susan J. Lindsay
Project Manager
Climate Change Connection
3rd Floor, 303 Portage Avenue
R3B 2B4
Tel:  204-943-4836
Fax:  204-989-8476
www.climatechangeconnection.org