I’ll be there with the My Sustainable Canada team hopefully enjoying another epic day of skiing under blue sky and sunshine.

And as an added bonus it’s St. Paddy’s Day (my favourite holiday – ok it’s not a holiday, but a great day for celebration!) I’ll be drinking green beer in the village in honour of the earth and St Paddy’s Day!!

1. Climate change science, sources and trends
2. The importance of climate change to the state DOTs
3. Strategies to reduce GHG emissions from transportation
4. Climate adaptation for Transportation Agencies
5. Climate legislation and policy

Burbanks’s presentation began by discussing the unequivocal evidence of global warming, increased GHG emissions and the effect of humans on the rising levels of GHG’s. I won’t get into that much here. Although she agreed that there is some science out there disqualifying climate change, the science behind human effects on climate change is overwhelming. Her presentation on climate science was quite good and if you have a few minutes go through pages 12 to 18 of her slides.

What I thought was more interesting were her findings on climate change and its effects on DOTs.

The Three-Part Challenge to State DOTs

1. Reduce transportation GHG’s: by as much as 60-80% by 2050
2. Adapt transportation infrastructure: most importantly to severe storms, but also rising sea levels, high temperatures and flooding
3. Find a new revenue stream: one based on low carbon fuels

In the US highway vehicles = 82% of Transportation CO2 emissions, 23% of total US CO2 emission

The Economist vs. Political Debate

Burbank is an economist and argued that GHG reduction should be done as cost effectively as possible. She stated that the evidence supports that an 80% reduction in GHG’s in transportation maybe more costly in some sectors than others. i.e. From an economic perspective transportation targets should probably be lower

BUT the political reality is that each sector will have to contribute its ‘fair share.’ Therefore the DOTs will likely be forced to achieve a reduction of GHG’s of 60-80% from current levels

Initially we thought of reduction strategies in terms of a 3 legged stool, which included vehicles, fuels and vehicle miles traveled (VMT). That has known grown to a five legged stool to include Operating Efficiency and Construction, Maintenance and Agency Operations. Brown notes that a 50% cut in GHG/mile is feasible from conventional technologies and biofuels by 2020-2030 (slide 25 has some worldwide GHG rates).

“In the long term, carbon free road transport fuel is the only way to achieve an 80-90% reduction in emissions.” Although the number of light duty vehicles in the developed world (OCED) will not dramatically increase over the next few decades, those in the developing world (non-OCED) will dramatically increase. We have to decarbonizes fuel because of their increased use of light duty vehicles.

To further reduce the carbon footprint of transportation the DOTs have to starting thinking about pricing schemes. As Burbank says “Without price signals, trying to reduce GHG is swimming upstream.” Pricing will encourage consumer purchase of lower carbon vehicles/fuels, business Investment in low-GHG technology, decreased VMT, Eco-driving
and more efficient land use.

And the pricing tools already exist; auto ‘feebates,’ carbon/fuel prices, PAYD insurance (Pay-as-you-Drive, i.e. by km/annum), mileage fees, increased parking pricing, and congestion Pricing (just like in London and Singapore)

Alongside pricing tools government’s will have to employ strategies to reduce GHG in light duty vehicles by 10-20%. These can include:

• Managing speed (35-55 MPH/56-88 KPH is optimal)
• Speed limits/enforcement (reduce fuel use by 2-4%)
• Eliminating bottlenecks
• “Active” Traffic Management to smooth traffic flow
• Improving signal timing (could reduce 1.315 MMT CO2/yr)
• Roundabouts
• Reducing Car and Truck Idling
• Work zone management to smooth flow
• Encourage eco-driving

Strategies to reduce GHG’s in our vehicles and fuels will not be enough. It will take a coordination of strategies for Construction, Maintenance and Agency Operations that will help to decrease GHG emissions. Some examples that governments can employ:  LED traffic lights, low carbon pavement, energy-efficient buildings (i.e LEED certified), solar panels along the right of way, alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles in agency fleets, and alternative fuel and hybrid buses.

Why do Agencies need to plan for Adaptation?:

Climate change is a reality that transportation agencies need to deal with . Those that are proactive will be the ones that spend less money over the long run.

The two presenters were PAULA HAMMOND – Secretary of Washington State DOT & Chair of AASHTO Climate Change Steering Committee & CINDY BURBANK – Vice President Climate Change Practice Leader, Parsons Brinckerhoff

If there was one thing I really took away from this presentation to combat climate change in the Transportation is to go with the ‘low hanging fruit,’ the things that are easy to achieve. Here were Cindy’s suggestions for starter initiatives for GHG strategies:

• Eco-driving programs
• Carpool/Vanpool Programs: provide them with priority parking in our lots
• Telework promotion
• Traffic Signal Synchronization
• Adaptive Signalization
• LED traffic lights
• Lower Carbon Pavements
• Reduced roadside mowing
• Partnering with local governments to better coordinate land use/transportation planning
• Truck stop electrification
• Roundabouts

Hammond was the first presenter she is the Chair of the Climate Change Steering Committee, which includes 17 state DOTS. The group is diverse and includes members from environmental planning, highway engineering, rail transportation, aviation, public transportation and the Centre for Environmental Excellence. Known as Climate Change Technical Assistance Program, Their Goal:

To Supply AASHTO members with timely information, tools and technical assistance to help them meet the difficult challenges that arise related to climate change

Along with her colleagues in Washington this was the approach Paula and her team used for GHG Mitigation

• Increasing travel option to reduce vehicle miles traveled per capita
• Supporting improved vehicle technology
• Lowering the carbon content of fuel
• Improving the efficiency of the transportation system
• Adding capacity to complete critical corridors and support concentrated growth and transit oriented development

Although they are just entering into their climate change mitigation strategy Paula and her team had these Lessons Learned to offer up:

• Have a plan up front – being proactive instead of reactive
• Structure your program using defined priorities
• Don’t recreate the wheel
• Take some credit – get the word out about good and innovative work

.. tomorrow Part 2…

Yesterday a friend of mine at work ran a session on how the built environment influences our physical activity regimes, based on a Transportation Research Board Report from 2005. The premise of his presentation is that the world is becoming less active, obesity rates are on the rise, we are dependent on the car, more of us live in suburbs and overall we are less healthy and less happy.

In the US there is a program called Healthy People 2010, which promotes physical activity and lowering obesity rates. From the site I navigated my way over to their Quick Guide to Healthy Living, which provides expert advice on nutrition & fitness as well as several other programs to help you live an active and healthy life.

In Canada we have the Health Goals whose overarching goal “As a nation, we aspire to a Canada in which every person is as healthy as they can be – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.” Our Health Canada site seemed to have similar information on how to lead a healthy life.

The presenter is one who believes in active transportation, eating well and living life in a sustainable manner. He promotes cycling to work and being active with colleagues through the day. And he states that while vigourous activity may not be for everyone being a healthy person doesn’t require much effort. Under Healthy People 2010 the following constitutes healthy living:

30 minutes of light activity 5 times per week

Or

20 minutes of vigorous activity 3 times per week

Even better, you can divide those 30 minutes of light activity into 10 minute chunks. Take a break and walk for 10 minutes at work; you’ll probably be more productive for it. Park further away and force yourself to walk that extra distance to and from the office. Walk to lunch. Walk 5 flights of stairs before you get on the elevator. Simple things you can do to squeeze in some extra activity.

Work hours are longer. Driving times are increased as we drive from suburb to work and back again. No longer is the grocery store, drug store or restaurants within walking distance. Our time competes between exercise and the computer, internet and video games.

There are many programs in place to create healthy cities. Toronto has changed its mandate and now has pedestrians and cyclists at the top of it’s design hierarchy instead of cars and trucks. Under the Healthy Schools Program Ontario elementary school teachers are required to provide 20 minutes of vigorous activity to students each day.  And while our lives become busier and efficiency becomes necessity having the infrastructure in place to make our lives more active will promote a healthier society.

Here is what you can expect to see:

1. Pedestrian Deaths: Recently in Toronto there has been a spike in pedestrian-auto collisions, many resulting in fatalities. I’d like to explore some causes, some of the rational behind them and offer some suggestions as to how we can mitigate future fatalities.

2. Micro-loans: It should pave the way for brighter futures for those in Developing Nations, especially women. Micro-loans are designed to give people that first start they need to get a business rolling. In many of these countries women face many social injustices, micro-loans allow these women to try and overcome these barriers.

3. McGuinty’s Green Energy Plan: A lot of controversy has risen over the source of product for the renewable energy source. With much of it from Samsung and built off-shore Ontarian’s are criticizing McGuinty’s actions.

4. Environmental Assessment: In my last semester of my masters of engineering I am taking a class on environmental assessment. I will try and post weekly commentary on what is new and interesting

5. Book Review: I’ve read quite a bit over the last few weeks and on my new Kindle (thanks to @phryl).  While you may not be so intersted in my opinion of the twilight series I have read some more enlightening and engaging material. The next one I am hoping to read is Jeffrey Sachs’ The End of Poverty.

These will be out shortly, check back for updates.

Like many of the surrounding suburbs of Toronto, Burlington has larger homes on bigger properties and streets that seem to go no where. In addition to that parents of the Burlington area were worried about student safety (and who wouldn’t these days with two pedestrian deaths in the Toronto area yesterday). Each day more kids get a drive to school than walk.

The program in Burlington encourages teachers and student volunteers to ‘pick up’ students much like a bus would, but instead of a bus they all walk together. It is active transportation at its best. Plus it means more time for students to socialize with their friends.

There are so many benefits to students walking to school:

• It stimulates their bodies making them more alert and attentive at school
• It stimulates their metabolism; increasing their metabolic rates and food processing abilities
• It gets the ‘social bug’ out – instead of socializing in the classroom students socialize on the way to school
• It encourages life long lessons in exercise

Ontario is encouraging students to walk to school, as both a green community initiative and as an active transportation initiative. There are no 40 communities participating in the Active and Safe Routes to School Program, all the way from Windsor to Ottawa and up and over to Kenora.

How did your kids get to school today? Change up your routines and encourage your children to be more active.

Here are my green New Years Resolutions:

Be less wasteful: We are all guilty of it. That tomato sauce that goes moldy so we throw out the container instead of cleaning it and either reusing or recycling it. Throwing out food, especially wasted fruits and vegetables. I am going to try to consume more left overs for lunch and use more of the lettuce that is delivered to me week

Consume Locally: organic or not organic I think overall the environmental impact is smaller if I consume things that are produced locally. Root vegetables and squashes are delicious in Ontario through the winter and preserve well. I may have to satisfy my strawberry addiction (but isn’t it better to consume things from California, than say China or the middle east?)

Eat more ancient Grains: Not only do they keep you feeling satiated longer but there are lots of health benefits to ancient grains. In December I discovered Quinoa and all the great things you can make with it, today I ventured into Steel Cut Oatmeal.

Use My Car Less: I’m pretty good with this one already but I believe in always trying to be better. I’ll continue to walk to the grocery store and use transit, my bicycle and my legs where ever I can.

What are your green resolutions this year?

Thanks to @Greenopolis yesterday for posting a great list on their to 10 things you can do to be more green this year. Here were Greenopolis’ suggestions:

1. Re-think Re-gifting: have two of something now? Don’t really need the gift? Just be sensitive to whom you re-gift.
2. Buy Less: It’s the though that counts! Buy something meaningful, something useful. Even better make a gift for someone. My favourite gift to give is a mason jar filled with all the dry ingredients for cookies. Add a message around it about how much butter, egg, etc to add as well as baking instructions.
3. Shop Together: The carpooling part saves on emissions but it’s so much more fun to shop with friends too
4. Go the ‘Secret Santa’ Route: Instead of buying each family member a gift, put a maximum on gift amounts and have family members draw names from a hat. (if that’s not possible put one person in charge and have them email each person who their buying for)
5. Keep it Local: go to local craft shows and marketplaces (I plan to go to the St. Lawrence Market this weekend for some unique gifts)
6. Give it to others: donate old toys, books and clothes to charity. Or contact your local shelter about donating to their holiday feast. The Fred Victor Centre in Toronto opens it’s doors to those in need thru the holidays. You can purchase ‘units of turkey’ to help out those in need
7. Lower your impact: Change all your lights to LEDs (if you haven’t already done so). And turn out all the holiday lights as you go to bed (OK maybe leave them on for the 24th, Santa needs to know how to find your tree and stockings!)
8. Choose a live tree: Surprisingly real trees are more sustainable than plastic ones,, most of the research believes that you’ll keep your plastic tree forever, but most people throw theirs away once it’s tattered. Better yet buy a potted tree, it will last you for years.
9. Make your own cards: Choose eco friendly paper, buy seed-cards that can be planted in the spring or send an e-card.
10. Green your gift wrap: old news papers and brown bags make great wrapping paper. One of my friends actually puts her stuff in boxes/bins for everyone and covers them with a sheet with each child’s name on a card.

There are so many more things that we can do to make it a ‘greener’ holiday. Here are some that I think we can also do:

1. Green you food: Try and get local, organic turkey and vegetables. Many butchers will order in exactly what you’re looking for. And with all the great markets out there you’re bound to find many organic vegetables. If you can’t go local, organic try and go local before you go organic, it’s usually a smaller footprint (The best local butcher shops in Toronto can be found here)
2. Ask for things you need: Sure new frivolous things are great, but what do you really need this year?
3. Gingerbread Decorations: Not only can you make whatever type of decoration you want, in whatever colours you want, they are also delicious!
4. Think Minimalist: Isn’t that the style these days? You’ll see just how great your house can look with very few decorations
5. Practice the 3R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, compost as much as you can and stick to your daily green habits

According to the 2009 Quality of Life Index that includes 194 countries Canada ranks 19th. The ranking is based on weighted factors that includes cost of living, leisure and culture, the economy, the environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, risk & safety and climate. A full list of all the countries can be found here, including how they categories are weighted and calculated.

As for where we will be in 2010? It’s unknown right now but it will likely be falling even further behind. It’s no secret that Canada is starting to lag, we are becoming known as the country of polite polluters.

Canada the only country that agreed to the Kyoto Protocol backs away from the ratification

The Kyoto Protocol asked for all nations involved to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by a certain percentage below 1990 levels by 2012. Canada agreed to cut emissions by 6% below 1990 levels, formally ratified the Kyoto Accord at the end of 2002 and in 2006 the Canadian government announced it was abandoning the Kyoto targets. Even wore Canada is currently 26% above 1990 emission levels.

Why are we backing away from the Kyoto protocol? Why can’t we meet our environmental targets? According to George Monbiot it is because of all the potential economic benefits of exploiting the oil of the Alberta Tar Sands. But as Monbiot explains it’s not really oil and that’s why it might be so environmentally destructive. In his article The Urgent Threat to World Peace is … Canada, Manbiot sums up the tar sands …

“It’s actually a filthy mixture of bitumen, sand, heavy metals and toxic organic chemicals… To extract oil from this mess, it needs to be heated and washed. Three barrels of water are used to process one barrel of oil. The contaminated water is held in vast tailing ponds, some of which are so toxic that the tar companies employ people to scoop dead birds off the surface(10). Most are unlined. They leak organic poisons, arsenic and mercury into the rivers… Refining tar sands requires two to three times as much energy as refining crude oil. The companies exploiting them burn enough natural gas to heat six million homes”

Canada might become known as a corrupt petrostate. According to Environmental|Defence Canada has The Most Destructive Project on Earth, the Alberta Tar Sands. The open-pit mines needed to extract the tar sands will be the size of the UK; our pristine landscape will be destroyed and that not directly destroyed by the open-pit mines will be indirectly ruined by all the leaching chemicals.

Could Canada to be expelled from the Commonwealth?

Copenhagen, a place where the commonwealth leaders have congregated to find common ground for the future of the global environment. As Kyoto is about to expire the goal is to have a legally binding agreement in place. But Canada will only participate if meets our economic objectives.

Yesterday I wrote about the triple bottom line accounting principle, people, planet, profit. Harger is regressing, he’s moving away from people and planet and purely exploiting profit. As Europe invests in green infrastructure Canada is investing in ‘dirty’ infrastructure. Globally, Harper and our Federal government our tarnishing our Canadian image.

Worse still the leaders of the Commonwealth are growing frustrated. As they implement policies and laws to meet ambitious emissions goals, Canada is seriously lagging behind. Other leaders of the Commonwealth are commenting on the divide between Harper and the other leaders.

Harper is waiting, waiting until his big brother to south takes a stand and tables proposals. According to Harper we are too connected to the US to table any proposals.

Our environmental and economic future lie in the hands of Steven Harper. If he chooses to ignore the ambitious goals being tabled in Copenhagen and solely looks out for the oil interests in Canada, than Canada will lose much of it’s good-faith with global leaders. Worse if Harper permits the complete extraction of the Tar Sands, Canada will be labeled as one of the world’s worst polluters; we’ll be chastised by the rest of the world.