From ggallon@videotron.ca Fri May 23 21:11:57 2003
Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 10:09:50 -0400
From: Gary Gallon
To:
Subject: Gary Gallon Given Canada's National Life-Time Achievement
Environment Award by Canadian Geographic
[ Part 1, Text/PLAIN (charset: ISO-8859-1 "Latin 1") 477 lines. ]
[ Unable to print this part. ]
[ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ]
[ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ]
[ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ]
THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER
Canadian Institute for
Business and the Environment
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Ph. (514)
369-0230, Fax (514) 369-3282
Email cibe@web.net
Vol. 7, No. 11, May 6, 2003
**********************************************
THE ROYAL CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY'S CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
LAUNCHES NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AWARDS
Canada's National Environment Awards will be handed out by the Royal
Canadian Geographic Society's Canadian Geographic Magazine June 2, 2003,
in Toronto. Started by the Canadian Geographic Magazine last year, the
awards honour Canadians who've worked in the community to help improve
the national environment. An independent board of six panelists selected
community environment awards in six categories: climate change;
conservation; environmental health; environmental learning; restoration &
rehabilitation; and, sustainable development. A seventh category will be
given, on occasion, for "Lifetime Achievement". Majors sponsors will
provide $5,000 donations to each of the winners' selected environmental
causes. Canadian National Environment Awards have been given by various
institutions, off-and-on, in Canada for past 30 years. The National
Awards started in 1972 with the White Owl Canadian National Conservation
Awards. Later, in the 1980's, the National Awards program was picked up
by Environment Canada, which gave the awards at its annual national
environment conference in Ottawa. The Environment Canada conferences and
National Environment Awards were cut off during the cost-cutting moves in
the mid-1990's. Last year, the Canadian Geographic Magazine with the
support of corporate sponsors initiated national awards again. Corporate
sponsors for the National Environment Awards include Shell Canada,
Toyota, The Globe and Mail, Hewlett-Packard (hp), Toronto Dominion Bank
Financial Group, Panasonic, Quebecor World, Banrock Station Wines,
WestJet, VIA Rail, and Quebec Science. For more information contact Rick
Boychuk, The Royal Canadian Geographic Society, 39 McArthur Avenue,
Ottawa, Ontario K1L 8L7, ph. 1-800-267-0824.
***********************************************************************
GARY GALLON SELECTED TO RECEIVE CANADA'S "LIFE-TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD"
FOR ENVIRONMENTAL WORK IN CANADA
Gary Gallon, President of the Canadian Institute for Business and the
Environment, based in Montreal, and Editor of "The Gallon Environment
Letter", was selected to receive Canada's Life-Time Achievement Award for
his environmental work in Canada. Canadian Geographic wrote: "What a long
and strange trip it's been for environmental activist Gary Gallon, who
started his working life on the floor of the Vancouver Stock Exchange in
the late 1960s, Gallon had an insider's view of the economic decisions
that were poisoning his adopted country's environment. Gallon, for whom
Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring" was a seminal work, soon found
himself counterbalancing his day job writing investment pitches on behalf
of the mining and fossil-fuel industries with nighttime meetings in a
Kitsilano kitchen for British Columbia's fledgling Society for the
Promotion of Environmental Conservation (SPEC). When the group got wind
of potential hazards from a supertanker route down British Columbia's
west coast, Gallon knew it was time to dedicate himself to a tangible
good. His brief career as a double agent was over. "I've always been
bothered by excess consumption and wanton destruction of habitat," he
says. "Human ethics must allow space for other lifeforms."
SPEC was just one of several activist groups to emerge in the decade that
followed ^× among them, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth Canada and the
Canadian Environmental Network ^× and Gallon had a hand in founding all
of them. His early efforts ranged from pesticide-awareness campaigns and
household recycling to oil-spills prevention and the protection of
wildlife from strip coal mining. Gallon's voice became familiar in the
media, and his reputation as an inspired and tireless worker led to his
selection in 1977 as executive director of the Environment Liaison Centre
International (ELCI) in Nairobi, Kenya. His four-year stint with the ELCI
had two life-changing results: it deepened Gallon's understanding of
global environmental issues and connected him with fellow activist Janine
Ferretti (Canada's Chief of Environment for the InterAmerican Development
Bank in Washington, D.C.), who would become his life partner. When the
couple returned to Canada in 1982, Gallon assisted Energy Probe in the
creation of Probe International, and shortly after, he began work as an
environmental researcher for Ontario's Liberal opposition. When David
Peterson's government upset the long-time Conservative government in
1985, Gallon was named senior policy adviser to Minister of the
Environment Jim Bradley. "Making things happen in government is an
endless negotiation," Gallon says. "But every little bit helps." Although
party stalwarts urged the political novice to maintain the status quo,
Gallon was determined to go after environmental bad guys. He roused the
sleeping giant Inco, engaging in a strict negotiation over acid rain; he
shoe-horned the soft-drink industry into a deal to solve the waste
problem with its bottles; and he was instrumental in creating the first
North American blue-box program and the goal of diverting some 50 percent
of garbage from landfill. "In government," he says, "you have less room
to rail but more power to get things done."" See the full story at the
website http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea2003/english/cla/ .
*************************************************************************
GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE ROYAL CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT AWARDS
DINNER
The Canadian National Environment Awards ceremonial gala dinner will be
held Monday, June 2, 2003 at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). Cocktails
start at 5:30 pm. Canada's Environment Minister, the Honourable David
Anderson, will be the keynote speaker at the dinner. The price is $95 per
person and $47.50 for students and representatives from NGOs. To purchase
tickets contact Heather Bell in Toronto at ph. (416) 360-4151, Ext. 380;
or, email bell@canadiangeographic.ca . See the website
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/cea2003/english/awards/greenspace.asp .
*****************************************************************************
NUCLEAR POWER FAILS ONTARIO IN ITS BID TO PROVIDE CHEAP ENERGY
When I (Gary Gallon) was in the Ontario Environment Minister Jim
Bradley's Office in 1985, our office was assured by Ontario Hydro that
nuclear power would provide clean, cost-effective, and long-term energy
(40 years) for Ontario. We were assured that "Nukes as Scrubbers" was the
way to go with the coal-fired plants. Instead of putting in large and
costly "Baghouse-Scrubbers", as we had demanded, Ontario Hydro promised
to shutdown the coal-fired plants and replace their energy with that from
nuclear power plants. We, in the Minister's office (Sarah Rang, David
Oved and Mark Rudolph) didn't see it that way. We argued for scrubbers to
be placed on coal-fired plants. Finally, we forced Ontario to go to
Environmental Assessment hearings on Electricity Demand and Supply. We
aimed Ontario Hydro away from nuclear towards conservation. We provided
$2.0 million in intervenor funding for groups like Energy Probe and
cities like Toronto to demonstrate how we could generate cheaper and more
reliable energy from "negawatts", renewable sources, and energy
conservation. During the 3-year hearings 1987-90, Ontario Hydro succeeded
in deflecting efforts to moderate its nuclear power push and our efforts
to place pollution control devices on coal-fired plants. Now, twelve
years later we are beginning to experience the negative results of poor
decision-making by Ontario Hydro. Just read Eric Reguly's column,
"Ontario's Dim Electricity Policy Will Shock Users Soon," Report on
Business, The Globe and Mail May 3, 2003.
Reguly wrote, "the electricity brain trust at Queen's Park apparently
miscalculated a couple of things. The first was the return of the massive
Pickering nuclear station, where four of the eight generating units, each
capable of pumping out 500 megawatts have been idle for more than five
years. The overhaul of the nuclear units is costing billions (original
estimate: $800 million), and the first of four units was supposed to back
in action at the end of 2000. Without Pickering, combined with startup
delays in the Bruce 4 nuclear reactor, the potential for electricity
shortages this summer can only soar." First, Pickering and Bruce 4 were
not supposed to breakdown so soon. They were supposed to last 40 years
before major repairs. Secondly, the costs of repair are almost reach the
original cost of construction of the nuclear plants. Thirdly, the delays
in start up mean that there are serious health concerns related to
possible radioactive leaks from the newly-repaired nuclear power plant
problems. The coal-fired electricity plants that Ontario Hydro promised
to shutdown and mothball in order to meet the stringent acid gas emission
60-percent reduction targets of "Countdown Acid Rain", will now become a
major source of electricity. Ontario Hydro is importing electricity at a
cost ranging from 6.15 to 15.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. This is much
higher than the 4.3 cents per Kwh Ontario Hydro is selling the same
electricity to big industrial and commercial users. Normally, coal-fired
power costs about 3.5 cents per Kwh, and Ontario Hydro reports that
nuclear-fired power costs about 3.0 cents per Kwh to produce, though the
real cost of nuclear power, including repair and long-term waste
management, is closer to 6 - 8 cents per Kwh. Reguly wrote, "the farcical
economics of deploying taxpayers money to subsidize taxpayers electricity
bills has cost Ontario an estimated $500 - million to $700 million". What
is amazing is that high-priced lawyers and well-trained electrical
engineers have made such poor decisions leading to hundreds of millions
of dollars in additional costs plus environmental degradation. The
environmentalists within the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Energy
Probe, had they been listened to, and their advice acted upon, they would
have saved Ontario taxpayers billions of dollars and cleaned up their air
in the process. For more information see the websites
http://www.energyprobe.org/energyprobe/index.cfm . Visit the Ontario
Power Generation website at http://www.opg.com/default3.asp . Also see
article at http://www.aims.ca/Media/2000/prnov1600.htm .
**************************************************************
NAFTA ENVIRONMENT COMMISSION RECEIVES CHALLENGE ON ONTARIO POWER
GENERATION'S POOR ENERGY POLICIES
The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has
received a citizen submission asserting that Canada is failing to
effectively enforce the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and the
federal Fisheries Act against Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) coal-fired
power plants. The attorneys general of the states of New York,
Connecticut and Rhode Island, along with 48 Canadian and United States
non-governmental organizations and two towns in New York State, filed the
submission (SEM-03-001) with the CEC on 1 May 2003.
The submitters assert that emissions of mercury, sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides from OPG's coal-powered facilities pollute the air and
water downwind, in eastern Canada and northeastern United States. They
assert that Canada is failing to effectively enforce sections 166 and 176
of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which, they claim, obligate
the Minister of the Environment to take action to address Canadian
sources of pollution that he has reason to believe are causing air or
water pollution in the United States. They also assert that Canada is
failing to effectively enforce section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act against
the OPG facilities. Section 36(3) prohibits the deposit of a deleterious
substance into water frequented by fish or in any place under any
conditions where the substance may enter such water. The citizen
submissions mechanism of the CEC enables the public to play a
whistle-blower role on matters of environmental law enforcement. Under
Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
(NAAEC), any person or nongovernmental organization may submit a claim
alleging that a NAFTA partner has failed to effectively enforce its
environmental law. Following a review of the submission, the CEC may
investigate the matter and pursue a factual record of its findings. For
more information contact the Submissions on Enforcement Matters Unit,
Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 393, rue St-Jacques Ouest,
Bureau 200, Montreal (Quebec) Canada H2Y 1N9, Tel: (514) 350-4300; Fax:
(514) 350-4314, E-mail: info@ccemtl.org . Please click the following link
if you cannot view this e-mail: http://www.cec.org/citizen/
*************************************************************************
PEMBINA INSTITUTE WANTS TO HIRE AN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ANALYST
The Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development wishes to hire an
Environmental Policy Analyst Pembina Institute, in Calgary, Alberta. The
Pembina Institute is an independent, citizen-based think-tank and
activist organization that develops and promotes progressive public
policy. The successful candidate will work closely with other staff of
the Energy Watch team to advance the program's objectives and contribute
to the team's advocacy work on a range of energy-related issues. S/he
will review and critique energy project proposals and government
policies, intervene in major energy project developments, develop and
deliver information resources to raise public awareness/capacity and
represent the Pembina Institute in multi- stakeholder policy forums. The
Energy Watch Program is focused on three main areas of concern: (a) The
environmental impacts of conventional energy and oilsands developments;
(b) The development of provincial and national standards and regulations
related to energy and the environment; (c) and, Air quality issues (with
a particular focus on Alberta) including acidifying emissions, greenhouse
gases, ground-level ozone, particulate matter and air toxics. The ideal
candidate will have a minimum of an undergraduate degree in environmental
studies, natural resource science, ecology, biology, chemistry, physics,
or engineering. The person could have strong experience in a resource
development company, environmental consulting firm or environmental
organization. Key attributes, abilities and skills will include strong
personal commitment to protecting the environment; interest in longer
term involvement in the environmental activist movement; ability to
quickly absorb, synthesize, and act on new information and concepts; and,
have strong strategically-focused analytical skills, good common sense.
The deadline for application is May 20, 2003. Send a letter of interest,
résumé, and names of three references to Chris Severson-Baker, Deputy
Director, Energy Watch Program, Pembina Institute, Room 517, 604 1st
Street S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2P 1M7, fax (403) 269-3377,
e-mail: chrissb@pembina.org
*************************************************************************
SUBMIT APPLICATIONS FOR THE IJC'S 2003 BIENNIUM AWARD FOR GREAT LAKES
SCIENCE
The International Joint Commission (IJC) will present the 2003 Biennial
Award for Great Lakes Science, to publicly recognize the importance of
science in the management of the Great Lakes. It will be given to a
scientist who's research has had a positive influence on environmental
quality and the health of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. The
individual's work under consideration may be either one major research
initiative or the development of a body of knowledge. While the award
must be pertinent to implementing the Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement. Research and must have a demonstrated applicability to the
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Applicability could be demonstrated
by: Action taken as a result of this research; Government funding;
Legislation; and, Fundamental new understanding of the Great Lakes. Only
research that has been peer reviewed will be considered. Deadline for
nominations is May 27, 2003. Access the nomination form at the
International Joint Commission (IJC) http://www.glc.org/2003bienniumaward
**********************************************************************
ATTEND RENEWABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE, WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 2003
The American Council for Renewable Energy (ACRE) will hold its 2003
Annual Conference July 8 and 9, 2003, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel -
Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. The conference will focus on revitalizing
America's commitment to renewable energy with an event theme "Renewable
Energy in America -- Building a National Strategy on Marketplace
Successes." The conference agenda will emphasize the tangible successes
of state and local renewable energy initiatives. ACRE is a non-profit
dedicated to communicating the positive outcomes of renewable energy
growth for America. ACRE strives to make renewable energy the primary
choice for power in America through strategic domestic and international
partnerships. For more information contact email Michael Eckhart (ACRE):
ph. 202-429-2030 or meckhart@AmericanRenewables.org , or Holly Riester
(Conference): ph. 202-457-0868 hriester@AmericanRenewables.org . Visit
their website at www.AmericanRenewables.org
*********************************************************************
RCO TO HOST GOLF TOURNAMENT AND DINNER MAY 9, 2003 IN TORONTO
The Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO) will host a friendly golf match
Friday, May 9, 2003, at the Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ontario. The
tournament will be held on the South Course, host site of the 2002 Bell
Canadian Open. It will be a team scramble format. Cost: RCO Members -
$300 per player or $1,100 per foursome. Non RCO Members - $350 per
player or $1,200 per foursome. There will be a BBQ Buffet Lunch and a
dinner following the match. The Recycling Council of Ontario is a not for
profit environmental organization committed to minimizing society's
impact on the environment by eliminating waste. RCO's mission is to
inform and educate all members of society about the generation of waste,
the avoidance of waste, the more efficient use of resources, and the
benefits and/or consequences of these activities. Visit the website
http://www.gtigolf.com/rcogolf/ .
***********************************************************************
CRA CREATES ESOLUTIONS DATA CENTRE
CRA opened its "eSolutions" (eSolutions Group is a Division of
Conestoga-Rovers & Associates) Data Centre in Waterloo, Ontario. This is
the only Centre of its kind in the Region. This Centre came about through
a strategic alliance between CRA/eSolutions and FibreTech
Telecommunications, a provider of communications in the area. Within this
alliance, CRA/eSolutions provides the secure facility, air conditioning,
fire detection and suppression, server cabinets, cabling and electrical
backup and FibreTech furnishes high-speed, reliable connections,
networking, and connectivity facilities and services. This combined
effort has produced a Data Centre which provides a safe, secure and
reliable integrated package of environmental data services for clients.
For more information contact Jeff Latimer, Internet Working Specialist
and Manager of the eSolutions Data Centre. Jeff can be reached at (519)
884-3352 or by email at jlatimer@esolutionsgroup.ca . Go to the CRA
"eSolutions" website at http://www.esolutionsgroup.ca/colocation/ .
*************************************************************************
ZENON ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNS NEW CONTRACT WITH POLAND FOR INDUSTRIAL WATER
TREATMENT
ZENON Environmental Inc. will be supplying its ZeeWeed® technology to
treat industrial wastewater for a major power plant in Poland. The
contract has a value in excess of $5 million and will be a turnkey
project for the company. ZENON's ZeeWeed® membranes are already in use at
the same location and are purifying water for boiler feed purposes. The
new system will treat all the wastewater from the power plant for either
discharge or reuse as pre-treatment for boiler feed water. "Many parts of
the world are water short and power plants have a great need to reuse
water," said Andrew Benedek, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
ZENON. This project is a good demonstration of ZENON's capability to
achieve full water recycle in a power plant." Work on the new facility is
currently underway and the plant is expected to be complete by February
2004. ZENON is a world leader in providing advanced membrane products and
services for water purification, wastewater treatment and water reuse to
municipalities and industries worldwide. The ZENON group of companies
employs over 800 people who operate from six locations in North America,
six in Europe, and one in each of Asia, Latin America, and the Middle
East. For more information contact Andrew Benedek, Chairman & CEO, ph.
(905) 465-3030, or Nazeli Seferian Corporate Communications & Investor
Relations, ph. (905) 465-3030, Ext. 3055, ZENON Environmental Inc.,
Corporate Headquarters, 3239 Dundas Street West, Oakville, Ontario L6M
4B2. See the website http://www.zenonenv.com/investor/news/apr2903.shtml
.
*************************************************************************
OIL SANDS DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA - HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE
The latest issue of the Hazardous Materials Management magazine has a
cover story about oil sands development in Alberta, written by Conne
Vitello. She writes that, "oil sands production currently represents
about 20 per cent of Canada's crude oil supply. The country produces a
surprisingly large amount of synthetic oil from bitumen -- about 500,000
barrels per day (bbl/d). To date more than a billion barrels of synthetic
crude oil have been mined from approximately 77,000 square kilometres of
western Canadian oil sand deposits. It's estimated that there's 300
billion barrels in recoverable reserves." Vitello continues, "while the
numbers and the issues are complex, the extraction process is fairly
straightforward. Bitumen is a black tarry hydrocarbon that coats sands
and carbonate sedimentary formations. The mining operation involves
stripping off the overburden, separating the bitumen with steam, hot
water and caustic soda, and dilution with naphtha. The slurry thus
produced is centrifuged at 80 degrees Celsius to produce liquid bitumen.
The liquid is upgraded (via coking) and subjected to other treatments
that eventually yield a light gravity, low-sulphur synthetic oil.
Environmentalists complain that the oil sands production is essentially a
strip-mining operation that alters hundreds of thousands of acres of
fertile ground -- including forests, wildlife habitat and water sources
-- to get at the subsurface bitumen. According to a recent report from
the National Energy Board, GHG emissions related to bitumen in 2000 were
estimated at 8.1 megatonnes (Mt). These emissions are estimated to rise
to 30.5 Mt by 2015. The recent tumultuous public debate over Canada's
vote to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change cast a long shadow
over Alberta's oil sands projects. Under the controversial pact, Canada
is obliged to significantly reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases
(GHGs) to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012." Source, "Like Oil &
Vinegar", Connie Vitello, Hazardous Materials Management Magazine,
Markham, Ontario. See the full article athttp://www.hazmatmag.com/issues/ISarticle.asp?id=98372&story_id=158601140529&is
ue=04012003&PC= . Contact Connie Vitello Editor of Hazardous Materials
Management Magazine, at cvitello@hazmatmag.com .
**********************************************************************
JANINE FERRETTI NEW CHIEF, ENVIRONMENT AT THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT
BANK, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Janine Ferretti has been appointed Chief of the Environment Division of
the Department of Sustainable Development at the Inter-American
Development Bank, based in Washington, D.C. This makes her one of the
highest-placed Canadian women in the World Bank - IADB system. Prior to
her move, Ferretti was the Executive Director of the NAFTA Commission for
Environmental Cooperation (CEC), based in Montreal, Quebec. For more
information contact Janine Ferretti, Chief Environment Inter-American
Development Bank, 1300 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20577, ph.
(202) 623-1795, email janinef@iadb.org . Visit the Environment Division
website at http://www.iadb.org/sds/ENV_e.htm .
*******************************************************************
MANDATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT DIVISION OF THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT
BANK
The Environment Division of the Department of Sustainable Development
within the Inter-American Development Bank is designed "to strengthen
environmental legislation, establish regulations and concrete systems of
incentives and sanctions aimed at promoting environmental conservation,
and improve the management of institutions responsible for the
environment and natural resources." The bank recognizes that, "everywhere
in the region it will be necessary to overcome inadequacies in
legislation dealing with, and weaknesses in institutions responsible for,
natural resources and the environment, if the trend towards environmental
degradation is to be reversed. A significant effort must therefore be
made to establish efficient institutional mechanisms to address
environmental matters which entail the coordination of decision-making
processes and the promotion of participation processes through local
public and private organizations." The new development model of "good
governance" emphasizes the role of the competitive markets, government
responsibility to manage the state, including environmental protection,
and the importance of civil society (private rights and individual
initiative). Key attributes are pluralism, accountability, and
transparency. In the area of environmental protection, the specific
themes arising from the good governance model are economic incentives for
environmental management, and citizen participation. Source,
http://www.iadb.org/sds/env/site_186_e.htm .
The Bank's lending for the environment and natural resources sector in
1998 encompassed 21 operations totalling $1.8 billion. An additional
$29.5 million in technical-assistance grants was approved in areas
ranging from the strengthening of regulatory systems in the water sector
to the formulation of action plans for biodiversity and nature
conservation. Source, http://www.iadb.org/exr/topics/env.htm . For more
information contact Janine Ferretti, Chief Environment Inter-American
Development Bank, 1300 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20577, ph.
(202) 623-1795, email janinef@iadb.org . Visit their website at
http://www.iadb.org/sds/ENV_e.htm .
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Copyright (c) 2003
Canadian Institute for Business and the
Environment, Montreal & Toronto
All rights reserved.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx