Category Archives: energy

Running On Fumes

energy

The gas shortage that began last week wasn’t supposed to last this long. Instead, it’s getting worse.

Esso, Canadian Tire, Petro-Canada, and Shell gas stations in Toronto are all suffering from gas shortages, and some of them are completely out of fuel.

The shortage, we are told, is due to a fire that happened at a refinery in Nanticoke, Ontario on February 15th. Also, it’s due to the CN rail strike. Also, it’s due to cold weather.

In other words, there are a lot of things going wrong at once. Robert Theberge of Imperial Oil described the Nanticoke fire as “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” His comments were probably an attempt to minimize the problem, but for me they do the opposite. If our gas supply is so susceptible to disruption that it can be broken by a straw, we’ve got a problem.

In the early 1970’s, North American oil production peaked, giving birth to the energy crisis. People woke up and took action (efficiency, conservation), but eventually new supplies from the Middle East drove prices back down, and old habbits returned. Three years ago, when gas prices spiked in Canada, individuals (though not government) smartened up again, and started buying fewer stupid, ugly vehicles. Then, again, prices dropped, and the pendulum of behaviour swung back.

By evolutionary design, we humans are adept at reacting to immediate threats (“Ah! Lion!”), but not as good at detecting gradual ones or noticing long emergencies. Doesn’t mean we can’t do it, just means we have to try a little harder. Just as every oil field has a peak production, and just as North America peaked in the 1770s, it’s becoming increasingly likely that global oil production will peak soon as well. In fact, some believe it already has.

This week, as gas prices went back up (and as we actually started running out of the stuff), some drivers reacted with anger and confusion, as if they’d had no warning that this kind of thing could happen. But of course, CN will go back to work, the refinery will get back up to speed, and prices will go back down again. The temporary supply problem (the one that’s easy to notice, the lion) will be resolved and the illusion that our oil supply is infinite and secure will be restored. The looming global supply problem will remain, of course, but that’s the one that’s much easier to sleep through.

Something else will remain as well — one question: how many more warnings can we afford to ignore?

Everything New is Old

climate crisis, conservative party, energy

As you’ve likely gathered, I’ve been away for a week. Out of the country, actually. This morning, the radio kindly informed me that, while I was gone, the Conservative party made a series of announcements and declared themselves “green.” (Clever of them to wait until I wasn’t looking to spring this stuff. Not sure how they got their hands on my travel plans, but I’ll find out.)

“Good,” I thought. Then, I looked into the details. “#$@%,” I thought.

Turns out, there were two main announcements. The first announcement came on Wednesday, with a $230-million investment in “clean energy” research. (Those of you keeping score at home will note that that amounts to 16% of the $1.4-billion of our tax dollars that go to the oil and gas industry which, by the way, really doesn’t need it.) This sounds like a great idea at first, until you realize that the Conservatives have defined “clean” as “coal and oil.” I’m not going to dignify that with any further analysis.

The second announcement regarded energy rebates for home retrofits. Again, a good idea that has been masterfully neutered. With the Conservative plan, all you have to do is pay for an energy audit ($200-$300), then pay for the renovations to your home (say, $1000 and upwards), then apply and wait for your rebate while you hold off the credit card company. Somehow, I don’t predict long line ups for this one. Better than nothing, but not much help to people who don’t have thousands of dollars lying around, or who don’t own their homes.

The really amazing thing about these two plans is that one year ago when “Canada’s Newest Government Ever!” took power, better versions of both these ideas already existed, and were then promptly eliminated. In fact, Stephen Harper’s government has frozen or killed more than a dozen climate-change programs since they took office, including the EnerGuide program.

Of course, those programs were also not enough, and saw Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions rise by 24% through to 2004, and more since then. If these ideas are “green,” it’s because they’re really old and stuff has started growing on them. It’s past time for more than positioning, Harper.

New Year’s Resolutions

energy, food, toronto

Today’s Metro Morning asked people to call in with their new year’s resolutions for the city of Toronto, which were then commented on by guest Glen Murray. They only had time for three callers (unless I missed the beginning), and their resolutions were:

  1. Close Bay Street to private vehicles.
  2. Increase the number of recycling options.
  3. More affordable housing.

Based on these calls, I will now conclude that if an election were held tomorrow, I’d get 66.6% of the vote and Michael Shapcott would get the other 33.3%. (Note: not a scientific poll.)

The question got me thinking though, and I decided to create my own top ten environmental new year’s resolutions for anyone wondering what they can do. The catch is that these kinds of lists are already everywhere, and I didn’t want to be boring. So, things like “drive less, replace your light bulbs, and recycle” didn’t make the cut. I’m assuming you already know that. These resolutions also ask a little bit more of you. Sorry about that.

Here, off the top of my head, are ten other things you may or may not have thought of or already be doing.

  1. Eat less meat. We already eat too much for our health anyway, and meat is a very inefficient (albeit admittedly delicious) way of producing food energy. It takes more resources (food, land, water, etc) to produce meat than it does to eat lower on the food chain.
  2. Eat more locally. The average meal travels further than it needs to, which contributes to climate change, damages local economies, and generally makes your food less yummy.
  3. Eat more organically. (Yes, I did skip breakfast.) Did you know that agribusiness uses petroleum and natural gas-based fertilizers and pesticides? And that it’s only because of this infusion of oil that we’re able to grow as much food as we do? And that oil production will likely peak sometime between last year and ten or twenty years from now? Because I didn’t know that until a few years ago, and it’s a pretty big deal that we should all be aware of. We are, in effect, “eating oil,” in that much of the food we grow wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. Buy foods that avoid the use of artificial fertilizers.
  4. Take transit less. I actually got this tip from the now defunct One Tonne Challenge (this link is pretty funny and demonstrative), which advised me that since I don’t drive very much, and since even public transit uses energy, biking and walking would further reduce my carbon emissions. Also, biking is awesome.
  5. Start a garden. This relates to #2. If you’ve got a back yard, this should be fairly simple. If you live in an apartment building or condo, you’ve got a little more work to do, but it’s still possible.
  6. Buy less. My brother is returning from a trip to Kenya today, and he’s assured me that the impoverished Kenyans he met are, on average, happier and more life-loving than us wealthy Canadians. Almost everything we buy ends up in the garbage eventually anyway. The first and most forgotten R (of the three R’s) is the most important.
  7. Produce some of your own power. If wind or solar (either passive or active) work where you live, consider getting them installed. If not, maybe you have a geothermal option. If you live in a condo this isn’t impossible, but obviously you’ll have to either talk your board into it or get elected to the board yourself.
  8. Buy power from Bullfrog. Easier than #7, as they’ve already done the legwork.
  9. Reduce your overall footprint. Using this ecological footprint calculator may give you some insight into what sorts of actions have the greatest effect.
  10. Add your own tip by commenting on this page. (Note: Blogger comments have been buggy recently, but they’re still being saved. Even if it says “0 Comments” below, clicking on that link may reveal that there actually are comments.)

Hope that’s been helpful and/or interesting, and, of course, not too preachy. If not, that’s what tip number ten is for.