canada

Cars Being Used Less in Toronto

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

Some more information form the 2006 Canadian census has been released and it paints a green future for transportation in Toronto. The census asked how people get to work (car, walk, public transit, bike, etc.). In the city the younger one is, the more likely it is that one is taking a more green approach to getting to work.

Workers under the age of 25 in the Toronto region use public transit 30.8 per cent of the time, walk 9.5 per cent of the time and cycle 1.5 per cent of the time.

That’s a considerably higher reliance on environmentally friendly means of getting to work than the average commuter in the Toronto region, who commutes by public transit 22.2 per cent of the time, by foot 4.8 per cent of the time and by bike 1.0 per cent of the time.

Reliance on the car in the Toronto region seems to increase with the age of the commuter.

Commuters younger than 25 used a vehicle to get to work — either as a driver or a passenger — 57.2 per cent of the time. Those age 25-34 commuted by car 66.1 per cent of the time, and those 35 and over drove or were driven 75.8 per cent of the time.

What really stood out to me was that the desire to own a car is shrinking!

Owning a car used to be a rite of passage for young people, but environmental awareness in that generation has made gas guzzlers uncool, says Dan McDermott, director of Ontario’s chapter of the Sierra Club of Canada. The high cost of gasoline is another factor for those with limited incomes.

“The desire to own a car is diminishing for a number of reasons — environmental consciousness being high on that list,” said McDermott.

I’ve never understood why people want to own cars even if they don’t need one.

Change Buildings, Save the World

- Adam Clare

A study has been released (2mb PDF) by Commission for Environmental Cooperation; and Celsias has put up a nice summery for us. They note that a simple way for us to lower our impact on the environment is to change how we construct buildings in North America.

Existing building techniques can be used to improve efficiency of our buildings.

In Canada, buildings are responsible for:

  • 33 % of all energy used;
  • 50 % of natural resources consumed;
  • 12 % of non-industrial water used;
  • 25 % of landfill waste generated;
  • 10 % of airborne particulates produced; and
  • 35 % of greenhouse gases emitted.

In Mexico, buildings are responsible for:

  • 17 % of all energy used;
  • 25 % of all electricity used;
  • 20 % of all carbon dioxide emissions;
  • 5 % of potable water consumption; and
  • 20 % of the waste generated.

Alberta Takes Smoking Ban to the Next Level

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

Canadian provinces and cities are sticking up to big tobacco and laying down the law to protect the health of people who choose not to smoke.

Alberta has followed previous examples of smoking bans and now has chosen to become the exemplar of smoking bans. The law came into effect on Jan 1, so smokers are obviously still adjusting to the change, and non-smokers are adjusting to cleaner air (I guess).

The new law, one of the toughest in Canada, will ban smoking in any public building, including restaurants and bars.

Many larger cities and towns already have bylaws that restrict smoking, but the new provincial law will ban smoking right across the province.

Anti-smoking groups say the new provincial legislation puts the province ahead of just about every other jurisdiction.

More Smoking Bans in Canada

- Adam Clare 5 Comments

Last month a small town in Nova Scotia banned smoking in cars with children passengers. Last year we mentioned that Quebec and Ontario are nearly smoke-free.

It’s great to see how all these places are limiting where one can smoke as second hand smoke, and smoking itself, is harmful. Now New Brunswick is jumping on the no smoking in cars bandwagon with more provinces to follow.

Michael Murphy, [New Brunswick’s] health minister, told CTV Halifax that he’s concerned that the tobacco industry is targeting kids. He also said that New Brunswick residents may want to consider the possibility of a smoking ban in cars with kids.

British Columbia and the Yukon are considering similar legislation. Ontario politicians have also started to debate vehicle smoking bans.

Studies show that the concentration of toxins in a smoke-filled car is 23 times greater than a smoky bar. Yet, one in five children are exposed to smoke in a car on a regular basis.

Environmentalists Sue Harper, Bali Begins

- Adam Clare

I’ve never been shy about my dislike of Canada’s current Prime Minister and today won’t be any different. Regular readers of Things Are Good may have noticed that other countries get mentioned often here because their national government take positive action. Three nations, though, get mentioned not because of federal efforts but because of local ones. Those nations are Australia, Canada, and the USA. I’m confident that there is a connection between the lack of good news coming from those national governments and how popular their leaders are. Howard just lost his election and Bush is at an all time low. (EDIT: Australia ratifies Kyoto Protocol! Way to go Rudd!)

The conservatives in Canada are now being sued by an environmental group. I’m sure that the timing of the lawsuit is to draw attention to the potential that Canada has for being a leader in fighting global warming at the UN’s climate change conference in Bali, which started today.

Major policies will be shaped by the countries listed above (among others) over the course of the next two weeks. Stay tuned for the good news that will come from the UN conference.

While in Canada, the environmentalist will continue to fight up north:

The group, Friends of the Earth, alleges that Environment Minister John Baird has broken the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, by ignoring a recent requirement of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act.

The act was passed by Parliament in June 2007.

The lawsuit contends that Ottawa was legally required to publish draft regulations by Oct. 20, 2007, which would have enabled Canada to follow its Kyoto commitments, but failed to do so.

“This new application, while relevant to climate change, is all about holding the government of Canada accountable under Canadian law,” said lawyer Chris Paliare, who filed the legal challenge on behalf of the group.

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