EcoSask News, May 25, 2021

This Week’s Highlights 

“Storing and transporting excess renewable energy as hydrogen could reshape global energy politics. . . . Because the ones [countries] best equipped to export green hydrogen are so geographically and politically diverse—from Morocco to Australia to Norway—the rise of green hydrogen may lower the temperature on international oil and gas politics, as well as the global climate.” 

Regina Public Library is hosting an online program about artists who focus on sustainability at 7 pm, June 3. 

Upcoming Events 

City of Regina residents can dispose of hazardous waste from 4-7 pm on Friday, 9 am-4 pm, Saturday, and 9 am-4 pm, Sunday, May 28-30. 

Nature Saskatchewan is hosting World Migratory Bird Day celebrations on May 29 in Regina. Register in advance. 

Learn wildlife tracking skills and how to put them to use in the summer in a Nature Conservancy of Canada webinar at 6:30 pm, May 31. 

Nature Regina will hold an online annual general meeting at 7 pm, May 31. 

The Provincial Association of Resort Communities of Saskatchewan is hosting a webinar on keeping invasive species out of our lakes at 7 pm, June 2. 

Mark Jaccard will host a discussion of his book, The Citizen’s Guide to Climate Success, at the breakfast meeting of the Energy Management Task Force. 

Saskatoon Nature Society – Golden Eagles 

June 3, 9 am – Donna Birkmaier Park 

June 10, 9 am – Chappell Marsh/Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area 

Retirees and partners who are interested in birds and the natural world are invited to participate. 

Other Saskatoon Nature Society Field Trips 

June 5, 8 am-noon – Birding in Dundurn Area Pastures 

June 6, 1-3 pm – Arbor Week Hike 

June 11, 9:30-11:30 pm – Firefly Hike to NE Swale 

June 13, 8:30 am-2 pm – Member Visit to NCC Asquith Site 

June 15, 6:30-9 pm – Wildflowers at the Small Swale 

Field trips are currently for members only, so sign up now. Advance registration is required.

 

Did you know? Indigenous peoples of North America used the golden bean flowers to make a yellow dye (Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s 4 western provinces is downloadable directly from its website) 

Plastics 

Every year 380 million tonnes of plastic are produced and just 16% is recycled. But what if we could unmake it? “Chemical recycling is an attempt to recycle the unrecyclable. Instead of a system where some plastics are rejected because they are the wrong colour or made of composites, chemical recycling could see all types of plastic fed into an ‘infinite’ recycling system that unmake plastics back into oil, so they can then be used to make plastic again.” 

And, in case you were wondering, here’s who is making – and funding – the world’s plastic trash. 

Wind Energy 

Wind turbines pose a threat to birds. Fortunately, high-tech safeguards are being developed to ensure birds’ safety. 

Progress is being made in recycling wind turbines, including the blades. 

EcoFriendly Sask supports Saskatchewan environmental initiatives through an online publication, an events calendar, small grants, and the Nature Companion website/app. You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or by email (top right corner).

EcoSask News, March 23, 2021

This Week’s Highlights 

The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council is hosting a virtual repair café from 11 am-2 pm, Apr. 10. There will be darning and sewing machine tutorials. Register to participate. 

10 climate podcasts that are worth a listen. 

Upcoming Events 

SaskOutdoors is hosting an online panel discussion on global citizenship education at 6:30 pm, Mar. 30. 

Wild About Saskatoon is hosting an online conversation from 7-10 pm, Mar. 31, regarding progress in the past year on the City of Saskatoon’s Green Strategy. 

An online event from 7-8:30 pm, Apr. 1, will look at how to leverage the National Climate League report card to support local climate action. 

All ages are welcome on an outing to explore the Habitat Conservation Area with Nature Regina on Apr. 2 (various time slots). Register in advance and confirm the event is going ahead. 

Looking Ahead 

SaskOutdoors and the Saskatchewan Orienteering Association are offering an Orienteering for Kids and Youth program in Saskatoon with six sessions (1 session/week) starting the week of April 12. 

SaskOutdoors is hosting a remote first aid workshop from Apr. 16-18 on White Butte Trails east of Regina. 

Local News 

The City of Saskatoon is developing a renewable energy strategy and would like your thoughts. 

The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce has published a report on Building the Low Carbon Economy: Exploring Opportunities and Challenges for Saskatchewan. 

Agriculture 

Food systems generate one third of global greenhouse gas emissions with a large chunk generated in the earliest stages of farming: “Land-use change, which involves the conversion of wild land into farms, made up the remaining 32% of the 71% figure, manifesting in carbon loss from deforestation and the destruction of organic and peatland soils to make way for farmland.”

A new report from the National Farmers Union, Imagine If . . . A Vision of a Near-Zero Emission Farm and Food System for Canada: “The report argues that a climate-friendly food system can be designed to increase farm income. Using, and paying for ever-larger quantities of fertilizers, fuels, chemicals, plastics, and other inputs have increased emissions and at the same time lowered farmers’ net incomes. . . . a low-emission food system will necessarily be a low-input food system that increases farm profitability.” 

Yard Work 

Some gas-powered leaf blowers “produce more than 100 decibels of low-frequency, wall-penetrating sound—or as much noise as a plane taking off—at levels that can cause tinnitus and hearing loss with long exposure. Beyond that, gas-powered lawn care of all kinds spews pollutants linked to cancers, heart disease, and asthma, and blowers blast air up to 280 miles per hour, eroding topsoil and sending pollen, fertilizers, and herbicides adrift. Workers who spend hours a day with equipment are most at risk.” 

Spring clean-up – 7 tips for a biodiverse yard. 

Last, But Not Least 

Our cultural discomfort with death has led us to overlook the environmental cost of funerals and burials. There are eco-friendly options, from embalming and the casket to burial and cremation. 

EcoFriendly Sask supports Saskatchewan environmental initiatives through an online publication, an events calendar, small grants, and the Nature Companion website/app. 

You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or by email (top right corner). 

Check out EcoFriendly Sask’s Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.

Using the Law to Protect the Environment

Environmental groups are increasingly turning to the law to protect nature and wildlife. Their initiatives range from sharing information to setting standards, taking issues to court, and granting nature legal rights.

Sharing Information
The Environmental Law Centre in Edmonton provides advice and education on environmental issues. They help community groups understand and use legal tools and work with government policy-makers to create better decision-making processes. In 2017, they published A Road Map for Environmental Rights in Alberta: Rights for a Sustainable Future. The publication recommends an environmental bill of rights that will legally strengthen environmental accountability by promoting meaningful participation in environmental decision-making, providing citizens with enforcement tools, and ensuring oversight of reviews, laws, and administration.

A group of Saskatchewan lawyers, students, and members of the public have recently established SKAEL – the Saskatchewan Association for Environmental Law. Their goal is to raise awareness about environmental issues and laws, build legal and advocacy skills, and push for strong and effective environmental laws in Saskatchewan. The group invites people to get involved, collaborate with them on projects, forward legal inquiries, and spread the word. SKAEL has a website and is also on Facebook and Twitter.

Setting Standards
The law can be used to establish administrative policies, standards, and regulations. These vary considerably in both breadth and impact. The Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria, on behalf of Bulkley Valley Naturalists, is asking the provincial government to change its road maintenance policy. “While the existing policy recommends contractors schedule maintenance outside of nesting seasons or take measures to ensure birds are not present and nesting before brushing, it does not go far enough. According to the ELC report, the policy must prohibit roadside brushing during nesting season to remain onside the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act. If that is unavoidable, contractors should have to seek expert advice and action to ensure birds are not present.”

On a far broader scale, the State of Massachusetts has adopted a Clean Energy Bill. It sets a goal of 35% renewables by 2030 and a storage target goal of 1,000 MWh. In addition, it establishes a Clean Peak Standard, requiring every retail electric supplier to provide a “minimum percentage of kilowatt-hours sales to end use customers from clean peak resources.”

Court Cases
A number of Canadian non-profits – Ecojustice, West Coast Environmental Law, Canadian Environmental Law Association, East Coast Environmental Law – undertake court cases to protect the environment. Ecojustice “goes to court and uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change, and fight for a healthy environment for all.” West Coast Environmental Law believes “By putting the law in the hands of communities and creating legal risk for those who would harm our land, air and water, we are building the collective power to achieve a more just and sustainable future for all.”

An Ecojustice case in Ontario established that “It is now illegal to kill or injure birds with light reflected from building windows under provincial and federal laws. According to section nine of the Environmental Protection Act, Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment must regulate any building discharging a contaminant that is killing birds. Under SARA, building owners or managers can be convicted under section 32 for the conduct of killing or injuring birds in window strikes.”

A logging project along Yellowstone National Park’s border was halted when the environmental groups “successfully argued that the forest failed to consider the project’s impacts on Canada lynx, which has been listed as a threatened species in the United States since 2000.”

Granting Nature Legal Rights
Western legal systems and government have traditionally viewed land and water as property. The Chilean Free-Flowing Rivers Network says “the time has come to look at granting legal rights — a form of legal personhood — to the nation’s rivers. . . . corporations are granted the same rights as people while the living ecosystems upon which we depend for survival are not.” In 2017, the government of New Zealand granted the status of legal personhood to the Whanganui River. A committee, including community representatives, will act as legal administrator and the river can now be represented in court proceedings.

A 2018 article in Yale Environment 360 says, “Despite the promise held by establishing legal rights for rivers, difficult questions remain. What does it mean for a river to have the rights of a person? Does a river have the right to flow freely, and does this mean its waters can’t be dammed or diverted? Is compensation to affected communities permissible in lieu of court orders requiring removal of large obstructions like dams? What can we do to move beyond merely acknowledging humanity’s connection to rivers to actually saving them? And, finally, and perhaps most important, how should a legal regime determine who will advocate on behalf of a river, which lacks a voice of its own?”

The Earth Law Centre believes “nature should be able to defend its rights in court, just like people can.” Earth Law views humans as co-equal partners with other Earth members. All members should have “the right to be, the right to habitat and the right to fulfill its role in the ever-renewing processes of the Earth community. As co-equal members, humans ‘have no right to prevent other components of the Earth community from fulfilling their evolutionary role’.”

A lawyer in the United Kingdom launched Mission Lifeforce in 2017. The Mission wants to add ecocide to the list of international crimes. They define ecocide as “serious loss, damage or destruction of ecosystems, and includes climate or cultural damage as well as direct ecological damage.” If they were successful, CEOs and government ministers could be held criminally responsible for serious damage to the environment.