Earth Hour 2009, Vote Earth with the WWF!

Earth Hour is coming around again. In a few weeks, on Saturday March 28 at 8:30pm local time around the world people will be turning off their lights to show their support for action on climate change. It started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 and is now a global event.

Earth Hour won't make any significant impact on lowering CO2 emissions. It's a demonstration of how many people around the world are aware of the threat of rapid climate change and are taking action in their day-to-day lives to slow it down. Slowing down global warming is such a huge goal that it's easy to feel like one person's actions just don't make a difference. Maybe you're thinking about turning down the thermostat 2 degrees in the winter, spending $5000 to upgrade your home's insulation or $40,000 to install geothermal heating. It's easy to think: Why am I bothering? Is it really going to save me any money? Am I really going to be able to protect Richmond, B.C. or the Vancouver Airport by stopping the rise of sea levels*? I seem to be the only one on my block doing anything! Earth Hour makes it very clear that there are many individuals taking action all across the globe, the numbers are growing and the cumulative effect of all these actions is quantifiable and visible even when it is as simple an action as turning off your lights.

In Canada go to WWF-Canada Earth Hour to sign up so you can be counted. Last year Canada led the world according to the WWF with almost half the population participating!

If you are anywhere else in the world go to Earth Hour Global to sign up.

The Earth Hour Global page has a great map showing all the countries in the world currently scheduled to hold events for Earth Hour. But don't worry even if your country or city/town isn't listed you can still sign up. You could also call your mayor's office and tell them you'd like your city or town to participate. WWF also has suggestions for organizing your own event!

I signed up and I'd love to know if you did, so feel free to come back and say so in the comments section below.


*"Richmond, airport threatened by the sea" by Ken Meaney, Phil Couvrette and Kelly Sinoski, Canwest News Service; Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Do We All Need To Take A Field Trip to Antarctica?

Trip to Antarctica January 2009, Photographer: Michael Reichmann

I've decided that now is the time to expand this blog. Here's why.

This past weekend in Cape Town South Africa the Huffington Post reported on a get-together of a couple dozen influential people taking a field trip to Antarctica. According to the article there were delays because of bad weather during which Lord Nicholas Stern, the eminent British economist, updated the group on just how bad the outlook is for the world economy and political stability if we don't immediately address the causes of climate change. Yes, it looks like we are putting CO2 into the atmosphere even faster since 2000 than we were in the 1990s according to a report by the Carnegie Institution for Science (February 14 article in the Huffington Post). Not only that but the same institution was reported by the CBC in January as saying some of the damage done is already irreversible for a few thousand years. As the travellers in South Africa waited, Lord Stern warned of millions of people being displaced and "extended world war" over increasingly limited resources. Frightening indeed, but Stern is still optimistic that we can avoid the worst of these if we act now.

A recent World Watch Institute report stated: "Global greenhouse gas emissions need to peak before 2020 and decrease drastically until 2050..." and "More CO2 will have to be absorbed than emitted in the second half of this century."
(January 14, 2009 BBC article "World 'needs radical cuts' on CO2")

Part of me just had to laugh. Do they really think this is possible? For Westerners it's easy to come up with reasons not to try. It's going to cost a bit of money up front even if it does pay us back in the long run. People are happy with their lives right now and don't want to change.

But the way I see it, if it needs to be done, then we just have to do it.

My partner and I lead a relatively low carbon existence already, living downtown without a car and eating our share of organic and locally grown food, but we could certainly do more. So I'm expanding this blog to figure out what else we can do to improve things. Being an urbanite with a background in architecture I'm going to look at city living, good design, green design, art and communities. A few field trips to see what's going on in other places and what other people are doing would be fun too. As for going to Antarctica, here's a video clip from last night's Daily Planet of some Canadian students landing on this great continent for the first time and here's a link with information on an upcoming exhibit of photographs at the Luminous Landscape Gallery in Toronto in March.

Let me know what you think.

Referenced articles on what the biggest research organizations have been saying in the last 2 months:

"World 'needs radical cuts' on CO2" by Tanya Syed BBC News January 14, 2009

"Some climate damage irreversible: report" from the Associated Press CBC January 27, 2009

"Global Warming Increasing Faster Than Predicted" by Randolph E. Schmid Huffington Post February 14, 2009

"Lord Nicholas Stern Paints Dire Climate Change Scenario: Mass Migrations, Extended World War" by Charles J Hanley Huffington Post February 21, 2009

Kingston Not Alone in Support of the ZENN and Other Electric Cars

Kingston sent out its resolution (that I wrote about in my last post) to municipalities and counties all over Ontario. And, what do you know! All of the following councils voted to endorse Kingston's motion encouraging the government of Ontario to allow the ZENN and other electric vehicles on Ontario roads:

(not in any particular order!)

County of Lambton
(Council Minutes May 7, 2008)

Grey County
(Council Minutes June 3, 2008 and Transportation and Public Safety Committee Minutes May 8, 2008)

Lanark County
(Council Minutes May 28, 2008 and Public Works Committee Minutes May 7, 2008)

City of Guelph
(Council Minutes May 26, 2008)

County of Elgin

City of Pickering

City of Peterborough *
(Council Minutes May 26, 2008)

County of Peterborough
(Council Minutes May 7, 2008)

Municipality of Clarington
(Council Minutes May 5, 2008)

County of Frontenac
(Council Minutes May 26, 2008)

And

City of St. Catherines
(General Committe Minutes May 5, 2008)

This last one is particularly noteworthy since the Minister of Transportation, The Honourable Jim Bradley, is also the MPP for St. Catherines.

Although the Town of Markham is listed in the Kingston City Council meeting minutes as having supported the motion, Markham Council's May 13 meeting minutes indicate that they received the correspondence but added...

"That the Province be requested to study the viability and safety implications of allowing the Zenn car and other electric vehicles on Ontario roads."

So I wonder if this is where the province got its idea to do an independent safety study?

The Township of Hilliard passed its own motion on July 16 asking the Province of Ontario to do as Quebec has done and allow the ZENN to be licenced in Ontario. The City of Peterborough endorsed this motion on September 15. *

In any case, where are all the larger cities in this list? Don't they have an opinion on the matter? What about all those places with air pollution problems like Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Windsor? What about Sudbury and Thunder Bay?

______________

Here are links to the meeting minutes of the Kingston City Council where they acknowledge receipt of correspondence from these places indicating their support. In each document scroll down to "Communications", normally near the bottom.

May 20, 2008

June 3, 2008

June 17, 2008 *

July 15, 2008 *

I'll continue to add to this list as news of more support comes in.
*post updated October 15, 2008

Kingston was First Municipality in Ontario to Stand Up for the ZENN

I was in Kingston last week and I found out it was the first municipality in Ontario to pass a motion to support the use of the ZENN on public roads!

How did this happen? Why Kingston? Hard to say. Kingston is not a huge city but it does have a lively mix of people associated with some sizable institutions including Canada's Royal Military College, several large penitentiaries and Queens University. It's best known for it's other "first". Kingston was also the site of Canada's first parliament.

Here's the motion that Kingston City Council passed on April 1, 2008:

"Moved by Deputy Mayor Matheson
Seconded by Councillor Garrison

WHEREAS cars are one of the largest contributors to Greenhouse Gases; and,
WHEREAS the Federal Government has finally given their approval for the sale of the Canadian-made Zenn (Zero Emissions No Noise) Automobiles; and,
WHEREAS provincial approval is still needed to allow both the use and sale of Zenn Automobiles on Ontario roads;
and,
WHEREAS Mopeds and other forms of low speed vehicles are already currently allowed on Ontario roads; and,
WHEREAS Canada, and every province and municipality within our federation, must do our part to reduce our Greenhouse Gas emissions, and strive to not just meet but exceed the Kyoto Protocol targets;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Kingston City Council request that the Province of Ontario and every province and territory in Canada give approval for the Zenn car to be used on Ontario roads and able to be sold and used across Canada as soon as possible;
- and further -
THAT a copy of this resolution be sent for consideration and endorsement to Peter Milliken, MP, John Gerretsen, MPP, the Prime Minister of Canada, the federal ministers responsible for the Environment and Transportation, the Premiers of all provinces and territories, the Ministers responsible for Transportation and the Environment of each province and territory, all municipalities on our regular circulation list, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)."

I wonder if other municipalities are talking about passing or have already passed similar motions? And I wonder if that might be one of the reasons Ontario just announced that it is commissioning a study on how to introduce these kinds of vehicles on Ontario roads? The province has to legalize the use of low speed neighbourhood electric vehicles before anyone in Kingston could go out and buy and drive one. Having municipalities support their use would certainly help the provincial government to get over its worries that the general public wouldn't accept these little electric gems.

Here's the link to the Toronto Star article about Ontario's latest baby step toward approving Neighbourhood Electric Vehicles. But the story also ran in local papers in London, Timmins, Guelph, etc.

For some comments on Ontario's safety concerns scroll down to the second post below.

Will Manitobans be next in Canada to drive the ZENN?

I will always be a prairie girl at heart no matter where I live so it is with great satisfaction that I can tell you the Government of Manitoba introduced Bill 15: The Climate Change and Emissions Reductions Act on April 11 that if passed will allow the sale and driving of LSVs (Low Speed Vehicles, though I prefer the term Neighbourhood Electric Vehicles) on public roads in Manitoba. If you are looking for the reference in the bill, scroll down to near the bottom to "Related and Consequential Amendments".

(Update: Bill 15 was passed into law by the Manitoba Legislature. Read the June 12 News Release.)

B.C. already has legislation in place that allows Low Speed Vehicles (a.k.a. Neighbourhood Electric Vehicles) on the road, see the side bar in this article on Wheels.ca. If you live in B.C. and want to buy a LSV checkout Lang Motors.

Check out this link to see some of the comments on Manitoba's new bill. CBC article: Manitoba Bill Targets Kyoto Commitment

The only problem with this article is that it misleads people into thinking that the ZENN can only go 40km/hr when in fact this is a regulated speed and it can go faster. Montana and Washington both have state laws that allow the ZENN and other LSVs to travel at 35mph (~56km/hr) so people in these states can modify their cars to travel faster. These two states also allow LSVs on roads with a speed limit of 45mph (~72km/hr). The Green Car Congress has recently reported that in the U.S. there is a group led by a California automobile dealership that sells the ZENN that has just launched a campaign to get the Federal government to create a new vehicle classification for Medium Speed Electric Vehicles (MSEV).

I have spoken to a few old friends in Winnipeg about their thoughts on the ZENN. They hadn't heard of it before and their first instinct was to be afraid that it would hold up traffic or maybe even cause accidents because of its slow speed. But they said that they would be willing to look into it and give it a chance in the market even if they wouldn't buy one right away. It's true that Winnipeg traffic is a little faster than downtown Toronto traffic that averages 20km/hr-40km/hr, but the reality is that a ZENN could easily drive in the right lane and be easily passed. I've read comments on other web pages by people thinking a car would have to slam on their brakes or "swerve" around a LSV and this just isn't realistic. 40km/hr isn't that slow. Try taking a turn down a side street at 40km/hr! Actually don't, I wouldn't want to get sued for encouraging reckless driving. For a sense of how these cars do in city traffic check out the links in the side bar featuring test drives in Montreal, New York, Minneapolis and Great Falls, Montana.

On a sad note, this blog entry is dedicated to award winning electric car manufacturer Dynasty formerly of B.C. that had to give up the battle and was sold to a Pakistani company "which will move production to Karachi and export to the United States from there." (Economist May 1,2008)

Lets not allow our government to kill any more budding innovative green Canadian companies. Small companies, especially ones with so much potential need to be able to sell some product, get customer feed back and raise some capital funds.

A May 1 article in the Economist "Not On Our Roads" explains why we really need to keep encouraging our federal and provincial representatives and bureaucrats to support this technology and this Canadian business in particular. In the meantime I'll be watching as Bill 15 plods its way through the Manitoba Legislature and I hope into law sometime soon.

ZENN and the Art of Clean Air Maintenance

I've been following the story of the Made in Canada electric car for about a year now waiting to hear that they can be bought and driven in Canada only to read yet another article in the newspaper about how Transport Canada and the provinces just don't want to allow these cars on Canadian public roads, except for B.C. - the only "can do" province at the moment. P.E.I. is seriously considering allowing them in some jurisdictions. The main car that has been in the public eye is the ZENN (Zero Emission No Noise) manufactured in St. Jerome, Quebec, with their head office in Toronto. The beauty of these cars is that they have a proven safety record in urban environments (because they've been driven in petrol/diesel forms for years in European cities), they reduce total greenhouse gas emissions AND they don't add to city air pollution on the road! The problem we're having with Canadian regulatory agencies and governments is that they can't get their minds around the idea that now some of our cities are big enough that we need these in-between vehicles. It is not a safety versus health debate at all! These are Low Speed Vehicles with a regulated speed of 40km/hr. They are perfectly suited for driving on community roads with a speed limit of 50km/hr. They aren't required to have the same safety features as a full-size vehicle, because they wouldn't be going on highways or expressways. But the ZENN and other cars like it do have safety features that are appropriate protection from injury in the kind of low-speed accidents that they might be involved in (satisfying regulatory agencies in the U.K., in Europe and in the U.S.). The Microcar (ZENN's petrol/deisel version) is driven in 19 European countries including France (where they are based), the U.K., Germany, Norway, Sweden and Finland. In the U.S. as of 1999 these vehicles have their own definition as a subclass within the Low Speed Vehicle class. They're called Neighbourhood Electric Vehicles.

This recent article in the Saturday Toronto Star also mentions the IT Sedan made by Dynasty cars based in B.C., the ZX40S by Miles based in L.A. and the MAYA300 Lithium by Electrovaya based in Mississauga. Click here to read the article.

More electric car companies are emerging but none of them are manufactured in Canada. Dynasty which is still based in B.C. and was manufacturing there got tired of fighting with the government and gave up on the idea of a Canadian market for their cars. They've moved their manufacturing facilities to China which is also where Miles Automotive has their operations.

Lets not lose ZENN.

RIGHT NOW:
Transport Canada has now redefined LSVs as being for use in restricted environments like retirement communities or university campuses. And the Ontario government currently has NO INTENTION OF ALLOWING LSVs/NEVs ON PUBLIC ROADS. So the fight is not over yet. We have to increase the pressure, increase the publicity and call our politicians to get them to act on this. The road safety issues that they are trying to scare the public with are just not valid.

Why are they making us do so much work to get the same choices that people already have in U.S. states like Iowa and Minnesota?

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
(i) Sign the petition on the ZENN website. (This is a dead link at the moment and so might be over but I will keep checking on it.) I will make a list of local petitions I come upon in the side bar. Try ii and iii, neither one has to take much time or effort.
(ii) Send a quick e-mail or make a quick phone call to your federal MP and your provincial representative. Easy links to contact info are listed on the right. The impact of a personal contact to your representative, in case you've never done it before, is greater than you might imagine.
(iii) If you have some time you could write an old fashioned letter or postcard and send it in the post. That really gets their attention. Government departments like Transport Canada and provincial Ministries of Transportation are required to respond in writing. Your representatives might or might not respond, but you can be sure that they take note.


Other highlights in the last 5 months of the ZENN saga:

Reg Sherron's report for CBC, October 25, 2007: Unplugging the Electric Car
Reg Sherron's follow-up on CBC, November 5, 2007: A Victory for ZENN's Electric Car
Rick Mercer visits the ZENN manufacturing facility (see first YouTube video up top)
ZENN on Global TV - best history of the company