It's not easy being green
We've made some real progress on reducing waste. But
concerns remain over pesticide use and emissions.: We
still consume too much water and energy
Margaret Chandler And Barbara Kinnie
For The Calgary Herald
May 30, 2004
We excel in some regards. The Ride the
Wind initiative is uniquely Calgarian. We are leaders in
wastewater treatment. Other smart initiatives of the city
include the new Parks Wetland Conservation Plan (a good
thing since 90 per cent of our wetlands have already been
lost to development) and its commitment to implement
sustainable building practices in existing and new
buildings. Calgarians consume 516 litres of water per
capita per day (this includes industrial and commercial
use), a decrease from the mid-1980s when we hovered around
the 800-litre mark.
Now for the dirt on where we could do
better. Calgary uses pesticides in parks and on school and
hospital grounds mostly to rid us of the lowly dandelion,
known for its great medicinal value, yet listed as a
noxious weed in Calgary.
The argument is that pesticide use is
necessary; therefore, we have adopted an integrated
pesticide management program that keeps pesticides in the
toolbox. Yet, 66 Canadian municipalities, including
Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax, have adopted bylaws
restricting cosmetic pesticide use. A recent report from
the Ontario College of Family Physicians indicates
consistent evidence of health risks to people exposed to
pesticides and advises against exposure whenever possible.
In a similar fashion, we accept the
domination of the car and our consequent ability to live
in far-flung suburbs as a given. In the morning and
evening commute, only one car in every 10 has a passenger.
The more cars we have and the farther we have to drive,
the more strident the clamour for road building.
Study after study shows that you can't
build your way out of the congestion problem -- new roads
simply attract more cars. As many European urban planners
can testify, the only long-term solution is investment in
public transit. After all, it's mobility that people
crave, not the 45-minute commute. But Calgary Transit
suffers from chronic budgetary shortfalls that will only
be rectified when citizens start demanding better public
transit. Everybody should live within a five-minute walk
to transit.
Suburbs are devouring prairie grasslands
and arable farmland. Calgary has doubled in size since the
1980s. Our population increases while our density
decreases -- not a good ratio. We need walkable, compact
and affordable inner-city developments not McMansions on
the edge of town.
While Calgary's recently initiated pilot
project for curbside recycling pickup is a welcome sign of
commitment, when it comes to waste management many
Calgarians believe we could do more. Toronto, Ottawa and
Edmonton are among the major cities that offer a
door-to-door pickup. Calgary has 48 drop-off locations
with no plastic recycling. Low tipping fees in Calgary
amount to a subsidy for waste and we have a voluntary bag
limit of 10 bags a week with no enforcement. A mere 20 per
cent of Calgary's waste is diverted from landfills, while
Edmonton boasts 58 per cent.
We consume water and energy like no
other country except our neighbour to the south. According
to Sustainable Calgary's State of the City Report 2001,
we'd need five more planets to support the world's
population if everyone lived liked Calgarians. Since our
solar system doesn't have five more habitable planets,
it's obvious we're going to have to rein in our voracious
consumption of resources.
All of us -- citizens and elected
representatives -- need to acknowledge the true state of
affairs and get on with the critical task of finding
solutions. Let's build on the good things we are doing and
turn our considerable affluence and intelligence to
becoming world leaders, not laggards.
Margaret Chandler and Barbara Kinnie are
Calgarians interested in raising awareness about
environmental and social justice issues.
© The Calgary Herald
2004
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