Threat to environment real, solutions at hand

By Dave Tinker

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

No one who attended the Town of Annapolis Royal's "Living for Today and Tomorrow" conference could miss the message: this small Nova Scotia town has become a world-class leader in planning for a radically different and challenging future. The gathering, which took place on November 19-21 attracted a small but enthusiastic audience and an outstanding roster of speakers.

Since the challenges of changing climate were foremost on the agenda, it was ironic that a severe weather event on November 19 prevented a number of participants from getting to the opening event. It was an object lesson that was not lost on the audience.

The event, which has been two years in preparation, was organized by Annapolis Royal's chief administrative officer Amery Boyer and her dedicated staff Linda Brown, Heather LeBlanc, and Sally Burney, referred to by all as Team Annapolis.

Local resident and Clean Annapolis River Project (CARP) scientist Andy Sharpe kicked off the conference by relating his experience in building his own home. He remarked that houses built today will still be in use 50 years or more in the future, when zero-carbon footprint houses will have to be the norm. It wasn't easy, but Andy has demonstrated that using existing, proven, and readily available techniques, implemented in a conventional two story wood frame family dwelling, it is possible to come very close to the environmental and energy efficiency ideal. Few realize, for example, that with intelligent planning and construction, passive solar heating can provide 25 to 30 per cent of your winter heating needs, and it's free. The cost of a home that is ready for the future is only marginally more than one which will be a nightmare for future owners, he pointed out.

CELES DAVAR

The keynote speaker on November 20 was Celes Davar, a leading Canadian environmental speaker and activist and one of a small number of Canadians involved in spearheading the international climate change foundation founded by Al Gore. His presentation was nothing short of inspiring, but it was based on sound, practical ideas. He did not minimize the challenge of climate change which is a real threat to this area and which could drastically affect the lives of young people just a few decades down the road.

But he also presented sound economic and business oriented solutions to address the challenge, citing such success stories as the Canadian Forest Industry Association's progress in making this sector environmentally neutral.

In presenting a short video of a speech by the new US president, it was gratifying to learn that the Obama administration intends to be a leader in a virtual tidal wave of positive environmental change.

THREAT REAL, LOCAL

That the threat presented by climate change is real and present was made clear by CARP director and Spectator writer Stephen Hawboldt. His sober and evidence-based presentation revealed that climate scientists' predictions of more frequent and severe storms, hotter and dryer summers, declining biodiversity, spread of destructive invasive plants and insects, and rising sea levels have all been frighteningly verified in our own area. There can be no further doubt that climate change is a serious threat, and that the myriad of environmental challenges we face are inter-connected. But fortunately the tools for addressing them have also become more powerful.

This province has passed legislation making it mandatory to reduce carbon emissions drastically by 2020. Celes Davar suggested that in order to do so, communities need to know what their existing emissions are, and Annapolis Royal is one of the few municipalities which have completed an exhaustive assessment. Surprisingly, over 78 per cent of the town's greenhouse gas production comes from electricity use (because NS Power burns coal), 21 per cent from furnace oil, and only one per cent from all other sources. The moral is that in order to contribute, communities must use energy better (increase efficiency), use it less (conservation) and use it cleaner (renewable sources).

ENERGY ALTERNATIVES

Several subsequent speakers made the last point clear. Dan Roscoe, Chief Operating Officer of Scotia Windfields, presented his company's approach. They are interested not only in large windmill 'farms' but also in smaller scale wind, solar, and thermal applications. Their operating principle is that local ownership and influence is the key to success. That is why wind energy has worked in Denmark and Germany, and why it will work here. In addition, the North Mountain around Annapolis Basin is the best wind resource in the province. Wind technology is initially expensive, about 2.5 million dollars per megawatt of electricity, but the fuel is free. The difference from conventional generation is that fossil fuel becomes more expensive every year, while the marginal cost of wind generation does not. By 2020, only 11 years away, wind generation of electricity will be far, far more cost effective than anything else.

TIDAL POWER

Of course tidal energy is also under development, and Glennie Langille of NS Power described their experimental project in the Bay of Fundy which will come online in 2009. She made the point that tidal power now is in the same experimental stage that wind power was 20 years ago. But the Minas Channel is the best potential tidal power source in the world, and could potentially provide the electrical output of a whole new coal-fired station at a fraction of the cost and without the environmental harm. Stay tuned.

Final speaker Terry Thibodeau of the Annapolis Digby Economic Development Association described their progress in developing a resource that has special importance to Southwest Nova Scotia. Biomass derived energy, specifically wood and wood by-product energy, has the potential to revitalize the traditional forest-based economy.

Their studies show that in Digby and Annapolis counties it would be possible to produce 500,000 "Green Tons" of wood biomass per year, that is from trees that will be replaced by natural regeneration. They have completed exhaustive economic and business studies which show that harvesting only a fraction of that potential and conversion to 50,000 tons of wood pellets would support a viable and profitable industry that would provide stable, long-term jobs.

Wood pellets are in high demand in Europe, since they provide energy at less than a third the cost of oil and with lower carbon emission. The export of only 20,000 tons per year would make the whole enterprise economically viable. The real challenge is to encourage local consumption. The solution they hope to develop is modeled by the success of an identical project in Austria, also based on small scale public and private sector partnership.

If there was one take-home lesson from the conference it was that the future of local and global communities depends on local people and businesses taking control of their own solutions. In Annapolis Royal that is already starting to happen. The province and the country, as well as all residents who were not able to attend, should take notice.

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