dmccoll3@uwo.ca
Résumé
I am a London native studying Integrated Engineering at UWO.
Envirowestern E-zine article on CFL's
Protesters singing Oh Canada attacked by police
Canadian Youth Climate Coalition - Blog
Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip
Climate change is too big a problem to be left to the environmentalists
Some Africans will face severe crop losses at 2 degrees of global warming.
Copenhagen has produced an accord, making important statements on climate change, such as limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius. However, it is unfortunate that the accord is simply a small set of statements. Copenhagen should have produced a comprehensive agreement.
Of importance is that many countries have not accepted the accord, and some have outright rejected it. This is largely due to the fact it is a series of weak statements which do not reflect how grave the situation is. Anyone who cares about the climate change issue, wants action now, because every ounce of greenhouse gas put in the air puts us closer to extreme catastrophe. Unfortunately, the accord provides no action to prevent the emission of greenhouse gas. Take Canada for example, who has come out of this conference saying they have no plans to do anything until the United States acts.
Major statements of importance in the accord, include considering limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in a 2016 review, acknowledgement of effects on developing countries by giving aid, and a cut of at least 80 percent by 2050. For Canadians perhaps, the most important part is the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol which means we will be paying fines in excess of a billion dollars by 2012.
Copenhagen failed. Most if not all non-governmental organizations involved in the issue agree it has failed. This is a huge setback, but it does not suggest it is time to stop action. In fact, action has become more important than ever before. Canada can be considered as a criminal when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. Canadians can no longer elect governments who are indifferent to climate change, and must hold politicians accountable now for the crimes they are committing today. Our country cannot be complicit in climate crime.
Actions to take now are outreaching to Conservative MPs and telling them they are wrong. British Columbia MP Colin Mayes reportedly said in an e-mail "I am careful not to over react and spend billions of taxpayer dollars because a few scientists say CO2 is causing the planet to warm." Furthermore, it must be emphasized that morally we should be acting on climate change, and that waiting for the United States to act incriminates us for now, and will ultimately worsen the burden of both emission cuts and the effects of climate change. Lastly, in terms of government, actions which promote renewables must be rewarded and actions which promote the use of hydrocarbons as a fuel source must be denounced. Actions that can be taken without government interaction include writing your friends and family about your feelings on climate change, and the need to act. Many non-governmental organizations also need resources and assistance in spreading a message of hope. Finally, it is still imperative for individuals to act by reducing their own carbon footprint. This will provide a large education on the issue and further motivate individuals. It will provide a genuine appreciation of the scope of the problem and stimulate discussion for serious measures to combat emissions, such as the carbon-use dividend proposed by James Hansen which will be very profitable to those who are most committed to a low-carbon lifestyle.
I'm very disappointed in Canada. I look forward to a day when our nation takes swift, serious action. What I fear is anything less: in particular, conflict, such as a deepening in resolve in Albertans to develop the oil sands with their attachment to the new Wildrose Alliance political party which could lead to a vast division in Canadian opinion.
Links:
African Protest at Conference
Written during the LTC transit strike
The first strike in a very long time for London transit brings fresh questions about transit in London, Ontario. With what seemed like poor communication during the initial period of the strike, it seemed like the two parties could have done more to negotiate before and after the strike began. The strike has resulted in a large increase in Londoners' emissions as more cars take to the road and sit in traffic tie-ups.
What certainly has been demonstrated is that public transit can work. With less busses, traffic has become a large issue in many areas of London. This is particularly seen at the University of Western Ontario, where traffic is now often directed by police officers. Usually, there aren't that many traffic problems at the university. What would happen if public transit were embraced by the city? There would apparently be less traffic - meaning higher speed limits in some areas, fewer lanes, and in general, a better quality of life.
What you don't know is that we've been moving away from this public transit model in London. The most obvious indication of this is the cost of public transit in London. If you are a London citizen, aren't one of the unfortunate many stricken by poverty, and aren't extremely environmentally conscious, you will probably have discovered the shocking: cars are cheaper. London is built (and governed) for cars.
| Summary of Transport Costs in London, Ontario | ||
|---|---|---|
| Method of Transport | Cost per kilometer ($) | Cost per kilometer with time factor ($) |
| Car | 0.32 | - |
| Bus Tickets | 0.54 | 2 |
| Bus Pass | 0.19 | 1.70 |
| UWO Student Bus Pass | 0.10 | 2 |
| Note these costs are the average cost to the consumer. | ||
It doesn't take much analysis to work it all out. Let's start with a car:
A car will last you about 10 years, or 250 000 kilometers. Your insurance will cost $150 per month. You will pay $1 per litre for gasoline. Your car will get 10 kilometers per litre. Your car cost you $30 000. You take care of your car so that will cost you $2000 per year. Furthermore, you need to park so that will will cost you $50 per month. Add it all up and your car costs you 10*12*150+250000/10*1+30000+2000*10+50*12*10= $81 000 for 10 years, or 32 cents per kilometer.
Now let's suppose you took the bus:
If you payed using bus tickets, it would cost you $1.90 for a trip. Suppose your average trip is 5 km, and you make 3 of those per day. Over ten years, you would spend 1.9*3*365*10= $20 805. It would seem you've spent less. How many kilometers did you travel? 5*3*365*10=54 750 kilometers, which makes your cost per kilometer 38 cents.
However, thinking ahead and being smart you bought a bus pass for $81 a month, and you decided to make 4 trips a day. You would then spend only 81*12*10=9720 and travel 4*5*365*10=73 000 kilometers, costing you 13 cents per kilometer.
What if you're a UWO student? You pay $137 and make about 2 4 kilometer trips each day. In total you travel 2*4*30*8 = 1920 kilometers in 8 months, and your cost per kilometer is 7 cents!
But wait, hold on a second: London is paying 30% of your bill! You pay the taxes to foot that bill, so essentially if you use bus tickets, you are paying 54 cents per kilometer, if you buy a pass, 19 cents per kilometer, and if you're a UWO student, it's costing 10 cents per kilometer.
Okay, I admit, it looks like I'm wrong. But suppose taking the bus adds about 45 minutes to each trip you make. That'd be worth about $7.50, at the least. What happens for each scenario? For bus tickets, you now pay 20805/.7+7.5*3*365*10= $111 846 or $2 kilometer. For a bus pass holder, you pay 9720/.7+7.5*4*365*10=$123 385 or $1.69 per kilometer. For a UWO student, you pay 137/.7+2*30*8*7.5= $3 795 or $2 per kilometer.
So for the general cases, bus travel is clearly much more expensive. Of course there are a large number of cases where it still costs less, but for most Londoners bus travel simply does not make any sense whatsoever. This indicates a fundamental unwillingness to implement a system where public transit works for everyone. There is much inspiration to be taken from the scenarios where public transit makes lots of economic sense in people's lives, in particular, those of UWO and Fanshawe college students. However, the facts are quite simple that it does not make any economic sense for most people.
Public transit in London is poor transit and honestly it's not the best way of helping the poor. We are providing them a costly and inconvenient service. Why is it costly and inconvenient?
So what needs to be done is to take inspiration from the cases where transit works and stop wasting money where it doesn't work. London needs to start building a city where transit does work, or why would it ever?
How does this all tie in to the strike? Well in fact, I believe a recent (December 5, 2009) offer by the LTC is not really an improvement at all. By this time, drivers have lost about $5539 in wages. The extra amount now offered would give them about $2000 more in wages over three years. The increased benefits are worth around $500 a year or $1500 in total. Therefore, the new deal gives them about $3500, but they've already lost about $2000 more than that. So I suppose no progress has really been made and Londoners will continue waiting. A transit system which was never functional anyways will be absent even longer only to remind us of how terrible it was in the first place.
"You are betraying all that was great about Canada, all the values that Canada represented in the world. Canada was a loved country in the world, and your government seems determined to make Canada a part of the axis."
"You seem determined to add Ottawa to that axis of evil."
"It's our governments who have decided to make them their enemies, and their governments don't speak for us. They're not doing it in our name."
"I love Canada. As a Scottish man of Irish background, I have many compatriots there. I have many friends and comrades there. I love your country and I love what it used to stand for. I appeal to the Canadian people: why would you want to have a government that is making your country as disliked in the world as the Bush and Blair administrations were? Canada used to stand for something in the world: for peace, for peacekeeping, for civil liberty, for treating people with respect and equality, for having a society that was the kinder, gentler North American state."
"Your rights are being taken away from you. Do not go quietly into that good night. Stand up and fight for your rights. Stand up and fight for your liberties, which your forefathers and your foremothers bequethed to you. Recover Canada's reputation in the world. Fly the Canadian flag with pride."
"The best news of all is that your government is composed of here-today and gone-tomorrow politicians and tomorrow can't come quickly enough for me and I'll dare say it can't come quickly enough for you. Let's sweep this last remnant of George Bushism from the North American continent. Let Canada flourish. Let its freedoms fly as a standard that the people of the world can look up to."
"The Government of Canada is making itself an accomplice to a great crime."
We are the willing
Led by the unknowing
Doing the impossible
For the ungrateful
And we have been Doing
So much
With so little
For so long
That now we are qualified
To do anything
With nothing
WE ARE THE
ENGINEERS
I got this off a huge banner strung accross the Spencer Engineering Building Annex at the University of Western Ontario. I can't remember what organization was written below it to take credit.