Compiled by Sarah Treleaven and Jason McBride
published by Green Living Online

The best and worst eco moments of 2009... to date.

Winners

Old world values

Canadians have long loved “the continent” for its buttery croissants, its history and its laissez-faire attitude toward afternoon wine-drinking. Our political leaders, however, should also take inspiration from the steadfast European commitment to combatting climate change. Mayors from more than 350 municipalities in 23 European Union (EU) countries recently signed the Covenant of Mayors, pledging to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2020. The progress of these cities, which include Paris, London, Madrid, Budapest and Hamburg, will be overseen by the EU and those who fail to meet the target risk losing EU funding. The pact is expected to affect 80 million Europeans and save more than US$10 billion in energy costs. —ST

Good as gold

Make the Winter Olympics carbon neutral. That’s what more than 70 of Canada’s Olympic and national team athletes are pushing the organizers of the 2010 Vancouver games to do. The athletes are lobbying for the offsetting of emissions caused by flying, driving, heating venues and making snow. The elite athletes have been encouraged by the David Suzuki Foundation’s Play It Cool program, which, since 2006, has convinced hundreds of sports fi gures—including Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla, cross-country skier Sara Renner and rower Adam Kreek —to reduce their carbon footprint through the purchase of high-quality offsets. —ST

Google using its power for good

Is Google gearing up to replace its infamous “Don’t be evil” motto with “Don’t be wasteful”? The Internet giant is now developing the Google PowerMeter, software that analyzes data on household energy use through a widget on an iGoogle home page. Google is also lobbying for American electricity companies to build a smart grid and provide more comprehensive consumption data so that homeowners can actually see how much it costs to do things like leave a computer on all day. The company notes that six households curbing their electricity use by 10 percent can reduce carbon emissions as much as taking one conventional car off the road. —ST

For cod’s sake

With polar waters warming, the battle over fishing those waters has also been heating up. But with uncommon foresight, the Alaskan-based North Pacific Fishery Management Council has proposed that Arctic waters be closed to unregulated commercial fishing until it has been determined that such fishing is sustainable and conservation measures have been put in place. The proposal, praised by environmentalists, puts badly needed pressure on Canada and other Arctic coastal countries to produce their own strategies for managing this natural resource. Northern sovereignty could be a net gain. —JM
Sinners

The filthy 15

A new report by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has blasted 15 U.S. states (including Florida, Michigan and Texas) for generating increased amounts of unregulated waste from coal-fired power plants. The report comes in the wake of a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee last December, where more than 500 million gallons of toxic waste burst from a storage pond, destroying and damaging homes and contaminating two rivers. Thirty-three states have plans for new coal plants that, according to the NRDC, would account for 18,000 additional tons of toxic metals. —JM

A slow, trash-filled boat to China

We might be getting better at eating locally, but that trend has yet to catch on when it comes to depositing our trash. Ontario’s empty peanut butter jars and juice jugs—thousands of tons a month—are being sent all the way to China and South Korea, where they’re being sorted and recycled into manufactured goods that are sometimes shipped back to Canada. Blame the province’s inadequate sorting facilities and China’s cheap labour force. (But the country is not immune to the financial meltdown either; the value of recyclables has plummeted since last fall.) Maybe it’s time to focus on the first two Rs of waste management: reduce and reuse. —ST

What a bummer

In 2008, sales of extra-cushy, super-soft, premium toilet tissue grew by about 40 percent in some American markets. And producing that plush paper—which makes up brands like Charmin Ultra and Cottonelle Ultra—requires wiping out millions of North American trees, including rare, old-growth forests. Toilet tissue made from 100 percent recycled materials accounts for a mere 2 percent of U.S. sales. (In Europe and Latin America, that figure is around 20 percent). In response, Greenpeace recently issued a brand-ranking Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide. —JM

Irish eyes aren’t smiling

Just when you thought political ignorance about climate change went out with the Bush administration, we learn that Northern Ireland’s environment minister, Sammy Wilson, recently received a vote of non-confidence after blocking government television ads calling for reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. Wilson, who denies that global warming is caused by human activity, blasted the ads as “insidious propaganda.” The minister has thus far refused calls for his resignation and compared his situation to the persecution of seventeenth-century astronomer Galileo. His political future remains unclear. —ST