Again urban form is merely glossed over.
Darryl: the electrics you list sound valid, being low-speed delivery vehicles
(good old milk floats?), but electric-assisted handcarts would be better, given
the right operating environment.
-D
From: Darryl McMahon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 20:19:08 -0500
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Subject: [Biofuel] Campbell's Green Dream: To reduce emissions by 33 %: Can
he deliver? - Vancouver Sun - 2007.02.15
Message: 7
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=078ca5ad-e025-4ed1
-b349-1d99b1fd539f
Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
Thursday, February 15, 2007
British Columbia motorists in particular, and the transportation sector
in general, are going to face a tight squeeze if the province hopes to
come anywhere close to the greenhouse gas reduction targets proposed
this week by the provincial government.
On a per-capita basis, residents of this province are already among the
lowest emitters in Canada, thanks in large part to a wealth of
hydroelectric power resources that don't contribute to global warming.
In Tuesday's throne speech, the government promised to reduce the
province's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 33 per cent below
current levels by 2020.
B.C.'s current annual greenhouse gas output is about 66 million tonnes,
so the province has to find ways to cut 22 million tonnes -- 33 per cent
-- and stick to that target despite one of the fastest population growth
rates in Canada.
The province is still working out a formula for reaching that target --
in fact, it's still working on short-term measures or 'interim' targets
that point the way to future gains.
In the throne speech, the government promised to tackle emissions coming
from every sector, including agriculture, commercial activity,
residential energy consumption and methane emissions from landfills.
However, those four sectors only account for 24 per cent of B.C.
greenhouse gas emissions, and any gains there will be more symbolic than
substantial.
The biggest potential gains in B.C. lie in the transportation sector,
primarily the automobile.
Nationally, transportation-related activities account for about 30 per
cent of the nation's greenhouse gas totals -- compared to 41 per cent in
B.C.
Transportation plays a disproportionately large role in B.C. for two
reasons, according to Simon Fraser University energy economist Mark
Jaccard, in his book The Cost of Climate Policy.
The absence of coal-fired electricity generation facilities -- which are
the No. 1 source of power in North America -- are one reason the B.C.
transportation sector looms relatively larger as a polluter here on the
West Coast.
The other reason, Jaccard notes, is lack of good public transit and a
congested road system in the Lower Mainland, home to most of the
province's 2.6 million motorists.
Greater Vancouver has "the highest average commuting time and one of the
lowest rates of public transit use and walking in Canada," Jaccard
wrote.
Both Jaccard and Guy Dauncey, president of the B.C. Sustainable Energy
Association, worry that the government's continued commitment to its
Gateway transportation and port development strategy will undermine its
emission efforts by attracting more single-occupancy vehicles to an
expanded Lower Mainland road network.
Dauncey says an improved public transit system could have the same
effect of improving travel times for the movement of goods around the
region -- without the cost of building new transportation
infrastructure.
Ultimately, a major reduction in emissions will have to come from a
greater commitment by auto manufacturers to build more fuel-efficient,
hybrid, and electric-powered vehicles.
B.C. doesn't have the economic muscle to compel such a transformation --
although Dauncey suggests that California's recent announcement of
higher fuel efficiency requirements could make it happen.
Widespread adoption of electric cars would put a major dent in
emissions, almost overnight.
"The sheer efficiency of an electric vehicle strategy is stunning,"
Dauncey said. "It would only cost $10 a month to run if you drive 10,000
miles a year. There is a huge energy saving for the consumer, and all of
that money is no longer leaving the province.
"All the money we spend at gas stations leaves the province, and goes
off to Saudi Arabia or somewhere. When we use locally generated
electricity, all that money stays in the province."
Ian Bruce of the David Suzuki Foundation suggested B.C. has the
jurisdiction to enact other strategies that would help push auto
emissions lower.
"B.C. could follow many of Quebec's climate protection solutions to
reduce transportation emissions," Bruce said, citing a carbon-pollution
tax on bulk sales of oil and "a significant long-term funding commitment
to public transit, including rail and buses."
B.C.'s other major emission source, its industrial sector, has already
made huge reductions in its emissions.
Emissions from the province's pulp and paper mills and sawmills are 39
per cent lower than they were in 1979.
Jock Finlayson of the Business Council of B.C. said it's possible that
pulp mills can squeeze out further gains if they find a way to employ
more biomass -- mainly wood waste -- to generate heat and energy to
support their manufacturing processes.
Wood waste is considered a sort of 'free fuel' by climate scientists
because it releases the same amount of carbon dioxide whether you burn
it as fuel or leave it on the forest floor to rot.
However, Finlayson notes that going after other potentially large
emitters such as B.C.'s natural gas and oil exploration sector, or the
mining sector, could lead to significant constraints on the provincial
economy.
"About 23 per cent of emissions are from upstream energy production, of
which most is oil and [natural] gas," Finlayson said.
"Getting back to 2000 emission levels by 2016 would seem to preclude
much growth in the oil and gas sector in B.C.," he said, adding that
applying a hard target "would certainly preclude" the expansion of the
gas industry to new regions of the province that are believed to hold
large gas reserves.
It could also complicate B.C.'s ambitions to expand its mining sector --
where 25 potential mine projects are moving through the
exploration-development process.
"If a lot of new mines were to come onstream, it seems to me that would
drive up total emissions from the mining sector and I'm not sure what
could be done to mitigate that."
Ultimately, he added, any strategy adopted by B.C. is going to need
federal support -- but Finlayson described the current situation in
Ottawa under the minority Conservative government as a "mad scramble."
B.C., he added, may have to wait for a majority government to emerge
before it can cultivate a strong federal ally for its own provincial
ambitions.
Meanwhile, B.C. Energy Minister Richard Neufeld suggested the province
may use the province's forests to generate carbon 'credits' that would
partially offset emissions from other sectors.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Transportation: More than 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in
B.C. come from passenger vehicles, trucks, ships and other gasoline and
diesel-powered vehicles.
Industry: Fossil fuel exploration and development, manufacturing,
mining, smelting and cement production account for 37 per cent of B.C.
emissions.
Agriculture: 'Enteric fermentation' (methane from cow farts) and manure
management account for four per cent of B.C.'s emissions.
Commercial: Five per cent of emissions come from commercial activity
such as dry cleaning.
Residential: Waste gases from natural gas furnaces, and inefficient home
heating designs contribute seven per cent of emissions.
Waste: Solid waste disposal, wastewater handling and waste incineration
contribute eight per cent of emissions.
====================
Darryl's Notes:
British Columbia has at least three domestic EV and hybrid
manufacturers:
Dynasty produces the IT low-speed vehicle line of battery electrics.
Azure Dynamics produces hybrid trucks and small buses.
Canadian Electric Vehicles produces a line of light, low-speed electric
trucks.
--
Darryl McMahon
It's your planet. If you won't look after it, who will?
The Emperor's New Hydrogen Economy (now in print and eBook)
http://www.econogics.com/TENHE/
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