Russ Francis

Happy Clean Air Day!

On June 2, environment and climate change strategy minister George Heyman urged us to celebrate "Clean Air Day." So how clean was Clean Air Day? Well, in Valemount, near the Alberta border, at 10 pm on June 2, PM2.5s hit 54.2 micrograms per cubic meter--which is the fifth-highest level in B.C.'s health risk ranking.

At the Topaz monitoring station in Victoria, at 5 a.m. on June 2, it was a mere 12, though a few weeks earlier, at 11 p.m. on May 13, it hit 28 at that station. The so-called "Provincial Air Quality Objective Criterion" is 25 micrograms per cubic meter, averaged over a 24-hour period. Note the word "objective." Even 25 micrograms per cubic meter is not safe, as WHO and others have pointed out.

See Topaz chart here: https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/bcairquality/data/station.html?id=E231866

To his credit, Heyman acknowledged "the significant impacts climate change can have on air quality through increased forest fires."  So what is his ministry doing about it? They're working on the "Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy, which will be released shortly for public comment." Hey, let's not rush into things!

Here's one thing the government could do immediately: Add wildfire emissions to its annual inventory of emissions. And here's how we can quickly reduce the severity and frequency of wildfires: Stop all clearcutting. See David Broadland's excellent piece on this: 

For more on health problems caused by burning wood, fossil fuels or anything else, see here.

I agree that residential wood burning is a serious problem. The BC Government reports that residential wood burning causes approximately 27 percent of BC's emissions of fine particulate matter (particles that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter, called PM 2.5), though in some areas the levels are much higher. The World Health Organization reports that there is no safe level for PM 2.5, which causes cancers, as well as serious heart and lung disease.

As well, wood burning produces volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. And while BC's GHG inventory reports emissions from slash pile burning (3.3 Mt in 2018), it does not include this in BC's total emissions.

How much does burning wood to heat homes contribute to GHG emissions? We don't know. The annual inventory lumps residential wood-burning in with all other types of home heating (4.1 Mt in 2018.)

There is a common misconception that burning wood for heat is green, because trees absorb carbon dioxide when they are growing. In fact, it can be much worse than burning even fossil fuels, depending on how it is burnt and other factors.

CleanBC's Better Homes program currently has rebates available for switching from wood heat to a high-efficiency central heat pump.

Some become emotional about their dedication to wood burning, calling it cosy, traditional and romantic. To me, it's not terribly romantic living in a place where neighbours are dying from COPD--or on a planet made unlivable by GHG emissions.

Globe and Mail columnist Scott Barlow says there is a quickly growing bubble in hydrogen stocks. Writing in the newspaper's February 15 issue, he  says that "investors are currently pouring money into companies that won’t be profitable, or even have revenue in many cases, for many years." Adds Barlow: "Currently, 99 per cent of hydrogen is produced using fossil fuel-generated electricity."

On January 6, 2021, the BC Government extended increased rebates for replacing fossil fuel-fired space and water heaters with heat pumps. Registration is required by March 31, 2021.

Is a BC election getting closer? Premier Horgan has been asking his caucus members whether they plan to run again. When an election looms, any cabinet minister not running can expect to be promptly demoted. That way, backbench New Democrats who are sticking around can be promoted to minister status. Why? The main reason is that they then instantly gain free, taxpayer-funded publicity for opening new schools, enhancing electric car subsidies and saving old growth forests.

Wait a minute. Doesn't the 2017 Confidence and Supply Agreement (CASA) between the NDP and Greens prohibit early election calls, unless the government loses a confidence vote on the budget? Last week, Horgan pointedly reminded reporters that the Green caucus is no longer led by Andrew Weaver--a political bed-colleague. "The Green caucus of today is not the Green caucus of three years ago,"  Horgan said. However, he would not be drawn further when Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer requested clarification.

Meanwhile, the government continues to announce measures that a skeptic might think are designed to steal votes from the Greens. By my count, the NDP has made eight GHG-reducing policy announcements since August 17. Solar- and wind-powered First Nations housing, EV charging stations, funding for hydrogen vehicles, inter alia.

In at least some of the new policies, GHG reductions are tiny, making mere whispers of a dent in the emissions due from the under-construction LNG Canada project. The fracked, unnatural gas facility is charging ahead--at least for now--with the help of the NDP's outrageous $6 billion in handouts, enhanced by a further $1.275 billion from federal taxpayers.

While COVID-19 has slashed our GDP, at the micro level there's another way of pointing out how ridiculous is the drive for ever-increasing GDP. Now that we are in the present situation, anyone becoming infected with the virus thereby boosts the GDP--such as with purchases of extra acetaminophen, etc. If they are hospitalized, that boosts it even higher. Going into intensive care increases GDP yet again. Funerals also mean additional spending.

I once remarked to a BC government executive director that every car crash raises the GDP. She replied: "That's why it's called the Gross Domestic Product."