Civic Alert: Time to throw out the gas-guzzling mowers

It is a clever promotion that since its Canadian inception in 2001 nearly 12,200 gas mowers and trimmers have been sent to auto recyclers for metal recovery. An estimated 270 tonnes of pollutant emissions have been avoided.

It will run at the St. Henri branch and the 160 other stores from today until Sunday week, April 29, which will include Earth Day this Sunday (April 22).

Many Westmounters concerned at the noise as well as the toxic emissions will hope that neighbours and gardeners will take up Home Depot on the old gas mower trade-in.

Eve Aspinall of Grosvenor Ave. is one of the activists who have been calling for many years to have better controls. She has found some American research which suggests that using an appliance with a two-stroke engine for 30 minutes is more polluting than operating a well-tuned car for 2,000 miles.

According to Statistics Canada, gas-powered lawn equipment releases about 80,000 tonnes of emissions in Canada every year, using 151 million litres of gas.

Behind this trade-in promotion is the Clean Air Foundation of Toronto, an interesting organisation funded by firms like Home Depot and Black and Decker, with some support from the Ontario government.



Trim back pollution

The foundation makes interesting marketing schemes like the present Home Depots mower trade-in and create slogans like the current Mow Down Pollution.

Another campaign is Car Heaven which, say the organisers, encourages Canadians to get older, high-polluting cars off the road permanently. The programme offers donors the free tow of their old vehicle, a charitable tax receipt for at least $50 from one of 20 partnering charities, plus the guaranteed recycling of the old vehicle. Other incentives are discounts on bicycles, transit passes in some cities and $1,000 off the purchase of a new GM vehicle.

Similarly, Switch Out works with automobile recyclers across the country to collect mercury devices from end-of-life vehicles. The Clean Air Federation says that since the programme was launched, the progamme has collected and recovered over 127,000 switches or nearly 108 kg of toxic mercury from old vehicles.

Also, the federation sponsors programmes for the disposal of air conditioners.

Earth Day events

This Sunday, April 22, is Earth Day, and, although it is now dominated by many commercial sponsors, like Home Depot and the Clean Air Federation, there are some citizen efforts.

To draw attention to the Kyoto problem, there will be a march which will leave Parc Lafontaine at 1:30 p.m.

Also, Beaconsfield is organising a West Island Environnent Fair in the High School, 250 Beaurepaire Drive, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It reminds me of the enormously successful fair Sally Aitken organized in Westmount on Earth Day, 1990. It was very ambitious, but her volunteers pulled it off.

Part of it was even over-successful! There was a tree planting, but a French radio station promoted it as a tree give-away — a novelty for those days. Some out-of-towners were disappointed!

However, the event was a step in the creation of the Westmount Healthy City Project.

Magazine tales

Environmental interest is again at one of its periodic peaks. Much of the credit has to go to Al Gore and his film, “An Inconvenient Truth”, but George Bush and Stephen Harper should take cautious bows, too.

The actions of the leaders of the U.S. and Canada, in direct contrast to the desires of many of their citizens, has stimulated even more environment awareness. Namely, the American president’s reversal of his country’s environmental protection laws and the Canadian prime minister’s rebuttal of the Kyoto Accord.

Last weekend bookstalls were swamped with green. Locally, the cover of L’Actualité featured Greenpeace’s Quebec chief, Steven Guilbeault. Saturday’s La Presse launched a series on environmental issues with superb photo features on the Arctic and the growing dangers threatening it.

A plethora of the big American magazines had environmental cover stories.

In The Atlantic, Gregg Easterbrook, a controversial environmentalist, discussed possible winners and losers from global warming.

Knub from Berlin

Vanity Fair’s Green Issue featured on the cover both Leonardo DiCaprio and, poking his nose through the ice — at the Berlin Zoo — a polar bear cub, named Knub. Inside photo-reportage included trade-mark group portraits of famous and unknown environmentalists, where in another month, the magazine would feature rock musicians or billionaires. Contrasting with the gloss were hard words by Robert Kennedy Jr. on “The White House’s Dirty Hands”.

The New York Times Magazine contained a 9,000-word article by Thomas Freidman on economic arguments for taking care of the environment as a solution to all the international problems created by George Bush.

Newsweek gave over nearly half its 110-page Canadian edition to the environment, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, “The Green Giant,” as cover star. “California’s Hummer-loving governor is turning the Golden State into the greenest in the land, a place where environmentalism and hedonism can coexist,” Newsweek reported.

City initiatives

Another article featured the leadership of American mayors. In contrast to President Bush, Seattle’s Greg Nickels has led acceptance of the Kyoto Accord. Some 435 other mayors have now joined him.

Other initiatives reported by Newsweek include highlighting San Francisco with its environmental staff of 70 and a budget of $US 20 million devoted to sustainability.

Many cities (Westmount is one) are switching to LED lighting which, though expensive at first, uses up to 80 per cent less energy and lasts far longer.

Boston’s neighbour Cambridge has a $US100 million initiative to reduce energy use by 10 percent throughout the city. It involves municipal, university, commercial and residential buildings alike.

Nearby Logan Airport allows hybrid taxis to go to the head of the pick-up line, while in Salt Lake City, hybrid cars are given free use of meters.

Our sustainability

Planning for Westmount’s grand scheme for a sustainable community continues with Director-General Bruce St Louis personally heading a recent consultation with a wide cross-section of citizens — from high schoolers to the most senior seniors.

While energy saving gets a lot of North American attention, insufficient attention goes to some other problems, such as exposure to toxics.

Westmounter Avis Antel, a member of Breast Cancer Action Montreal, points out that, although deaths may be by reduced through screening and earlier treatment, not enough is being done to eliminate the basic causes.

We are still surrounded by too many toxic substances and don’t take enough care when eliminating them. Only about 350 homes (out of approximately 9,000!) use the Household Hazardous Waste collection that Westmount Public Works hosts twice a year outside the Library.

In 2007, both collections will be on Saturdays — May 12 and October 20 — from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will also be clothes and e-waste collections at the same place.

Batteries needed

Batteries can be deposited year-round at the Arena, the Fire Station and in the Public Works Yard, facilities that greatly help the collection of toxic materials. Other e-waste can now by dropped off at the Yard throughout the year.

Hazardous wastes can be taken to Montreal’s Eco-Centres, which are paid for by agglom taxes. They are also open year-round but hours vary with the season.

More details are on the waste pages of the city’s web site www.westmount.org which has recently been updated.

Environment Canada estimates that only about two percent of batteries are being returned for correct disposal. Through its multiple efforts, Westmount diverts about two tonnes to battery recyclers each year, says Environmental Coordinator Marina Peter.

Some retailers also take back used batteries and arrange their disposal.

Rechargeable batteries are much more toxic than dry batteries and the manufacturers have their own collection arrangements through the retailers that sell them. This also applies to cell phones and other devices that have built-in retraceable batteries.

Local stores supporting this facility include Future Shop, The Source (Radio Shack), Canada Tire, Centre de Rasoir, Astral Photo, Espace Bell, Fido and Home Depot.

Act locally

Different levels of government can make rules and pass laws, but personal commitment — large and small — make a difference, too.

In Westmount City Hall, Marie-Josée Aubertin and Roma Chaykowsky, respectively the Executive Assistants of Mayor Marin Marks and Director-General Bruce St. Louis, are ending their e-mails with a green question.

“Do you really need to print this message?” it asks. Every bit helps!



Community activist Don Wedge can be reached at calert@web.net. His columns are archived at www.westmountexaminer.com, go to Opinion.