Toxics Watch Society of Alberta

Edmonton Sun January 15, 2008

By NEIL WAUGH

Mr. Ed goes to Washington later today.

More to the point, finding someone at home in Power Town might be a tough chore, with the presidential primary season in full swing.

Even if Premier Stelmach tracks down some American pols willing to listen, it may be hard to tell if the message is "we're still open for business."

Or is it "Yankee stay home?"

More cars and trucks on Alberta's roads in the last nine years are offsetting the fact the vehicles are spewing fewer emissions per trip compared to 10 years ago, says a new study. A study released Tuesday by the Clean Air Strategic Alliance measured exhaust emissions from 60,000 cars and light trucks in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and Canmore in the fall of 2006.

CTV is coming to the saffron-office in about 40 minutes for an interview on today's report from the National Round Table on Environment and Economy (NRTEE) which outlines the plan for Canada to achieve significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions of -65% from 2003 levels by 2050. The central feature of the plan is to establish, as soon as possible, an 'economy-wide price on carbon', which is generally interpreted as a carbon-tax (C-tax).

Toxics Watch's position paper has been submitted to the Standing Committee on Resources and Environment. Please see http://www.assembly.ab.ca/resourcesandenvironment/Submissions/RE-RR-093....

I spent some time this morning with my friend Eric, the coffee roaster at Earth's General Store here in Edmonton. Our discussion included talk about mutual acquaintances who are interested in good food and drink.

It got me to thinking about an event that I want EnAct to put on: a local food festival. It would be during harvest time in the fall, and we could involve all kinds off people, from foodies to chefs to restaurants. All of the food would be sourced at least 95% from within 160km of Edmonton (100 miles).

Ask TreeHugger: Is Mercury from a Broken CFL Dangerous?

Toxics Watch's membership has varied dramatically depending on its activity. As I mentioned in my introduction, we co-founded the Toxic Round-up and at that time had over 100 members. Our emphasis on membership declined as we focused resources on policy development and we currently are a volunteer board of 7 with a full-time staff of 2. We employ summer and contract staff on an opportunistic basis. While our group is currently small, our policy work is informed through our membership in the Alberta Environmental Network which is a provincial network of environmental organizations of 70 grou

In 1985, a young man named Brad Wylynko proposed a new project to the Environmental Resource Centre in response to the growing awareness that not all toxic chemical pollution is caused by industry.

The average North American household contains 25 kilograms/55 pounds of chemical products which, if released into the environment by a regulated company, would be considered hazardous waste. But households are not regulated and these substances are contained within familiar household products: paints, cosmetics, home, hobby and garden supplies, automotive supplies, batteries, and are all too often mixed with the household garbage. In another example of cumulative incrementalism, the relatively harmless actions of one person, multiplied by a thousands of people, creates unacceptable impacts to ground and surface water supplies.

• Introduction
  • Conrad Nobert, President, TWS
  • TWS
  • since 1986
  • Among our accomplishments, we started the first Toxics Round-up in Western Canada, and advocated for the founding of the eco-stations in the city of Edmonton
  • Since 1995, as a member of the Oil Sands Environmental Coalition, Toxics Watch has participated in the regulatory approvals process for oil sands projects, and in the efforts towards
    regional environmental management under the Cumulative Environmental Management Association.
  • Also relating to oil sands development, Toxics Watch works on provincial air quality issues through Clean Air Strategic Alliance
• Vision - 1 (General)