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 Powering
to Kyoto
by
Harold Shield
As continuing
readers of this magazine may realize, a familiar face has been missing
from these pages for the past few issues. Jack Perdue, whose regular
comments appeared from the first issue onwards, has decided to take
a well-deserved rest. He doesn't intend to give up boating or travel,
his two favorite sports, but he does wish to have some longer spaces
between editorial deadlines. I suspect he will be turning in some
marine chit-chat from Portugal shortly, for that is this winter's
holiday destination.
In the meantime, I have been invited to take over
this page, trying to supply similar commentary on the boating scene.
It's not an easy task as Jack had a long and varied experience as
the publicity and public relations chief for Outboard Marine Canada,
and was also blessed with considerable talent in writing his view
of the passing parade. His comments, observations and opinions were
always interesting, and they were often sprinkled with a rather
irreverent sense of humor. He always enjoyed puncturing balloons,
exposing boondoggles, and drawing attention to ineptitude, particularly
when it involved politicians or civil servants.
My own experience as a boater began with the good
fortune of being born in Peterborough where early cottage experience
on the Kawartha Lakes taught me the joy to be found in canoes, cedar
strip outboards, and sailing dinghies. Later, during a thirty-one
year career producing sportsmen's shows, boat shows, and recreational
vehicle shows, I met most of the business leaders of those industries
across Canada - including Jack Perdue who became a life-long friend.
Jack and I usually saw things in much the same manner, so I have
some hope of providing the same wide-ranging overview of interesting
developments that affect boating. So now a few observations - -
- (Top)
On December 10, by a lopsided vote, Canada's House
of Commons endorsed the Kyoto Environmental Protocol, which will
dramatically change how Canadians live, travel, work, and play.
The government will use this support to justify forging ahead with
implementation despite opposition by several provinces and huge
industrial concern. Emission targets will now be set for more than
400 industrial operations that account for half of Canada's total
output of the greenhouse gases generated by human activity. Boaters
should realize that their activities are included.
Now, the government must work on an educational
plan, since surveys have revealed that only one in five Canadians
say they are familiar with Kyoto and have some awareness of its
implications. Industry has already weighed in with dire predictions
of higher costs, global competition, and relocation of new facilities,
particularly in the plastics, petroleum, and automotive industries.
Political opponents have described the plan as "half-baked" - "a
political gesture", and "a huge disaster for the government and
taxpayers."
Boaters have consistently supported environmental
protection of lakes, rivers, and oceans, knowing that their enjoyment
of their chosen recreation is very much dependant upon clean, beautiful,
surroundings. They have accepted wastewater containment, switched
to biodegradable cleaners, and made a host of other changes. Marine
manufacturers have undertaken costly redesigns to produce more efficient,
less polluting engines. Boaters have become model citizens.
Canada's commitment is to reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases by roughly 30% by year 2007. This must be accomplished by
cutting the use of fossil fuels. Ninety-eight nations have ratified
Kyoto, but only thirty-six are expected to sign on for legally binding
reduction agreements. United States, India, and China are among
the 155 countries not signing on, and the USA produces more than
36% of the emissions of the 36 targeted countries. Soviet bloc countries
whose economic activity since 1990 has been greatly reduced are
in the strange position of being able to increase their emissions
to achieve "zero increase" from 1998, the base year for measurement.
The absurd result is that if we take Canada, the
United States and Australia out of the treaty, the remaining participants
as a group would actually be able to increase their emissions by
16% over 1998 levels. The danger to boaters is that as a poorly
organized group they may become a target of government zeal to achieve
the desired result.
All of this makes me wish God-speed to the development
work of Geoffrey Ballard, aka "Mr. Hydrogen" and recently named
business leader of the year by Scientific American for his pioneering
work in fuel cells. International automobile manufacturers are pouring
money into this Vancouver company, a world leader in fuel cell development.
Fuel cells use hydrogen as their fuel, and their emissions are water
vapor only. We will be hearing lots more about this technology,
and the sooner the better. (Top)
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