NOVEMber 2008 issue
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EWB SERIES
A Deeper Shade of Green
Eco-friendly. Conserve. Buy local. Reuse. Bike to work. Eat organic.
These words have become familiar, but are they having any impact?
Editor’s Note: The following article is another installment in our series from Engineers Without Borders.
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THE YELLOW TRAIL |
BY JENNIFER HEDAYAT, E.I.T.
If you make a pledge to drink your daily coffee in a reusable mug, what effect does this have on the South American farmer who picked the coffee beans by hand? If you forget your reusable grocery bag in the car, does the use of one more plastic bag have an impact on someone in another country?
While we often discuss the connection between our decisions in Canada and their impact on the environment, there is another significant connection that is less often made — how our daily decisions in Canada impact the livelihood of our neighbours. Not the family next door who shares our fences, but our neighbours in the Developing World who share our precious planet.
In a world with finite resources, there is no such thing as an insignificant choice.
Engineers and scientists are praised for their ability to consider the greater picture and maximize effectiveness. You excel at these skills in your professional lives, so why not expand them to the simple decisions you make daily?
For example, would you dispose of an old computer at the city landfill instead of taking it to an electronics recycling organization? If you knew this decision could impact the health of thousands of people in a far-away city (not to mention people and wildlife closer to home), would you forgo convenience and recycle instead?
Do you drive to the store to pick up a carton of milk instead of taking your bike or walking? If you knew this decision negatively impacted someone 10,000 kilometres away, would you consider it more closely?
If you knew that making green decisions meant you could have a positive impact on your local environment — and on the livelihood of those in the developing world — would you be more likely to act upon them?
The Technology Conundrum
With “new and improved” electronics landing on shelves all the time, we are creating an incredible amount of waste — waste that is packed with toxic heavy metals and chemicals.
Environment Canada estimates that Canadians dump more than 140,000 tonnes of computer equipment, phones, TVs, stereos and small appliances in landfills each year. Consumer electronics as a whole contribute 40 per cent of all lead found in landfills.
Alberta proudly boasts the first electronics recycling program of its kind in Canada. The Alberta Recycling Management Authority was created in 2004, and there’s also the charity Computers for Schools, which gives computers a new life in education.
We have no reasonable excuse to drop off our “archaic” computers or that TV with no flat screen at the landfill instead of a recycling depot. Not only will these decisions reduce electronic waste in our communities, but with 80 per cent of U.S. electronic waste shipped overseas, mainly to Developing World countries such as China, India and Nigeria, the impact of convenience — choosing to throw items in the garbage rather than recycling — has increasingly dire consequences on those least able to afford them.
With few environmental and safety regulations, workers in developing nations willingly endure serious health risks in exchange for a few dollars. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exporting e-waste is 10 times cheaper than disposing of it on your home turf.
Unfortunately, revenue is at battle with morality, and the former is prevailing. With one computer containing hundreds of chemicals known to cause cancer, respiratory illness and reproductive problems, this waste represents a serious risk to human health.
The same high-tech innovations that can improve our quality of life are simultaneously causing degradation to the quality of life of those who have little to begin with. However, making the simple choice to recycle those electronics puts the ultimate responsibility in your hands and lets you make a positive impact, not only on your local community but also on developing communities around the world.
A Pollution Solution
Cycle commuting is gathering popularity in Canada at an increasing rate. Understandably, changing your mode of commuting to pedal power from the comfort and speed of your vehicle can be overwhelming.
But think about this. “Cycle commuting yields zero emissions, is great exercise, much more fun than being stuck in traffic and introduces you to a new face of your community,” says Engineers Without Borders member Brad Larson, P.Eng.
These immediate benefits of cycle commuting are clear. Now consider the effect cycling may have on the air that a fellow engineer in Ghana, a geoscientist in Indonesia, or a project manager in China breathes on the way to work, and it brings a whole new perspective.
“Although air may not respect political borders, we have the responsibility to respect those who live abroad and the impact we inadvertently have on them. Because air pollution is transcontinental, we must come to realize that this is a concern that cannot be focused on local causes alone,” says Mr. Larson.
On some days in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as much as 25 per cent of the air pollution evolves from the emissions of coal plants — coal plants in China, that is. Air pollution is an export that cannot be ignored.
Although one person on one bicycle on one commute to work may seem negligible, think of the impact of hundreds or thousands of bike-riding commuters each day. Think about every driver passing you seeing the choice you’ve made.
Not only does the choice improve local air quality but it is one more step in the journey to couple our green decisions with positive impacts on our neighbors in the developing world.
With technology pushing us towards an increasingly intercon-nected world, the term “global village” is no longer just a cute catchphrase. It’s a reality.
So when you make that pledge to drink your daily coffee in a reusable mug, arrive to work by bicycle or recycle that outdated laptop, celebrate the fact that your simple choice has a positive impact on not only your local environment but that of your neighbors as well!
Celebrate the power you have to make a simple decision that’s good to all your neighbors — fence sharers and planet sharers alike. What will your impact be?
Jennifer Hedayat, E.I.T., is an environmental engineer and sustainability coordinator at AMEC Earth & Environmental and the current Workplace Outreach Team Leader for the EWB Calgary Professional Chapter. She enjoys cycle commuting and drinking her chai lattes in a reusable mug.
Upcoming EWB Event
Dec. 2 – Christmas Future
Ceili’s Pub Lower Level
Calgary
6 p.m.
More Info
Want more examples of daily choices that can make a difference? EWB recommends picking up a copy of Change the World for Ten Bucks (We Are What We Do Limited, 2006) in local book stores or online at www.newsociety.com. This short Canadian read outlines 50 simple ways to make a difference.
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