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Your message didn't get posted on sust-mar? Probably it contained html coding. Use your "Format" pull-down menu to switch to plain text format. ____________________________________________________________________________ This from Ecology North: -------- 1. Breaking Nunavut's oil addiction Environmental damage of fossil fuel use has a direct impact on Arctic ecosystem By Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik IQALUIT, NUNVUT--The wise use of resources has long been a trademark of Inuit. Inuit hunters have always harvested animals in order to sustain their families. The meat is used for food, while by-products of the animals are used for clothing, tools, shelter, heat and light. The oil from marine mammals provided the precious fuel to power the qulliq, the soapstone lamp used for cooking and illumination. Unfortunately, the use of oil of another kind today stands in stark contrast to the careful practices of Nunavut's past. Fossil fuels are being imported to power almost all of Nunavut's electrical, heating and transportation needs. Up to one-fifth of Nunavut's budget is used each year for fossil-fuel use. These energy costs drive up our living expenses and constrain economic development in Nunavut. Environmental damage created by the greenhouse gas emissions of fossil fuel use has a direct impact on the Arctic ecosystem. Nunavut must reduce its consumption through conservation and efficiency, just as it must turn to cleaner energy sources. We have created the Qulliq Energy Corporation to pursue these goals. Currently, diesel generators produce nearly all of Nunavut's electricity. The wastage in converting diesel fuel to electricity is significant. Even with the best-maintained equipment, close to two-thirds of the energy is lost as heat escapes in the exhaust and engine cooling systems. An inefficient system and Nunavut's extreme climate and vast distances has resulted in the territory producing one of the highest per capita rates of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada; more than 27 tonnes per person annually. However, we can break our oil addiction. Nunavut has the natural energy sources that can be harnessed -- like wind, solar and tidal power -- or developed over the long-term, like hydro-electricity and hydrogen. Even our wastes, if incinerated would produce heat that could be utilized in residential and commercial buildings. Where we have the capacity, Nunavut will move ahead with these alternate energy sources. We are also trying to work cooperatively with the federal government. Nunavut was an early and strong supporter of the Kyoto Accord to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We are now looking to the federal government for assistance so that we can contribute our share to this national and international effort. One of the quickest and most effective ways to address energy consumption issues is through conservation. This means public dollars to retrofit public buildings. In Nunavut, we are already assisting private homeowners with energy efficiency upgrades and we are now looking to the federal government for national leadership on this issue. A strong federal presence in the field of conservation, efficiency and alternate energy development would allow Nunavut to pursue territorial opportunities. A number of Nunavut communities have winds that can be harnessed to replace much of the diesel-generated electricity. Nunavut communities have been experimenting with wind power generation systems since the 1980s. Small-scale single turbine installations attempted to develop wind power in the communities of Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk, Igloolik and Rankin Inlet. However, these systems used older, European technology that did not stand up to Arctic conditions. There is new technology on the market and opportunities to create made-in-Canada technology that could meet our needs and open foreign markets. A pre-feasibility study has been completed that explores the possibility of a hydroelectric transmission line that would connect Churchill, Manitoba with central Nunavut. There is also the potential for a reverse flow of as yet untapped hydroelectric potential from within Nunavut. Solar power is another nascent energy source that we are only just beginning to exploit in Nunavut. There are industrial solar collectors being employed in some of our schools but more work remains to be done to determine how well this system functions in Arctic conditions. Along with other untapped potential in bio-mass and heat recovery systems there is a world of opportunity in the North. Rather than being a contributor of greenhouse gases Nunavut wants to partner with our federal colleagues to use our internationally unique setting to pioneer leading edge energy solutions in cold weather climates. For Inuit, the need to get on with developing more environmentally friendly energy systems is more than just an academic pursuit or a business opportunity. Failure to do so threatens our existence. Our polar bears, the very symbol of Nunavut may be extinct by the middle of this century, not because of hunting pressures, but because of climate change. The sea ice that is their winter home is disappearing, unable to reach their seal prey polar bears risk starving to death. Who amongst us will admit to our grandchildren that the polar bear became extinct on our watch? And the polar bear is but the largest example of our "canary in a coal mine." There are other indicators of serious environmental changes occurring around us. Southern insects and birds, unknown by Inuit just a generation ago, are now being spotted regularly in the Arctic. By referencing our traditional knowledge, passed on through thousands of years of life in the arctic, and as recorded by modern climatologists with their soil and snow samples, the change and the threat to our environment and all its inhabitants are irrefutable. Today, as in the past, we have an abiding obligation to use the land's resources wisely. Paul Okalik is premier of Nunavut. The Hill Times © May 26, 2003 The Hill Times ____________________________________________________________________________ Did a friend forward this to you? Join sust-mar yourself! Just send 'subscribe sust-mar' to mailto:majordomo@chebucto.ca
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