Update: Our new website is live and online: www.GreenActionCentre.ca.

Please go here for the latest updates on environmental issues across Manitoba.  Meanwhile our resources and news stories at Living Green Living well will be kept available while we transfer them to our new site.

If you are getting ready for heading back to school for yourself or for your kids, chances are you will be stocking up on supplies or refreshing your wardrobe. Education is about planning for the future, so it is more important than ever to think about how your choices affect the planet. With a bit of planning, you can make greener choices this year.

Back to school shopping is big business in Canada. Aside from Christmas, this is the highest revenue period for the retail industry. Each year, Manitoba families plan to spend almost $300 each on school supplies. Between July and September, Canadians spend almost a billion dollars on school related supplies like stationery and office supplies, and over half a billion on children's clothes. How families spend their back to school budgets can have a big impact on the environment.

Here are some tips to make your trip back to school softer on the environment:

1)  Look for low toxic materials-

Many of the products made for children contain dangerous and chemicals. Although BPA has been banned from baby bottles, it is still found in countless products including canned food and lined water bottled. Vinyl PVC is used in everything from backpacks and binders to lunchboxes and plastic sandwich wrap. PVC can harm your children and is toxic to the communities where it is produced and ultimately disposed. Instead choose non-plastic, sustainably harvested materials including organic cotton, recycled paper, and uncoated metal for things like paperclips or lunch boxes.

2)  Consider used items

Thrift shops and used clothing stores offer many good quality articles and supplies, often at a fraction of the cost of new clothing stores. By giving these items a second home, you reduce the amount that goes to landfills and can save money at the same time. Also many items made from synthetic chemicals like vinyl will emit dangerous gases called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) for months after they are produced. By buying second hand, you can substantially reduce your exposure to VOCs.

3)  Sustainably produced products-

Look for products that are made from recycled content. Where possible choose 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper since it uses over 40% less energy to make and doesn't add to clear cuts or destroy forests. If you are going to use non-recycled wood products, be sure they are FSC certified to ensure that they were harvested sustainably.

4)  Eat local and sustainably-

Plan to make your school lunches litter less by using recycled containers and no individual wrapping. Choose locally produced, organic food where possible. Pack fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables instead of highly processed foods that contain genetically engineered or synthetic chemical ingredients.

5)  Plan to walk or cycle to school -

Walk or cycle to school instead of driving. Healthier kids are ready to learn. Fewer cars on the road means less idling in front of the school and fewer toxic fumes for kids to breathe in. Children growing up today will have to live with climate change. Reducing greenhouse gases will make everyone's future more secure.

6)  Beware of greenwashing-

Increasingly, companies use environmental claims to promote their products, while covering up their environmental or social impacts. Look out for labels that use confusing, or unwarranted claims, or logos that imply they are environmentally friendly without any certification or information to back up their claims. Ask questions from your retailer if you are uncertain how a product is produced or where it comes from.

7)  Reduce your back to school consumption-

These days the list of school supplies ranges well beyond the traditional pens, pencils, erasers and paper, though these items are still needed in most cases. Many families will be looking for calculators, washable and permanent markers, flash drives, DVD drives, laptops, and more. Consumption for kids is driven even faster by a marketing push that includes characters from their favourite TV shows and movies. Resisting this pressure can be difficult, but it can also provide an opportunity to teach your kids a valuable lesson: increased stuff is rarely associated with greater happiness. That is a lesson we should all remember.

Reducing your ecological footprint doesn't have to mean going without. You and your family can live green while living well. As you or your family get ready for school, think about your health and the health of the planet. Make choices we can all live with.

Some other resources:

Take National Geographic's Green Guide School Quiz to test your knowledge of what is takes to get green as you head back to school this year.

Tips for avoiding PVC in your school supplies from the Center for Health, Environment & Justice.

Living Green, Living Well guide to Litterless Lunches.

Statistics Canada, Back to school... by the numbers (including data on back to school shopping).

Resource Conservation Manitoba's Active and Safe Routes to School program helps kids with planning walking or cycling school buses, and choosing healthier school travel plans.

Ideas for green school supplies including calculators, pens and binders.

Winnipeg City Council has voted to approve changes to Winnipeg's pesticide bylaws that would see buffer zones reduced, a reduction in warning time before adult mosquito fogging occurs and increased frequency of fogging.  The Province of Manitoba has indicated it will accept these changes despite no consultation with citizens, no evidence that these changes will improve the effectiveness of Winnipeg's mosquito control program, and serious concerns about the safety of malathion, the chemical being used for mosquito fogging.

Given the speed the City and Province are moving on this issue, you may have only limited time to act. 

Please send a letter to Bill Blaikie, Manitoba's Minister of Conservation.  You can download the attached letter and send it in yourself, or use this letter as a template to address your own concerns.

Also available as PDF if you do not have Word.

Send your letters to:

Bill Blaikie, Minister of Conservation; Theresa Oswald, Minster of Health; Tracey Braun, Director of Environmental Assessments and Licensing and CC your MLA and Living Green Living Well.

Mailing addresses:

Please CC your MLA and send a copy of your letter to livinggreen@resourceconservation.mb.ca

Our Living Green Living Well July 2010 newsletter is now available

Topics this month include:

New Logo and Website for Green Action Centre
Public Outcry Over Eco-Fees
Council votes to expand fogging program
Future for environmental assessments?
Urban Sprawl and Heat Islands
Clean Air Day
Sylvia Lake

Please send me your comments and ideas for our September issue.

livinggreen@resourceconservation.mb.ca

City Council approved a motion July 21 that could see radical changes in how mosquito control is conducted in Winnipeg.

Reduced buffer zones sizes, increased frequency of adult mosquito fogging, and new barriers to residents wishing to apply for buffer zones could be approved in the near future. As yet neither the Province nor the City has sought public consultation on the issue. The city is also asking the Province to fund expansion of the biological larviciding outside the city. Winnipeg had earlier planned to switch to 100% biological larviciding by 2007.

The Province of Manitoba has agreed in principle to all the changes put forward by the City. Pending an application from the City, the Province plans to implement changes in the City's pesticide permit "expeditiously". This could mean that Winnipeg residents would see smaller buffer zones, reduced warning time before fogging is applied and more frequent fogging as early as this year.

The plan calls for sending out the fogging trucks whenever the mosquito count exceeds 25 on a city wide average. Last year, between July 13 and August 17, mosquito populations were above 25 on 16 days, or 45% of the time. The new policy could result in near constant fogging operations for much of the summer.

Resource Conservation Manitoba again calls for more research and greater opportunity for public input before rushing ahead on a plan to increase fogging, potentially at the expense of human health and the environment. We encourage citizens to write the Province with their concerns. Several resources, including links to the City of Winnipeg's report and a copy of the letter from Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie are available at:

http://www.livinggreenlivingwell.ca/take_action/pesticides

You are cordially invited to Resource Conservation Manitoba's Annual General Meeting

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 - 7:00 p.m.
303 Portage Avenue, 3rd Floor

GUEST SPEAKER - John Sinclair, RCM representative to
the Canadian Environmental Network

TOPIC: Taking Action to Save Canada's Environmental Laws Groups across the country are mounting an urgent campaign to protect Canada's environmental laws. Why are they concerned? Why should Canadians be paying attention? Come and find out more.

* Election of Directors
* Refreshments
* This is our last formal AGM as Resource Conservation Manitoba.
* RCM is changing our name to Green Action Centre.
* Come and celebrate a great year!

May 19, 2010 - As Winnipeg City Council votes on a new proposal to change recycling services to ask the Province include financial incentives for returning some types of beverage containers, RCM has submitted a brief on its views on how to improve the idea.  Please download below.

Welcome to the May 2010 Living Green Newsletter. The transformation from Resource Conservation Manitoba to Green Action Centre is now in full swing. Most of the legalities are out of the way. New logos are being designed and a fresh look for our website is being created to make it easier for our supporters to connect with us and to improve our visibility within the community. We will keep you posted about when we officially launch our new identity.

Spring has been a busy time in other ways. The Compost Action Project was busy with Compost Awareness Week earlier this month. As well, Resource Conservation Manitoba has been working with the City on a number of programs including the Compost Bin Sale and Giveaway Weekend, both this weekend. Other upcoming events include, the Commuter Challenge May 30-June 5 (see below, p.7) and Clean Air Day, June 2. Don't forget as well, International Clothesline Week starts June 5. Hang your clothes out to dry, instead of using electricity or gas.

If you are a member of Resource Conservation Manitoba, and want to be involved, come to our Annual General Meeting. Special topic for discussion will be: "Are citizens at risk of losing their voice in environmental protection?"

Thanks so much for your continued support!

Josh Brandon,
Living Green Coordinator

Contents include:

Message from the Editor
AGM Notice
Confused about Waste in Winnipeg
Commuter Challenge
Giveaway Weekend Contest
Donation and Membership Form

April 16, 2010

It has left many Manitobans scratching their heads. They thought that the 2-cent levy on beverage containers was supposed to disappear from cash register receipts in the province after March 31. But many consumers are finding the charges still listed on their bills.

In RCM's understanding, this is not how Manitoba's new 'extended producer responsibility' program was supposed to work. There were to be no visible, non-refundable levies on beverage containers under the new approach. Manitoba's Conservation Minister said as much in correspondence with RCM in December 2008 and in a letter to industry stewards on January 12, 2009.

Now a new organization of brand owners - the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association - has popped up and announced it is going to keep charging customers the levy. What gives?

RCM has provided a brief on its views of how Extended Producer Responsibility is supposed to work and asked the current Minister of Conservation for clarification.

Resource Conservation Manitoba is a non-profit environmental group with a longstanding interest in waste reduction.

Living Green, Living Well Spring 2010 Newsletter is out. It features articles on Canada's climate change commitments, Bisphenol A regulations, and waste minimization in Winnipeg.  There are links to Ecoblog pieces including a new toolkit for sustainability and home and a call to support new legislation to protect farmers from economic harm from genetically engineered crops. Also find out about how Resource Conservation Manitoba is gearing up for a new name and identity.

Every few years in this province, the debate on garbage gets recycled. An upcoming consultation on a new waste minimization strategy could offer an opportunity for positive change - But only if you stay involved.

Twenty five years ago, Recycling Council of Manitoba was founded to help encourage waste minimization across the province. There was no official recycling system here and as the garbage was piling up, Manitoba was falling behind the rest of the country. A few years later, the group was renamed Resource Conservation Manitoba as it took on a broader mandate. Besides recycling, RCM now focuses on environmental issues of concern to Manitobans, including composting, building cycling and pedestrian friendly cities and reducing our environmental impact in all our collective and individual actions. Waste reduction retains a central place in our philosophy and program.

Recently, garbage is again in the headlines, and the City of Winnipeg is discussing the need for a waste minimization strategy. In 2005, when RCM published "Regaining the Lead" Manitoba had fallen to 6th place among provinces in terms of waste diversion. At the time we called on the province to adopt a recycling, diversion and reduction strategy to allow the province to return to its place as a pioneer in waste reduction. Since then, while other provinces have redoubled their efforts, Manitoba has fallen further behind. Most recent Statistics Canada data shows Manitoba in 9th place.

For better or worse, what the City of Winnipeg does on waste reduction has a predominant impact on the province as a whole. Winnipeg represents over 50% of Manitoba's population and produces a proportionate share its trash. In Winnipeg, less than 20% of waste gets recycled. Unlike other cities across Canada, there is no curbside collection of compost, so thousands of tonnes of organic waste is going into our landfills, making the Brady Road landfill among the provinces biggest greenhouse gas emitters. We need a plan to do better.

Earlier this year, we renewed our call for a comprehensive plan on waste reduction. Several sudden changes in policy, including the introduction of garbage carts in North West Winnipeg, a change in recycling contracts and the introduction of reduced tipping fees for bulk waste haulers made us feel that decisions were being made too much on an ad hoc basis.

On February 22, before the city council was to vote on a series of waste related measures, we held a news conference asking the City to hold off on approving new contracts until it had adopted a comprehensive plan. Our fear was that many of the long term contacts being negotiated by the City would lock us in for several years more of the status quo. Two days later, council voted 12-4 to approve a motion partly based on our intervention:

"That Council direct the Public Service to develop a city-wide waste reduction plan in consultation with the public. This plan should consider all options for reducing waste including curbside organics pickup as well as bi-weekly collection schedules for some materials and include an early and orderly implementation schedule."

On all sides there is now a recognition that we need to move towards a system that includes curbside organics collection if we are to meet our waste reduction goals. Recently, City staff announced that they would be proposing a consultation plan that will be put forward to Council next month. The consultation will last one year to eighteen months. We will be asking your support in the coming months to help ensure that council retains momentum on this issue. With your support, Resource Conservation Manitoba will continue to make a difference on reducing waste in Manitoba.

Last fall, Environment Canada proposed new regulations to limit emissions of Bisphenol A (BPA) from industrial effluent. BPA is among dozens of chemicals being reviewed for their toxicity. An Environment Canada assessment found BPA to be especially toxic in aquatic environments. Resource Conservation Manitoba participated in the consultation and helped produce the consolidated ENGO report on the proposed regulations.  This report is now available. The consultation, organized by Environment Canada to discuss the proposed regulatory provisions to limit the concentration of Bisphenol A released from industrial final effluent, took place on November 27, 2009 in Toronto. Read the ENGO report.

Winnipeg City Council City Council is considering recommendations on composting and yard waste pick up tomorrow (Tuesday, February 9, 2010). Currently the officials from the City say that Citywide compost pickup is too expensive, but here at Resource Conservation Manitoba, we feel that the City didn't take into consideration cost savings if the City would also propose a change in garbage collection pick-up frequency if a curb-side organic system was in place.

As a minimum, we support the City's proposal for yard waste pick up at certain times of year. Our position on the year-round compost pickup is that the City needs to consider potential cost savings from reduced garbage pickups (e.g. every 2 weeks) as well as reduced recycling costs if pick up for the new larger carts was every 2 weeks, which is being done in other jurisdictions like Toronto. This issue of the large rolling recycling bins and the frequency of pickup is also being voted on this Tuesday.

Please have a look at the attached letter that was drafted by our board and sent to City Council and Mayor Katz.

If you would like to weigh in on this proposal, now is the time to have your voice heard. If you want to contact your councillor, please see the Winnipeg website for details http://winnipeg.ca/council/.

Here are some background articles from the Free Press

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/yard-waste-pickup-pondered-83703947.html

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Weekly-yard-wastecompost-collection-too-expensive-83648227.html

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/talking-trash-is-never-easy-83703982.html

Climate Change, the Greenhouse Effect and Copenhagen: A Resource for Youth

You may have heard about climate change and the greenhouse effect. Maybe you have seen that the world's leaders this month are in Copenhagen, a city in Denmark, to discuss how to reduce greenhouse gases. You may be worried about what the world will look like when you are older. You would be right to ask, and also to demand to know what adults are doing to stop global warming. Although these are difficult questions, it is important that you be informed, since you will be living with the consequences of our action, or inaction, today. Your voice is important.

Here is a short explanation of the greenhouse effect, climate change and the meeting in Copenhagen. Because of climate change, young people today will live in a very different environment than the one their parents and grandparents were born in. Their voices need to be heard.

The December 2009 Living Green Newsletter in now out. You will find information about ecological agriculture, food security and climate change, changes in landfill tipping fees as well as updates from the ecoblog and more.  A letter from Resource Conservation Manitoba president, J. Colin Crolly provides an update on some exciting new directions for Resource Conservation Manitoba: a new name, and a new image.

In just a few weeks, the most important international negotiations in a generation will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark.  This is our best chance for a treaty that will reduce greenhouse gases enough to prevent catastrophic global warming.  See below for the text of a letter RCM sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking him to commit to reducing greenhouse gases in Canada next month in Copenhagen.

Re: Climate Change and Copenhagen

November 18, 2009

Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Canada
K1A 0A2

(CC: James Bezan, MP, Rod Bruinooge, MP, (Hon.) Steven Fletcher, Shelly Glover, MP, Candice Hoeppner, MP, Jim Maloway, MP, Inky Mark, MP, Pat Martin, MP, (Hon.) Anita Neville, Joy Smith, MP, (Hon) Vic Toews, MP, Merv Tweed, MP, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, MP, Niki Ashton, MP, and (Hon) Jim Prentice)

Dear Prime Minister:

This December, you face a decision that will shape the world that future generations will inhabit. The 15th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen represents our best hope for changing the trajectory of greenhouse gas emission growth before runaway climate change radically alters the global environment, undermining our economy and political stability. As the head of government of a world-respected G-8 economy, your leadership will be crucial to the success of an agreement at Copenhagen. We are concerned that Canada has not so far shown the leadership necessary on this important issue, and ask that you commit this country to dramatic cuts in greenhouse gases before 2020.

Canada is already experiencing the effects of global warming. Arctic sea ice has declined to record levels during the past decade and is on track to disappear altogether within twenty years. Drought is affecting wide swaths of the prairies and pine beetles are devastating the forests of British Columbia. Climate change threatens to disrupt every ecosystem in Canada, and along with them, the economies and cultures that depend on them.

The most dramatic social effects of climate change will be felt in lower income countries, where increasing temperatures will lead to scarcity of food and water, overturning development progress of the past century. The World Health Organization estimates that 150,000 people are dying from increased disease attributable to climate change every year already. These numbers will skyrocket in the coming decades without a global treaty on greenhouse gas emissions. If you fail to set and meet appropriate targets for Canada, you will erase Canada's longstanding reputation as a source of fairness and equality on the world stage.

Canada is one of the largest per capita emitters of greenhouse gases on the planet. At 746 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 2007, we ranked among the top three major polluters on a
per capita basis. We have also had one of the worst records of emission growth in the OECD, increasing our emissions over 25% since 1990. We have more scope to reduce our emissions than most other countries, and with our great wealth, we have the resources to do so.

Indeed there is evidence that our economy can grow with a less destructive energy supply and usage. Denmark is an excellent example of one that has prospered in making the shift. Denmark has reduced its net emissions 5.9% since 1990, while its real GDP expanded 65% over this period. Norway, like Canada, a Northern, energy intensive, oil-exporting nation, has committed to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by 40% of its 1990 levels by 2020.

We do not need to wait for other countries to start getting our own house in order. Your leadership in Copenhagen will be an important step in getting a global treaty on greenhouse gases and will help ensure that the world your grandchildren inherit will be one with the same opportunities the present generation enjoys.

In particular, we ask you to commit to a 25 per cent cut in Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions relative to 1990 by 2020.

We also ask that you commit to developing and adhering to a realistic plan to ensure that Canada's commitments at Copenhagen are met and to setting interim targets to benchmark our progress.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

John Crolly, President
Resource Conservation Manitoba

On October 24, citizens around the world are gathering to protest climate change. Later this year, world leaders are meeting in Copenhagen to plan a global treaty on climate change.

Unless our governments agree in December to major cuts in greenhouse gases, our children will suffer the effects of catastrophic global climate change.
We cannot wait any longer. Bring CO2 levels down to 350 parts per million. Join 350.org today.

Meet at the Legislature 450 Broadway at 1:30 pm.

Download and sign the Kyoto Plus Petition

Invite your friends

Resource Conservation Manitoba has spoken out about pesticide use recently.  We raised concerns about Malathion fogging for Mosquito control and about how Dursban is applied in Winnipeg for the control of Dutch elm disease.  We would like to know what you think of our interventions.  Do you think RCM should be involved in the pesticide debate? Are there other pesticide issues in Manitoba you want RCM to address?  Answer our poll question.

This issue of the newsletter contains articles on vinyl shower curtains, water privatization as well as updates from the ecoblog.  We are also asking your input, how should Resource Conservation Manitoba be involved in the debate around pesticides in Winnipeg and across Manitoba? We look forward to your feedback.

City Elm Tree Spray Program Criticized

Resource Conservation Manitoba News Release: Winnipeg, August 10, 2009

The City of Winnipeg plans to begin spraying neighbourhood and riverbank elm trees Monday morning with a dangerous pesticide, Chlorpyrifos, as part of a control program for Dutch Elm Disease. The spray program is set to begin Monday morning targeting select Winnipeg neighbourhoods, as well as along the banks of the Seine and LaSalle Rivers. Resource Conservation Manitoba is concerned the spraying could impact human health and the environment.  More...

2009 Golden Carrot Awards

June 2009 - Have you heard? It's that time of year again folks! The Manitoba Food Charter is taking nominations for the 2009 Golden Carrot Awards. If someone has a unique farm or garden, is working quietly behind the scenes to get good food to Manitoba tables, schools or community centres, or is sharing their food traditions with others, then they could be a Golden Carrot Award winner!

Deadline for nominations is June 30 so visit www.manitobafoodsecurity.ca to download the form and submit it today!

Provincial Land Use Policy Review

The urgent threat of global climate change imposes a serious constraint on how appropriate our community infrastructure and development are for the twenty-first century. Earlier this year, the Province requested comments on its proposed Provincial Land Use Policy.  Download Resource Conservation Manitoba’s submission, in which we argue development plans need to undergo a Peak Oil Test to assess how resilient communities can be in the face of anticipated petroleum shortages and skyrocketing prices.

Living Green, Living Well Newsletter

The May edition of the Resource Conservation Newsletter is out.  To download, click the image on the left.  Included in this edition: a letter from the Living Green Living Well Co-ordinator, an update on new features on the Living Green, Living Well website, including our Ecoblog and upcoming events. We also feature an article: Who Pays for Waste?: No Free Lunch - RCM takes a stand and advocates for the polluter pay princlple by supporting EPR (extended producer responsibility).

Earth Hour

March 2009 - Saturday, March 28th was celebrated as Earth Hour in 4000 communities worldwide.  Landmarks such as the Empire State Building and the CN Tower went dark.  Depite switching off the lights at City Hall and many provincial buildings, power consumption went up in Winnipeg yesterday.  Let us know how you celebrated Earth Hour, or if you think its a good idea.  Also read the text of a speech Living Green Living Well Coordinator, Josh Brandon, gave for Earth Hour at St Andrews-River Heights United Church last night.

Environmental protection to be weakened

March 2009 - Legislation proposed by the Federal Conservative Government would weaken environmental protection, eliminate public participation and oversight of thousands of projects, and imperil Canadian commitment to principles of sustainable development. Resource Conservation Manitoba, in concert with 30 other environmental groups across Canada, has called on the Federal Government to maintain the integrety of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

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Paying For Waste

February 2009 - Everything we produce and consume has both an economic cost and a cost to the environment.   Find out about government consultations that could make companies pay a larger share of their waste costs, by extending producer responsibility.

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New questions about compact fluorescent lamps

January 2009 - Recent research in the UK has raised concerns about levels of ultraviolet (UV) light emitted by compact fluorescent lamps. Preliminary indications are that using CFLs for close-up work and task lighting exposes people to higher levels of UV generated by some types of lamps. Here are notes on CF lamps from Living Green, Living Well.

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One-Month Fair Trade Challenge started February 14

You're not too late to sign up for Fair Trade Manitoba's third annual One-Month Challenge. Participants pledge to have only fair trade coffee, tea and chocolate for a 30-day period starting on February 14 - Valentine's Day. For information on how to register, check out the Fair Trade One-Month Challenge, a program of the Manitoba Council for International Co-operation.

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Seven Habits for Living Green and Living Well

Most people want to do the right thing for the environment. But where does one start? Which things are most important when we are trying to reduce our impact on the Earth? Resource Conservation Manitoba offers its list of the top seven habits of ecologically conscious Manitobans.

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Sorting through Plastic Bags

RCM outlines our position on how to reduce the number of disposable grocery bags used in Manitoba.