Newsletter

The Healthy School Program – The First of Its Kind in Canada

The Healthy School Program, sponsored by Environment Canada’s EcoAction program and New Brunswick ’s Departments of Education and Health, enables schools to identify and resolve basic air quality concerns “in-house” at little or no cost. A healthy school environment, both indoors and out, can contribute to the overall well being of students and staff.

One of the program’s most successful initiatives has targeted a reduction in school bus idling. Through observations, buses were found to be arriving at schools as much as 30 minutes before dismissal times and idling the entire time while waiting for the students. Not only was this creating air quality problems outside the schools, diesel fumes were entering the buildings through windows, doors, and ventilation systems.

Originally, the goal was to reduce the amount of time idling and ideally aim for no idling at all. A number of questions, however, first had to be answered: Would the diesel engines start after lights wear down the batteries? Would the windows frost up if the engines were turned off? What would happen on winter days with extreme temperatures?

With the cooperation of the School District 6, the bus drivers at one school turned off their engines upon arrival at the school for a number of weeks. Not encountering any major problems, the trial was expanded to more schools in the district, and once again, there were no problems. As a result, a district-wide no idling policy was implemented for school buses in this district in May 2002.

Hearing of this success, several other school districts also introduced no-idling policies to some degree. There was, however, no uniform policy for all districts. Again, in cooperation with the Department of Education, a policy was developed, and in October, 2005, the Minister announced a province-wide idling ban for all school buses – the first of its kind in Canada !

Currently, the New Brunswick Lung Association is creating a manual based on their experience that will assist other provincial lung association in carrying out their own school bus idling campaign. For more information, contact the New Brunswick Lung Association (506) 455-8961, or visit the site at www.nb.lunb.ca/schools

Light Rail Expansion Coming to Toronto - Ambitious
multi-billion dollar project up and running by 2021

Transit riders from the Greater Toronto area are soon going to find it much easier to use sustainable transportation though the city’s congested corridors.

By the year 2021, some of the city’s most underserved areas will be accessed by an estimated 60 – 80 km web of seven light rail lines that will cover 120 km. The corridors will run from the waterfront all the way to the airport, and along such key hubs as Eglinton, Sheppard and Don Mills.

It’s estimated the new lines would carry 175 million riders per year, a third of whom would be transit users. This means a significant reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution for the urban center.

“When you look at maps of who rides transit, 78% of downtown trips are made by transit. When you get out to Etobicoke, Scarborough, it drops to 19%, 20%, and that is predominantly because they don’t have the same level of service as the downtown,” explained Toronto Transit Commission (TTC ) Chair Adam Giambrone at a press conference announcement made in Toronto on March 15 th. “With our plan going forward, it is our belief that no Torontonian should be disadvantaged because they don’t own a car. You should be able to get anywhere in the city, not just downtown.” The plan would take 15 years for financial and logistic reasons and would call for the purchase of 240 light rail vehicles that would travel over seven lines, including one along Eglinton Ave.

The TTC blueprint could reduce traffic congestion and pollution and make transit a viable option for more commuters, but it represents a significant expense.

The strategy will employ an additional 250 new model streetcars, at a cost of more than $6 billion. Light rail, which costs about $30 million a kilometre, can be built faster and cheaper than subways, which cost about $250 million to $300 million per kilometre. That’s part of the reason the TTC has shifted its emphasis to light rail, said Councillor Brian Ashton, who is also a member of the Greater Toronto Transit Authority. “It’s cheaper and it also begins to reflect on the suburban reality,” he said. As the city tries to curb sprawl and intensify development along the avenues of strip malls in Etobicoke and Scarborough , “light rail or street cars become the solution,” he said. He called the subway extension a signal of how transit will need to connect with Toronto ’s neighbours in future.

Oak Bay Green Committee and GreenGatherings Launch
Community Wide No Engine Idling Campaign

10 seconds.

A mere 10 seconds is the amount of time Natural Resources’ Canada recommends you leave your engine idling while running errands, chatting with a friend, waiting at the ferry or picking children up after school. “Avoiding unnecessary engine idling is something that we can all immediately do to minimize our contribution to greenhouse gases,” explains Oak bay Green Committee member Valeria Williams.

The Oak Bay Green Committee (OBGC) and GreenGatherings recently launched a community-wide No Engine Idling campaign targeting Oak Bay municipal schools. The campaign provides school with No Engine Idling Aluminum Signs and Information Kits. “The No Engine Idling campaign not only educates drivers about the need to reduce emissions, it create awareness around the relationship between society’s over-reliance on vehicles and the damage it is doing to the environment and our children,” explains campaign coordinator Britt Karlstrom.

According to Natural Resources Canada children are especially susceptible to carbon emissions due to their developing lungs and need to take in oxygen at an increased rate, exposing them to increased amounts of particulate matter believed to cause respiratory related illness. Often, school parking lots are hot spots for idling vehicles – as caregivers drop off and pick up children in early morning and afternoon. As well, vehicle emissions greatly contribute to the pollutants that contribute to greenhouse gases – the gases that are responsible for climate change.

Statistics show that parents participate in unnecessary engine idling more than any other group. “As a past educator I am aware of the increased rates of respiratory illness in school children – it is alarming and scary and we must make choices today that protect our children from further harm,” explains Karlstrom.

The OBGC is also planning on partnering with other businesses, churches, and, perhaps, even the municipality, on a No Engine Idling Campaign. “We are hoping that this will continue to spread to other communities as well,” explains Williams, “We are getting a lot of interest from communities as diverse as Qualicum to Cortes Island .” The OBGC is proud to have awareness at both McTavish and Sundance Schools . In fact, McTavish teacher Maria St. Amand, and several grade 4/5 students recently made a presentation to School Distrcit #63 asking for a school district – wide ban on engine idling. “Momentum is build to stop this serious health concern,” explains Williams. “We just need to continue to work together to raise awareness.”

The OGBS would like to propose a partnership to those schools that would like to rise to the challenge and educate students, parents, and staff on the risks vehicles that are left idling pose to human health, the environment, and the economy. The OBGC has engine idling reduction strategies and would be happy to help school staff implement a plan to tackle vehicle idling.

The success rate for anti-idling campaigns in Canadian schools has been very high. It has been noted on many community web sites that parents are more than willing to respond to requests to turn off their educational pamphlets, and signs.

If you would like to start up your own anti-idling campaign and want to help make a significant contribution to the health of your community please contact us. Together we can make a difference! Also if you start, or are currently leading an anti-idling campaign use Clean Air Day as an opportunity to encourage people to take action.

ecoACTION Incentive Programs

Clean Air Day is a great time to think about ways to reduce our impact on the environment. And the Government of Canada’s ecoACTION Incentive Programs can help Canadians make positive environmental choices. For Clean Air Day check out these ecoACTION programs:

ecoACTION for your Home

Natural Resources Canada 's ( NRCan's) ecoENERGY Retrofit program is available to owners of single family homes including detached, semi-detached and low rise multi-unit residential buildings. Property owners can qualify for federal grants by improving the energy efficiency of their homes, and reducing their home's impact on the environment. The maximum grant one can receive per home or multi-unit residential building is $5,000; whereas the total grant amount available to one individual or entity for eligible properties over the life of the program is $500,000.

ecoACTION for your Vehicle

The ecoAUTO Rebate Program encourages Canadians to buy fuel-efficient vehicles. How? It offers rebates from $1000 to $2000, to people who, beginning March 20, 2007, buy or enter a long-term lease (12 months or more) for a fuel-efficient vehicle. With the ecoAUTO Rebate Program, the Government commits $160 million over two years to offer performance-based rebates on new light duty vehicles.

For information about these and other ecoACTION programs visit: http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca

Protect the Environment and Save More Money with Your Transit Pass

If you use public transit — including travel by bus, subway, commuter train and ferry — and buy transit passes, you are eligible for the new Government of Canada transit pass tax credit. This is a non-refundable tax credit which is deducted from your tax payable -- and will save you 15.5% on your public transit costs.

You can claim the full amount of any combination of transit passes from different modes of travel. And you can claim this tax credit on behalf of your spouse, common law partner, and your children under the age of 19. Just remember to keep your transit passes and receipts as proof of purchase.

Making your Community Healthier

Canadians are concerned about the impacts of the transportation sector. And increasing the use of public transit can have many benefits, like less traffic congestion in urban areas, reduced amounts of pollutants and greenhouse gases in the air, and healthier more livable cities.

If you use public transit already, thank you -- you are leading by example by choosing a sustainable mode of transportation. If you'd like to try public transit, why not take advantage of Clean Air Day and try something new -- new habits always begin with a single step, and every step counts.

To find out more about the tax credit for public transit passes, visit www.transitpass.ca.