I have always been astounded by the negligence with which we treat what is probably our greatest collective wealth: water. The summer of 2024 is particularly revealing of this phenomenon, with two episodes of oil spills in the St. Lawrence River in Pointe-aux-Trembles.
In parallel, The Duty informed us two weeks ago that the federal government had authorized (with the blessing of Quebec) toxic discharges into 37 rivers in northern Quebec for the benefit of an Australian multinational for a ridiculous compensation of 16 million (“Environmental indulgences”, The DutyJuly 11, 2024).
The practice of polluting leisure activities also leaves me perplexed. Every year, when May arrives and until fall, it’s the same circus that starts again here, on one of the most beautiful lakes in Lanaudière, near where I live. Personal watercraft and gigantic pontoons invade the lake in a deafening din that only stops with the fall of the leaves in October. And from year to year, there are always more boats and bigger and bigger ones.
Superfluous
It seems to me that a society truly willing to tackle environmental problems should start by tackling the superfluous. Giving up your jet ski or your hyperpolluting ATV is less of a challenge than giving up your car to go to work… always the triumph of illogic. But here, as in other matters, we are reasoning backwards.
Take this mega-investment in Northvolt. We gave billions to a Swedish company to build batteries in a hyper-competitive sector. Why not have invested some of that money in an industry that is already well established in Quebec?
With Bombardier Recreational Products, we already have a world leader in the manufacture of watercraft and snowmobiles. Why not implement a strategy involving this manufacturer (as well as the small electric snowmobile manufacturer Taiga), a strategy that would aim to make Quebec a dream destination for “green motorized recreation”? If Costa Rica, a developing country, has managed to carve out a niche for itself in eco-tourism, why not Quebec?
Lawn
I was saying that we are thinking backwards. Montreal, a northern city, is trying to become the cycling kingdom of North America. But Montreal is neither Amsterdam nor Copenhagen. Every dollar invested in expensive express bike networks (REV) ignores the four or five winter months when cycling disappears from the lives of Montrealers.
REVs are expensive, and it is legitimate to wonder whether they represent an optimal investment from an environmental perspective. However, while it is investing massively in REVs, the City does not seem to have any plan to reduce the use of gasoline-powered lawnmowers or leaf or snow blowers. As a Californian investigation has shown, these devices are a major source of pollution.
“The California Air Resource Board (CARB) estimates that the approximately 15.4 million such vehicles in California emit more air pollutants than the 14 million personal cars registered in the vast American state,” it reads. The Duty (“How Much Do Lawn Mowers, ATVs, and Other Gas-Powered Equipment Pollute?” May 8, 2024). CARB also tells us that one hour of leaf blower use produces as much pollutants as a 1,000-mile (yes, 1,000-mile) car ride.
Turn
Quebec made an extraordinary ecological shift several decades ago by adopting hydroelectricity as its main source of energy. Since 2014, it has been part of the North American carbon exchange with… California. When will it imitate this American state, which now bans these small polluting devices on its territory?
Eliminating small gasoline engines is a measure within our reach, as is reducing water pollution by, among other things, phasing out polluting pleasure boats.
If we had taken these initiatives a decade or two ago, we would have killed two birds with one stone: we would have reduced CO production2 and smog-forming air pollutants and, above all, we would have accustomed the population to adopting green reflexes. Today, it would be better prepared to take on more considerable challenges, such as reducing the ecological footprint of the transport sector.
Instead, in Quebec and even more in Canada, we continue to delude ourselves with miracle recipes that make us believe that REVs or carbon sequestration will lead us to ecological redemption. No wonder we systematically miss our CO emissions reduction targets.2.
But why restrict ourselves to common sense initiatives when we have at our disposal an extraordinary reserve of magical thinking and good ecological feelings?