Balancing growth with environment a challenge
By Ethan Stein
Photo by Ethan Stein. Environment Minister Ken Cheveldayoff argues Saskatchewan's green initiatives are working.
The provincial budget is titled “Steady Growth," but environmental critics worry growth may come at an expense to the environment.
Not only has the overall environment budget decreased from $244.4 million to $235.2 million, but the Climate Change division has seen its budget slashed by $1,532. However, the province argues it is helping clear the air beyond the environment portfolio, in the energy production sector.
Environment minister Ken Cheveldayoff said the province’s most notable environmental achievement “would have to be what Saskpower’s doing with Boundary Dam 3 technology and we’re very proud to see that it’s happening right here in our province.”
Cheveldayoff said the coal-burning plant is being rebuilt as a “coal-fired generation unit with carbon capture technology, resulting in low-emission power generation. The facility will be fully commercial in summer of 2014.”
NDP environment critic Cathy Sproule agreed SaskPower has potential. “I think we really need to look at energy production, so I think SaskPower’s a great example of that,” she said. However, she said she worries that the province isn't take advantage of alternative power sources.
Sproule pointed to the success of wind power programs in Wisconsin and North Dakota, where “the percentage of power that’s generated from wind is quite a bit higher than it is here. We want to at least try to reach what North Dakota does.”
Environmentalist Jim Elliott is skeptical of the province's energy initiatives being touted as green initiatives. “It’s still fracking, it’s still pipelining, it’s not getting into some of the things that will in the long term save us more in the sense of cost and emissions, as well as provide a stable employment base for the students who are coming out right now,” he said.
Sproule also said she has concerns with fracking, and that she would like to see the government “take more initiative with the venting and flaring that’s going right now while we’re just burning natural gas because we have nowhere to put it.”
Meanwhile, Cheldayoff points to the Go Green program as a source of ecological pride. “We’ve invested 60 to 70 million dollars in Go Green projects; we’re just starting to see those projects right now,” he said.
“Those investments made years ago are coming to fruition. There was just a symposium that was talking about all of the projects that are in the province. Going forward, we’ll continue to work closely with the federal government on climate change initiatives of course we’ll have to take our lead for where they go,” he said.
“Any program where you affect behavior is going to have a positive effect,” Sproule agreed. She said green programs are effective if people are offered subsidies or other incentives to adjust living habits.
For Elliott, though, the Go Green program is hindered by poor publicity. “I don’t think it’s as effective as it could be. You ask most people on the street ‘What about the Go Green program?’ They would have no idea. So again, it’s not effectively promoted in that aspect and it needs to be a much more comprehensive and extensive initiative so it can get into hospitals and schools and all of those types of systems, in addition to being a much more homeowner-driven program,” he said.
Cheveldayoff said overall the province is doing well on greenhouse gas emissions, considering the level of growth occurring in the province.
“We have a growing economy, our goal is to keep our greenhouse gas emissions level and start meeting those targets for reduction going forward," said Cheveldayoff. "What we had under the NDP was a decrease in population, an economy that wasn’t moving forward, (and) we still had an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. What we have today is an increase in economy and a level greenhouse gas.”
But Sproule worries that ultimately looming climate change will harm the economy. “One of the things that most climate change experts recognize is the volatility of weather and one of the things for us in an economy where agriculture is a large part of the economy is going to be concerning,” Sproule said. “I think agriculture is definitely going to be one of those things climate change has an effect on in the future."
“The more we delay and the more we emit greenhouse gas the harder it’s going to be to control that,” she said.
