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May 21, 2008
CALGARY – Oil prices have doubled from where they were a year ago, surpassing yet another record of US$132 on commodities markets Wednesday.
Yet the prices at the pump – while painfully high – have not risen in tandem.
According to this week’s pump price survey by energy consulting firm MJ Ervin, Canadians paid on average $1.27 to fill up their gas tanks. Last May the average price was about $1.12 per litre.
It’s a significant increase, but not nearly as dramatic as that of crude oil, which was only worth US$66 a barrel last May.
“There are other costs involved in the processing of fossil fuels into gasoline. You wouldn’t get a one-for-one increase in prices,” said Derek Burleton, an economist with TD Bank Financial Group.
The increasingly expensive raw product is an important part of the equation for gasoline. But taxes as well as refining and marketing costs are also key factors in the final pump price.
The fact that the Canadian dollar is around parity with its U.S. counterpart also helps keep pump prices relatively tame, since oil is denominated in American currency.
While it may be cold comfort for drivers sick of spending a fortune to fill up their tanks, gasoline retailers have not hiked their pump prices higher because they have to stay competitive.
“In today’s market, they’re not free to keep pushing up prices forever. At some point you will get some demand destruction,” Burleton said.
Most gasoline in Canada is sold by integrated oil companies – players that have interests in the production, refining and marketing segments of the industry.
Companies like Petro-Canada (TSX:PCA) and Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX:IMO) have made weak margins on their downstream – or refining and marketing – business this past quarter. But those declines have been offset by the fact that the products they produce have been grabbing such a high price.
“They’re benefiting from their upstream operations and that makes it a little more palatable. Overall their financial performance is still in excellent shape,” Burleton said.
“The downstream operations are obviously struggling at the moment.”
Every May, Petro-Canada posts a gas-price pie chart at its stations across Canada explaining to consumers the breakdown of the final pump price.
Based on 2007 numbers, 48 per cent of the price was from crude oil; 32 per cent was taxes; 17 per cent was refining costs and the three per cent left over was profit.
When Petro-Canada first started posting the gas price pie chart in 2000, the breakdown was quite different. Crude costs only took up 30 per cent of the pie, while taxes were 51 per cent, according to the company’s “Pump Talk” blog.
Burleton said there’s no real fundamental reason to support crude oil’s 50 per cent ramp up since February, and that prices will likely recede in a few months.
“I do think the market is getting ahead of itself. Even though the U.S. dollar has fallen, I just think the market’s climbed too far too fast and I would be looking for an adjustment,” he said.
“The trigger could be just seasonal. At this time of year, there’s anxiousness about the summer driving season and the impact on supplies but once we move into the summer I think there’s a good chance that we’re going to get quite a correction.”
Source: http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/investing/insight/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7588127
How to make eco-friendly choices in life with your new baby that will save you money, too.
Environment Canada says we throw away 4 million disposable diapers a day! Most of them go into landfills – making up about 2% of the garbage there and taking hundreds of years or more to decompose. What’s more, disposables cost parents $2,400 during baby’s first two and a half years.
Cloth diapers cost less – especially if you launder them yourself – but in terms of “impact” they’re not necessarily better on the environment, thanks to the water and detergent used to clean them. It turns out that diapers are a matter of personal choice. If you do opt for cloth, be sure to use biodegradable, phosphatefree detergent.
Here are some cost-saving baby ideas that are also green:
• Scout out gently used baby clothes at garage sales and consignment shops, and on Craigslist, eBay and Freecycle.
• Make your own food instead of buying all those little glass jars. Pureeing vegetables is quick, simple, healthy and cost-effective.
• Nurse your baby instead of feeding formula. You’ll save about $40 a week, it’s healthier, and there’s no manufacturing, packaging or shipping involved.
SAVE
$40 a week by nursing
SAVE
the glass in 600 jars by pureeing your own baby food.
Another important green baby issue has to do with the furniture in your nursery. Some scientists believe that crib death may actually be caused by flame-retardant chemicals – called PBDEs – in beds and mattresses, which become poisonous when they interact with common household fungi. Keep your baby safe by choosing organic, chemical-free mattresses and bedding. For all-natural crib mattresses, visit the website of manufacturer Hästens at www.hastens.com.
Go green action steps
• If you choose disposable diapers, be sure to buy the greenest ones available, such as Nature Boy & Girl, which are made with cornstarch instead of plastic (www.natureboyandgirl.net). Or try Seventh Generation’s, which are made without chlorine (www.seventhgeneration.com).
• Check out the gDiapers website at www.gdiapers.com. gDiapers are a blend of cloth and disposable diapers. They combine a cotton outer-pant with a waterproof liner that can both be washed and reused. Then you slide a disposable pad into the liner, which can be flushed, composted or thrown away.
• Make your own baby food. Find recipes for easy, all-natural baby food at www.wholesomebabyfood.com.
Find out how to make eco-friendly choices when purchasing makeup.
Eye shadow
If you use pressed eye shadow, choose a brand that provides a reusable compact with slots for refills. Each time you buy a refill instead of an entirely new container, you’ll reduce your costs, the amount of energy used to produce and ship the hard plastic, glass, or chrome packaging (some of which come with mirrors), and the amount of waste you discard when it’s empty. If one in 25 women chose refillable eye shadow, more than 350,000 pounds of wasted cosmetics containers could be saved each year.
Foundation
Opt for foundation in a simple recyclable (or reusable) glass container over one sold in a nonrecyclable plastic tube or bottle. The manufacturing energy saved by avoiding the plastic container could run the lightbulb in your makeup mirror for more than seven hours. If one in 20 women chose glass over plastic packaging for her next foundation purchase, the energy conserved could fill a 20-gallon gas tank once a week for 24 years.
Lipstick
Given that the average woman may inadvertently ingest more than four pounds of lipstick in her lifetime, you’ll want to look for lip colour made from plant-derived ingredients instead of from synthetic oils, paraffin waxes, and toxic coal tar dyes (look for FD&C or D&C followed by a colour and number). If one in five lipstick wearers began demanding plant-based options, total petroleum product consumption would decrease by more than 825,000 pounds per year.
Mascara
Your best choice for mascara is one that is made from plants and minerals instead of from petroleum products. However, if this is not a viable option for you, avoid varieties that come in plastic bubble packs on cardboard backings.
Go green and win!
Read our Green Living Blog to find our how our editors are making their lives greener – you could win a dishwasher or one of 30 other prizes!
By SETH BORENSTEIN 05.18.08, 1:00 PM ET
WASHINGTON – Global warming isn’t to blame for the recent jump in hurricanes in the Atlantic, concludes a study by a prominent federal scientist whose position has shifted on the subject.
Not only that, warmer temperatures will actually reduce the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic and those making landfall, research meteorologist Tom Knutson reported in a study released Sunday.
In the past, Knutson has raised concerns about the effects of climate change on storms. His new paper has the potential to heat up a simmering debate among meteorologists about current and future effects of global warming in the Atlantic.
Ever since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hurricanes have often been seen as a symbol of global warming’s wrath. Many climate change experts have tied the rise of hurricanes in recent years to global warming and hotter waters that fuel them.
Another group of experts, those who study hurricanes and who are more often skeptical about global warming, say there is no link. They attribute the recent increase to a natural multi-decade cycle.
What makes this study different is Knutson, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fluid dynamics lab in Princeton, N.J.
He has warned about the harmful effects of climate change and has even complained in the past about being censored by the Bush administration on past studies on the dangers of global warming.
He said his new study, based on a computer model, argues “against the notion that we’ve already seen a really dramatic increase in Atlantic hurricane activity resulting from greenhouse warming.”
The study, published online Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience, predicts that by the end of the century the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic will fall by 18 percent.
The number of hurricanes making landfall in the United States and its neighbors – anywhere east of Puerto Rico – will drop by 30 percent because of wind factors.
The biggest storms – those with winds of more than 110 mph – would only decrease in frequency by 8 percent. Tropical storms, those with winds between 39 and 73 mph, would decrease by 27 percent.
It’s not all good news from Knutson’s study, however. His computer model also forecasts that hurricanes and tropical storms will be wetter and fiercer. Rainfall within 30 miles of a hurricane should jump by 37 percent and wind strength should increase by about 2 percent, Knutson’s study says.
And Knutson said this study significantly underestimates the increase in wind strength. Some other scientists criticized his computer model.
MIT hurricane meteorologist Kerry Emanuel, while praising Knutson as a scientist, called his conclusion “demonstrably wrong” based on a computer model that doesn’t look properly at storms.
Kevin Trenberth, a climate scientist, said Knutson’s computer model is poor at assessing tropical weather and “fail to replicate storms with any kind of fidelity.”
Trenberth, climate analysis chief at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., said it is not just the number of hurricanes “that matter, it is also the intensity, duration and size, and this study falls short on these issues.”
Knutson acknowledges weaknesses in his computer model and said it primarily gives a coarse overview, not an accurate picture on individual storms and storm strength. He said the latest model doesn’t produce storms surpassing 112 mph.
But NOAA hurricane meteorologist Chris Landsea, who wasn’t part of this study, praised Knutson’s work as “very consistent with what’s being said all along.”
“I think global warming is a big concern, but when it comes to hurricanes the evidence for changes is pretty darn tiny,” Landsea said.
Hurricane season starts June 1 in the Atlantic and a Colorado State University forecast predicts about a 50 percent more active than normal storm season this year. NOAA puts out its own seasonal forecast on May 22.
In a normal year about 10 named storms form. Six become hurricanes and two become major hurricanes. On average, about five hurricanes hit the United States every three years.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/05/18/ap5022458.html?partner=alerts
Visit six of the most eco-happy places in Canada. They’ll make you want to pick up and move.
This story was originally titled “Canada’s greenest communities” in the April 2008 issue. Subscribe to Canadian Living today and never miss an issue!
Okotoks, Alta.: Staying Within its Limits
At a glance
Major green efforts
• A plan to maintain an eco-friendly community, where growth matches what the environment can sustain.
• The town’s water use has plummeted by about one-third and greenhouse gas emissions by almost one-fifth.
• Sewage treatment plant turns waste into compost.
• Many town buildings, including the new community centre, use solar-thermal energy.
Future goals/plans
• Hit the targets in its green plan.
• Continue to assess community support for the town’s green aspirations.
Kevin Meyers and his family moved to Okotoks, Alta., from Calgary four years ago. He liked the idea of a smaller town that was only a 15-minute drive from the city. He liked the idea of fresh air. He had family living near there. But there was another compelling attraction: “The population cap of 30,000 people was definitely a selling point for us,” he says.
The community is totally dependent on the nearby Sheep River for all its water needs, including drinking water and treating and disposing of effluent. “Thirty thousand people is all that the Sheep River can sustain,” says Kevin. The notion of limiting the growth of a community to what the local environment can handle sounds smart, but Okotoks is one of the first municipalities in the world to have taken this green approach to growth.
“A fresh look at the future”
This forward thinking was prompted over 10 years ago when the province of Alberta downloaded responsibilities for planning onto smaller municipalities. The residents of Okotoks decided to take a fresh look at their future. “As a town we asked ourselves, ‘What do we want to be when we grow up?’ and this was the vision,” recalls Rick Quail, the town’s municipal manager. “There was extensive community [discussion] with the citizens of Okotoks, and that formed the basis of our plan moving forward.”
The initiative Quail is referring to is an official municipal development plan, which the town council created in 1998. It limits the town’s boundary and population to what the Sheep River can sustain, which means keeping a close eye on all new development, including housing and infrastructure – from water to sewers to roads to recreation and cultural facilities.
But the plan does much more than that; with the community’s approval and support, it also outlines many practical ways to keep the town green and preserve its small-town feel. For example, one goal was to reduce the use of cars within the town. The solution? Provide ways for people to work more easily within their own neighbourhoods, or work at home. So, the town, which used to be mainly made up of single-family dwellings, is slowly increasing the range of housing styles within its neighourhoods, such as multifamily homes and commercial-residential buildings.
The green plan
The sewage plant has been upgraded to turn sludge into compost. New homes are built to environmental codes set by the town, mandating such features as low-flow plumbing fixtures. Home builders are even voluntarily implementing other water- and energy-saving initiatives. All the houses in Okotoks are on water meters, and there is a watering schedule between May and October that is tied to the climate and the water levels in the Sheep River. During drought conditions, there is an outright ban on outdoor watering.
Recycling within the town has also been ramped up. “You’re allowed to have only three bags of garbage a week, unless you pay for special tags for extra bags, and there are two drop-off areas for recycling,” enthuses Kevin. “We take our recycling there every week. People are always doing it.”
Since the green plan was put into action, the town has conducted community surveys every three years to gauge the community’s commitment as well as annual surveys with residents. “Our plan contains hard targets,” adds Quail. “For example, water conservation objectives, solid waste limitations at curbside, use of pesticides, which are continually revisited and refined in consultation with the citizens.” He adds that as Okotoks grows, the town wants to achieve a 20 per cent reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions. So far, it has been reduced by more than 15 per cent while the population has grown by almost 50 per cent. The town’s population currently sits close to 20,000, or about 67 per cent of its population cap.
Solar power
To top it all off, in the early 2000s Natural Resources Canada invited Okotoks to be part of a program to show how solar power could be used in residential communities. The town responded with an enthusiastic yes. Last summer, the 52 new homes in the Drake Landing Solar Community were all tied into the solar-thermal system. In 2005, Drake Landing comprised the largest concentration of solar panels in Canadian history. Solar-thermal panels on the garages are designed to meet a minimum of 90 per cent of Drake Landing’s space heating requirements, storing solar power during the summer in the ground for use in the winter.
Jennie Willings is a resident of Drake Landing, and she is pleased with her new home. “We love the idea and the cost advantages of heating with solar energy.” It seems many others do, too – the houses were all scooped up as soon as they went on sale, and they have increased in value.
The community is moving confidently along the green route it has charted. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called Okotoks “the greenest community in Canada, maybe the world.” Resident Jeanette Rae is more modest when she describes what she thinks about her town and her neighbours: “We have a sense of pride in knowing we are all taking care of our community.”
Poplar River, First Nation, Man.: An inspiring ever-green community
At a glance
Major green efforts
• Produced a long-term management land plan.
• Secured short-term protection for Poplar/Nanowin Rivers Park Reserve area (777,270 hectares of intact boreal forest) until 2009.
Future goals/plans
• Permanent protection of traditional lands.
• Continue traditional practices on their land.
• Link the traditional territories of Poplar River on Lake Winnipeg, with Paungassi, Little Grand Rapids and Pikangikum First Nations in order to establish a United Nations
World Heritage Site.
The 1,200-member community of Poplar River First Nation lies 400 kilometres north of Winnipeg at the mouth of the Poplar River and in the heart of the boreal forest. These are the traditional lands of the Anishinabek people. For centuries they have lived here, hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering medicines and coexisting with the land in a sustainable manner.
The people of Poplar River have a special relationship with the land. For countless generations, the elders have been taught that it was given to them from the Creator. It nourishes and sustains people, and needs their protection. John Charles McDonald, an elder in the community, puts it this way: “The land is…just like sacred or holy ground.” The boreal, or northern forest, is important to other communities across not only Manitoba, but also Canada and all of North America. It provides vital oxygen and water resources. It absorbs and stores carbon dioxide, and reduces the effect of global warming. It is one of the largest intact ecosystems on the planet.
But, well over a decade ago, the community elders began worrying that a large and important section of the forest, nearly 8,000 square kilometres designated as Crown land, might be in jeopardy. A transmission line was set to be built through the traditional territories, and the elders warned their community that the province might allow outside developers to use the land without respecting their traditions or values. They reminded people of their responsibility to protect the land and keep it intact for future generations.
Community in favour of going green
The community responded. When hearings were held to discuss the proposal, people united in opposition. They formed a committee and made a formal application to the Manitoba government, asking for protection of their land. Sophia Rabliauskas, a 47-year-old resident who has lived in the tiny community for almost her whole life, took part in the committee. “The land cannot speak for itself,” she says firmly. “We need people to speak up for the land…We believe that by protecting our environment and the boreal forest, we are contributing to the well-being of all people on this planet.”
In 1999, the community gained the status of a protected “wilderness” park preserve for its territory, but it would only ban hydro, gas, logging, and mining development on the land for five years. This has been extended one more time, for another five years. But the people of Poplar River want permanent protection for their land. They have spent years creating a land management plan, recording their elders’ oral histories and conducting studies of the land, including archaeological fieldwork, to show how long their people have lived there. The completed plan explains how the community will manage and care for the area in the future, and in keeping with their culture and beliefs.
The catch is the province has not agreed to this proposal, and the clock runs out on land protection in 2009. “We’re continuing to negotiate with the Manitoba government,” says Sophia. “We’ve now reached a common understanding of our respective values and beliefs. It’s going in the right direction.” To the people of the Poplar River First Nation, their very survival as a community depends on the land. Sophia states it baldly: “If we lose that land, we won’t survive as a people. This is our traditional territory.” To the rest of Canadians, who are also custodians of the one of the world’s last stretches of pristine boreal forest, perhaps the stakes are just as high.
Communities of Greater Napanee, Tyendinaga Township and Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Ont.: Greener together
At a glance
Major green efforts
• Went to court to stop the expansion of Richmond landfill site.
• Helped protect groundwater in the Bay of Quinte area.
Future goals/plans
• Convince the Ministry of the Environment to close the dump once and for all.
• Increase recycling efforts in their communities.
• Greater Napanee Waste Committee scheduled to present recommendations on a long-term waste management plan in October 2008.
• Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte hope to get much-needed water and sewage treatment plants as soon as possible.
Ten years ago, residents in farming communities in the County of Lennox and Addington in eastern Ontario were concerned. Their communities – Greater Napanee, Tyendinaga Township and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte – were sitting near the Richmond landfill, which had been accumulating waste for more than 50 years. They were worried about its effect on the local environment.
A citizens’ committee was formed, which included Margaret Walsh, reeve of Tyendinaga, Chief R. Donald Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, and many other concerned community members. In 1999, the predecessor of Waste Management of Canada Corporation (WMCC), the current owner of the landfill, applied to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for permission to undertake a 25-year, 18-million-tonne expansion of the site. There was “a solid foundation of people saying, ‘We want this place closed!’” says resident Steve Geneja.
Although the landfill did not drain toward his farm, Steve felt a responsibility to the others in his community, as well as to Earth itself, and joined the committee in its infancy. His “I am my brother’s keeper” attitude saw him step into the role of chairman. Soon afterward, the group found a lawyer from the Canadian Environmental Law Association. Community members held public meetings and demonstrations. They signed petitions and wrote letters of opposition – more than 8,000 of them between 2005 and 2006. “Our own communities had to raise the money to fight this. That was a big obstacle,” adds Steve.
Winning the fight
A long-awaited victory for the three communities came in November 2006. The Ontario government rejected WMCC’s environmental assessment and its application for the expansion. After many years, community members had won their fight. They celebrated with a gathering at the Mohawk Community Centre that included speeches, hugs and a potluck supper.
Alone, members of the three small communities might have felt somewhat overwhelmed, pitted against one of the country’s largest landfill corporation. United together, and emboldened by their concern for the land and what might be at stake, they leaped into action to thwart the expansion.
The corporation will continue to dispose waste at the landfill site until the approved capacity has been reached, which could be several years from now. “We feel it should be closed now…closed properly,” says Margaret. She is optimistic that this will happen soon. Why? “We have our communities working on it,” she says, confidently.
The town of Greater Napanee and Tyendinaga Township are increasingly committed to environmental stewardship – and dealing with waste remains a major focus. Raymond Callery, Greater Napanee’s chief administrative officer, explains one of the most recent commitments to going green: “Council has created a waste committee [with] citizens and councillors working together to develop a long-term waste management plan. As part of this process, the committee will oversee the third waste audit completed over the past five to six years.”
P.E.I.: Canada’s green isle
At a glance
Major green efforts
• Recent construction and use of provincially owned wind farms.
• First place in North America to offer a guaranteed price for electricity from wind energy.
• About 18 per cent of electricity comes from renewable wind energy.
• Recycling and composting are mandated.
• Almost all residents have access to at least one recycling program.
• Multiple small-scale community green initiatives, such as the Enviro Church Conservation Project and increased organic farming.
Future goals/plans
• Become a major exporter of wind power by 2015.
• Develop an updated energy strategy, involving the public, that will include reducing dependence on imported petroleum products.
• Finish building Canada’s first wind-hydrogen village to demonstrate how wind energy and hydrogen technologies offer clean and sustainable energy.
Canada’s tiniest province is an island, and its total population is about 136,000 – smaller than many cities in this country. Call it a community? Absolutely. “People in small communities look out for each other, and you get a sense of that on the Island,” says Sandy Nicholson, who lives in Desable, P.E.I., and built a home with her husband “off the grid” in the middle of 50 acres of woodland.
As P.E.I.’s minister of environment, energy and forestry, George Webster, points out, “Because this is an island, our province is very susceptible to environmental challenges such as climate change.” Challenges, yes, but nothing the community can’t handle. Islanders are not only working to green-up their fair isle, they are leading the way for other provinces.
A green province
Take renewable energy, for example. P.E.I. is the only province in Canada without substantial sources of petroleum, hydro-electricity or nuclear energy, and at one time could not produce any of its own electricity. Now the licence plates on Islanders’ vehicles proudly display the claim “Canada’s Green Province” along with an image of a wind turbine. In 2004, after consultation with Maritime Electric, the province legally mandated that its electric utilities acquire 15 per cent of their power from renewable sources by 2010. And to support its initiative, P.E.I. became the first place in North America to offer a guaranteed price to anyone producing electricity from wind energy, including community wind farms, farmers or small business operators – even homeowners.
The aggressive push toward wind energy is a success. P.E.I. now produces approximately 18 per cent of its electricity from wind farms owned by the province and a private developer. And it’s still picking up momentum. The private developer is currently exporting wind energy to the U.S. Northeast, and it expects to develop significantly more in the next 10 years, which could make the province a major exporter in this field. In addition, a wind-hydrogen village is being built at North Cape to demonstrate how hydrogen is split from water using wind energy, then stored for use on windless days. “It’s tremendous,” says Darcy Flynn, a high school teacher who lives in the community of Emyvale. “The more we can do with regards to renewable energy, the better.”
Becoming energy efficient
Energy conservation is also a focus of many community initiatives. When Charlottetown resident David MacKay started up the Enviro Church Conservation Project, dozens of church communities across the Island jumped at the chance to have energy-saving renovations done on their buildings. Many of them were drafty, had high ceilings and were difficult to heat efficiently. David provided the churches with plans to reduce energy and water usage and waste, and the majority of church communities happily put them into action. The results? Up to a 25 per cent reduction in the use of heating oil and a subsequent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Elementary and high school students are also getting on board the green plan – literally. The City of Charlottetown launched its first ever local transit system in 2005 and through a “Go Green” program, the city partnered with school programs to encourage students to ride the bus to and from activities. Ridership climbed, and gas emissions fell. In addition, recycling is now mandatory in P.E.I. for many materials. In 2006, the province led the country in all forms of recycling with 99 per cent of residents saying they had access to, and were using, at least one recycling program. The province has also banned the disposal of organic materials in landfills or incinerators. Today nearly 100 per cent of Islanders say they compost their waste, and the amount of overall waste diverted from landfill sites is currently an outstanding 64 per cent. “As an Islander, I feel proud that we’re the only province recycling pretty much almost all household wastes province-wide,” Darcy enthuses.
Dealing with pesticides
Pesticide use continues to be controversial on the island because its economy is so dependent on specialized agriculture. Sandy and her husband considered this when deciding where to build their home eight years ago. “We initially thought that we would buy five to 10 acres, but the more we looked around, the more we wanted to have a bigger buffer zone away from potato fields to protect our family.” She wishes P.E.I. would become an organic province.
Raymond Loo, born and bred on a 250-acre farm near Breadalbane, is doing his best to make that happen. He remembers his father beginning to farm organically about
15 years ago. Raymond has carried on the tradition, and his two sisters also own certified organic farms. “Organic farmers do not use ammonium or synthetic nitrates. It benefits the community because we’re not adding them to our water,” he explains. (Nitrates are chemicals found naturally in some vegetables and oil, as well as in manure and chemical fertilizers.)
Raymond is working hard to inspire others to join him in reducing their use of pesticides. He boasts that there are now 40 organic farmers on P.E.I. Raymond is yet another community member proving that the island truly has a green spirit. Perhaps Laine Brehaut, a 22-year resident of the island, explains it best: “We are all so close to each other here. We really are connected, and we really are able to make a difference.”
Source: http://www.canadianliving.com/life/green_living/canadas_greenest_communities.php
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