For a country phasing out its nuclear plants, you might expect a downturn in energy production. But Germany has actually seen its power output quadruple between 2011 and 2012. Europe’s leading economy has been pushing for a green revolution, becoming one of the largest markets for solar voltaics and where support for renewables is subsidized by taxpayers. The country’s Federal Statistics Office reported a surplus of 22.8 billion kilowatt hours over the last two years. The government has set a goal to source 80 percent of its electricity from green technology by 2050, leaving the old fossil fuel-based utilities behind. Holland, Austria and Switzerland were the country’s main customers for the extra energy.

While 46 percent of Germany’s power still comes from coal, renewable sources have steadily been chipping away at the dominance of fossil fuels. In 2012, nearly 22 percent of the country’s electricity came from renewables, many of which were privately-owned. According to Reuters, individuals claimed 40 percent of the renewable market, a trend that is beginning to affect the share of the country’s main utility companies. Of the 71 gigawatts of renewables installed last year, the four largest utilities owned only 7 percent.

Despite the erosion of the traditional utilities model in Germany, the country’s energy surplus is evidence that a push towards clean energy can still produce enough electricity to not only power the nation but to export to other countries. Government subsidies have continued to make renewable technologies cheaper, allowing them to work their way towards achieving critical mass and driving down retail prices for individuals hoping to install their own systems. Although Germany still imported electricity from France, Denmark and the Czech Republic last year, the country still continues to break records in solar installation on the continent and set an example for those looking to green their infrastructure.

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Related links:

Fact: Green energy is good for Ontario
http://www.pembina.org/blog/578

German energy surplus quadruples despite renewable push
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/9967564/German-energy-surplus-quadruples-despite-renewable-push.html

Analysis: Renewables turn utilities into dinosaurs of the energy world
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/08/us-utilities-threat-idUSBRE92709E20130308

By 2011, Taiwan was properly disposing of 80% of its industrial waste and 90% of its medical wastes, according to a recent report by Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration, the country's rate of properly-treated municipal solid waste has reached 99.99%, with recycling at over 40%, and enterprise waste recycling as high as 84%. But Taiwan is determined its sustainable materials management systems can do better.

Achieving zero-waste is a common goal shared by municipalities across continents. For Taiwan, an island nation of 23.2 million people, leveraging sustainable materials management (SMM) systems is seen as the way to achieving this goal.

According to a July report issued by Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), the country's rate of properly-treated municipal solid waste (MSW) has reached 99.99%, MSW recyclingis over 40%, and enterprise waste recycling is at 84%. Latest figures show nearly 3 million tonnes of recycled materials across 33 regulated categories nationwide, an increase of nearly 34,200 tonnes from the previous year.

Taiwan is determined its SMM systems can do better. By 2013, the restructuring and consolidation of 118 agencies and their associated databases will be completed, and the EPA will be renamed the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. Its export-driven high-tech economy is dominated by resource-hungry industries, including semiconductors and integrated circuits, optoelectronics/photovoltaics, communications technology, consumer packaged goods (CPG), plastics, and textiles. Using 220.8 million MWh of electricity annually, exporting $325.1 billion worth of products, Taiwan has a $466.8 billion GDP (18th in the world) and the world's fourth largest foreign reserves. It imports over 98% of its energy and raw materials.

The EPA sees SMM as the next phase of Taiwan's integrated waste management evolution, and has adopted the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) definition. In late 2005, the OECD stated, "Sustainable Materials Management is an approach to promote sustainable materials use, integrating actions targeted at reducing negative environmental impacts and preserving natural capital throughout the life-cycle of materials, taking into account economic efficiency and social equity." The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) uses the term "Sustainable Resources Management".

Government programs
Central to SMM (SRM) is control; without it, resource-efficient economic growth would be impossible. The national EPA and its local EPAs work with municipal administrators, industry, academia, NGOs, and other stakeholders on systems to control how resources are used and recycled into new products or incinerated.
The EPA was founded just 25 years ago, in August 1987. By 1990, the 179 new landfills that had been built the previous six years were already rapidly nearing capacity, filled mainly by enterprise waste which greatly exceeds MSW.

The administration needed more mechanisms to bring the breakneck pace of economic growth closer into balance with social and environmental needs. By 1989 the EPA and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) had created the Joint Waste Reduction Task Force. Programs were implemented targeting industries' waste minimisation, resource reduction, recycling, and reuse. Large corporations were required to pass through IWM requirements to their satellite locations. Multiple programs were implemented by the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the MOEA, the agency responsible for industrial development programs throughout Taiwan, to ensure stakeholders understood the requirements.

Since extended producer responsibilities and sustainable materials management concepts in general were novel to most enterprises in 1990, the IDB encouraged adoption by employing public awareness promotions, awards programs, sector-specific educational training courses, and technical assistance. By the end of 1995, the joint task force had established the National Center for Cleaner Production, to provide deeper life-cycle analysis of CPGs, benchmarking comparisons of selected manufacturing processes to find greater SMM efficiencies. MOEA also co-sponsored nearly 80 R&D industrial waste reduction projects.Financial incentives were also used to help industries engage in SMM at a faster rate.

As a result, within seven years solid waste was reduced by 26,653 tonnes/year, CO2 reduced 58,186 tonnes/year, wastewater reduced 1.3 million tonnes/year, and electricity conserved at 487,000 MWh/year. Today, 14 categories of 33 items (13 types of containers and 20 types of commodities) are "regulated recyclable waste".

The 4-in-1 Recycling System
How has Taiwan been able to achieve these benchmarks since the EPA's founding 25 years ago? The head of the EPA, Minister Stephen Shu-Hung Shen explains: "[The] political will of the people is very strong. NGOs are very strong, and model good environmental stewardship action to the general public."

According to the minister working with NGOs to build consensus is important to changing behaviour, and if people understand the importance of coming to a consensus and adjusting their daily behaviour to protect the environment and the economy, then change will occur. To achieve SMM policy goals, and build buy-in and consensus, the EPA developed a unique, all stakeholder-inclusive, comprehensive mechanism, the '4-in-1 Resource Recycling System'. The first of the four steps saw community-based NGOs organised to promote the source separation of waste.

The second step involved the development of a private recycling industry and the purchasing of recyclables from communities and Municipal Garbage Collection Teams encouraged
The third step saw Municipal Garbage Collection Teams separate and collect MSW and recyclables, and provide a preset portion of the proceeds from the sale of resources to participating organisations and workers.

In the final of the four steps a Recycling Management Fund was established and to efficiently regulate recycling activities, the EPA established the Recycling Fund Management Board (RFMB) in 1998. The EPA sets fees which not only manufacturers, but also importers, must pay into the Recycling Management Fund, which supports program costs (including actual collection and recycling work, subsidies for education, auditing, and certifications).

In past years, the Fund has managed an average "collection, disposal and treatment fee" (CDTF) of $208.5 million/year.

Law Enforcement
When the EPA evolves into the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MENR), the Waste Disposal Act and the Resource Recycling Act will likely be combined as the ministry leverages its new formidable database.

Since 2000, specific industries have been required to use the EPA's user-friendly online waste tracking and reporting system, the Industrial Waste Control Report System (IWCRS), to report waste within 24 of it being shipped, received, or completely treated. The Waste Disposal Act stipulates that all garbage trucks must pass specifications and maintenance tests, and have permits for transportation and disposal, as well as GPS tracking systems, transmitting the truck's location every 30 seconds to the IWCRS. As of 2011, 5872 trucks had passed the test out of an estimated 7000 in operation nationwide. Industrial hazardous and toxic waste trucks are closely monitored, and employ barcode scanners to check manifests and compare data between generators and transporters' disposal routes. If a truck leaves its route, or enters a water source protection area, alarm systems will automatically dispatch inspectors, who have PDAs connected to the system, for immediate on-site investigations. In 2010, 432 suspected violations were discovered, and 58 citations were issued. The IWCRS is the most visited website of all Taiwanese government websites – approximately half a million businesses, nearly all major industrial waste generators, use the reporting system.

On Dec. 30, 2011, the EPA brought its Illegal Dumping Management System online to create a database of dump sites around using GPS satellites to discover unreported sites. Database auditing and mining assist inspectors in discovering violations, which trigger on-site inspections of waste generators. Stiff fines and penalties are stipulated for corporations and individuals who violate the law, including up to NT$15 million ($500,000) in fines and three years to life imprisonment . The EPA mandates over 10,000 on-site inspections annually, but acknowledges that more inspectors are needed, and has implemented an education, training, and certification system to address any possible false reporting.

SMM Results
As a result of enforcement policies, significant improvements continue to be documented. Between the 2004 implementation of the waste separation policy and 2011, MSW collected dropped 38.4%, recyclables increased 96.6%, and most impressively, kitchen waste collected increased 171.1%. The rate of recyclable materials collected has been calculated by the the EPA to be at 40.4% in 2011 and 10.74% for kitchen waste.

To build on this, by September new regulations for registering, managing and CCTV monitoring of resource recycling will go into effect to improve the 10,000 formal and informal recycling centres around the nation.
In 2010, about 16.8 million tonnes of general industrial waste was reported by industries (generators), haulers (transporters), and treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs).

The Waste Disposal Act requires 25,861 generators, 4963 transporters, and 865 TSDFs to make online reports on the IWCRS, although over 466,000 firms now use the system. These generators represent 22% of the total generators on the island, and generate 80% of the waste annually. The remaining 20% of waste are generated by small-quantity generators. As of 2011, 80% of industrial waste and 90% of medical wastes have been properly disposed.

Benefits of Technology
The EPA's system provides savings and efficiencies to generators, by allowing generators to self-audit, even enabling parent companies control over reported data of its subsidiaries. Reporting functions are robust, including statistical analysis of temporary storage, permitted quantities, disposal quantity trends, GPS tracking inquiries, as well as automated alert systems.

The IWCRS also permits waste disposal facilities to track quantities as well as condition of post-treatment materials for possible reuse. All waste is accounted for and properly treated. The system audits waste manifests against permits for disposal, treatment, and recycling. Illegal dumping is now nearly under control, with a shrinking number of cases being pursued by the EPA. "We have removed the illegal economic advantages of the violators," states Shen.

The Promise of Zero-Waste
The effectiveness of SMM has resulted in 84% of industrial wastes being recycled, and the remaining 16% treated by the waste generators themselves, or through contracted professional services. Proper treatment of hazardous wastes is now at 60%, and the EPA and MOEA are evaluating ways to improve this rate. In March, the EPA announced a new NT$20 million ($674,000) fund to award grants for R&D into recycling methods and carbon footprint calculations for recycling methods for waste bio-plastics, e-waste, and each category of spent battery - all products posing particular challenges to the recycling system.

It was only in 1984 that Taiwan first began construction of sanitary landfills, and not until 1991 were the first incinerators built. Today, 21 government-owned and three privately-owned waste to energy incinerators treat approximately 20,000 tonnes of MSW daily, generating 8000 MWh/day of electricity. All 150 incinerators in Taiwan are gradually being transformed into regional biomass energy centres. The remaining landfills are being shut down after reaching capacity, and future byproducts of incinerators will be used for land reclamation.

Taiwan's SMM policies have transformed from earlier 'end-of-pipe treatment' to the current 'zero-waste' mechanisms, and rates continue to improve by strategically progressing through step-by-step measures for 'source reduction' and 'resource recycling and reuse'. However, Taiwan's achievements in waste recycling are resulting in over-supply of incineration capacity, and private operators which won contracts based on low bids are seeking other feedstock to replace high-calorific waste like plastic and tyres that are being recycled out of the waste stream.

The treatment of hazardous wastes (HW) needs to improve as well; the latest numbers from the EPA indicate that in 2010, the top three types by volume are: electric arc smelting furnace ash, copper sludge, and waste solution. The EPA is evaluating what can be done to retrofit current mass burn incinerators for better combined heat and power (CHP) energy returns, as contract terms near their end.

The recovery of additional challenging materials, such as copper, from the waste stream is another area the EPA and MOEA are evaluating. According to EPA officials, the former models of Build-Operate-Transfer or Build-Operate-Own are also under evaluation.

Conclusions
A combination of the Waste Disposal Act, the Resource Recycling Act, strategic policy mechanisms, and leveraging technology to give enforcement teeth, has already yielded significant positive results in Taiwan. The present and near term sustainable materials management landscape includes a new generation waste to energy systems to replace aging mass burn incinerators operating well below capacity, mining landfills for recyclables, and projects to determine how to capitalise on recovered materials such as copper.

As Taiwan's extensive stakeholder consensus-building programs take root in the remainder of its society and recycling rates continue, policy-makers are seeking greater efficiencies in the next generation of technology.

The reclamation of hundreds of dump and landfill sites will continue to be a priority, as will upgrading waste to energy facilities, collection trucks, and recycling systems. Multinationals, particularly in consumer packaged goods and electronics, have already experienced benefits resulting from Taiwan's SMM policies. This trend is projected to continue across other industries.

Angelina Jao is a Masters Candidate at Harvard University
http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/print/volume-13/issue-5/wmw-special-recycling-focus/smmart-waste-management-pays-off-in-taiwan.html

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Related Article:

Taking Recycling Lessons from Super Singapore
http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/print/volume-11/issue-5/features/taking-recycling-lessons-from-super-singapore.html

How No-Flush Toilets Can Help Make a Healthier World

Inadequate sewage systems and the lack of toilets in much of the developing world have created a major public health and environmental crisis. Now various innovators are promoting new kinds of toilets and technologies that use little or no water and recycle the waste.

My apartment in Kathmandu, where I lived for five years, had a toilet that looked very much like the one in my house in California. Nicer even; it was pastel porcelain and had dual flush.

But although flush toilets in Nepal and the rest of South Asia may work quite well, sewer systems have not kept pace. My toilet and all the others in my Kathmandu neighborhood were connected to pipes that carried the contents of toilets away from our residences and straight into a small river a half-mile away. Stray dogs lapped the water and children played nearby.

The rivers of the Indian subcontinent flow clean and clear from the Himalaya, then become little more than sewers as they run through major cities in the plains. New Delhi’s Yamuna River receives roughly half of the largely untreated sewage of a metropolis of 17 million. The Ganges, the holiest of Hindu rivers, is fouled by raw sewage from tens of millions of people as it flows 1,500 miles from the western Himalaya to the Bay of Bengal.

A movement is gaining momentum to do something about this major environmental and public health problem in South Asia and the developing world. The solution, many experts say, is not to invest in western-style flush toilets and centralized sewage systems but rather to develop toilets and decentralized waste-treatment technologies that use far less water. The latest development in this field is the decision by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to invest $40 million in prize money and financial support to groups working on new toilet technology.

The goal of the Gates Foundation and other international and South Asian initiatives is to construct prototypes of inexpensive toilets that use little or no water and minimal energy. The new toilets must convert human waste into useful (or at least benign) components without using septic systems. Most important, they must protect water sources — rivers, streams, and groundwater — from the water-borne diseases so endemic in the developing world.

Full Article:
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/how_no-flush_toilets_can_help_make_a_healthier_world/2581/

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Effluent Sewers Sustainably Accommodate Growing Communities

Many rural communities that formerly relied on septic systems have outgrown that
technology. Some communities are experiencing widespread failure of aging systems.
Other communities are growing, but their soil conditions won’t accommodate additional
septic systems. Larger communities want to grow, but their existing sewer systems can’t
accommodate new connections. In all these cases, neither conventional septic systems
nor gravity sewer systems are feasible.

Effluent sewers are a proven and sustainable solution for decentralized and rural
wastewater collection across Canada, and in many other countries. Not only can effluent
sewers serve rural areas, but they are also a cost-effective way to serve fringe
development just outside towns that don’t want to expand their conventional sewer
system.

Victoria, Prince Edward Island: A Flexible System
Victoria is a small but popular tourist community with a peak season between June and
September. Victoria’s wastewater system, designed by Engineering Technologies Canada
(Stratford, PE), in cooperation with Harland Associates 02 Inc., consists of about 48
STEG systems. Effluent from these flows to a lift station that pumps it to the treatment
plant at a high point on the edge of town away from the tourist area. The effluent sewer
system also incorporates five residential STEP systems and two commercial STEP
systems. Campbell’s Concrete Ltd of Charlottetown, PE manufactured the interceptor
tanks, and Atlantic Purification Systems of Dartmouth, NS supplied the effluent sewer
and treatment equipment.

The treatment system consists of ten AdvanTex AX100 pods, with room to add an
additional five units if the community grows. The modular system accommodates the
large seasonal variation in flows. During the winter months, flows average 22,700 Lpd,
and only one-third of the treatment system is used. During the summer, flows rise to
49,200 Lpd, and the entire modular system is utilized.

After secondary treatment in the AdvanTex pods, the effluent is dispersed to the ground.
The system has two drainfields: a pressure dose sand bed and a drip irrigation system.
The pressure dose bed works all year round; the drip system comes online automatically
in mid-June and goes offline September 22. During these months, both drainfields are in
operation.

An extension to the existing effluent sewer is planned for further development expected
to occur on the edge of Victoria in the future.

Habitat Acres, Alberta: A Sustainable System
Sten Berg, a farmer, livestock producer, and consultant, wanted to create a sustainable
housing development on 27.5 hectares of his land near Sherwood Park, Alberta. Habitat
Acres, a 29-home planned community, is the result. It includes an 18.2-hectare nature
reserve, two waterfowl nesting areas, and the first self-contained effluent sewage
treatment system ever approved in Alberta.

To maximize open space and preserve wetlands, Berg wanted to reduce lot sizes from the
usual 0.8-hectare minimum, so conventional septic systems were out of the question. An
Orenco effluent sewer with AdvanTex treatment solved the problem. Onsite Specialties
Inc. of Sherwood Park, Alberta supplied the collection and treatment system.

Each of the 29 lots has a 4500-L concrete interceptor tank, supplied by Alberta Wilbert
Sales - Edmonton. Effluent is pumped to three AdvanTex AX100 pods. After treatment,
the effluent is discharged to a drip irrigation system.

The project at Habitat Acres was a finalist in the 2010 Emerald Awards, presented by the
Alberta Emerald Foundation. These awards ‘celebrate the outstanding achievements by
Albertans committed to protecting, preserving, and sustaining our environment.’

Many areas in Alberta have embraced effluent sewers for providing infrastructure for
new developments on the fringes of existing cities. Alberta Wilbert Sales Ltd has more
than 1500 interceptor tanks installed in areas including Grand Prairie and the County of
Strathcona.

Effluent sewers can be ideal solutions for villages and small cities, but there is no limit to
the number of lots connected to the collection network. Many larger cities have
incorporated this technology into their overall sewer management system, where the effluent sewer serves thousands of homes and commercial lots. This allows the city
engineers to choose the best option to serve the various areas in the city, without being
limited to only gravity sewer.

Other Benefits of Effluent Sewer Systems
• In most systems that are built to serve new developments, the cost of the on-lot
equipment is included in the homeowner’s mortgage, so upfront investment by the
community or developer is minimal.
• The small-diameter collection lines can be installed in shallow, narrow trenches,
or directional drilled, minimizing disruption in the community. Lines follow the
contour of the land, avoiding difficult and expensive deep trenching.
• Service can begin as soon as the first household in a new development is
connected. No minimum velocity is required for the effluent sewer network as
solids are excluded, simplifying design, installation, and operation.
• Effluent sewer systems are watertight, eliminating infiltration and inflow common
to gravity sewers, and reducing the hydraulic loading on the treatment plant.
• Sludge management is greatly reduced through natural, passive anaerobic
digestion in the interceptor tanks, simplifying treatment plant design and
minimizing life-cycle costs.
• Since primary treatment occurs at each home or business, abuse of the system,
such as disposal of chemicals, generally affects only the household responsible.
• Risks are minimized and distributed as malfunctions generally affect only one
household at a time. In the event of a malfunction or natural disaster, the septic
tank provides reserve holding capacity.
• Properly maintained effluent sewer systems require fewer personnel and less
heavy equipment to service than other sewer systems do.

Together, effluent sewers and media filter advanced treatment form a sustainable and
robust system that uses minimal energy, safeguards groundwater and the environment,
and imposes costs fairly on the users. Communities of all sizes across Canada can benefit
from this proven technology.

Geoff Salthouse is International Project Engineer at Orenco Systems, Inc., Sutherlin,
Full Article:
http://wilbert.ca/siteimages/Orenco%20Effluent%20Sewers%20serve%20Canadian%20communities_final.pdf

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Related Article:

Effluent-Only Sewers Offer Alternative to Traditional Systems
http://www.waterworld.com/articles/print/volume-28/issue-8/editorial-features/effluent-only-sewers-offer-alternative-to-traditional-systems.html

Psst, tough guy — time to hit the mat. Really. Yoga for men is in the big leagues now.

Don’t believe it? Just ask former Blue Jay slugger Joe Carter, who is starring in a DVD with Trish Stratus, pro wrestler-turned-yoga instructor, and has been doing yoga for years.

Called Stratusphere Yoga for Men, the 25-minute workout incorporates moves you wouldn’t expect in a traditional class, including lunges, squats and push-ups.

“I used to shy away from yoga because I thought it was for sissies,” says the 52-year-old-old Carter. “I was wrong — it’s a great workout that every man needs to do on a regular basis.”

It doesn’t hurt that major sports teams, including the Maple Leafs and the Argonauts, use yoga in their training. “Guys are clueing in,” Stratus says. “Athletes are discovering that it helps their injuries and even extends their careers.”

Men are a growing market for yoga, says Michael DeCorte, who teaches Jockyoga. comJock YogaEND and says his classes are about 40 per cent men.

“This is a generalization, but when the average male hears the word yoga, they think of spiritualism and things like that,” he says. “But if you want a good workout, I’ll give you one — no chanting, no incense, and you’ll be doing a lot more than touching your toes.”

He says far from lying on a mat, a lot of repetition and stretches work the major muscles.
Stratus, who was a seven-time World Wrestling Entertainment champion, befriended Carter a few years back at a charity golf tournament.

He talked to her about his injuries from playing pro ball for decades, saying he’d give anything to get rid of the pain. Stratus gave him the beginnings of a routine that quickly made him one of the converted.
“I wish I had this workout 20 years ago,” says Carter. “I probably could have won another championship.”

But Stratus says the truth of the matter is that like most men, the baseball legend wouldn’t have even considered yoga two decades ago.

And although she says men have grown from 10 per cent of her classes to 40 per cent, she admits many men are still hesitant.

Her first classes directed to men was called Yoga for Guys Who Like Fries in an attempt to break down the “new age, touchy, feely” image of the discipline.

“Guys still think they’ll look stupid,” she says. “Some think they have to be the best and when they see this 30-something woman who’s way more flexible than them, they don’t like it.”

http://www.thestar.com/living/health/article/1283004--joe-carter-s-yoga-routine

An American family doctor in the 1940s effectively cured life-threatening viral infections, including polio, with high doses of Vitamin C.

Dr. Frederick R. Klenner saved many patients from life-threatening viral infections and from the bite of a rattlesnake. Why Dr. Klenner was never given the Nobel Prize in medicine is hard to understand.
He was a family doctor in North Carolina. Unfortunately, he wasn’t my doctor when I was in my final year at Harvard Medical School. I awakened one morning with the worst headache I’d ever experienced. Later that day, I couldn’t move my legs. The diagnosis was poliomyelitis.

World-esteemed professors were close and available to treat me. All they could do was watch the paralysis increase.

What Klenner would have prescribed will shock you. In 1949, he reported momentous news to a meeting of the American Medical Association.

During an epidemic of polio the year before, he had cured 60 out of 60 patients suffering from this disease by using massive amounts of vitamin C, in some cases 300,000 milligrams of C daily. None of these patients were left with paralysis. Today, the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C is a mere 90 milligrams.

How a large group of American doctors could ignore this outstanding achievement boggles the mind. More unbelievable is that decades later, his achievement is still collecting dust. And this was only one of Klenner’s findings.

In “The Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C,” Dr. Lendon Smith details the experiences of Dr. Klenner. He reports that Dr. Klenner had cured case after case of viral disease by huge doses of C.
For instance, 60 years ago, a 7-year-old boy had been ill for six weeks due to recurring attacks of influenza. He had been treated with sulfa, penicillin, and small amounts of vitamin C, but suddenly he slipped into coma.

Dr. Klenner quickly gave him an intravenous injection of 6,000 milligrams of vitamin C. Five minutes later, he was awake. The boy received further injections and fully recovered in 24 hours. The patient was Dr. Klenner’s son.

Klenner also reported in the journal Southern Medicine and Surgery that injections of vitamin C had cured 42 cases of viral pneumonia. Later in the same journal, he reported that vitamin C could cure measles and chicken pox in 24 hours.

He also proved that patients suffering from acute and chronic hepatitis could have liver function tests return to normal after seven days of being treated with intravenous vitamin C. And for the bite of a rattlesnake, 60,000 milligrams of C could save a life.

This lack of recognition of new ideas is not new. Semmelweiss was ridiculed when he told doctors in Vienna that simply washing hands would save pregnant women from dying of puerperal sepsis. Closed minds have caused countless deaths.

Fortunately, I was left with minimal loss of muscle function after months of therapy. I had no idea at that time that years later Drs. Linus Pauling and Sydney Bush would show that high doses of vitamin C and lysine could also prevent heart attack.

I won’t forget Dr. Klenner’s advice if I develop full-blown influenza or happen to step on a rattlesnake.

Dr. Gifford-Jones is a medical journalist with a private medical practice in Toronto.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/health/what-will-i-do-if-i-get-influenza-or-a-rattlesnake-bite-318111.html

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Related Article:

Vitamin C mega-dosing continues to unleash healing miracles around the world
http://www.naturalnews.com/034591_vitamin_C_mega-dose_healing.html

Nuclear planners are not considering the possibility of a Fukushima-scale accident at Ontario’s Darlington nuclear station, critics told a regulatory hearing Monday.

The comments came as the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission opened hearings about the mid-life overhaul of the Darlington station, which provides 20 per cent of the province’s power.

“We would like to see them plan for an accident as severe as happened at Fukushima or Chernobyl,” said Theresa McCleneghan of the Canadian Environmental Law Association. “We’re not satisfied there’s been any serious attention paid to the capability to respond to such an accident.”

McCleneghan noted that if Ontario Power Generation gets approval for the overhaul, the plant will continue operating until 2055. OPG shouldn’t be allowed to proceed until more extensive emergency measures are in place, she said.

The plant began operating 20 years ago. The cost of the overhaul has been estimated at between $6 billion and $10 billion; a firm figure won’t be determined until next year.

The worst-case accident examined by Ontario Power Generation in its application for the overhaul would involve a release of radiation travelling about three kilometres from the plant.

That extends just about to the edge of the Darlington property and wouldn’t force evacuation of people living near the plant.

But even Emergency Measures Ontario wrote to the safety commission in August asking for an analysis of a more serious accident, one that would spread radiation up to 10 kilometres, forcing a significant evacuation. Its request was turned down.

OPG’s deputy chief nuclear officer Pierre Tremblay said the smaller-scale accident scenario is the right one.

“We’re dealing with what is a credible incident,” he said.

OPG officials said that following last year’s Fukushima disaster resulting from the March 11 tsunami, the Ontario company put more stringent emergency measures into effect.

Those assurances didn’t mollify Shawn-Patrick Stensil of Greenpeace.

“What the environmental assessment has done is it only looked at small radioactive releases,” he said. “Post-Fukushima, we need to be reviewing our emergency plans to make sure Canadians are protected.”

OPG’s DietmarReiner said the company has consulted extensively with residents around Darlington about plans for the reactor overhaul and future operations.

“We are confident in saying there is a high degree of community support for the project,” Reiner told the hearing.

Darlington Mayor Adrian Foster praised OPG as a “positive presence” in the community with a “superb” safety record.

Not everyone was reassured.

The Sierra Club of Canada told the commission that the possibility of a release of radioactivity across the border into the U.S. has been considered in the current process. Such a release would violate the Canada-U.S. Air Quality Agreement, said its Ontario chairman, Christine Elwell.

OPG’s environmental study only extends one kilometre into Lake Ontario, she said.

“To say there is no transboundary impacts when the homework hasn’t been done is sadly inadequate.”

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1297030--proposed-darlington-overhaul-fails-to-plan-for-chernobyl-scale-disaster-critics-charge

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Related Article:

Nuclear is Not Cheaper
http://www.windsorstar.com/opinion/Nuclear+cheaper/7550998/story.html

數百日本人在全國選舉前舉行反核抗議
http://chinanews.epochtimes.com/n/video/201212/1517199.html

Across the GTA and throughout Ontario, thousands of people are hoping the provincial government will follow a new recommendation from the renowned Canadian Index of Well-being (CAcross the GTA throughout Ontario, thousands of people are hoping the provincial government will follow a new recommendation from the renowned Canadian Index of Well-being (CIW) and create a comprehensive network of community health centres (CHCs) across the province.

For years, dozens of communities, like mine in Markham Richmond Hill, have been advocating for access to the services and programs delivered by CHCs. Right now, there are just 73 CHCs scattered throughout the province and they deliver what so many fast-growing regions like Markham and Richmond Hill desperately need: a complete circle of support around the individuals, families and entire communities.

In its second annual report released last Tuesday, the CIW predicted that if a comprehensive network of CHCs was created across the country, the result would be “a better start for children, fewer avoidable hospital visits, better prevention and management of mental illnesses and complex chronic diseases, and improved opportunities for seniors to age at home.”

If you haven’t heard of CHCs, it’s not surprising. They serve just 4 per cent of the population. Bill Davis’s Progressive Conservative government first set them up as pilot projects in the 1980s. Salaried physicians work hand-in-hand with many other types of health providers. The mix of the interprofessional teams depends on whatever are the most urgent needs of the community. They deliver a wide array of health promotion and illness prevention services: services that support children and youth to get the best possible start in life, prevent chronic diseases, and assist seniors to age at home. Outreach workers also organize dozens of community-wide initiatives that get at the root causes of illness — causes like poverty, lack of education and social isolation. According to the CIW, this is “the most effective, efficient, and arguably the most affordable means of delivering primary health care.”

Health Minister Deb Matthews constantly praises CHCs. At a conference I recently attended, she said they “capture the very best of the health system.” So all the many communities that have submitted requests to the province for access to CHCs are wondering why there has been no response. One part of the province that is especially in need of access to CHCs is the fast growing 905 belt surrounding Toronto. In this area 635,000 people live in poverty, are newcomers to Canada or are seniors over the age of 75. Their health is at much higher risk than others, yet only 15,000 of them have access to CHCs.

With rising rates of chronic disease and depression, especially in newcomer communities, we desperately need access to the CHC comprehensive approach. When I visit the Vaughan CHC, nearly 30 kilometres away, I see first-hand what the benefits would be if our calls for a CHC in Markham Richmond Hill were answered. Health teams are proactively connecting services to those whose health is most at risk. The centre offers more than 25 programs to address the social determinants of health. There are services to counter rising rates of diabetes, academic tutoring and financial literacy programs for youth, counselling for new Canadians dealing with the stresses of settling in to a new country, and programs to support seniors aging at home so they can stay of out of long-term care facilities.

What’s more, Vaughan CHC, as well as 72 others through the province, deliver high value for money invested. Recent research from the Élisabeth Bruyère Institute shows that compared with other primary-care models, CHCs deliver superior chronic disease prevention and management. And a study from Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences released this past March demonstrated that even though CHCs serve people with more complex needs they do a better job than other models like family health teams keeping people out of emergency departments. In these days of fiscal restraint, the provincial government and the LHINs should take this finding very seriously.

Meanwhile community groups advocating for access to CHCs will continue their efforts. As CIW co-chairs Roy Romanow and Monique Bégin reminded us when they released their report, “the choices we make as a society will determine whether we face a distressed future or a better quality of life.” For a better quality of life, I say let’s choose a comprehensive network of community health centres.

Dr. Naila Butt is the executive director of the Social Services Network, a non-profit charitable organization delivering culturally and linguistically appropriate programs and services to the diverse South Asian community in the York Region.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1278402--ontario-needs-a-comprehensive-network-of-community-health-centres?

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The French government has launched an inquiry into the safety of genetically modified crops after a study suggested GM maize could cause cancer in rats.

The study examined 180 rats fed different amounts of a strain of weedkiller-resistant GM corn; water containing Roundup, the world's bestselling weedkiller; and a combination of the two.

After two years, a normal lifespan for rats, between 50 and 80 per cent of all the female rats fed the corn or weedkiller developed at least one large tumour, compared with 30 per cent from a small control group.

Male rats in the treated groups were more likely to develop serious kidney and liver damage.

Dr Michael Antoniou, of King's College London, who contributed to the project, said: "This is the most thorough research ever published into the health effects of GM food crops and the herbicide Roundup on rats. It shows an extraordinary number of tumours developing earlier and more aggressively – particularly in female animals."

Because rats are routinely used to estimate potential toxic effects on humans, the results are "as good an indicator as we can expect that the consumption of GM maize and the herbicide Roundup impacts seriously on human health", he claimed.

But leading British and international researchers criticised the research paper, claiming the researchers had used a breed of rat which is naturally susceptible to cancer, and that the control group was too small to draw any conclusions.

Anthony Trewavas, professor of cell biology at Edinburgh University, said: “Until you know the degree of variation in 90 or 180 control rodents these results are of no value. That is what should have been done and no doubt reflects the predetermined bias of the experimenters and the funding groups."

Prof Tom Sanders, head of nutritional sciences research at King’s College London, claimed the authors' analysis of their data was "unconventional", adding: "It would appear the authors have gone on a statistical fishing trip.”

At a press conference in London, British researchers said the GM corn, developed by Monsanto, and the weedkiller should be taken off the market if the findings are confirmed by additional studies.

Speaking after the publication of the paper in the Food and Chemical Toxicology journal yesterday, French ministers asked their National Agency for Health Safety (ANSES) to investigate the finding.

"Depending on ANSES's opinion, the government will urge the European authorities to take all necessary measures to protect human and animal health," including emergency suspension of imports into the EU, they said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9553423/GM-crop-enquiry-launched-by-French-government.html

ROSEVILLE, ONT.—Under fire in rural Ontario for putting horse farms in jeopardy, Premier Dalton McGuinty braved mud at a rain-soaked International Plowing Match to promise legislation aimed at boosting sales of Ontario-grown food.

Still on the drawing board, the bill would “get your products into more places,” McGuinty told dozens of farmers crowded into a tent as the skies opened on the site just west of Kitchener.

The NDP brought forward a local food bill two years ago aimed at boosting purchases of Ontario meats and produce by government ministries for their operations.

“Hopefully we’re actually setting a real example here and not just playing up to the crowd,” New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath told reporters.

If every Ontario family shifted $10 of their weekly grocery budget to food grown in the province, it would boost home-grown agri-business culture by $2.4 billion a year and create 10,000 new jobs, the minority Liberal government claimed.

“We’d like to see it driven more and more by Ontario families,” said McGuinty, noting he’ll consult with opposition parties and the industry in developing a bill that will set targets for food production, processing and sales.

One goal is to “sit down” with major grocery chains who often sell U.S. and other foreign produce even though local equivalents are available, such as peaches and nectarines now crowding farmers’ markets, McGuinty added.

His remarks came after organizers of the 99th annual plowing match — a major exhibition for rural Ontario in a tent city sprawling across prime farmland — cancelled the parade because muddy roadways made it too dangerous.

The sloppy conditions made for some interesting vignettes, such as the Green Party tractor hauling a busload of Liberal MPPs out of a gooey rut and three cabinet ministers, Chris Bentley, Kathleen Wynne and Deb Matthews, pushing Progressive Conservative MPP Christine Elliott’s new Chevy Cruze out of the ooze.

“That’s how minority government can work,” a grateful Elliott (Whitby–Oshawa) quipped later.

Conservative Leader Tim Hudak said he was happy to hear of McGuinty’s local food bill after the government hit rural Ontario hard by scrapping a program that shared $345 million annually in proceeds from slot machines with horse racing tracks and breeders.

“I worry the current government has forgotten about rural Ontario,” Hudak added, saying his party has been pushing local food efforts for years.

“If the premier’s finally come around, great.”

McGuinty acknowledged scrapping the revenue-sharing program to fight the $14.8-billion deficit has been “difficult” for the horse-racing industry and pointed to a panel of former cabinet ministers from all three parties who are working on a transition plan.

“We’re committed to listening and we’re committed to getting this right...we all want a strong and sustainable horse-racing industry,” said the premier, whose government lost several rural seats in last October’s election, in part due to voter anger about wind turbines.

McGuinty has paid a political price for not listening to rural concerns, particularly on the horse racing issue, said Horwath.

“This is something the government did without prior consultation.”

McGuinty again signalled the next target in his war on the deficit with public sector wage freezes, now that teachers have been dealt with, will be bureaucrats in the civil service.

“We’ll be moving forward with an initiative in the not-too-distant future that will address broader public sector compensation issues,” he told reporters.

“It’s something that we need to do.”

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1258576--dalton-mcguinty-promises-bill-to-promote-local-food

Project Manager: Laura Martin, OERD, NRCAN – Ottawa
Lead Proponent: Fraser Richmond Soil & Fibre, Ltd.
CEF Contribution: $ 4 M
Project Total:$ 12 M
Strategic Area: Bioenergy
Location: Fraser Richmond Soil and Fibre, Richmond, British Columbia

Background:
Fraser Richmond Soil & Fibre, Ltd., (FRSF) will develop and demonstrate Canada’s first high-efficiency system for producing renewable energy from food and yard waste. FRSF is the leading compost producer in British Columbia and operates the largest permitted compost facility in North America. Currently, more than 150,000 tonnes of food and yard waste are already processed at FRSF each year, received from local municipalities and diverted from landfills by Metro Vancouver. FRSF is working with Metro Vancouver to meet the Zero Waste Challenge goal of diverting 70% of the region’s waste from landfills by 2015.


Computer Generated Image of Proposed High Solids Anaerobic Digestion Facility - Isometric

The objective of this Project is to extract energy in the form of electricity and heat or purified methane from organic waste, which would otherwise go to landfill. The purified methane would be used to generate electricity or fed into the local natural gas system.

This utilization of organic waste will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, divert waste from landfills, and create high-quality compost, and assist the Vancouver region in achieving its zero waste challenge.

Benefits to Canada:

Canada will benefit from the knowledge gained by FRSF through this BC based project. The demonstration facility for this anaerobic digestion technology will help to promote future deployment of this technology, not only in Canada, but throughout North America. FRSF believes that similar facilities could process up to 15% of Canada’s organic waste by 2020. If this goal is met, the benefits to Canadian communities would be significant, including new jobs, greater diversion of waste to landfills, and a greatly decreased reliance on fossil fuels.

Project Status:

Harvest Power's Fraser Richmond Soil & Fibre has made steady progress building its Energy Garden in Richmond, British Columbia. It is now possible to walk step-by-step through the site and visualize how the region's food scraps and yard debris will get turned into renewable energy and nutrient-rich soil products: the tipping hall footprint is defined; the walls of the hydrolysis percolators are up; the digestion tanks loom large; and the composting facility continues to turn organic materials into compost. The Energy Garden is coming to life as evidenced by the attached photos.

For an animated view of the process, see the 2-minute video here that describes the stages of batch high solids anaerobic digestion.

Additional Links:
www.fraserrichmond.ca - Learn more about the Fraser Richmond Soil & Fibre facility in Richmond, BC
www.harvestpower.com
- Learn more about Fraser Richmond’s parent company, including Harvest's team, technology and vision for managing organic waste.
blog.harvestpower.com
- Stay up-to-date on the next-generation organic waste management stories, trends and technologies
Zero Waste Challenge – About MetroVancouver’s effort to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/science/programs-funding/2064

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