learning english with cbc · web viewin 2008, the essential skills that are included in learning...

Learning English with CBCListening Lessons for Intermediate StudentsBased on the podcast “Manitoba This Week”

Broadcast date: May 10, 2008Lesson 25: Teacher’s EditionLevel: Benchmark 5 and up

Topic: Action on Climate ChangeSkill areas: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing

Language tasks: Listening – listening to a short interview for main ideas, details and inference Speaking – participating in a group discussion; expressing opinions; giving feedback Reading – reading an information text and answering questionsWriting: writing a letter

Language competencies: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking Strategies, Sociocultural/sociolinguistic Competence

Extension Activities: Learning more about climate change

Calculating your own ecological footprint

Writing a letter to your elected representative asking for action on climate change

Essential Skills1: Writing, reading text, working with others, thinking skills, oral communication, numeracy

Worksheets2: 1. Complete a K-W-L (Know, Want to know, Learned) chart on climate change2. Talk about travel using the verb “to find” 3. Read about climate change and answer questions4. Ecological footprint questionnaire5. Write a letter on climate change

Appendices: Transcript of the podcast

Optional reading material for higher level benchmarks: Winnipeg Free Press – April 12, 2008: Doer’s got Kyoto on his mind

1 Essential Skills are the skills required to successfully participate in the Canadian Labour Market and they are a natural extension of EAL lessons. In 2008, the Essential Skills that are included in Learning English with CBC lesson plans will be noted on the cover page.2 Answers to worksheets are in the self-study version of the lesson plan.Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC of 23

Manitoba Memo

Canadians love their cars. While record high gas prices may mean we drive a little less, most experts believe it will take more than high gas prices to end our love affair with our vehicles. What are the downsides to having over 12 million vehicles on Canadian roads? For decades we’ve been aware of the cost of building and maintaining streets and highways, traffic congestion and noise and air pollution. But in recent years a new concern has surfaced - vehicle emissions produce greenhouse gases. In fact, driving our cars and heating and cooling our homes are the two major ways individuals contribute to the build up of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. The fact that the earth is getting warmer and the climate is changing is well documented by scientists. Some steps to reduce greenhouse gases are being taken. The Manitoba government has committed to meeting its Kyoto targets3. The government plans to reduce greenhouse gases to a level which is equal (or better) to taking every car in the province off the road. The City of Winnipeg is building more bike paths. The Government of Canada is helping people make their homes more energy efficient. And many corporations are working hard to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is one issue where it really makes sense to “think globally and act locally.” Greenhouse gases know no borders and reducing emissions will require governments, industries and individuals to take action and make tough choices.

Pre-listening activities

1. K-W-L (Know, Want to Know, Learned) on climate change

Have students work in small groups to complete Worksheet 1. Ask the groups to write down what they already know about climate change in column one. Then ask the groups to brainstorm questions for column two – what do they want to know about climate change? Tell students that at the end of the lesson, the class will work together to complete column three on what they have learned about climate change.

2. Discuss the following questions as a class.

How do people get to school or work in your country? Do most people drive their own vehicles, do they take public transportation (bus, train, subway, or do they walk or bike? What kinds of things (urban or rural setting, income level) determine who is more likely to take public transportation or drive a vehicle?

How busy are the roads in your country? Are they more/less busy than roads in Winnipeg/Manitoba? Is the cost of gas higher or lower than it is in Manitoba? Is there more or less air pollution?

3 The Kyoto Protocol is the first international agreement to set targets to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions which cause climate change. It was signed by most major industrial countries, including Canada. Although the current federal government has said it will not meet the targets set out in the agreement, several provinces plan to keep their commitment.

Action on Climate Change Learning English with CBC of 23

(For those who take transit) How do you find the bus service in Winnipeg? What do you like about it? What don’t you like about it?

3. Vocabulary

Elicit or present key vocabulary that students need to understand prior to listening to the podcast (see suggested vocabulary and explanations which follow). Write the words on the board and elicit possible meanings from the class. You can also ask students to mark the syllables and stress for each word, identify word families and practise pronouncing the words. If your students keep a vocabulary journal, they can copy the vocabulary into their journal.

Vocabularyrecord high If something is at a record high level, it is higher

than it has ever been before. For example, gas prices in Manitoba are at a record high level. They have never been higher.

automatically If you do something automatically, it means you do it over and over in the same way, like a machine. For example, if you always turn right off your street in the morning, you may do that automatically even when you actually need to turn left to get to your destination.

convenient route A convenient bus route is one that is handy or easily accessible to you and meets your needs.

pet peeve A pet peeve is something that annoys or bothers you on a continual basis. For example, your pet peeve about taking public transportation at rush hour could be that you never get a seat.

shift work People who work in hospitals or factories often do shift work. They work for a specific period of time during the night or day and then they are replaced by other workers. There are always people working.

hitch a ride An informal way of asking someone to drive you somewhere for free. A hitchhiker is someone who stands by the side of the road with their thumb raised in the air hoping a driver will stop and give them a ride.


4. Practice using the vocabulary

Brainstorm examples of sentences using the vocabulary words and write the examples on the board. Then ask students to work with a partner to write a sentence using each of the vocabulary words. Have the partners share some of their sentences with the class.

5. Predict what the podcast is about

In this podcast, reporter Leighton Klassen interviews two men who use their cars to get to work instead of taking the bus. Ask students if they can predict some of the reasons the men may give for not taking the bus.

Provide some sentence starters and examples on the board, as follows:

One reason might be….that taking the bus isn’t convenient.Another possible reason is …that they are shift workers. Maybe…they just like to take their car.It could be….that they don’t feel safe on the bus.Possibly…

While-listening activities

1. Introduce the podcast

Tell students that in this podcast, they will hear three speakers. They will hear:

Marcy Markusa – interviewer and hostSean Sidel – workerDennis Wilman – worker

Play the podcast for the first time.

2. Listen for the missing questions

Tell students that the podcast is only part of the whole interview – we don’t hear the questions reporter Leighton Klassen asks the two men. We just hear what Sean and Dennis respond.

Play the podcast again and ask students to speculate on what questions Leighton might have asked Sean and Dennis. Write these questions on the board.


3. Listen for the main ideas

Write the following questions on the board. Ask students to work with a partner to answer them. Play the podcast again if needed.

Why does Marcy think Winnipeggers will be taking the bus more often?

What are Sean’s reasons for not taking the bus? Are these good reasons in your opinion?

What are Dennis’ reasons for not taking the bus? Are these good reasons in your opinion?

Take up the answers as a class.

4. Listen for common features of spoken English

Play Sean’s comments again. Ask students to pay special attention to how Sean speaks and what he says. Tell students his response has many features which are common to spoken English.

Ask students to work in pairs. Using the transcript to help them, ask students to write down two or three things about Sean’s comments which are common to spoken (as opposed to written) English. Then discuss their ideas as a class.

Some of the common features are:

Lines Example Strategy9/1017/18

uhm, ah Fillers, used as a time gaining strategy

13/14 I mean, really I mean and I don’t understand

Repetition, re-phrasing used to clarify

14/15 I just figured everybody would, everybody, most people would

Re-phrasing

17/18 Really difficult, a kind of a, kind of a pain in my side actually

Re-phrasingHedges (kind of) are used to soften what’s being said

You may also want to ask students if their first language has some or all of these kinds of features.

For a bonus point, ask students if they can correct the grammatical error in line 16. (It should be “there were no convenient routes”.)


Post-listening activities

1. Review pre-listening predictions

Ask students to quickly review their pre-listening predictions. Did they correctly predict what would be said about why the men interviewed don’t take the bus?

2. Use the verb “to find” to talk about travel

Tell students that when people talk about travel, they often use the following structure:

to find + noun or pronoun + to be + adjective

For example:Sean finds the bus (to be) inconvenient.Dennis finds the bus (to be) enjoyable because he can relax, read and eat.I find Winnipeg (to be) windy.

Hand out Worksheet 2 and review the instructions. Ask students to work in pairs to practise using the structure by interviewing their partner.

Extension activities

1. Learn more about climate change4

Review Worksheet 3 with students. Have students work in small groups to read the information on climate change and answer the questions.

Take up the answers as a class.

2. Calculate your ecological footprint

Tell students that they are going to complete a questionnaire which will help them calculate their own ecological footprint. It’s not scientific, but it is a useful guide to use to see how much they/their family are contributing to the problem.

Review the instructions for Worksheet 4 with the class. Ask each student to complete their own survey. Students can however work with a partner or in small groups to discuss vocabulary and question meaning. Remind students they can also use a dictionary as a resource.

When students have finished, take a class tally for each footprint size. Then figure out what percentage of the class fits into each one.

4 If you teach higher level benchmarks, you could extend the lesson by having your students do a jigsaw activity using the Winnipeg Free Press article on Manitoba’s climate change legislation that is included in the appendix.


Ask students what they think of this kind of questionnaire. Is it a good way to raise individual awareness of how we contribute to climate change? Have students brainstorm some other ways to raise awareness.

3. Write a letter asking for action on climate change

Review Worksheet 5 with students. Let them know that they can write their letter based about any topic related to climate change. There are several websites listed under Want to know more where they could find additional information on a topic of their choice. Alternatively, students can find inspiration for something to write about by using the case study of Bogota (included on the Worksheet).

You could have students hand in their letters and provide appropriate feedback. Alternatively, after students have written their own letter, they could exchange letters with another student and get their feedback. Write a few questions on the board for the students to think about when they are providing feedback, for example:

Were you able to understand the main point the letter is making? Why or why not?

Did the letter persuade you that the action the writer is requesting is important? Why or why not?

Was there any part of the letter which you had difficultly understanding? Why? How would you suggest changing that part to make it easier to understand?

4. Finish the K-W-L chart

Return to the K-W-L chart and ask the class to complete the final column. Ask students which of their questions about climate change have been answered. If some remain unanswered, you may want to have students do internet research on these questions in a subsequent class.

An additional follow-up activity which might be suitable for some classes would be to show Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.


Want to know more…

For background on Manitoba Climate Change initiatives go to: http://www.gov.mb.ca/stem/climate/index.html

Go to Winnipeg Transit’s website to find out why taking transit is so environmentally friendly: http://winnipegtransit.com/interestingtransitfacts.jsp

The Canadian government’s initiatives can be found at: http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca/index-eng.cfm

Students will find lots of climate change information on David Suzuki’s website: http://davidsuzuki.org

For the summary of the United Nations Human Development Report - Fighting Climate Change go to: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_20072008_summary_english.pdf

An interview with the former Mayor of Bogota can be found at: http://www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/placemakers/epenalosa

Al Gore’s official website can be found at: http://www.algore.com/

(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites)


http://www.algore.com/

http://www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/placemakers/epenalosa

http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_20072008_summary_english.pdf

http://davidsuzuki.org/

http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca/index-eng.cfm

http://winnipegtransit.com/interestingtransitfacts.jsp

http://www.gov.mb.ca/stem/climate/index.html

Worksheet 1: KWL chart on climate change

Every week, there are news stories about the causes and effects of climate change. Discuss what you know about climate change with your group. Summarize what you know in column one. Are there things you would like to know about climate change? Write the things your group wants to know more about in column two. At the end of the class, you can complete the third column.

We know We want to know We learned


Worksheet 2: Talking about travel

We use some verbs to describe thoughts, feelings and opinions. An example is the verb “to find.” The verb is followed by an object, an infinitive (usually the verb “to be”) and an adjective in formal language. In informal language, the verb “to be” is often left out. For example:

I find the bus to be convenient. (formal)I find the bus convenient. (informal)

Practice using the informal structure to find + noun or pronoun + adjective. Take turns interviewing you partner using the list of questions below. You can choose an adjective from the suggestion box to use in your answer, or you can use an idea of your own. If you can’t give a personal answer to the question, just make one up! Here’s an example:

Question: How do you find the bus system in Winnipeg?Possible Answers: I find it convenient.

I find the bus convenient.

Questions

What about the public transportation system in your country? How do you find it?

What do you think of travelling by train?

How do you find airplane travel?

What do you think of the condition of the roads in Manitoba?

What do you think of the traffic in big cities?

How do you find cycling in Winnipeg?

Adjective suggestion box

convenient expensive inexpensive stressful relaxing slow

inconvenient crowded difficult to use easy to use a hassle fast

bumpy inefficient efficient confusing difficult easy enjoyable


Worksheet 3: Read about climate change and answer questions

Read the following information about climate change and then work with your group to answer the questions which follow.

Our Climate is Changing5

What is climate change?Most scientists in the world believe climate change is a serious threat to the planet. Climate change is the term used to describe the warming of the earth’s temperature (also called global warming) and the severe and unusual weather conditions which result.

What causes climate change?Climate change is caused by excessive greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The most common gas is carbon dioxide. The earth naturally produces the perfect amount of greenhouse gas, but when we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas, we add more. The more greenhouse gas we produce, the thicker the blanket around the earth’s atmosphere becomes. This blanket traps heat around the planet and makes it hotter. The 1980’s and 1990’s were the warmest decades on record.

What are some of the effects of climate change?Scientists are concerned about how climate change affects the earth’s physical and biological systems. Examples of physical changes are shrinking glaciers, melting permafrost and warmer oceans. Biological changes include earlier spring blossoms and bird migrations, insect surviving in parts of the world where they’ve never survived before and threats to wildlife populations (like the polar bears).

Who’s responsible for climate change?Industry, governments and individuals all produce greenhouse gases. The emissions produced by individuals are about 25% of the total. Eighty percent of these emissions are from vehicles and home heating and cooling. Greenhouse gas emissions are often referred to as “carbon footprints.”

Does climate change affect all countries equally?When it comes to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the world is like a single country. The earth’s atmosphere is a resource to all and it has no borders. But countries don’t produce the same level of greenhouse gases and they have different carbon footprints. And although the world’s poorest people have the smallest footprint, their countries are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, like tsunami’s, cyclones and drought.

5 The sources for the text are: Brochure on climate change published by the Kawartha Region in Ontario; Global warming effect’s widespread, Winnipeg Free Press, May 15, 2008; United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008 – Fighting Climate Change.


What can be done?Even if we were able to freeze the world’s greenhouse gas emissions at today’s levels, scientists believe that the climate is already committed to significant warming for hundreds of years to come. They believe environmental organizations, industry, the United Nations, countries around the world and individuals must all work together to confront this serious problem. The planet is sending out an SOS6 and it needs all of us to respond.

Discuss the following statements with your group and decide whether they are true or false.

Question T or F1. Climate change and global warming are two terms which describe the same thing.

T

2. A small number of scientists believe climate change is a severe threat to the planet.3. The greenhouse gases we produce form a blanket around the earth which makes it hard for heat to escape.4. All greenhouse gases in the atmosphere come from industry, government and individuals.5. Scientists are concerned about the physical and biological changes to the earth which are caused by climate change.6. If Canadians took public transportation and stopped driving cars to work and school, our country’s carbon footprint would be much smaller.7. Countries which produce the highest level of greenhouse gases are most likely to be affected by climate change.8. If individuals and industries stopped producing greenhouse gases tomorrow, the world would soon return to its normal temperature.

Now discuss the following questions with your group:

1. How concerned are you personally about climate change and how it is affecting the planet? Here are some ways you could start your answer.

I’m very concerned because…I’m not very concerned because…I’m not sure what to think because…

2. Do you think it will be easy or difficult to get individuals, industries and governments to change their behaviour and make reducing greenhouse gases a priority? Here are some ways you could start your answer.

I think it will be very easy/difficult because…I think it will be easier for ______ to change their behaviour than _____because….I think the only way to get _________ to change their behaviour is…

6 An SOS is a call for help.


Worksheet 4: Calculate your ecological footprint

Canadians are the second largest producers of greenhouse gases in the world. Answer the following questions by checking the answer that applies to you. At the end, add up the points for each of your answers to determine your personal greenhouse gas contribution.

At Home

1. How many people are in your household?

A) 5 or more 10 pointsB) 4 15 pointsC) 3 20 pointsD) 2 25 pointsE) 1 30 points

2. How is your house or apartment heated?

A) Solar or wind energy

0 points

B) Natural gas 30 pointsC) Electricity 40 pointsD) Wood 40 pointsE) Oil 50 points

3. What type of home do you live in?

A) Apartment or condo

20 points

B) Semi-detached 30 pointsC) House 40 points

4. Have you draft-proofed your windows?

A) Yes 0 pointsB) Windows only 30 pointsC) Doors only 40 pointsD) No 50 points

5. Do you turn down the heat at night and when you are away?

A) Always 0 pointsB) Sometimes 30 pointsC) Never 60 points

6. If you have an air conditioner, how often do you use it?

A) Don’t have one 0 pointsB) Only when it’s

extremely hot20 points

C) Only when it’s hot 30 pointsD) Every summer day 50 points

On the Road

7. What type of vehicle does you or your family own?

A) None 0 pointsB) Motorcycle 15 pointsC) Small compact

vehicle35 points

D) Mid-sized vehicle 60 pointsE) Full-sized vehicle 75 pointsF) Sports utility

vehicle or van100 points

G) Pick-up truck 130 points

(If you have more than one vehicle, add the appropriate number of points for each. For example, if you have a compact car and a van, give yourself 135 points.)

8. How often do you fill up your gas tank?

A) Not applicable 0 pointsB) Once a month 15 points


C) Every two weeks 25 pointsD) Once a week 35 pointsE) Twice a week 70 pointsF) More than twice

a week95 points

9. How do you get to school / work?

A) Walk 0 pointsB) Bicycle or roller

blade 0 points

C) School bus or transit

20 points

D) Carpool 25 pointsE) Own vehicle 50 points

10. Did you fly last year?

For every one way flight you took, add 30 points.

Other

11. Do you shop for locally produced products and food?

A) Always 0 pointsB) Sometimes 20 pointsC) Never 40 points

12. When you do your laundry, do you mostly use…?

A) Cold water 10 pointsB) Warm water 20 pointsC) Hot water 40 points

Scoring

Add up your total points to find the size of your ecological footprint!

40 to 130 points: Small footprint

Congratulations! You are keeping your greenhouse gas emissions low and helping the planet! Can you persuade others to follow your lead?

135 – 400: Medium footprint

Good start, you’re doing your part helping out future generations. Challenge yourself to cut your emissions even more.

405 – 695: Big footprint

It’s a start, but you’re not doing enough to protect the planet from Greenhouse gases. It’s time to learn ways to improve.

700 or over: Giant footprint

Whoa! You can’t go on this way. You need to start now to cut back your greenhouse gas production and energy use.

This quiz was adapted from the 1999 City of Toronto Ecological Footprint Questionnaire and from Canadian Living.com – What’s your ecological footprint?


Worksheet 5: Write a letter on climate change

Political leaders are influenced by public opinion. One of the best ways to let them know that you are concerned about an issue is to write to them.

Tips on writing a good letter on an issue of concern to you:

Be polite. You want the person to listen to your views Be personal. Use your own words. Recommend action. Ask for something specific, for

example, a ban or a law on something. Ask for a reply. This shows you are serious about

your concerns. Make sure you have the correct name and address.

Your phone book lists your elected representatives.

What if I don’t know who to write to?

Generally, you write to the Mayor, Reeve or councilors for local issues, to your Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for provincial (Manitoba) issues and to your Member of Parliament (MP) on federal (Canadian) issues. If you don’t know who your representatives are, you can try to locate them by following the prompts on the following websites:

City of WinnipegGo to http://cms00asa1.winnipeg.ca/Type in your address and select search to find out the name of your Ward and councilor.

Cities, towns and municipalities outside WinnipegCheck the local government website or community paper.

Province of ManitobaGo to www.electionsmanitoba.caSelect “voter information”. Select “what is my electoral division” and follow the instructions.

Government of CanadaGo to www2.parl.gc.caSelect “Elections and ridings” Select “Ridings / Constituencies” and follow the instructions.

What should I write about?

You can choose any climate change topic that interests you. If you are having difficulty deciding on a topic, read the case study at the end of this Worksheet for ideas on action you could ask political leaders to take.

http://www.electionsmanitoba.ca/

http://cms00asa1.winnipeg.ca/

Use the following framework to help you write your letter.

Your name and address so they know where to send the reply

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

R __ __ __ __ __

Name, title and address of the person you are sending the letter to

____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

____________________________________________

__ __ __ __ __ __

Today’s date _______________________

Dear ________________:

Start with why youare writing the letter

I am writing to ask you to take action on climate change. I am concerned about climate change because _______________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

What action do you want the government to take?

I think that the government should _____________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

This is important because _____________________

_________________________________________________

Close the letter I look forward to your reply.

Yours ___________, (sincerely or truly)

Sign your name ___________________________________

Case study: City of Bogota, Colombia

Many of us think it’s practically impossible to get people out of their cars. But Enrique Penalosa, the Mayor of Bogota Colombia from 1997 to 2000, had a different view.

When Penalosa was elected he decided to do something about the cars which had taken over the streets and sidewalks of his city. He wanted a city that was built for children and people, not business and automobiles. Instead of building more roads, he built sidewalks, bicycle paths, parks and pedestrian only streets. He banned 40% of vehicles from the roads during rush hour. He raised gas taxes and used the revenues to fund a rapid bus system.

He showed other cities that change isn’t so much about spending a lot of money as it is about making choices and changing behaviour.

In 2000, the city held a “Car-Free Day” and it was so popular residents voted to make it an annual event. The city also voted to ban cars during morning and evening rush hour from 2015 onward.

Appendix 1: Transcript

May 10, 2008 Speaker Podcast Line

Marcy Hi I'm Marcy Markusa and you're listening to Learning English with

CBC. Well, you'd think that record high gas prices would

automatically lead to more and more Winnipeggers taking the bus.

But some people say that won't happen until we have a better

transit system throughout the city. Reporter Leighton Klassen

interviewed Sean Sidel and Dennis Wilman to see why the current

system isn't working for them. Here's what they had to say.

5

Sean Hi, I’m Sean Sidel. Well I used to, I do live in Charleswood, it’s a

suburb obviously everyone knows southwest of the city, I ah had

worked at Sport Mart in ah the Unicity Mall and uhm I had I had to

open up the shop at about 8:30 in the morning however there were

no buses coming from my area and dropping off at ah Unicity ‘till

‘till 9 o’clock so I mean really I mean and I don’t understand

considering most people do start at around 9 o’clock, it’s a mall, I

mean I just figured everybody would everybody, most people

would be starting work around that time but there was no

convenient routes ah going there so I found it really difficult, kind of

a, kind of a pain in my side actually, and ah yeah that that was my

biggest pet peeve.

10

15

Dennis Hi, my name’s Dennis Wilman. Why do I drive a car? Well I work

shift work so uhm it’s just not convenient for me to take a bus. Uhm

if I were to take a bus it would probably take an hour, an hour and

a half. Now to take a bus t’ work for three o’clock in Murray

Industrial Park from Pembina Highway probably would take about

40 minutes. To get home at 11 I’d have to uh either hitch a ride

with a buddy to Portage Avenue or t’, some guys live by Polo Park,

then I’d have to wait for a a bus there. That would probably take

another hour I think it’s taken me when I have done it so to get

home at like 12:30, go to sleep, get up, spend some time with my

kids, get them to school, would ah, it’s just, it’s too much time.

It’s pretty frustrating because uhm I do enjoy taking the bus. It

gives me time to relax and read, I can eat, and I can just, you

know, think about stuff whereas with my car I have to be a little

more lucid, a little more aware of what’s going on.

20

25

30

Doer's got Kyoto on his mind

Unveils long-awaited legislation

By: Mary Agnes Welch and Bruce Owen

Updated: April 12, 2008 at 08:53 AM CDT

The Doer government will crack down on old beaters, leaky attics and pig poop to meet its climate change targets and, if that fails, Premier Gary Doer says he expects his government will get punted from office.

Doer unveiled long-awaited legislation Friday that obliges the province to meet its Kyoto targets -- a reduction in greenhouse gases equivalent to taking every passenger car in the province and more off the road.

To get there, Doer is throwing open the doors to electric vehicles like the ZEN car -- the second province to do so. And he's closing the door to cars older than 1995. Importing used cars that old for the purpose of resale will be banned, and a batch of tailpipe standards for all new cars are in the works.

Doer is also rewriting the building code to make energy efficiency part of the playbook. And landfills, a significant but obscure source of greenhouse gases, will have to start capturing their fumes by 2011.

The omnibus bill came with few details -- a host of new regulations and funding announcements are still to come. There's also a pot of $145 million over the next four years, but that mostly includes federal cash from an eco-trust fund or money that was already budgeted for Manitoba Hydro's PowerSmart conservation program.

Doer says Manitoba's plan will start to produce cleaner air in a couple of years with the big bang delivered by 2012, unlike many provinces that have climate-change plans that don't kick in for decades. That includes British Columbia, which proposed the country's first carbon tax but won't mandate reductions until 2020.

"This is not a situation where we sign on to Kyoto and don't have a plan to deliver," said Doer. "If we don't achieve it, the ultimate penalty in 2011 will be defeating the government."

Curt Hull, project manager of the Climate Change Connection, said Manitoba's plan to tackle global warming is welcome news.

"This is terrific," Hull said moments after Doer described his government's green vision. "This is really a big day. They're putting into legislation what they've been talking about for some time."

Hull said the targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are obtainable and make sense. Those targets will also be met by government leading by example rather than imposing their will.

Manitoba must reduce its emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012 to comply with Kyoto -- the global warming pact much of the world has all but abandoned. That means slashing

emissions by three million megatonnes -- a fussy problem in a province with no one monster emitter like Ontario's Nanticoke coal-fired power plant.

Doer's plan contains no mention of a rapid transit system for Winnipeg. Nor was there a mention of wind or geothermal power -- two forms of clean energy that Manitoba Hydro has been slow to embrace.

Doer said he's focused first on ridding the province of coal power using a separate tax on coal that starts in 2011 and applied to only a handful of companies. But he hinted that down the road he might turn to tougher methods, perhaps legislation, to boost the province's wind production.

[email protected] [email protected]

Everything from cars to cows in Manitoba's green planCARS

Manitobans drive some of the oldest vehicles in the country, and when we do trade in our clunker we tend to opt for big gas-guzzling pickup trucks or Land Yacht SUVs.

The province wants to change that by getting us to buy smaller, eco-friendly vehicles or cars that don't run on gas at all, like all-electric cars.

One proposal is to restrict dealers from importing cars older than 1995 for resale.

In the same breath, if someone were bringing in a car older than 1995 for personal use, that would be OK under the proposed bill. The new rules would not apply to antique or classic cars. Before any of these regulations come close to becoming law, government has to define what an antique or classic car is; one man's classic car is another man's choice for the shredder.

Nick Roberts, executive director of the Manitoba Used Car Dealers Association, said the province has to meet with the industry to hammer out the details of these new rules.

"You either ban them all or let them in and let emission testers do their thing," Roberts said, adding the rules would work against small auto dealers.

The province will also "modernize" its highway traffic laws to allow low-speed electric and other no-emission vehicles on the road.

Ian Clifford, chief executive officer of the ZENN Motor Company in Toronto, the nation's largest builder of zero-emission electric cars, said he was encouraged by the Doer government's plan.

"Manitobans will be among the first consumers in the country to have real access to socially responsible transportation alternatives," he said.

The other thing on the horizon are new vehicle emission standards starting in 2010. What those standards will be, no one is sure.

Doer said Manitoba supports California's tough "tailpipe" vehicle emissions standards. Cars sold or imported in California must meet that state's emissions standards or they aren't allowed on the road, and Doer wants to set the same standards here.

FARMS

There's no fine way of saying this, so here it goes: You can't put a cork in a cow's butt.

When it comes to greenhouse gases caused by agriculture, almost half is caused by the burping and farting of livestock.

The Doer government realizes it can't do much about digestion on the farm, so under the proposed bill it will instead focus on nitrogen oxide from the use of fertilizer and methane gas caused by manure spreading.

The plan calls for the province to encourage more conservative use of fertilizers like anhydrous ammonia and covering of manure lagoons to trap methane.

Better practices in crop rotation will also be encouraged, sometimes by inspectors who will visit farms.

Those in agriculture welcome the proposals, many which are also in practice.

"We can make it work," Keystone Agricultural Producers president Ian Wishart said. "We're already well ahead of what the requirements are."

Wishart added KAP will be meeting with the province next week to discuss these are and other issues.

INDUSTRY

The province has already said it is phasing out Manitoba Hydro's coal-burning power plant in Brandon by 2010.

In this week's budget, it also said it was bringing in a coal tax in 2011 to get the handful of other industries still using coal to get them to switch to something else.

Besides Hydro's Brandon plant, there are a half-dozen other big greenhouse gas emitters in Manitoba, including Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting in Flin Flon, Koch Fertilizer in Brandon, Transcanada Pipelines in Rapid City, Graymont Western Canada's lime plant in Faulkner and two city landfill sites, Brady Road, which is still open, and the long-closed Summit Road landfill.

Dumps like Brady are some of the province's greenhouse gas pigs. They spew nearly one million tonnes of methane into the air as garbage rots. That gas can be captured and recycled into energy.

That gas could even be piped to the University of Manitoba to heat a few buildings. There are a bunch of ideas for Brady's stinky gases, but they're taking too long to get going, Premier Gary

Doer said. The legislation changes that, mandating that methane gas has to be captured by landfills by 2010. "Deadlines are good," said Doer, who also promised some funding.

The other industries either fall under provincial or federal regulations and between the two governments will be encouraged to reduce greenhouse gas production over the next four years.

By definition, these companies produce the equivalent of 100,000 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide equivalents per year.

To compare, one big coal-burning hydro plant in Ontario produces almost as much greenhouse gases as the entire province of Manitoba in one year.

HOUSES

Get out your caulking gun and start stocking up on pink insulation. In the next couple of years, a batch of new rules will be added to the building code to make new projects more energy efficient.

The building code amendments aren't due for another couple of years, but it's likely going to mean new homes and commercial buildings will have to install high-quality windows, a certain amount of insulation and a certain level of leak protection. And there's a special shout-out in Friday's bill to mandate certain standards for heating systems, meaning most new homes will likely have to have medium or high-efficiency furnaces.

Ron Hambley of the Winnipeg Construction Association said energy efficiency is already top-of-mind and most builders would rather see the government use incentives rather than a crackdown in the building code. "I don't think we need to mandate this stuff in the building code in order to get it done," Hambley said. "We'd like to keep the code as clean as possible."

TRANSIT

There's only an oblique mention of rapid transit in the plan -- the big-ticket project many say is critical to greening Manitoba. The province enshrined in legislation its deal with the city to cover half the operating cost of transit -- not just Winnipeg's current bus system but any rapid transit or LRT projects in the future.

CARBON TRADING

That's still a mystery. There's movement to create a continent-wide emissions trading scheme but it's been slow going. The Doer government is keen on such a scheme because Manitoba's clean hydro power and emissions reductions means the province can cash in on a cap-and-trade system. But no one has quite agreed on how a system will work and one might not be set up for another three or four years.

© 2008 Winnipeg Free Press. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

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