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The environment is changing. This is your weekly guide to what we’re doing about
it.

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Thursday, September 01, 2022

Thursday, September 01, 2022

Hello, Earthlings! This is our weekly newsletter on all things environmental,
where we highlight trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable
world.

 


THIS WEEK:

Bidets are making a splash with Canadians worried about waste

The environmental benefits of cheap rail tickets

First Nations, scientists wrestle with Yukon's thawing permafrost






BIDETS ARE MAKING A SPLASH WITH CANADIANS WORRIED ABOUT WASTE

 

 

In the spirit of maintaining a sense of control and purpose in a time of
ever-increasing climate anxiety, you might be embracing subtle lifestyle changes
to reduce your carbon footprint. 

Perhaps you’ve incorporated flexitarian eating, cut down on single-use plastics
and are relying less on cars for transportation.   

Some people, however, are making more of a splash. 

Bidets — specialized bathroom fixtures that rinse your rear — are making a
comeback, and new affordable attachments mean they’re more accessible than ever.
Beyond the thorough cleaning perks, bidets are often marketed as being more
environmentally friendly than using toilet paper, with manufacturing companies
claiming bidets can save trees, water and reduce your carbon footprint.

The average Canadian will use about 83 rolls of toilet paper per year and 6,886
rolls in a lifetime, according to a 2022 study by QS Supplies, a U.K.-based
bathroom fitting and accessories company. With a bidet attachment, however, a
user can simply pat their rinsed-off parts dry with a reusable cloth or wipe.

That’s something a growing number of Canadians are finding appealing, according
to TUSHY, one of the more popular bidet companies. TUSHY's Canada sales
experienced a 101 per cent compound annual growth rate from 2019 to 2022, said
Miki Agrawal, the company’s founder and chief creative officer, and sales in
Canada are eight per cent stronger per capita in comparison to the U.S.

The environmental benefits are what convinced Lauren Bloemendal, 37, of
Kingston, Ont., to make the switch to a bidet last year. She said she was
already considering moving to cloth toilet paper because of her concerns about
the number of trees used for pulp, and the manufacturing required to produce
traditional TP. 

“We were already washing cloth diapers and wipes for our daughter, so it seemed
like a good time to make the switch,” Bloemendal said.

Chrissandra Plattner, who lives in Frankford, Ont., estimates that her household
only uses about 15 to 20 rolls of toilet paper per year since making the switch.
She notes she’s always been environmentally conscious, so switching to a bidet
wasn’t a major change. 

“It was more like a logical step in the multi-step process of reducing one's
footprint.”

But are bidets really better for the environment? It’s not a simple comparison.

The majority of the pulp used to make toilet paper in North America comes from
Canada’s boreal forests, according to a 2019 report by the U.S.-based National
Resources Defense Council. And it can take 140 litres of water to make a roll of
toilet paper, according to sustainability site Treehugger. 

Then there’s toilet paper packaging, which is often plastic, and the shipping
and transportation required to get the rolls from manufacturers to stores to
bathrooms on a continuous basis.

But bidet attachments also need to be produced and distributed, notes Myra Hird,
a professor at the school of environmental studies at Queen's University in
Kingston, Ont., and author of Canada's Waste Flows. And many are made from
plastics, which are derived from fossil fuels, “which significantly contributes
to climate change, mining waste and other negative environmental impacts.”

And moving from toilet paper to bidets does not necessarily mean reducing water
consumption, Hird said. “Toilet paper production requires significant amounts of
water.… So, however, do toilets.” 

While it’s rarely straightforward to directly compare environmental impacts, Kai
Chan, a professor at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability
at the University of British Columbia, says that, on balance, bidets are “almost
certainly” better for the environment.

“While the bidet will use a little more water at the source, it’s absolutely
negligible compared to the water that would go into making the toilet paper,”
said Chan, who is also a Canada Research Chair in rewilding and
social-ecological transformation. Chan has a bidet attachment in his home in
Vancouver, and says it cut down his family’s use of toilet paper by more than
half. (Plus, he notes, it’s more comfortable than wiping.)

While it certainly doesn’t hurt to take steps to reduce the amount of toilet
paper or water we use, Hird said she thinks environmental concerns could be
better channelled elsewhere — like pushing levels of government for a swift
transition to renewable energy.

Chan agrees, saying that in terms of our ecological footprint, bidets are
small-picture.

“There are some really big things that we have some control over, like our
flying behaviour, like our driving behaviour … those are things that make really
big differences.”

— Natalie Stechyson

 

 


READER FEEDBACK

Brenda Walker: "How heartwarming to read Rachel Sanders’s article on keeping
neighbourhood members safe during the heat waves this summer. It is so easy to
become immersed in one’s own difficulties and solving problems dealing with only
ourselves. This is a peek at the generosity and thoughtfulness of others for one
another. Well done and thanks for sharing."

Write us at whatonearth@cbc.ca.

The web version of this week's newsletter can be found here.

Read old issues of What on Earth? here.

CBC News recently launched a dedicated climate page, which can be found here. 

Also, check out our radio show and podcast. Sébastien Jodoin is a law professor
at McGill University in Montreal who is studying climate change and human
rights. He also has multiple sclerosis. This week on What On Earth, Jodoin
shares his insights into how governments worldwide need to change climate policy
to include people with disabilities. What On Earth airs on Sundays at 11 a.m.
ET, 11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador. You can also subscribe to What On
Earth on your favourite podcast app or hear it on demand at CBC Listen.

 






THE BIG PICTURE: THE ECO BENEFITS OF CHEAP RAIL TICKETS

 

While the effects of climate change have been plain to see this summer, more
attention has been paid to the rising cost of living, which is also exacting a
toll around the world. According to some new research, at least one inflation
management strategy is having a positive environmental effect: super-cheap
public transport.

In Germany, the lobby group VDV studied the country's experiment with a low-cost
public transport ticket, which allowed for countrywide travel on buses, subways,
streetcars and regional trains for only nine euros (or $12 Cdn) a month. The
program took effect in June and ran out in August. It was part of a broader
strategy to help citizens deal with rising energy and fuel prices largely
sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

When it was broached, many politicians and commentators warned that it was going
to be a costly subsidy for the government. The jury is still out on that, but
according to VDV, three months with the nine-euro ticket prevented 1.6 million
tonnes of CO2 emissions, or the equivalent of powering about 350,000 homes for a
year. The carbon savings come largely from commuters not using their cars as
much.

Spain announced something similar in July, as it made much of its public
transport network free, with a similar eye to protecting people's pocketbooks
while easing the strain on the planet.


 


HOT AND BOTHERED: PROVOCATIVE READS FROM AROUND THE WEB

Pakistan's climate chief has called flooding there "a serious climate
catastrophe" that has put one-third of the country under water and killed more
than 1,000 people.

There have been no hurricanes powerful enough this summer to earn their own
name. That's a rarity — and here's why.






FIRST NATIONS, SCIENTISTS WRESTLE WITH YUKON'S THAWING PERMAFROST

 

 

First Nations, scientists and climate change experts are sharing how the Yukon's
landscape — shaped by permafrost — is thawing and what that means for
adaptation, land use, industry and wildlife.

The issue was the main theme of last week's North Yukon Permafrost Conference, a
collaboration between the Tr'ondëk Hwëchin and Vuntut Gwitchin governments, the
First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun and the Canadian Permafrost Association.

The permafrost shift is especially noticeable in Dawson City, said Jackie Olson,
a Tr'ondëk Hwëchin citizen who has lived in the community her whole life. 

"Buildings are starting to twist. You can see it in the old buildings that have
never been touched … how they're starting to lean in," she said. "So the
evidence of permafrost is there."

Olson said sharing more information about climate change will push
decision-makers into action.

"As an individual, it may seem like an impossible task, but if we all start to
think about it … we can bring that information with us and speak more …
intellectually on it, so that people who can make the change will hear it."

Olson said weather is getting more unpredictable, fires are burning more
intensely, glaciers are changing and so are the animals. 

"I think it's very important the message gets across that First Nation [and
elders'] voices matter and they have a huge amount to contribute and they need
to be heard," she said. "The youth are on it. I just have to say, 'Don't give
up. Don't lose faith, because our ancestors stand behind us and they will
continue to guide us everywhere we go.'"

Chris Burn, a permafrost and ground ice expert from Carleton University in
Ottawa, organized this conference and has spent four decades studying permafrost
in the Yukon. 

Burn said while large conferences that require flying and driving cause their
own emissions, they allow scientists and First Nations to build relationships
and deepen their understanding of the first-hand impacts of thawing permafrost.

"This is not something that is commonly appreciated in the training of many
Western scientists," said Burn. Roughly 20 years ago, there was little
permafrost disturbance on the Dempster Highway.

In the northern end of the traditional territory of the Na-Cho Nyak Dun, there
are "numerous" permafrost disturbances that can be seen for "miles and miles."

"Things are happening that haven't happened for 14,000 years," said Burn, and
many of those changes pose risks to fish and wildlife.

The photo above is an aerial image of the site of a 2021 permafrost slump that
caused a landslide into the Yukon River near Whitehorse. 

The Vuntut Gwitchin in Old Crow have a front row seat to climate change, where
permafrost thaw is causing land to slump into the river. Vuntut Gwitchin Chief
Dana Tizya-Tramm said eventually the permafrost thaw will affect the fish and
wildlife.

"We really need to come together because the decisions we make now are
exponential and will resonate, and those decisions are based on the quality of
the conversations today." 

Bill Slater has worked in water management in the Yukon for 30 years and as a
consultant to Indigenous governments on the impacts of mining and mine cleanup
projects. 

He said climate change conversations are often centred around vehicle emissions
or burning of fuel, but rarely on the type of emissions that could be created by
digging up a wetland and releasing carbon that has been stored for thousands of
years. 

"We need to be more comprehensive … in our consideration of the implications of
the projects that we do and how they might affect permafrost" and traditional
uses of land, he said.

— Avery Zingel

 

 

 

Thanks for reading. If you have questions, criticisms or story tips, please
email us at whatonearth@cbc.ca.

What on Earth? comes straight to your inbox every Thursday. 

Editor: Andre Mayer  |  Logo design: Sködt McNalty

Photo credits: Professor25/Shutterstock; Leonhard Simon/Getty Images; Yukon
University.


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