Earth Day Profit?

You’ve got to hand to Dalton McGuinty and the Ontario Government. They really knew how to score points on Earth Day.

On April 22, the Premier of Canada’s largest province was in London touting the green jobs that can be created from environmentalists. The message is that the Province can make money while developing and selling water conservation and water treatment technologies. Who can argue against that?

Meanwhile, Environment Minister John Gerretsen was in Toronto at Home Hardware announcing a proposal to mandate that all toilets sold in the province be low-flush. A low-flush toilet uses only six litres of water versus the 13-litres of a conventional toilet.

Both announcements are part of campaign to raise support for the proposed Water Opportunities Act, which was announced in the Speech from Throne last month, and the Green Energy Act, which enacted last year.

The aim of the Water Opportunities Act, which will be introduced in the legislature this Spring aims to make the Province the “Silicon Valley” of water technology research and development in North America. With the global market for water technology estimated to generate more than US$400 billion per year, it’s hard to knock a plan that promises long-term green-collar jobs that also help solve the world’s water woes.

With respect to low flush toilets, critics will claim that they need two flushes to do to job. However, they’re failing to understand the recent advances in technology and the incredible savings possible through the use of water-saving plumbing technology. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that if all U.S. households installed water-efficient appliances, more than three trillion gallons of water and US$18 billion would be saved annually.

With an election looming in the Fall of 2010, it’s clear the Ontario Liberal government is going to riding the Green Jobs agenda as it seeks a third term. It will be interesting to see if other provinces pick up on this theme.