Month: May 2015

The oil spill in Vancouver harbour two weeks ago on April 17 was an eye opener for many of us. While there were bureaucratic issues that delayed the cleanup of this latest spill, once notified, cleanup crews were quite efficient and the overall management was, I believe, well handled. However, it was a rude awakening to the potential dangers of transporting oil and gas through sensitive waters.

Working in the marine industry, I have witnessed small-scale fuel and oil spills and can attest to how terrifying they appear to be. One litre of oil can cover up to one kilometer of the ocean’s surface, making even a small accident look like a catastrophe. While diesel and petrol spills usually evaporate relatively quickly, oil, and especially heavy crude like was pumped out into vancouver harbour, is far more difficult to contain and clean. Even the most well-maintained vessels leak fuel, oil, coolant and a host of other hazardous materials into the ocean. The same is true for pipelines and natural gas installations. It is an unfortunate fact of these heavy industries on which we rely for energy and global trade.

With three proposed oil and gas projects slated for the BC coast, this incident serves as a reminder of the potential for disaster. For me, the proposed LNG plant and export station at the defunct Woodfibre pulp and paper mill in Howe Sound is a perfect example of the type of project that should be waving red flags for the people of Vancouver after this latest oil spill. The area surrounding the Woodfibre mill at the mouth of the Squamish River, was once one of the ten most polluted places on the planet. Pulp mill effluent and tailings from the adjacent Britannia copper mine were dumped into the ocean at a volume of millions of gallons each day. Only now, nearly 60 years after these mills and mines were shut down, has any sort of marine life returned to the area. The proposed LNG plant, among other issues, would pump 3.4 million litres of sea water into its reactors for cooling, returning it to the ocean ten degrees warmer and chlorinated. Each day. The impact would be tremendous, and that is simply for the normal functioning of the plant, without any incidents.

Even if there were no incidents and the ecosystem was resilient enough to withstand the dramatic changes to the temperature and chemical composition of sea water, the issue I find most troubling is where the natural gas is extracted in the first place. In B.C, our natural gas reserves originate from shale. But if an industry of LNG export is created, the demand for the raw gas will increase beyond shale capacity, likely leading to an increase in the practice of fracking in order to meed demand.

While the latest Vancouver oil spill was indeed troubling, perhaps it is a blessing in disguise. The media attention it received will hopefully have inspired the population to be cautious of expanding oil and gas exports, and be weary of the potential consequences to one of the most naturally beautiful cities in the world.

In keeping with the theme of my last entry, it is often hard to know what it is that one wants to do, especially when the potential options are unknown. This has certainly been the case when looking at careers.

However, in the past month, two potential career options have presented themselves serendipitously.

The first lead came from a client at my weekend and summer job working as a water taxi pilot in Howe Sound. By chance, one gentleman overheard a conversation I was having with a regular customer regarding how my studies were going. After explaining my coursework and the various projects I had been working on, the client handed me his card and mentioned that I should send him an email once I had graduated. As it turns out, this man was the general manager at Hemerra Environmental, a boutique consulting firm covering a wide range of projects from wind and hydro installations to environmental assessments for the oil and gas industry.

I was hesitant at first, but have begun to think that consulting may be exactly what I want to pursue. It would involve dealing with many different projects, allowing me to utilize my multi-faceted education and look at problems from many different angles. My hesitation of having anything to do with the oil and gas industry faded away. These are industries that are not going away, why not work from the inside and make them as environmentally responsible as they can be. This is certainly a path that I will be pursuing in the future.

The second opportunity that presented itself was from a guest lecturer in what I consider to be the best course I have taken at UBC, APBI 402 Soil Processes. While working on a case study where we were required to construct a fabricated soil in order to systematically close the Vancouver Landfill, our guest lecturer, the president of Sylvis Environmental was quite inspiring. Sylvis is a residuals management company that primarily uses municipal biosolids as a carbon source in order to create healthy, fabricated soils to remediate sites such as mines and landfills. Being very interested in biosolids as a potential resource, I was immediately intrigued at the possibility of working with Sylvis.

Many APBI 402 students have worked with Sylvis and found it to be a very rewarding experience. I plan on following up and hope to begin working with industry residuals soon!

Throughout my GRS career, the questions from friends and parents has always been “so what do you want to do once you’re finished?” or “What kind of jobs are there?”. These are good, difficult questions to answer, because frankly I just don’t know!

For those wanting to become engineers, there is a defined university program for that with well-laid out jobs waiting. Doctors, same thing. There are prescribed routes to become a professional of a certain kind. In studying environmental science, depending on your interests, there may not be a defined job, or even defined industry in which one could say they wanted to work! It is almost as if, in the GRS program, we are saying from the onset that what it is we want to do doesn’t exist yet, and we have to promote ourselves and create the type of job or industry where we want to work in the future. I think this is a pervasive way of thinking for many of us in the program, to not be satisfied with the way things are, with the way things are going and by making things a little harder for ourselves in the beginning,  be ultimately satisfied with ourselves for choosing the path less travelled.

For me, the hardest part about looking at future careers is determining where to focus my interests. I feel that one of the great strengths of the GRS program is the breadth of knowledge that students are able to glean from the variety of courses we are able to choose from, is also dangerous for those of us who can’t make decisions. From design and microbiology to soil science and conservation, my coursework has been varied and I have ben able to draw from these courses in order to enrich projects in future courses, at work, and in daily life. Being able to look at a problem from many sets of eyes is a strength that will certainly be an asset, and at the same time pulls me in different directions.

Having just met with a UBC professor in order to get advice on masters programs, and career direction, I was surprised to hear him tell me to get out of school, start working, and only come back if they tell you to. I left the meeting feeling somewhat disenchanted, but I now realize that this honest response was likely the reality check that I needed in order to begin thinking about the future; don’t focus on what a masters can do for you, think about the career you want and go after it head on, learn from it and leave the comfort of the university.

Not having the need for a prescribed path is what led us to this program in the first place, I suppose that anything done long enough, regardless of how varied, can become a narrow path. The hard part is looking from side to side and finding a turn that leads to the next one to travel down for a while.

Having returned from my exchange in Uppsala Sweden, I am filled with the desire to return. As mentioned previously, Uppsala has been a university town for over 500 years, meaning that it is has evolved into something quite special and truly unique.

There is a unique tradition at Uppsala in the form of the student “Nations”, half fraternity (without the sleazy connotations) half student club, half inspiration for immensely popular fictional wizard novels. The Nations combine libraries, pubs, sport-clubs, club-nights all under one roof (a roof constructed in the 1800’s for some). Nearly 400 years ago, the Nations began as a place where students from each province of Sweden could meet, get to know one another and show off to the other 12 rival provinces how superior they were. While this tradition still continues, students are no longer relegated to joining  the nation of their home province.

Uppsala University itself is physically beautiful and the education is a style all its own. While most courses do have a dedicated professor leading coursework, guest lecturers are brought in nearly every class to add professional and specific knowledge that no single professor could ever posses. As a teaching method, this was extremely refreshing as we could always look forward to new and interesting topics every class, and most importantly, taught from a different perspective. The CEMUS program as a whole was a great experience, but definitely left some things to be desired. I felt, as many of us did, that the different courses within the program were disconnected, either teaching the same thing or teaching something counter-intuitive having learned it the week before from someone else.

Uppsala as a city is to me the perfect combination of old and new. Cobblestone streets, magnificent castles and cathedrals while containing all the modern shops, and transportation. But best of all, it’s all within walking distance. There is absolutely no need for a car when living in Uppsala, just a trustworthy bicycle (and a pair of gloves) making commuting to school and finding your way back home after a night on the town an easy and enjoyable experience. It was truly liberating to not worry about car maintenance, insurance and parking. In addition, I don’t think I have ever been as fit as I was after walking and biking every day!

All told, I would live there in a heartbeat, if I didn’t live here in Vancouver!