Day 010 - 11 Jul 94 - Page 60
1 Q. What happened then?
A. Well, to the best of my knowledge, nothing.
2
Q. Mr. Langert, have you read his evidence, his testimony?
3 A. I went through it, yes.
4 Q. He tells us, as you will see, that in fact that ordinance
was withdrawn or shelved after independent research by a
5 University in New York State showed that contrary to
public opinion polystyrene foam was a satisfactory form of
6 packaging. Do you remember that?
A. I do remember that statement.
7
Q. Do you remember that event?
8 A. I remember that the -- I remember that the ordinance
did not come into effect.
9
Q. You told us in passing, I do not know whether it was this
10 morning or late this afternoon, that pentane, one of the
objections to pentane as a blowing agent for polystyrene
11 foam is that it is identified as a greenhouse gas. Do you
remember saying that this morning?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. That is not right, is it?
A. Oh, I think that it is a hydrogen.
14
Q. It is a hydrogen.
15 A. I think hydrocarbons in general are treated as
greenhouse gases.
16
Q. No, Mr. Lipsett. Suppose I suggest to you that pentane
17 cannot become a greenhouse gas because it is not long
enough lived in the atmosphere, do you accept that?
18 A. I could not make a full statement to that.
19 Q. Can I try to understand a bit more clearly what your
precise area of expertise and knowledge is? You said you
20 could not tell me about the consequences of the use of
polystyrene foam in the construction industry. You cannot
21 tell me for certain about the length of life of pentane in
the atmosphere. Where is your real expertise in all of
22 this?
A. My expertise is in developing research on matters
23 associated with environmental issues that are raised by
the members of the organisation I work for. So that we
24 would do research on a particular topic based upon calls
from people and a need to facilitate and reduce the time
25 necessary to reproduce and pass on information to local
Grassroot leaders.
26
So, in the case of polystyrene foam, the idea was to
27 identify as much of the research as possible that we could
identify and then pass it on to local community leaders.
28 That is my area of expertise.
29 Q. It is important then if you are hoping to bear upon public
opinion, upon the processes of democracy, that your
30 information should be accurate and fair, is it not?
A. The essence of information is twofold, in my
