Transition Brockville

Ontario launches climate change impact assessment

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks / 14 August 2020

The Ontario government has selected a consulting team led by the Climate Risk Institute to conduct the province’s first-ever multi-sector climate change impact assessment. The study will use the best science and information to better understand where and how climate change is likely to affect communities, critical infrastructure, economies and the natural environment, while helping to strengthen the province’s resilience to the impacts of climate change […]

As part of its work, the Institute will be reviewing a variety of information such as climate data, land use patterns and socio-economic projections. They will also develop an engagement plan to ensure the final assessment reflects the views and perspectives of Indigenous communities, municipalities, key economic sectors and the public. The assessment will be conducted over the next two years and it is anticipated that the final results will be released in 2022.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Manitoulin Island prepares for climate change

Manitoulin Expositor / 14 August 2020

Smart Green Communities, a reThink Green program working in consultation with municipalities, townships and First Nation communities throughout Manitoulin Island and the North Shore, has launched a public consultation on two regional energy and emissions plans (REEPs): a two-year study of the region’s collective greenhouse emissions and what that means for the future.

The primary goal of the REEPs is to assist these communities in meeting their energy and emission reduction goals by understanding how much they currently emit. This work paves the way for more collaboration between municipalities and communities to reduce their energy costs, decrease carbon emissions and address the identified risks of climate change.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

“Use community power, grassroot investment to fuel recovery”

The Energy Mix / 13 August 2020

A group of seven renewable energy co-ops from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Nova Scotia is calling on the federal government to emphasize community power procurement, deep energy retrofits, and smart grid development in economic stimulus responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This stimulus would unlock untapped community capital for the fight against climate change, as a means to immediately create green jobs across the country and, most importantly, build a bipartisan support base for climate change action,” the co-ops write, in a June 24 letter to Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna, Environment and Climate Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, and Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

How cutting speed limits could slow climate change

CBC News / Emily Chung / 13 August 2020

According to Natural Resources Canada, driving a vehicle with an internal combustion engine at 120 km/h burns 20 per cent more fuel than driving at 100 km/h. An Ontario law that requires trucks to install technology to limit their speed to 105 km/h was estimated to have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 4.6 megatonnes between 2009 and 2020.

That’s largely because air resistance increases exponentially at higher speeds, reducing a vehicle’s fuel efficiency and generating more pollution per kilometre.

In addition, certain pollutants such as nitrogen oxides are generated mainly at higher speeds.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Canada’s last intact Arctic ice shelf collapses

The Energy Mix / 9 August 2020

The Milne Ice Shelf on Ellesmere Island, the last fully intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic, has collapsed, after losing 40% of its area over a two-day span at the end of July, Reuters reports.

“This was the largest remaining intact ice shelf, and it’s disintegrated, basically,” said University of Ottawa glaciologist Luke Copland.

“Entire cities are that size,” he added. “These are big pieces of ice.”

In an early August tweet, the Canadian Ice Service said the collapse produced a 79-square-kilometre ice island, explaining that “above-normal air temperatures, offshore winds, and open water in front of the ice shelf are all part of the recipe for ice shelf break up.”

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Indoor farm start-up seals deal with Farm Boy

Fieldless Farms / Media release / 05 August 2020

Fieldless Farms, a local Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) start-up, announced today that its cut lettuce mixes have hit shelves in Farm Boy stores. This is an important step for the company, which aims to bring year-round local produce to Canadians and reduce the country’s dependency on foreign imports […]

The company’s first farm in Cornwall, Ontario—which grows leafy greens using highly controlled environments, renewable energy, and without herbicides or pesticides—reached full commissioning and CanadaGAP certification earlier this month. The Farm Boy deal comes just one year after Fieldless quietly closed a $3 million first round of funding from local investors and Farm Credit Canada (FCC).

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

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