Local resilience « Transition Brockville

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Tag : Local resilience (88)

Microgrids: An idea whose time has come?

CBC News / Emily Chung / 24 January 2020

As the global population grows, so does the demand for electricity. But there are challenges, even now. More than a billion people around the world don’t have access to power grids. According to the Canada Energy Regulator, 200,000 people in Canada are not connected to the North American electrical grid and natural gas distribution pipeline systems.

We’re also seeing natural disasters and major weather events disrupt power supply, causing mass blackouts for days at a time. And when one part of the transmission system breaks down, it can paralyze the whole grid.

Enter the microgrid. A concept that’s been growing in popularity, it’s a power system that can operate independently or work in connection with bigger grids.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Involve local groups in protecting biodiversity

The Guardian / Severin Carrell / 31 August 2020

The “Edinburgh declaration”, published on Monday, urges leaders to work more closely with sub-national governments, indigenous peoples, national parks, local councils and wider society in meeting 20 biodiversity goals set out in the Aichi accord, signed in Nagoya, Japan, 10 years ago.

Those targets were due to have been met by 2020. None of them were, leaving global biodiversity in a parlous state, the statement says.

“The current approach is bust,” said Prof Des Thompson, principal science adviser at NatureScot, Scotland’s conservation agency, which oversaw the declaration process. “What we need to do is work with local communities, local governments and local communities – that’s how we’re going to meet those targets.”

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Task force urges $50B for ‘bold’, resilient recovery

The Energy Mix / 23 July 2020

An independent task force of Canadian finance and policy experts is calling on the federal government to invest C$50 billion over the next five years in five “bold moves for a resilient recovery”, with a $27-billion building energy retrofit program leading a list of 22 specific policy measures.

A resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic “means getting Canadians back to work at the same time as supporting the jobs, infrastructure, and growth that will keep Canada competitive in the clean economy of the 21st century,” the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery states in its preliminary report released Wednesday. It calls for five years of investments and policy measures “that go beyond short-term stimulus to put our economy on a low-carbon, climate-resilient, sustainable, and competitive pathway.”

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TB on #FYI @ YourTV

YourTV / Doreen Barnes / 21 May 2020

Christine Stesky from Transition Brockville joins us on #FYI to discuss sustainable living.

7 ways to build resilience at home

Treehugger / Katherine Martinko / 30 April 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has made people realize how dependent they are on the outside world for services, resources, and entertainment. Weeks of self-isolation have left many feeling vulnerable, scared, and bored. In the months and years that follow this pandemic, I suspect that more people will be wanting to build up their resilience at home. They won’t become outright preppers, who anticipate worst-case scenarios at every turn (and do have some worthwhile takeaway points for the rest of us), but they won’t want to feel so blindsided and exposed to disaster ever again.

I came across an article by Trent Hamm for The Simple Dollar blog, where he lists “12 frugal ways to become more self-sufficient.” This is exactly what I’m talking about, and I’d like to highlight a few of his points, and share some of mine. Self-sufficiency, or resilience, is always a smart goal to pursue, and it doesn’t have to be all or nothing; even a partial achievement can make a big difference. If you’re not already doing some or all of these things, you can start today.

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Food security experts warn of supply shortages, higher prices

CBC News / Kathleen Harris / 3 April 2020

[Elaine Power, a food security expert at Queen’s University,] said various problems caused by the pandemic — border closures restricting the movement of foreign farm workers, transportation and import bottlenecks, panic hoarding at grocery stores — can all contribute “massively” to higher prices or food shortages.

Even the honeybees normally imported from other countries to pollinate Canadian crops could become harder to source, she said.

All of this potential for scarcity should give Canadians a wake-up call about food security — something they’ve always taken for granted, she said.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

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