Strikes February 3, 2023 – Canceled do to extreme cold weather warning
Bracebridge, Huntsville and Burk’s Falls
Notes from Meeting with Graydon Smith
Ever wanted to know what is actually said in meetings with politicians? Here are the notes from the meeting between Ontario Minister for Natural Resources and Forestry and Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Graydon Smith and representatives from several climate action groups, at Minister Smith’s Bracebridge office, Jan. 19, 2023.
Climate groups in Parry Sound Muskoka sit down face to face with
MPP Graydon Smith
Jan 26, 2023 – Media Release
Ontario fulfills pledge to strip conservation authorities’ powers
Jan 19, 2023 – The Narwhal
…The government sent two letters, one from Natural Resources Minister Graydon Smith, to city officials around 6 p.m. on Dec. 28, while the offices of city councils and conservation authorities were largely shuttered for the holiday break. The letters fulfilled changes outlined in last fall’s Bill 23, or the More Homes Built Faster Act, quicker than most expected, removing many powers and financial tools conservation authorities use to oversee and protect vital watersheds.
Ontario integrity commissioner, auditor general to launch Greenbelt investigations
Jan 18, 2023 – Toronto Star
Ontario’s integrity commissioner and auditor general both announced Wednesday that they would conduct separate investigations into the government’s decision to open protected Greenbelt lands up to housing development. Read Toronto Star story. (If this link requires a subscription, try your Muskoka Region / TorStar login.)
From The Narwhal: More fallout over Ontario’s environmental cuts, as watchdogs launch Greenbelt investigations. Read story.
What Brazil’s new president means for girls and women
February 01, 2023 – Raphaele Godinho
‘Amazing!’ Lula Applauded for Naming Amazon Defenders as Brazilian Ministers
U.N. Biodiversity Conference in Montreal – Dec, 2022
Preserve Biodiversity – Nurture ‘Everyday Awe’
We must combat the twin threats of climate change and the loss of biodiversity together.
FYI – Natural gas is primarily methane. In addition, various amounts of higher alkanes and low levels of trace gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and helium are present.
Read more about Gas Expansion projects in Muskoka.
- Create YOUR Personal Action Plan to reduce your carbon footprint!
- Visit the Challenge page for ideas to get you started.
- Let’s take action together.
Warning: This is not the good news department
Atmospheric levels of all three greenhouse gases hit record high –Oct 26, 2022 -The Guardian – Scientists warn world ‘is heading in wrong direction’ amid rise in nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane
Fossils, Fertilizers, and False Solutions: How Laundering Fossil Fuels in Agrochemicals Puts the Climate and the Planet at Risk – Oct 2022 -CIEL – Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides are fossil fuels in another form … an underrecognized but significant driver of the climate crisis.
World on brink of five ‘disastrous’ climate tipping points, study finds -Sept 8, 2022 – The Guardian – Giant ice sheets, ocean currents and permafrost regions may already have passed point of irreversible change.
U.N. Secretary−General António Guterres warns of a “dangerous disconnect” between what scientists and citizens are demanding to curb climate change, and what governments are actually doing about it.
Windsor gets taken for a ride by dirty fossil fuel developer
Jan 17, 2022
Mayor Dilkens and Windsor City Council chose to listen to a fossil fuel power developer rather than the citizens of Windsor, who reminded them that the city has declared a climate emergency and has endorsed the call for the province to phase-out gas fired power. – more here
Red List Calls Out ‘Perfect Storm of Unsustainable Human Activity Decimating Marine Life’
December 10, 2022 – JESSICA CORBETT – Common Dreams
“Today’s IUCN Red List update reveals a perfect storm of unsustainable human activity decimating marine life around the globe. As the world looks to the ongoing U.N. Biodiversity Conference to set the course for nature recovery, we simply cannot afford to fail,”
This is the good news department
Record solar and wind output is crushing coal in EU – and is already beating gas
Feb 1, 2023 – In 2023, Europe is set to witness a huge fall in fossil fuels – of coal power, yes, but especially gas power.
Electric buses hitting London streets as school returns
Jan 9, 2023 – London Ontario – Families heading back to school this morning may notice something new on London roads — electric school buses.
Electricity prices plunge as Greens hail cap and “beginning of the end of gas”
Dec 15, 2022 – Australia, Renew Economy – Giles Parkinson
Prices of electricity futures have continued their fall as the federal government’s controversial gas price cap legislation passed through parliament, along with measures that will urge and help households to quit gas and go electric.
U.S. States, Cities Turn to Zoning Reform to Slash Emissions – December 18, 2022 “Conversations about reducing emissions typically focus on electric Vehicles … But increasingly, are aiming not just to get Americans into different kinds of cars, but to radically reduce the need to drive in the first place.”
Fast transition to renewables will save the world $18 trillion, says Oxford study – September 14, 2022 “Renewable costs have been trending down for decades. They are already cheaper than fossil fuels in many situations,
Busiest ferry routes inside Arctic Circle go electric – Norway’s successful transition to zero-emission transport sector continues. By the end of 2022, the last remaining ferry connection along European route E6, Bognes-Skarberget, will operate on batteries.
This 100% solar community endured Hurricane Ian with no loss of power and minimal damage – Oct 2, 2022 – CNN
… 700,000 individual panels — generates more electricity than the 2,000-home neighborhood uses, in a state where most electricity is generated by burning natural gas
More people now work in clean energy than in fossil fuels – Sept 8, 2022 – Quartz – Nearly 40 million people worldwide work in jobs related to clean energy, according to a report from the International Energy Agency.
Sophie Howe has a uniquely forward-looking job. – April 5, 2022 –Since 2016, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has been tasked with ensuring her country’s public institutions are taking into consideration how their actions affect Welsh citizens who haven’t been born yet.
B.C.’s Incomappleux Valley of ancient trees, rare animals preserved
January 26th 2023 – Canadian Press
A valley of giant trees, lakes and wetlands in southeastern British Columbia nearly 200 times the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park is being preserved in an agreement with governments, Indigenous groups, a forest company and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
The partnership to protect the Incomappleux Valley east of Revelstoke, B.C., involves Interfor Corp. giving up about 75,000 hectares of its forest tenure.
The valley is a rare inland temperate rainforest with substantial areas of mature and old-growth trees, some ranging in age from 800 to 1,500 years.
Renewables to Deliver 90% of New Electricity, Become Biggest Source by 2025, IEA Says
December 8, 2022 – the Energy Mix
Key countries around the world are set to add as much new renewable energy capacity over the next five years as they did over the last 20, as governments look for affordable supplies that can address the overwhelming energy security issues raised by Russia’s war in Ukraine, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its Renewables 2022 report.
IEA Heat Pump Report Signals Bigger Shift on Road to Net-Zero
Dec 3, 2022 – the Energy Mix
When the International Energy Agency embraces the lowly heat pump as a cornerstone for its big-picture energy modelling, you know we’re living in a different world.
The Paris-based agency’s report last week dug into a breakthrough opportunity to heat and cool buildings more efficiently, shift demand from fossil fuels to electricity, and get energy costs under control for households and businesses.
The Future of Heat Pumps – Analysis – IEA