Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Scott Aitchison is one of the top Facebook spenders in Canada trying to convince us to ditch carbon pricing (also known as our carbon rebate. The one designed to encourage us all to switch to renewable energy and the one in which about 80% of Canadian households – many lower-income – get back more than they spend. Fun fact that never comes up with the axethetax set.) – CBC story here
Ontario’s Bill 212 passed: Highway 413 is in and bike lanes are out. What now?
Nov. 26, 2024 – Emma McIntosh – the Narwhal
The new law empowers Doug Ford’s government to move ahead with the highway without an environmental assessment, and with little recourse for First Nations and other landowners along the route.
… Bill 212, also known as the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, passed Monday night after a chaotic, divisive month of protests, capped off when the government pushed through a raft of last-minute additions. Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria has argued the package will help relieve the Greater Toronto Area’s major traffic problems, even though decades of evidence shows new highways make congestion worse in the long run and new bike lanes can often make it better.
Low-carbon tech needs much fewer materials than it used to; this matters for resource extraction in the future
Improvements in material efficiency + recycling = super-circularity.
Nov 12, 2024 – Hannah Ritchie – Sustainability by numbers
A solar panel installed in 2004 will be reaching the end of its life sometime this decade. Now, if we could recover most of that silicon (which isn’t common today, but scientists are making progress on methods to recycle it back into silicon suitable for new panels), then theoretically it could be enough to make eight new panels.1 Realistically, recovery rates wouldn’t reach 100%, so let’s assume it’s only 80%—that would still be enough for six new panels.
A household in Toronto that replaces gas-powered vehicles with equivalent electric versions, installs a heat pump, forgoes natural gas appliances and makes a few other energy efficiency upgrades could save $550 per month. That’s $6,600 per year.
Read our Biweekly Newsletter -> Here
Carbon pricing 101: How it works!
April 11, 2024 – By David Suzuki with contributions from Senior Editor and Writer Ian Hanington
Carbon pricing can be confusing. Simply put, it’s designed to increase costs of burning polluting fossil fuels and encourage cleaner alternatives. It creates a financial incentive for people and businesses to pollute less. Rebates help keep household costs down.
Community Carbon Challenge
Active Transportation
I will advocate locally for safe connected bike lanes and for safe connected walking and hiking trails. Quote: “Bicycle lanes are an essential element of urban transportation planning and road safety.” Source: Association of Municipalities of Ontario in response to Ontario Bill 212.
It is time to plan for and build active transportation infrastructure in Muskoka. Talk to your local municipal councillor about what is needed to connect your neighbourhood to an active transportation network.
We can make Muskoka an international ecotourism destination by providing sustainable travel options that connect tourists with Muskoka’s natural habitat, accommodations, camping opportunities, and our heritage communities.
Resources
- Active Transportation for Muskoka — Climate Action Muskoka
- Do bike lanes really cause more traffic congestion? CBC
Political Action Of The Week – Contact Decision-makers Opposing the Highway 413 Act and Bill 212
| Artists For Real Climate Action Presents Meet The Big Oil Alliance: Four Oil Execs and a Vampire Walk Into a Boardroom |
“Natural” gas or methane: which would you choose?
Actor Rick Roberts of Artists for Real Climate Action asked some passers by what type of stove they prefer to cook with: natural gas or methane? It’s a trick question – but the reason why may surprise you. – watch the video