Gas from fracking dirtier than coal?
Hydraulic fracturing, in pursuit of shale gas, can cause serious groundwater problems, which are sometimes excused on the ground that the climate needs natural gas to displace coal. It’s therefore shocking to learn that shale gas could have worse GHG emissions than coal, according to a…
Continue reading the post titled Gas from fracking dirtier than coal?The Green World Economy
The question for Canada is: will we be one of the winners, or one of the losers of this great transition?
Continue reading the post titled The Green World EconomyDrive Clean relaxes a bit
Ontario is proposing changes to the Drive Clean auto emission testing program. The changes would exempt all vehicles–cars, trucks and busses—less than 7 years old from being tested as part of their registration renewal. Any vehicle plated as historic would be exempted too (Vehicles pla…
Continue reading the post titled Drive Clean relaxes a bitCanada's last again on GHGs
Canada has yet to release its GHG numbers to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (or at least they aren’t yet posted on the UNFCCC site) despite a reporting deadline of April 15. We now have the dubious distinction of being the only Annex I (developed) country that hasn…
Continue reading the post titled Canada's last again on GHGsFracking and hazardous waste
Nova Scotia has followed Quebec, and has launched its own investigation into the potential environmental hazards of hydraulic fracturing to produce shale gas, especially the impacts on water. Meanwhile, the US EPA is anxious to formally start its own review. Its Science Advisory Board will …
Continue reading the post titled Fracking and hazardous wasteCongratulations to the new MPs
Well earned congratulations go to all three winners of yesterday’s federal election: the Harper Conservatives, who got their majority and may now succeed the Liberals as Canada’s “natural governing party”; the Layton NDP, who became the Official Opposition with a chan…
Continue reading the post titled Congratulations to the new MPsFracking, drinking water and regulation
Jessica Ernst has launched a multi million dollar lawsuit against Encana Corporation, the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, and the Alberta government for contamination of her property and drinking water due to Encana’s fracking program. Encana fractures rock to extract coal…
Continue reading the post titled Fracking, drinking water and regulationMumbling about climate change
As you’ve probably noticed, no one is talking about climate change in the federal election. The Ontario government is keeping the issue pretty low key too. They quietly released both their annual GHG mitigation report as well as its climate change adaptation plan and strategy with no f…
Continue reading the post titled Mumbling about climate changeFixing our turbine
A thirty-storey crane is working this week, in ferocious weather, to put a new and better bearing on the ExPlace wind turbine, owned by the Windshare community power cooperative and Toronto Hydro. Each of those three blades is the size of the wing of a jumbo jet. Climbing the turbine is an a…
Continue reading the post titled Fixing our turbineApprovals reform: the new application
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has published its draft requirements for complete applications for the new Environmental Compliance Approvals. These requirements are proposed to be the basis of a future regulation, which will set out generic requirements for all project types. A futu…
Continue reading the post titled Approvals reform: the new application