Syncrude sentencing put off re ducks
Syncrude has decided to make a deal, if it can, rather than keep fighting. The trial for killing 1600 ducks in a tailings pond was scheduled to resume August 18, in order to decide whether Syncrude can be fined for both the federal and provincial offences. Instead, the case has been adjour…
Continue reading the post titled Syncrude sentencing put off re ducksWhen is wood waste renewable?
Is biomass really renewable? The Green Energy Act treats wood waste as an infinitely renewable source of energy, like sunlight and wind. But is it? Biomass sceptics have pointed to high costs (in money and in energy) to collect, transport and handle wood waste, especially as fuel for el…
Continue reading the post titled When is wood waste renewable?Off-shore wind- lake zoning?
Ontario’s process for making Crown land available for renewable energy projects continues into its second phase as the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) invite the public to provide input on where, when and how the Government should make Crown land available for off-shore wind projects. Th…
Continue reading the post titled Off-shore wind- lake zoning?What do we owe our neighbours?
Property owners must not worsen problems faced by their neighbours. In Donley Investments Ltd. v. Canril Corp., Canril owned a vacant commercial property at 90 George Street in Ottawa, one inch west of the Donley building. The Donley basement began flooding in February 2003, after a broken C…
Continue reading the post titled What do we owe our neighbours?Who’s got BPA, and so what?
What are Canadians made of? Not snakes and snails and puppy-dog tails, or even sugar and spice, as the children’s rhyme goes. Try lead and bisphenol-A (BPA).
Continue reading the post titled Who’s got BPA, and so what?Conservation Authority gets injunction, wetland protected
Is there real enforcement of conservation authority regulations? Often, no, but that may be starting to change. In Lakehead Region Conservation Authority v. DeMichele, the Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a permanent injunction preventing a developer from further dredging and filling in a …
Continue reading the post titled Conservation Authority gets injunction, wetland protectedSyncrude hearing resumes
Today, Judge Tjosvold will resume the Syncrude trial for the killing of 1600 ducks that landed on a badly managed, lethal tailings pond. He will decide whether Syncrude can be punished for both the federal and provincial offences that it committed. Anyone interested in the environmental toll…
Continue reading the post titled Syncrude hearing resumesWeather or climate?
It’s hard to know whether individual weather events are just random fluctuations, or whether they are growing signs of climate change. What we need to look for are patterns– is the weather changing? And how do the changes that are actually happening compare to those predicted for clima…
Continue reading the post titled Weather or climate?Seven years after the blackout
Seven years after ten million people were affected by the August 14, 2003 blackout, our electricity policy remains somewhat schizophrenic. I’m a strong supporter of the Green Energy Act; we do need to shift what we can to conservation and to small scale, distributed, renewable electric…
Continue reading the post titled Seven years after the blackoutHanna lawsuit against wind turbines grinding on
Procedural skirmishing is underway in the Hanna lawsuit against Ontario wind turbines.
Continue reading the post titled Hanna lawsuit against wind turbines grinding on