Smart regulation: if regulators studied psychology
How would environmental regulation be different if our regulators were up to date on current research in psychology and neuroscience? A leading American legal scholar and member of the Obama Administration, Cass Sunstein, published a detailed analysis in the University of Chicago Law Review.…
Continue reading the post titled Smart regulation: if regulators studied psychologyGreat Shoreline Cleanup
Our team was part of the Great Shoreline Cleanup last weekend- picking up trash along Toronto’s lovely waterfront. We had a great time, and cleaned up more than 30 kilograms of filth from near Sunnyside Beach. Next year, will you join us? Thank you to Jessica Yuan for the photo.
Continue reading the post titled Great Shoreline CleanupManaging fill- an update
A knowledgeable reader brings us up to date about “Managing Fill: when is surplus soil a “waste”, and where can it go?” Hello Dianne, You have done an excellent job of briefly capturing the excess soil handling issues in Ontario including the high costs, the continui…
Continue reading the post titled Managing fill- an updateDo the innocent get compensation after MOE orders?
Cleaning up your neighbour’s mess: Recovery of spill clean-up costs by the innocent party. It is clear that any civilized system of law is bound to provide remedies for cases of what has been called unjust enrichment or unjust benefit, that is to prevent a man from retaining the money of or …
Continue reading the post titled Do the innocent get compensation after MOE orders?Energy efficiency improving? Depends what you count
Energy efficiency improvements do pay off for Canadian companies, but there is still a long way to go.
Continue reading the post titled Energy efficiency improving? Depends what you countWhere are electronic documents for hazardous waste?
Where are electronic documents for hazardous waste? Under Ontario’s Regulation 347, waste generators must keep some documents at the waste generation facility, in either physical or electronic form. Physical storage at each waste generation facility may be challenging. Will cloud (or o…
Continue reading the post titled Where are electronic documents for hazardous waste?Citizen science: Home spectrometer and Big Data
Do it yourself spectrometer? Cell phone spectrometer add ons? Do it yourself aerial mapping with balloons and kites? Environmental data collection with citizen science devices could fill in some of the gaps created by government cutbacks, especially if combined with the NEON Big Data project.
Continue reading the post titled Citizen science: Home spectrometer and Big DataCan biased sampling create hazardous waste?
One of our current cases deals with a question that is critical to everyone in the waste business: can biased sampling make a non-hazardous waste “hazardous”?
Continue reading the post titled Can biased sampling create hazardous waste?Surging climate change: Record low ice and crop failure, who cares?
What will it take for climate change to become an election issue? Ok, lots of people don’t understand why the rapid disappearance of Arctic ice to its record low (and still melting) matters to them. (For a quick summary, try Why Arctic Ice Matters and the Arctic Ice Death Spiral. Accor…
Continue reading the post titled Surging climate change: Record low ice and crop failure, who cares?Contaminated site lawsuit: How not to win
Owners of a contaminated site are often too optimistic about their “rights” to compensation. Sometimes, chasing compensation for contamination just throws good money after bad. For example, Terrim Properties Ltd. wanted to build a gaming centre in Castlegar, B.C. Their loan fell…
Continue reading the post titled Contaminated site lawsuit: How not to win