By Andrew Duffy, Ottawa Citizen, May 24, 2022
It helps them reproduce by spreading seeds and pollen, it governs their growth and height, and it brings down the old and the weak.
Such was the case Saturday when thousands of trees in Ottawa were damaged or uprooted during the powerful spring storm that battered the region with what have been described as “hurricane-force” winds gusting to 120 km/h.
By City News
The City of Ottawa will carry out a green bin blitz in neighbourhoods hardest-hit by the weekend storm, to ensure that organic waste is collected as soon as possible, including food that has spoiled during power outages.
The focus will begin in the Stittsville, Knoxdale-Merivale, River and Cumberland wards, and residents are being asked to set out their green bins for collection.
By Ashley Culp, InsideOttawaValley, May 22, 2022
Lanark County has been making strides toward saving the climate, but is saving money more important?
Council may have answered yes to that question May 11 when they opted to seek natural gas options to replace heating and hot water systems in three Lanark County Housing Corporation (LCHC) buildings.
By Cleo Logan, National Observer, May 20, 2022 (something for Ottawa to think of??)
If a Vancouver gas station or commercial lot with 60 spots or more wants to avoid a $10,000 annual licence fee, it will need to have electric vehicle (EV) chargers available by 2025.
On Thursday, Vancouver city council approved a report first brought forward in April. Currently, gas stations and commercial parking lots pay a $243 fee for licensing. If they install EV charging infrastructure by 2025, that fee will remain; if not, the cost will jump to $10,000 each year.
By John Stone, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed
Last week, the federal government launched a consultation process to help bring together a national climate adaptation strategy for Canada by November, in time for COP-27, the next global climate conference to be held in Egypt. Building resilience against climate disasters will be high on the agenda.
There is no longer any doubt that climate change is real. The weekend’s devastating storm, which tore down trees and power lines all over Ottawa and wreaked havoc on much of Ontario, including deaths and serious injuries, was the most recent stark sign.
By Mahanaz Yakub, EV Autonomy, May 10, 2022
By Jessica MacDiarmid, National Observer, May 17, 2022
Premier Doug Ford said he won’t be satisfied until Ontario’s energy grid is 100 per cent clean during the second and final debate between political party leaders in advance of the province’s June 2 election.
...That is unlikely: emissions from Ontario’s energy grid are expected to triple by 2030 as natural gas fills the void left by the province’s three aging nuclear reactors set to go offline in the coming years.
By Pippa Norman, Ottawa Citizen
...Ever since the City of Ottawa switched to bi-weekly garbage pickup in 2012, he has seen a dramatic increase in the number of raccoons, rats and skunks making stops at their trash buffet, he said.
“People have nowhere to put it. They think they have to put it outside, and the longer it sits outside, the more vermin it attracts,” Allen said.
Now, he is even more worried, as the city weighs a proposal to limit the amount of trash that residents can put out for collection every two weeks. Go over the limit, and you would have to pay a fee for each extra bag of garbage. This is a variation on the “pay-as-you-throw” (PAYT) system that is designed to deter people from throwing out items they could reuse or recycle instead.
By Alex Cullen, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed
Decisions by the Doug Ford government are undermining local autonomy and public participation in matters of land development.
....The minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has the power to override local planning policies to impose zoning conditions to favour a site-specific development. This can be done without notice, without holding a public hearing involving affected residents,
...The city’s revised Official Plan seeks to accommodate growth through a combination of expanding the urban boundary and intensifying current urban areas. However, some land developers found their projects not included in the plan and are lobbying for inclusion (thereby increasing urban spawl).
By the Almonte Millstone News
Thomas Cavanagh Construction has applied to the City of Ottawa to reverse the existing EP3 environmental protection of 18 hectares of land immediately bordering Burnt Lands Provincial Park – a Nature Reserve class park at the intersection of March Road and Burnt Lands Road.
...“Friends of Burnt Lands” – concerned citizens of Ottawa and Mississippi Mills – have asked the City of Ottawa and Ontario government to reject the application. There is insufficient justification in the application to reverse the existing EP3 zoning / environmental protections.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Communities separated by the Transitway south of Lincoln Fields are alarmed that a bridge connecting them will be demolished with no hint from the city about when the new crossing will be ready.
...A replacement pedestrian bridge spans the Transitway not far to the north, but the city recently announced that it won’t be ready to provide uninterrupted access over the Transitway. The opening date for the new bridge is in the air because of a design snag involving a recently identified underground utility.
Par André Verville, Le Droit, le 14 mars 2022
POINT DE VUE/ Personne ne semble voir ce grand paradoxe qui s’est subrepticement développé depuis quelques années: les maires des grandes villes qui se font soudain les apôtres les plus motivés de la lutte aux changements climatiques, en s’attaquant publiquement à l’étalement urbain.
