Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Kraus: Three lessons about nature – courtesy of your Christmas tree

By Dan Krauss, Ottawa Citizen, December 23, 2018

People living in the northern hemisphere have brought trees and boughs into their homes during the winter for thousands of years. The evergreens that we decorate with during Christmas can represent a celebration of holidays and a reminder that spring will come again.

I’m a Christmas tree traditionalist, and will never give up the ancient ritual of bringing a fresh tree into our home. Each year, Canada’s 1,872 Christmas tree farms produce more than three million pine, spruce and fir trees. In addition to supporting Canadian farmers, Christmas tree plantations provide habitat for songbirds, including chipping sparrow and American robin.

But what happens to your Christmas tree after the holidays?

T is for traffic: The truth behind Ottawa's traffic lights and the intersections we hate

By Bruce Deachman, Ottawa Citizen, December 25, 2018

Everyone has their own, that one intersection they feel is the worst in the city. A red light seemingly frozen in time, like a mosquito in amber, or, for pedestrians, a walk signal much shorter than the time needed to actually cross.

Mine is at the corner of Sunnyside and Bank streets, where eastbound motorists on Sunnyside during the afternoon rush hour can wait for what seems like a hell-spawned eternity before they get to the other side.

As I sit in my car, its idling engine burning a Mazda-sized hole in the ozone, I tell myself that city officials are likely simply unaware of the mistake that was made when the lights were programmed. I imagine how delighted they’ll be to hear of this error, realizing the joy they’ll be able to bring to countless residents who JUST WANT TO GET HOME.

OC Transpo launches winter service, adds new Barrhaven route

By CBC News Ottawa, December 24, 2018

Winter service has begun for OC Transpo, with a few changes over the holiday season and a plan to help ease congestion in Barrhaven.

This OC Transpo map shows how Route 275, introduced Dec. 24 in response to congestion on routes to and from Barrhaven, will work. (OC Transpo)

As of Sunday, several routes have new permanent schedules. They've been updated in response to the changing needs of riders, OC Transpo wrote.

Routes 38, 80, 89, 95, 105, 153, 175, 277, 278 and 283 all have altered schedules.

Heating oil drains into Ottawa River after spill in downtown Gatineau, Que.

By Krystalle Ramlakhan, CBC News Ottawa, December 22, 2018

An undetermined amount of heating oil has ended up in the Ottawa River after a spill in downtown Gatineau, Que., near the offices of the provincial environment ministry.

The spill happened at 170 rue de l'Hôtel de Ville during a delivery Friday, according to an email from ministry spokesperson Alexandre Ouellet, the regional director of the Outaouais Environmental Control Center.

Initially, the Quebec Ministry of Environment and Fight Against Climate Change said the spill, also near the city's courthouse, was between 700 and 1,200 litres.

Gower: From transit to transparency – my priorities for Ottawa

By Glen Gower, Ottawa Citizen, December 20, 2018

Seven new Ottawa city councillors recently took their seats at city hall. We invited them to outline their priorities. Today, Glen Gower of Stittsville ward:

As a first-time councillor I have no qualms admitting that I’m focused first on the priorities of my ward. Fortunately, Stittsville’s priorities align closely with those of the city as a whole: transportation, economic development, traffic safety and community engagement.

1. Transportation infrastructure. One of the greatest investments a city can make is building connections that allow residents to move freely inside and outside of their communities. In Stittsville, two road projects are high priorities: modernizing Carp Road, and finishing the Robert Grant extension from Fernbank to the Queensway. But roads alone are not going to solve our transportation challenges. Stittsville’s population could double in the next 25 years and the only affordable way to provide mobility is with investment in rapid transit: rail and buses.

Friday is the first day of winter — but are we counting wrong?

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, December 20, 2018

So what makes this the first day of winter, anyway?

It’s not the coldest or snowiest day. It’s not the first cold day. In weather terms, Dec. 21 is an in-between day — pretty cold on average, somewhat snowy too, but without any real reason to feel as though it’s the start of anything.

It’s not the day when you start needing winter tires or when you start wearing a winter coat.

Lakes are freezing over but are not yet safe to walk on; skiing is still iffy; outdoor skating? No way (in most of Canada, anyway).

‘Fast Fashion’: environmental impacts and what you can do as a consumer

By Amy Chyan, Global News, December 20, 2018

Our closets are getting fuller and fuller, but we’re throwing out clothes at a faster rate too.

The biggest culprit is fast fashion, combined with our addiction to consume.

READ MORE: This is why sustainable fashion matters

“We’ve just got into the cycle of excessive availability at really low prices,” said Kate Black, author of Magnifeco: Your Head-to-Toe Guide to Ethical Fashion and Non-Toxic Beauty.

“Fast fashion” is the trendy clothing dropping in stores and online that are coming to us cheaper, faster and sooner than ever before. Instead of following seasons, the business model for brands is to play a volume game and throw products into stores to see what will take off.

Meteorologist calls 2018 weather ‘a smorgasbord of everything that could go wrong’

By Bob Weber, Canadian Press, Global News, December 20, 2018

Choking from smoke, sweltering in the heat or cursing early or late snow, Canadians could be forgiven for asking just what the heck happened to the weather in 2018.

It was almost a smorgasbord of everything that could go wrong,” said David Phillips, senior climate scientist for Environment Canada. “I don’t think there was anything missing.”

Smoke, said Phillips, was Canada’s top weather story this year.

Ottawa mayor wants to see new RFP for LeBreton Flats project

By Mike Vlasveld, 1310 News, December 20, 2018

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson thinks the RendezVous LeBreton partnership was too dysfunctional to ever become productive.

"I think it was the right decision," he said of the National Capital Commission cancelling the contract awarded to RendezVous to redevelop LeBreton Flats.

"You know, clearly the relationship had deteriorated when you have one partner suing the other and the other suing the other. It was just not going to go forward in an amicable and productive fashion," explained the mayor. "It was a tough decision [for the NCC to make], obviously. But at the end of the day, when you have that level of dysfunction, I think most reasonable people would say, 'You know what? It's time to call a bit of a break.'"

Gatineau boil water advisory lifted

By Mike Vlasveld, 1310 News, December 20, 2018

A boil water advisory, which had been affecting about 24,000 people in the Hull area, has been lifted.

A Monday evening watermain break on Alexandre-Taché Boulevard prompted the advisory.

NCC moves to terminate RendezVous LeBreton’s bid for redevelopment

By CTV News Ottawa, December 19, 2018

The National Capital Commission (NCC) says it is moving to scrap its deal with RendezVous LeBreton, the preferred proponent to redevelop LeBreton Flats.

The NCC said the Board of Directors has decided to “terminate the preferred proponent term sheet” that was signed in January 2018 between RendezVous LeBreton and the NCC.

“Termination is effective 30 days following the issuance of the notice to this effect,” the NCC said in a news release.

Lebreton Flats Redevelopment

It went on to say that the board is “making sure that it is in a position to move quickly to maintain momentum on this important project” and that “termination of the term sheet will allow the NCC to proceed with the next steps in the redevelopment process at its next public board meeting in January.”

Residents fight to save Kanata Golf Club

By CTV News Ottawa, December 19, 2018

Residents are fighting back at proposal to have Kanata Lakes Golf Club demolished.

The mood is anything but festive around the table at Janice Lane's home along the 175-acre club; Lane said she paid a premium for the property several decades ago.

Passing around a petition Lane and her friends spent much of their christmas luncheon getting ready for a fight. "We love it here and we love it because of the golf course" said Lane.

The group, is one of many in the area, asking the city to stop Clublink from turning their community into thousands of houses; disregarding the decades-old agreement between the city and owners of the club guaranteeing it remain protected greenspace. Clublink, owners and operators of the club have expressed interest in developing the area with local partners Richcraft Homes and Minto Communities.