Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

It’s called a climate lens and why is Lanark County now looking through one?

By Ashley Kulp, InsideOttawaValley, January 4, 2023

In 2023, Lanark County is putting a new focus on how its business impacts the climate.

Going forward, county staff and council will be applying a climate lens to every decision made. Council formally endorsed the plan on a trial basis at its Dec. 14 meeting.

...She said the county isn’t unique in adopting the tool, which is in place in other municipalities such as Brantford, London and Muskoka. The City of Ottawa is in the process of developing one as well. 

Find the whole article here.

How to give your Christmas tree a 2nd life this year

By CBC News Ottawa, January 3, 2023

...before you haul it to the curb, here are a few ways Ottawa residents can give that evergreen a second life.

Donate your tree to a trail

The Kichi Sibi Winter Trail, in partnership with the National Capital Commission (NCC), has been collecting used Christmas trees for seven years.

Giving rinks that festive feel

Skating rinks around the city are also looking for donated trees to keep that festive feel alive. 

Find the whole article here.

 

 

Pellerin: Let's plow to help pedestrians in Ottawa, not just vehicles

By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, December 30, 2022

After rolling my ankles on badly plowed sidewalks six times too many while running 10K on Boxing Day, then standing in unduly large puddles crossing streets for many long days after the Dec. 23 storm, I need to ask: Why exactly do we insist on plowing snow towards the side of the road, not the middle?

...It’s infuriating to see how road users who aren’t sitting warmly in private vehicles are made to suffer because we’re unwilling to think differently about what to do to clear the snow that falls on us with predictability and regularity.

Find the whole article here.

Ottawa’s low-income neighbourhoods more likely to suffer from air pollution: report

By Adam Beauchemin, Capital Current, December 28, 2022

Low-income areas suffer from some of the poorest air quality in the capital, a new report from Ecology Ottawa reveals.

With the help of more than 100 volunteers, the environmental group tested the air quality of 46 locations in 2021, cross-referencing their findings with the median household income of neighbourhoods. 

Cheryl Randall, the climate change campaign organizer for Ecology Ottawa, said the areas that suffered from the worst air quality — South Vanier/Heron, Lowertown and the Byward Market — were also those with the lowest median income. “That analysis was very surprising,” she said. 

Find the whole article here.

City of Ottawa approved $90M in brownfields grants in 5 years

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, December 27, 2022

The City of Ottawa has approved more than $150 million in

tax breaks for developers who clean up contaminated sites since the program began 15 years ago, although it has paid out far less than that. 

City council voted to pause the brownfields grant program earlier this month while it awaits a review. Some council members including Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Coun. Shawn Menard want to make sure the city doesn't offer subsidies to encourage the redevelopment of former gas stations, print shops and other derelict sites where developers would likely build anyway.

Find the whole article here.

‘Yellow buses must go green’: Groups demand electric fleets for school transit

By Lauren Kearns, Capital Current, December 28, 2022

A yellow bus has been the universal sign of school for decades. Although the actual colour of the bus may not change, the tire tracks left behind may soon be green if a new Ecology Ottawa push for electric school buses is successful.

The group is one of many Canadian environmental organizations campaigning for an electric school bus fleet. The advocates argue that, not only are traditional diesel-powered buses harmful to the environment, they are also associated with significant health risks. 

...Cheryl Randall, the climate change campaign organizer at Ecology Ottawa, said children are at high risk for respiratory infections because their immune systems are not fully developed. 

Find the whole article here.

Ottawa is conspicuously absent on list of bird-friendly cities. Why?

By Joanne Laucius, Ottawa Citizen, December 26, 2022

When a list of 14 new “bird-friendly cities” was released at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal earlier this month, Ottawa was notably absent.

...Essentially, birds are a barometer of the health of the environment.

Which begs the question: is Ottawa less friendly to our feathered friends than other cities? Are our downtown canyons of office buildings more of a hazard? Do we not have enough greenspace? Or too many unsupervised cats?

Find the whole article here.

A car without a charger: Apartment, condo dwellers considering electric vehicles could be set to struggle

By Gord Holder, Ottawa Citizen, December 27, 2022

Williams, who got his car in late 2018, used to simply charge his Tesla Model 3 using a power-equipped bollard in the parking lot outside his condo.

But his situation has since changed. He’s struggling with a problem many future electric vehicle (EV) owners — especially apartment or condo dwellers — may be likely to face as the vehicles become more popular: he doesn’t have access to a battery charger at home.

Williams’ case exemplifies an ongoing debate: Could ever-increasing demand for chargers from electric vehicle purchasers drive their installation at multi-residential buildings, or should charger installation and availability precede EV buying decisions by rental apartment tenants and condo owners?

Find the whole article here.

Dreessen: Let's put roads on a diet and expand transit in Ottawa instead

By Toon Dressen, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, December 19, 2022

Decades of underinvestment in affordable transit, combined with continued expansion of car-dependent suburban communities and a housing affordability crisis, has resulted in communities being built outside the greenbelt. These are some of the fastest-growing neighbourhoods in the city.

...It is not too late to do the following:

• We need to make our communities complete by implementing walkable, accessible, bikeable networks within communities to access services and daily needs within a 15-minute community;

Find the whole article here.

Ontario's largest municipally-owned producer of green power just got a little greener

By Yahoo News, December 7, 2022

OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 7, 2022 /CNW/ - Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. is once again leading the way to a smart energy future. Through its subsidiary Portage Power, it has acquired two additional hydroelectric generating stations from TransAlta Renewables located on the Mississippi River in the Town of Appleton and Galetta Falls.

With a passion for environmental sustainability, Portage Power is the largest municipally-owned producer of green power in the province of Ontario. Including the addition of these two generating stations, the company will now own and operate 18 run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation plants in Ontario, Quebec and New York in addition to the 16 solar installations it has across the city of Ottawa.

Find the whole article here.

Ottawa council hoping transit fare freeze will help ridership bounce back

By Cindy Tran, Canadian Press, City News

Ottawa city council has voted to freeze transit fares for the upcoming year in an effort to restore the public's trust after the light rail transit system debacle, and to encourage more people to use public transit as they return to in-person work. 

The city's mayor said on Wednesday, Dec. 14 that he is also hoping that keeping adult and youth fares at $3.75 will help with affordability. The freeze will apply to all transit users across the board, instead of being targeted toward specific groups. 

Find the whole article here.

Climate change affecting Christmas trees

By the Canadian Press, City News, December 12, 2022

...Although Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia lead the country when it comes to producing Christmas trees, Hamelin said he expects the successive extreme weather events in B.C. will contribute to an ongoing shortage for years to come.

Climate change is also causing warmer weather overall, fuelling activity among pests that can plague trees already weakened by drought or disease, he said.

Find the whole article here.