Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Elon Musk says Tesla to remain public

By CBC News, August 24, 2018

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk said Friday that investors have convinced him that he shouldn't take the company private, so the firm will remain on the public stock markets.

The eccentric and sometimes erratic CEO said in a statement that he made the decision based on feedback from shareholders, including institutional investors, who said they have internal rules limiting how much they can sink into a private company.

Musk met with the electric car and solar panel company's board on Thursday to told them he thought the better path for the company was to remain public, and the board agreed, according to the statement.

Group offers to purchase, plant vegetation in Braeside

By Derek Dunn, InsideOttawaValley.com, August 22, 2018

An environmental group is offering to purchase and plant vegetation in a section of McNab/Braeside.

At the Aug. 21 council meeting, Ottawa Riverkeeper’s Larissa Holman presented a plan for protecting the shoreline at Red Pine Bay in Braeside. The large parking lot and open space makes it easy for rain to carry foreign sediment into the river. The lack of vegetation leads to loose soil, causing shoreline erosion.

The group would like to see a variety of native plants, shrubs and trees planted throughout the area. The different types of roots would reach various depths and create a network that should strengthen the soil. Having rainwater absorbed on land will prevent, for instance, sand from plugging holes in pebbled areas under the river that fish eggs need for protection. Red Pine is known to have spawning beds.

Opinion: Policies on petroleum and pipelines move us closer to a 'Hothouse Canada'

By the Ottawa Citizen, August 24, 2018

This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.

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Author: Simon Dalby, CIGI Chair in the Political Economy of Climate Change, Wilfrid Laurier University

It is another hot, hot summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

Sweden is having trouble fighting wildfires north of the Arctic Circle. Greece has seen its worst wildfires in years, and even Britain has been scorched.

In Canada, British Columbia has, once again, declared a state of emergency, and Calgary has air quality problems because of the smoke. As researchers who watch these things know, all of this is being made worse by climate change.

Today's letters: Heron Gate, OC Transpo and a thank-you

By Katherine Kimbell, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, August 24, 2018

(...)Please keep our bus service

A reduction of OC Transpo bus 11 service at its western extension to Bayshore is to begin on Sept. 2. Bus service will be reduced by 50 per cent for residents on or near Richmond Road, west of the intersection of Carling and Richmond roads.

While OC Transpo says this change will facilitate bus connections to the coming LRT, this means huge loss and inconvenience to many disabled bus riders who greatly depend on route 11 at its western end.

These disabled persons about to lose half of their bus options are mobility-limited from various reasons of age, disability and low income. Many have no cars and absolutely need good bus service.

Aging OCH rowhouses to make way for new tower

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, August 21, 2018

Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) is tearing down 32 rowhouses in west Centretown this week to make room for a new social housing development that's more energy efficient than most modern houses.

The Rochester Heights community, between Booth and Rochester streets close to Chinatown and Little Italy, dates back to 1966.

The city's arm's length housing operator moved out tenants on the north side of Gladstone to make room for its first foray into what's known as net-zero building. A bank of solar panels and well-insulated walls should allow the $34-million building to create more power than it uses.

Blue Shoes Honey growing Ottawa's beekeeping community

By Drew May, 1310 News, August 22, 2018

Brian Lacey doesn’t flinch when of hundreds of honeybees swarm around him, or at the thought of being stung in the face.

The founder of Blue Shoes Honey doesn’t even wear gloves when he opens up one of the roughly 150 honey bee colonies he keeps near Vars, Ont., about 20 minutes east of Ottawa.

“[Honeybees are] just a beautiful insect and the services they provide ecologically speaking are unparalleled, that’s pretty fascinating to me,” he said.

Blue Shoes Honey sells local honey at farmers’ markets around Ottawa, including the ByWard Market, Lansdowne Farmers’ Market and Westboro Farmers’ Market. Lacey also breeds queen bees and offers classes on beekeeping to beginners, something he is very familiar with.

West Nile Virus found in Perth and Ottawa mosquitoes

By Ted Raymond, CTV News Ottawa, August 23, 2018

The Leeds, Grenville, and Lanark District Health Unit says West Nile Virus has been found in mosquitoes in Perth.

So far, no human cases of West Nile Virus have been reported by health officials in Lanark County.

The City of Ottawa also says West Nile Virus has been spotted in local mosquitoes. Again, no human cases have been identified.

The virus is spread to humans who are bitten by an infected mosquito. The risk of illness is low, officials say, but they advise you to watch out for flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle aches, and rash. Most people will not experience symptoms.

Broken water main creates sinkhole in Lowertown

By Ted Raymond, CTV News Ottawa, August 23, 2018

City crews are on scene of a broken water main on Cobourg St. near Tormey St. in Lowertown.

Reports started coming in at around 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

A large hole has opened in part of the street, forcing OC Transpo to detour buses and suspend service at stops along Cobourg.

Gatineau councillors call for emergency garbage pickup

By Amanda Pfeffer, CBC News Ottawa, August 23, 2018

As frustration over illegal dumping grows, Gatineau city councillors held a special council meeting Thursday to consider tweaks to new rules for garbage pickups, as well as extra curbside collections for bulk items.

Since new restrictions on garbage came in on July 15, one change in particular involving large items seems to have led to rampant illegal dumping of things like mattresses and couches.

The city has received numerous complaints about illegal dumping since the change. The resulting mess had several councillors at the meeting calling for an emergency clean-up.

ARMCHAIR MAYOR: Why Ottawa needs a 'River School'

By Meredith Brown, Ottawa Citizen, August 21, 2018

On Oct. 22, citizens of Ottawa elect a new city council. To help local candidates as they campaign, the Citizen asked people for ONE idea that would make the city a better place. Today, Meredith Brown takes the plunge.

Canada is a nation not just of lakes and oceans but of rivers. Ottawa is built at the confluence of three, the Rideau, Gatineau and Ottawa, and lies within the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem. In our nation’s capital, diverse minds come together and make decisions that influence the future of our water. Ottawa needs a River School to connect youth to water and to help guide and inspire our future water leaders.

Managing both Canada’s and Ottawa’s freshwater ecosystems is no simple task, yet is essential to human health and to environmental sustainability and economic prosperity. It’s widely recognized that we must develop the capacity of young people to contribute to the sustainable management of water and other sustainable development goals.

Today's letters: Crossing guards, transit and traffic safety

By Francine Beaupré and others, Ottawa Citizen Letters to the Editor, August 21, 2018

Dangerous corner need crossing guards

Come September, many little children walking to school all over Ottawa will find crossing guards to see them safely across the street. When the crossing guard signals, motorists know they must stop, and they do.

Come September, however, there will be no crossing guard at the corner of Delmar Street and Pleasant Park Road. Children will cross by themselves if they are students at Pleasant Park School.

Should there be one? Yes. Delmar and Pleasant Park is a dangerous intersection.   City staff have determined the corner to be a dangerous crossing for schoolchildren. Why no guard? At present, the city has no money to hire guards for this corner or for a number of others.

Inspectors found problems with concrete work at LRT sites, new reports show

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, August 22, 2018

Inspectors have found a range of problems with concrete work at the city’s LRT sites, according to newly released inspection reports that offer a behind-the-scenes look at Ottawa’s biggest infrastructure project.

The problems relate to concrete pours at worksites such as unacceptable temperatures and missed durability tests, and have forced contractors to sometimes redo work or come up with workarounds.

The city finally released the 63 reports to Ken Rubin after he successfully convinced a provincial adjudicator that the records are of public interest. Rubin, an Ottawa access-to-information specialist, was originally stymied by the Rideau Transit Group, which didn’t want the city-held records released. The city, which agreed with Rubin that releasing the records wouldn’t cause harm to RTG, has the documents since RTG is its main contractor on the $2.1-billion LRT project.