Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Cyclist skeptical of shoulder safety on rural roads

By Devyn Barrie, StittsvilleCentral, January 7, 2018

The city has paved the shoulder of a stretch of Fernbank Road in an effort to improve cycling infrastructure in the Goulbourn area, but one local cyclist isn’t convinced.

A portion of Fernbank Road between Shea Road and 500 metres west of Terry Fox Drive was paved over the summer with the goal of better connecting bicycle facilities with OC Transpo. It was one of the projects funded by a $4-million grant from the federal government’s Public Transit Infrastructure Fund.

“The options are limited in the rural area to figure out how to connect transit to cycling,” said Scott Moffatt, councillor for Rideau-Goulbourn, the ward which the section of Fernbank Road is a part of.

Driverless cars could be coming soon to Ontario roads

By Allison Jones, CTV News Ottawa, January 9, 2018

TORONTO -- Ontario drivers could soon find themselves motoring along the highway next to a car with no one in the driver's seat.

The province's Liberal government is proposing to change the rules of its 10-year automated vehicle pilot project to allow for driverless testing. Currently, the testing of fully autonomous vehicles is only allowed with a driver behind the wheel, but the government is seeking public comment on a proposal to scrap that requirement.

"Ontario is well-positioned to be a global leader in the development, testing and deployment of connected and automated vehicles and is taking steps to secure that role," Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said in a statement.

Canada introduces new asbestos rules

By Julie Ireton, CBC News Ottawa, January 8, 2018

Canada is moving ahead with its promised asbestos ban by proposing the prohibition of the use, sale, import and export of asbestos and products containing the hazardous material.

The federal health and environment departments are both sponsoring the proposed changes aimed at eliminating the market for asbestos products in this country.

The government now acknowledges that all forms of asbestos fibres, if inhaled, can cause cancer and other diseases.

Reevely: OC Transpo to test new tire treads for better snow traction

By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, January 8, 2018

OC Transpo will test new tire treads this winter to try to get buses better traction in deep snow, says the transit agency’s director of operations.

“Once you get over that five-centimetre snow accumulation on roads, that’s when most vehicles, especially our buses, tend to have traction issues,” Troy Charter said Monday, as OC Transpo was fighting its way back from a morning rush hour made difficult by snow that began Sunday afternoon and fell for most of a day.

From wild to mild: What happened to the deep freeze

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, January 8, 2017

A southwest wind blew in mild air and moisture, finally, ending such a long streak of air literally from Siberia that someone could have built a case for Russian meddling with our weather.

The snow was the big news, and as it tapered off Monday afternoon, Ottawa had received 18 centimetres since it began falling late Sunday afternoon.

But it also turned mild in a big hurry.

Ottawa’s temperature started rising early Sunday, all day and through the night, and settled just below the freezing point by lunchtime Monday. It ended a three-day stretch with lows ranging from -25 to -28, and big, chilly winds.

The change in winds after weeks of blowing from the north was the main reason for the weather shift, said David Phillips, Environment Canada’s senior climatologist.

Ottawa urged to consider environmental impacts of legal marijuana

By Laura Kane, City News, January 8, 2018

VANCOUVER – Dan Sutton always assumed cannabis had to be grown indoors.

The former technology professional was new to the marijuana industry in 2012 when he founded Tantalus Labs. The stereotypical image of a large industrial warehouse, with pot plants growing under bright lights and fans, loomed large in his mind.

But when Sutton asked academics, horticulturists and engineers for advice, they all told him that no crop on the planet is grown indoors on a commercial scale.

You can now report sick and injured animals to 311

By StittsvilleCentral, January 5, 2018

Starting Friday, January 5, the City of Ottawa will handle calls about sick and injured animals and will take on responsibility for transporting them.

If you see an injured domestic animal, such as a dog or cat, or small wild animal, such as a raccoon, squirrel, rabbit or skunk, please call 3-1-1. The City will assess the situation and dispatch a fully trained by-law officer to transport the animal, if needed. The by-law officer will bring the animal to either the Ottawa Humane Society or an emergency veterinary hospital.

The City has 54 by-law officers who have received training in the care and handling of animals. The City will hire a new wildlife management officer who will lead a specialized team of up to eight officers that will handle animals and deal with the increase in calls.

Claims that air pollution may cause a host of diseases are mostly false

 

By Warren Kindzierski, Ottawa Citizen, January 5, 2018

Barely a week goes by without reading in a medical journal or newspaper about another epidemiology study claiming that present-day air pollution in North America causes a disease.

According to epidemiology, air pollution still causes almost every disease you can think of… asthma, diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, early childhood leukemia from maternal exposure, the list goes on. The World Health Organization even says that air pollution causes lung cancer.

Sewer construction to block off parts of Confederation Park, surrounding streets

By Christian Paas-Lang, Ottawa Citizen, January 5, 2018

The construction of new sewage infrastructure in Confederation Park will cause temporary closures of adjacent traffic lanes and a portion of the park, starting in March.

Work to construct the Rideau Canal Interceptor Diversion Chamber is scheduled to continue until January 2019. It’s part of a larger city project, called the Combined Sewage Storage Tunnel, which seeks to reduce sewage overflows into the Ottawa River during heavy rainfall. The diversion chamber being built in Confederation Park will help push this project forward by diverting the flow of the current Rideau Canal Interceptor into the CSST system.

Napanee wildlife rescue centre appeals for help after fire destroys barn

By Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen, January 5, 2018

A Napanee wildlife rescue centre suffered “a devastating blow” Friday when fire destroyed a barn that held much of the straw and hay the centre needs for feed and bedding for its animals.

The fire at Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre broke out at about 11 a.m. and destroyed a barn on the property, about five kilometres west of Napanee. Only a few animals were in the barn and all but one pig and a rabbit were able to escape safely. The fire was extinguished at around 4 p.m. with the help of volunteer firefighters from Napanee and Deseronto.

Beer: Mayor Watson, stop turning your back on climate leadership

By Mitchell Beer, Ottawa Citizen, January 5, 2018

If Mayor Jim Watson and Ottawa city council had funded their signature light-rail project the way they committed to their “Energy Evolution” transition plan just before the holiday, they’d have made a bold, ambitious decision to retire OC Transpo’s last horse and buggy by 2025. And they would have put off the vote to fund replacement vehicles until the next term of council.

During budget deliberations late last year, Watson and the council majority allotted $500,000 – a pathetic 56 cents per Ottawa resident, with no dedicated staff – to begin implementing Energy Evolution, a set of nearly three dozen prioritized action items to begin making good on the city’s climate and energy commitments.

Kitchissippi year in review (2017 edition!)

By Anita Grace, Kitchissippi Times, January 5, 2018

2017 was a year of big news: Floods, fires, Donald Trump. But while these headlines grab our attention and sometimes keep us up at night, there are other things happening here in this community that we call home.

Here’s where we look back on the year that was: a year in which local businesses banded together and rallied the community to help homeless women; arts and music festivals closed the streets and gathered us together outdoors; the local restaurants expanded, won awards, or opened their doors for the first time. This was a year the community debated grassland that may be paved over, parking and transit issues, and, of course, infill and development. 2017 was also the year that many community newspapers suffered a blow, but we will continue to share Kitchissippi’s stories as long as you are reading them.