Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Canadians need to see climate change solutions work

By Trevor Melanson, National Observer, December 22, 2021

...Some might say Canadians have finally woken up to the realities of climate change. Unfortunately, when it comes to actually solving the very big problem before us, fear is simply not enough. And the wrong kind of fear — the fear that nothing will get done — can even undermine progress if it drives people to lose faith in their political system.

As celebrity Canadian climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe recently remarked: “The most important thing most of us as individuals are missing when it comes to climate action is … a simple sense of efficacy or agency. If I act, can I make a difference?”

Find the whole article here.

Hyundai shuts down its engine development team amid focus on electric cars

By Fred Lambert, Electrik, December 28, 2021

Hyundai announced that it is shutting down its internal combustion engine development team as the automaker focuses on electric cars.

 

For 40 years the Korean automaker has been developing internal combustion engines to use in its vehicle lineup, but no more.

The Korea Economic Daily reports that Hyundai’s new R&D chief Park Chung-kook confirmed in an email to employees that they are shutting down new engine development

Find the whole article here.

 

Five things: Simmering local government issues move to the front burner in 2022

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, January 2, 2022

....Ottawa’s municipal dump is filling up. Fast.

So fast, in fact, that, if residents don’t reduce their garbage and don’t recycle more material, the Trail Road landfill could be full in 15 years.

...The City of Ottawa’s transportation master plan is eight years old and is undergoing an update, which has been delayed because of the pandemic. Transportation patterns have changed since council approved the scope of work in June 2019

Find the whole article here.

Mississauga a ‘cautionary tale’ as cities sprawl out across Southern Ontario

By Oliver Moore, Globe & Mail, January 1, 2022

With developments planned on the very last piece of untouched land available in Mississauga, the city’s decades-long era of sprawl is definitively over.

The city was once a bedroom community of Toronto so synonymous with suburbia that its long-time mayor was known as the Queen of Sprawl. That mayor, the since-retired Hazel McCallion, eventually recognized her city couldn’t expand forever and started a push for intensification.

Find the whole article here.

Smog warning issued for several Quebec regions including Montreal and Quebec City

By Canadian Press, Globe & Mail, January 1, 2022

Environment Canada has issued a smog warning for several Quebec regions along the St. Lawrence River, including Montreal and Quebec City.

The federal agency says that it expects poor air quality in the affected regions today due to high concentrations of pollutants in the air.

...It also covers parts of the Beauce region, south of Quebec City, and in Gatineau, near Ottawa.

Find the whole article here.

Boswell: Ambitions for Ottawa – Seven new ways Ottawa could become Canada’s capital next year

By Randy Boswell, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, December 29, 2021

Green Capital 

...This is now an uncommonly beautiful place, and we should jealously protect every inch of our abundant natural endowments.

Climate Action Capital 

Severe floods, tornadoes, heat waves and ice storms of recent times, right here in the capital, remind us that no place on Earth is spared the effects of climate change.

Find the whole article here.

How an Ottawa company diverts food waste from landfills

By Robyn Miller, CBC News Ottawa, December 29, 2021

An Ottawa-based company is trying to change the way households across the country dispose of food waste with innovative technology that speeds up the composting process to a matter of hours.

Food Cycle Science has signed up about 20 municipalities across Canada to pilot its FoodCycler, a small food waste recycling machine the company claims can reduce the weight and volume of food waste by 90 per cent.

Find the whole article here.

Egan: Tallying the trees — urban forest volunteers branch out across city

By Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, December 25, 2021

With climate change and housing intensification — on top of murderous insects and freak storms — residents all across Ottawa (and maybe the pandemic helped) are watching their urban canopy with more organized eyes.

Neighbourwoods, a program developed by a pair of University of Toronto academics, is being used in pockets from Centretown to Kanata as way to count and assess our bigger trees — then plan for their well-being.

Find the whole article here.https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/egan-tallying-the-trees-urban-forest-volunteers-branch-out-across-city

Plogging my way through the pandemic with PPE a pervasive new source of plastic pollution

By Megan Gillis, Ottawa Citizen

Now it’s just second nature to grab my claw and head out for a quick walk in my central Ottawa neighbourhood, typically turning up at least a dozen disposable masks, along with scattered coffee cups and granola bar wrappers.

But talking to marine biologist Justine Ammendolia has given me a whole new perspective on my pandemic pastime — that we haven’t even started to grapple with the environmental impact of protecting ourselves from this virus.

Find the whole article here.

Instead of trashing your Christmas tree, consider giving it a second life

By CBC News Ottawa

After the eggnog is drunk and the ornaments come down, most families leave their Christmas tree on the curb to be picked up and disposed of at a municipal landfill. But this year, the Nature Conservancy of Canada has another suggestion.

"Throw it out in the backyard, just give it a heave off the back deck," said Andrew Holland, the head of media relations for the conservation advocacy group.

Leaving the tree outside on the lawn can have many benefits for people's yards and the creatures that call it home, he said.

Find the whole article here.

Lyse-Pascale Inamuco: Ambitions for Ottawa — Green public transportation: Be bold

Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, December 27, 2021

... So my ambition is to make affordable, green public transit and active transportation a reality. I imagine car and truck tunnels that will free up surface space for cyclists and pedestrians; old bridges transitioned into green crossings for tramways and bike/pedestrian lanes; free transit for low-income families for whom it is an essential service. The National Capital Region can make meaningful efforts to reduce pollution by 2030.

Find the whole article here.

Pellerin: Revert reds — and red reverts — ought to be killed. Here's why

By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, December 27, 2021

... I refer you to the issue of revert reds, also known as red reverts, which I swear I am not making up. It’s something members of the Powerful Bike Lobby care about a great deal, starting with Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper who has valiantly tried, but failed, to get the City to kill them dead.

...It happened because the sensor, noticing your departure from the sidewalk a smidge earlier than you were supposed to, assumed you were no longer present and in need of crossing the street so it reverted back to red right there in your face

Find the whole article here.