By Becky Reiner, National Observer
Ottawa resident Joan Lawrence says the key to living without air conditioning is all about “pacing yourself.”
“Calm down, move more slowly, get things done first thing in the morning before the sun gets too hot,” she says. “Work with the heat, rather than against it.”
...She adds they also have a couple of large, mature trees that help keep their house cool.
By Mohammed Adam, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, August 4, 2022
Municipal campaigns are so long that voters often have a hard time keeping track of what the candidates are all about. Campaigns begin with registration in May, then go through the summer when holiday travel is top-of-mind and politics takes a back seat. You can’t blame voters from tuning out.
...Ottawa residents need to pay particular attention beginning now because we are facing a consequential local election. We are not only electing a new mayor for the first time in 12 years, we could be electing 11 new council members, nearly half of council.
Par Ani-Rose Deschatelets, Le Droit, le 4 août 2022
La ferme Young Roots Farm est une petite ferme écologique qui se transforme en espace d’apprentissage accessible et permet aux jeunes campeurs, principalement issus de la diversité et de communautés vulnérables issues de familles à faible revenu, de nouer des relations significatives avec la nature.
By Josh Pringle, CTV News, August 4, 2022
Residents living in Kanata Lakes promise the fight to protect the Kanata Golf and Country Club from development is "far from over", despite Canada's highest court not hearing the city of Ottawa's appeal on an agreement protecting the land from a housing development.
...The Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition says it is disappointed, but not surprised the high court will not hear the case.
Par Kristy Nease, Radio Canada, le 30 juillet 2022
Si vous avez essuyé la puissante tempête (aussi appelée derecho) qui a abattu plusieurs milliers d'arbres à Ottawa en mai, il y a de fortes chances pour que vous ou quelqu'un de votre entourage ait ressenti de l'anxiété à chaque nouvelle alerte d'orage émise depuis lors.
Cathy Malcolm Edwards connaît bien ce sentiment.
Elle pense que le conifère massif qui se trouve dans la cour avant de sa maison de Carlington présente un risque sérieux de chute en cas de mauvais temps et qu'il devrait être enlevé. D’un autre côté, c'est un arbre dont elle reconnaît la contribution à l'environnement.
By Kristy Nease, Ottawa Citizen, July 30, 2022
If you lived through the powerful derecho storm that knocked many thousands of trees down across Ottawa in May, chances are you or someone you know has confessed to feeling anxiety with every new thunderstorm warning.
Cathy Malcolm Edwards knows the sensation well.
She thinks the massive conifer in her Carlington front yard poses a serious risk of falling in bad weather and should be removed, but at the same time it's a tree she respects for its contribution to the environment.
By Paris Marx, CBC News Op-Ed
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a bold claim: Canada "isn't just going to be a global player in EVs, … we get to be global leaders." Over the past year, the federal government has been announcing a series of deals with auto companies and suppliers aimed at growing the domestic electric vehicle industry.
...According to Statistics Canada, 73.7 per cent of Canadians live in urban areas, but the majority are in the suburbs, not the downtown core, and those suburbs keep growing. That reality is the product of decades of government policy that incentivized suburban living and prioritized cars above other forms of mobility.
By CBC News Ottawa, July 26, 2022
City of Ottawa transportation officials say they're aiming to restore full service to OC Transpo's light-rail system by Friday.
The City of Ottawa held a news conference Tuesday afternoon to address questions and concerns about OC Transpo's most recent light-rail failures, after a majority of trains were taken off the rails due to "technical issues."
By Megan Gillis, Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 2022
Spectators gathered Saturday to watch a new pedestrian and cycling bridge weighing about 131 tonnes being eased into its final position spanning the Rideau River.
...Judging from the knots of people watching — and thumbs up from passing cyclists, joggers and and people strolling on the National Capital Commission pathway — interest in getting feet and wheels on the bridge is keen.
By Bruce Deachman, Ottawa Citizen
When the derecho storm struck Ottawa in May, Chidera Onyegbule lost power in her South Keys home for five days. It was a situation that triggered a spike in her existential dread as she watched trees felled, food spoiled and much of Ottawa’s infrastructure fall apart, once again confronting her with the uncertain future she’s faced for half her life now.
...Onyegbule, 20, is in her third-year at Carleton University where she’s studying neuroscience and mental health. She’s part of a growing cohort of people, many but not all of them Generation Z or zoomers, who are experiencing eco-anxiety, in her case a fear of the future in relation to climate change, at unprecedented levels.
By Christine Larson, CBC News, July 21, 2022
The migratory monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the international endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.
..."There are things people can do to help," she said, including planting milkweed, a plant that the caterpillars depend upon.
By Jaela Bernstien, CBC News, July 13, 2022
Picture yourself walking through the downtown core of a city on a hot day in July. Heat radiates up from the asphalt. Rows of tall buildings stop the breeze from reaching you. There are no trees in sight — only blocks of concrete, steel and sweltering heat.
Extreme heat caused by climate change is already killing Canadians, and it’s going to get worse. The warming planet means heat waves will be more intense and more frequent than before.
