Related Posts

  • Hungry for Climate Leadership

    Climate Fast on Parliament Hill

    On Wednesday September 25, 2012, five members of Sierra Club Canada joined the group Hungry for Climate Leadership on Parliament Hill in solidarity with their 12-Day Fast for Climate Change (seven climate activists began their fast on September 21st and will continue to fast until October 2nd).

    Leader of the Green Party of Canada Elizabeth May, who is fasting for five days in solidarity with the group, also came to show her support and sign the pledge that aims to (1) end fossil fuel subsidies, (2) put a price on carbon, and (3) support the development of a renewable energy plan for Canada. Hungry for Climate Leadership urges the Canadian government to take immediate action to help mitigate the climate change crisis.

  • Water scarcity's effect on feeding a population expected to reach 9bn by 2050

    Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.

    Humans derive about 20% of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to drop to just 5% to feed the extra 2 billion people expected to be alive by 2050, according to research by some of the world's leading water scientists.

    "There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations," the report by Malik Falkenmark and colleagues at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) said.

  • Ontario beekeepers want pesticide ban as hive populations decline

    Dan Davidson’s bees are dying, and by the thousands.

    “I was hoping this wouldn’t happen again this year,” said Davidson, a farmer near London, Ont. “But it is and we can’t do anything. The pesticide is so widespread … the bees can’t escape it.”

    The “it” he’s talking about is a group of insecticides known as neonicotinoids. These insect neurotoxins are wide used in agriculture — and have been linked to the decline of honey bees.

  • Fracking could taint water systems, study finds

    A new study of hydraulic fracturing - or "fracking" - in the United States, finds current methods for waste water disposal put drinking water at risk.
     
    Fracking involves pumping water, sand and other chemicals deep underground at high pressure to fracture rocks, allowing trapped natural gas to flow and be pumped to the surface.
     
    While resource companies have used the technology on a small scale for decades, it's expected to ramp up significantly as deep shale gas re-serves are tapped.
     
    But, in an American paper titled Water Pollution Risk Associated with Natural Gas Extraction from the Marcellus Shale, the authors found that the process is likely to contaminate nearby water systems.
     

  • Laura the Dragonfly creating a buzz on Parliament Hill; Pleads for protection at press conference

    OTTAWA – A species of dragonfly may be the next victim of the federal government’s gutting of environmental protection laws, says Sierra Club Canada. The Laura’s Clubtail Dragonfly (Stylurus laurae) along with the Coast Manroot (Marah oreganus), and Four-leaved Milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia) had their applications to be included on the Wildlife Species at Risk list denied by Environment Minister Peter Kent earlier last month (the July 4th announcement went unnoticed in the media).

  • Down The Wrong Track

    By Jeff Alan

  • Car prices to soar as Ottawa takes aim at emissions

    New rules aimed at protecting the environment will drive up the price of new cars and trucks by thousands of dollars but save motorists money at the pump.

    The federal government has hitched its wagon to U.S. President Barack Obama’s aggressive new vehicle fuel standards, which would slash greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes after 2020 but elevate the cost of vehicles.

    Environment Minister Peter Kent said Tuesday that Ottawa will match a proposal from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require that, by 2025, cars and light trucks be 50-per-cent more fuel efficient and emit half as much greenhouse gases as current models.

    The new regulations for cars built between 2016 and 2025 would mean both environmental and economic benefits for motorists by reducing pollution and lowering the fuel costs of operating their vehicles, Mr. Kent said.

  • Ancienne Loi sur les pêches: les évaluations étaient efficaces

    Montré du droit par le gouvernement Harper l'an dernier au moment des réformes des lois environnementales, le processus d'évaluation de l'ancienne Loi sur les pêches était en fait très efficace.

    C'est ce que conclut une étude, la première du genre, réalisée par une équipe de l'Université de Toronto et publiée par NRC Research Press, une entité indépendante du Conseil national de recherche du Canada depuis 2010.

    Jusqu'à la réforme Harper, le ministère fédéral des Pêches et Océans évaluait annuellement des milliers de projets susceptibles de toucher l'habitat du poisson. Entre 2001 et 2011, jusqu'à 13 000 projets ont été évalués chaque année, et au moins 7700 pour l'année la moins occupée.

  • UPDATE: #BlackOutSpeakOut Events

    #BlackOutSpeakOut Update

    We are just a week away from #BlackOutSpeakOut day (June 4th). I can tell you the campaign momentum is building! The list of participating organizations is over 100 and growing! Maude Barlow just told me The Council of Canadians is also joining the protest. All across the country Canadians are recognizing that silence is not an option in face of the war on nature and democracy.

    This week here in Ottawa we have two events:

    Event #1:

  • Action Alert: Sign the petition for an independent review on pipeline safety in Alberta!

    Sign here and Share!

    http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/we-need-an-independant-review-on-pipeline-safety.html

    Visit this website for more info!
    http://www.cleanalbertawater.com/#!home/mainPage

            

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