In order to preserve our planet, we need to learn to live in harmony with nature. On both the national and the local level, the Sierra Club Canada Foundation is engaged in promoting ways to live in a sustainable fashion.
It’s always nice to come back from a lovely vacation to good news – especially in a summer in which we are all sweating in the heat of impending climate chaos. And I’m happy to have some very good news to share with you.
As we have discussed so far, human beings have a profound impact on the environment. Throughout history, in different capacities, we have affected our natural surroundings in changing ways as technology evolved. As the world continues to become more urbanized, city-specific issues are some of the hot-button topics of the moment. (Photo: Ryan Searle)
Human activities have a profound effect on the environment. It is no secret that climate change, airborne pollution, the melting of the ice caps, plastic waste in the oceans, and various other disasters are advancing at alarming rates due to human operations in natural environments. With that said, plenty is being done to mitigate and reverse this damage; people are finding ways to embrace renewable energy, employ a circular economy model to reduce waste, and preserve wildlife all over the world, to name a few. (Photo: Berkay Gumustekin)
Let’s get started. Recycling is the process of converting waste items into new-usable products. There are tons of items that you can recycle such as plastic, steel, paper, and aluminum among others. When you are recycling your household items, you will be contributing to the conservation of energy and raw materials. (Photo: Lacey Williams)
The words “city life” tend to paint a certain picture in people’s minds. We think of public transportation, crowded streets, touristy places, and overall concrete jungles. There’s an exciting way of life that comes with living in cities, but this excitement could come at a cost by taking a bigger toll on the environment than one would imagine. Today, approximately 80% of Canada’s population (approximately 29 million people) lives in urban areas. Some 10 million of these people live here in Ontario, and about 6.9 million live in the Greater Toronto Area alone.
The Thundering Water Forest is a 500 acre woodland on the Welland River in Niagara Falls. For over two years, a struggle has been taking place between the Haudenosaunee First Nations and GR (CAN) Investment Co. Ltd., an investor for massive commercial and real estate development in Niagara Falls.
A report released May 9th, 2018 by the leaders of Canada’s top environmental organizations reviews the progress of the federal government in meeting its platform and mandate commitments on environmental issues across the country.
When the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig sank in 2010, it spewed raw oil into the Gulf of Mexico for months, wreaking untold damage on marine life. The spill was the largest ever in U.S. waters, and the full effects are still unknown.
It's been just over a week since Bill C-69, Canada's new impact assessment legislation was presented for first reading in the House of Commons.
Despite enormous pressures from developers and municipalities in the Niagara Region, the provincial government denied all requests to shrink and dilute the Greenbelt. This was done in two locations. One was in Grimsby south of the Niagara Escarpment, in an area that is increasingly being used for tree fruit and grape crops. Another is in a corridor from Lake Ontario to Lake Gibson, along the Twelve Mile Creek.
"Protecting Water for Future Generations" warns that increased storm water discharges created by urbanization "adds sediment to streams that can negatively impact fish and other aquatic species" and also "increase water temperature, affecting the survival of fish species such as brook trout that need cold water". It stresses that Brook Trout will not survive in warmer water created through the ecological degradation associated with urbanization.
Because of your support and strong commitment to the environment, we were able to take on some very challenging campaigns this year:
"Let's change our national motto - "From sea to sea" forgets that we have three oceans; the Arctic is largest part of our coastline. We're an ocean nation, if our youth grow up knowing that, it will change how we do things... 'From sea to sea to sea'!" - Geoff Green, Executive Director and Founder of Students on Ice
"...The more we all know about and love the ecosystem that embeds and surrounds us, the more we feel that we are a part of it, the more we will see ways to enjoy, protect, and enhance what we have..."
