[All] Gren News Sept. 9/2015

Wed Sep 9 17:44:29 EDT 2015

Hi folks
Fall is on the way and lots is happening. Here's the latest. 
Local News
Sept. 28 deadline for Darlington Nuclear HearingIf folks would like to have a say on the Darlington Nuclear Power 13 year licence renewal process, the public deadline to submit either written or public comments is September 28th with hearings taking place starting Nov. 2nd.  Info to submit comments is here:http://www.opg.com/generating-power/nuclear/stations/darlington-nuclear/Documents/20150526_DLR_HearingNotice.pdfFolks are welcome to view the attachments to review concerns voiced by Greenpeace about this project. I have submitted my written comments and will be attending the hearings as well. The topics I covered are Zebra Mussels, Cladophora Algae issues and the risks of Oil Spills. From what I observed it appears that the treatment for Zebra Mussels may have actually resulted in the outbreak of Cladophora.  By killing off mussels with bleach and discharging waste water into the lake they likely created the perfect habitat for the Algae to thrive since it is more salt tolerant and there is less natural competition.  It's online here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e59aju59ru394ox/DarlingtonLanteigne2015.pdf?dl=0
Oct.3 - Robocall Movie in GuelphThere will be a public screening of the film Election Day: Voter Suppression with Director Peter Smoczynski taking place in Guelph on October 3rd .Details in the days ahead.  The final edits are under way but they are in need of $3330 to finish it up and crowdfunding is happening on line here: http://www.gofundme.com/edayfilm  
Oct. 8th - Kitchener Electorial DebateCandidate Election Debate with focus on Environmental issues will take place in Kitchener at Walter Fedy on Queen Street starting at 7pm on October 8th. GREN members are encouraged to bring deserts for folks to nibble on.  If you can bring deserts please be sure to email Susan Koswan at susankoswan at execulink.com
Further Public Debates, Dates and Times for the KW area:http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/where-to-find-all-candidates-meetings-in-waterloo-region-1.3203462

Only 39 days left till the next election!

Provincial News
Aamjiwnaang TourMajor rally at Aamjiwnaang took place on September 5th with over 300 people participating. Bus loads came from Toronto, Guelph, KW and folks as far away as Montreal who all participated in the Toxic Tour.  Here is a handy write up of the event thanks to the National Observer. (I'm the drummer on the left.) http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/09/07/news/first-nations-lead-protest-against-pollution-ontarios-chemical-valley
Enbridge Line 10Enbridge wants to replace a 12 inch pipeline running through Flamborough and Binbrook with a 20 inch pipe to facilitate the transport of US oil into Canada for refining. This pipe will link up with Line 9 to move oil east. Folks are getting ready for a fight on this issue. Details here:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/activists-ready-to-fight-enbridge-pipeline-expansion-through-hamilton-1.3219738

ECO's new websiteThe Environmental Commissioner of Ontairo has a new website chock full of excellent data on provincial environmental issues from Climate Change to Energy reports etc. It's online here: http://eco.on.ca/

National
Why corrosion might stop Energy East. http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/09/04/news/why-corrosion-might-take-down-energy-east

18 groups are uniting efforts to stop oil exploration in the gulf of the St. Lawrence River.http://aptn.ca/news/2015/07/21/groups-band-together-to-fight-oil-exploration-on-gulf-of-st-lawrence/
Bill Nye the Science Guy visited Alberta...and he's not happy http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/bill-nye-the-science-guy-visited-the-alberta-tar-sands-and-was-depressed-vgtrn
Most of Alberta's Oil is being produced at a loss. http://www.torontosun.com/2015/08/20/most-canada-oil-sands-crude-being-produced-at-a-loss-report
Alberta's final fiscal report is due later but projections of debt are from 6 to 8 billion. http://www.bnn.ca/News/2015/8/31/Alberta-forecasts-record-deficit-as-oil-price-shock-hits-budget-.aspx

Even Alberta Oil Magazine states oil sands may never see another new mining project.  http://www.albertaoilmagazine.com/2015/09/mining-project-oil-sands/
 US & International
US Geological Survey found neonicotinoid pesticides in 1/2 of the samples of US Streams it tested. It included both Urban and rural streams across the US and Puerto Rico. http://www.ktvz.com/news/Insecticide-found-in-half-of-sampled-U-S-streams/34779418#.Ve4brvM-iG8.twitter
California has voted to divest from Coal. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/03/3698289/california-coal-divestment/

Carbon Emissions from US Power Plants hits a 27 year lowhttp://www.climatecentral.org/news/power-plant-emissions-hit-low-19389

There was a 70% growth in the number of US homes with solar panels year over year for the most recent quarter and the US went from 4 states with vibrant residential solar markets in 2013 to 10 states today. http://fortune.com/2015/09/09/solar-panel-record-america/
Latvia and Greece say no to Monsanto's GMO Corn. https://ecowatch.com/2015/09/02/european-countries-ban-gmos/
Russia decrees every gas station must have Electric Car Chargers within the year. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099934_russia-decrees-every-gas-station-must-have-electric-car-charging-too

New UN Waste Management report states holistic waste management could save countries hundreds of billions USD and reduce green house gas emissions by 20% annually.http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=26844&ArticleID=35410&l=en 

Video Recommendation:
Naomi Klein has a one hour speech given at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas. She speaks with candor about disposable societies at risk elegantly weaving the plight of Syrians, to Indigenous peoples and the challenges of resource and oil extractions around the world. She then provides the path forward on how we can restructure our economic systems to facilitate the changes we need to see for humanity to survive.  View here;  http://mobile.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/naomi-klein-close-to-tears-during-speech-at-the-festival-of-dangerous-ideas/story-fnj3rq0y-1227514374493

Have a great week everybody!  
Lulu :0) 
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