[All] GREN Update

[Lanteigne]

Hi folks!
Here is the latest scoop.

LOCAL NEWS
Greenbelt Deadline March 7th!  If you  haven't already commented on Greenbelt Expansion you can send a quick message here:  protectingwater at ontario.caThere are also a couple of quick sign petitions for it here: Ontairo Nature https://ontarionature.good.do/bluebelt/sign/Environmental Defence https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/17451/action/1

March 7th at the Registry Theatre: The Chemical Valley Project The story of Aamjiwnaang and the pollution issues from Tar Sands refining is coming to the Registry Theatre this Wednesday Night. Tickets are being sold at the Centre in the Square and at the door. Online info of the event is below. If your going, I'll see you there! http://www.registrytheatre.com/the-chemical-valley-project/

March 8th -  Laurier + Planet In Focus Film Festival Tour
The Laurier Sustainability Office is proud to be hosting a free on-campus public screening and panel discussion with filmakers and industry experts. The films includes Death by Design, a powerful and provocative look at the hidden human and ecological costs of our favourite gadgets. The film Kokota: the Islet of Hope  features an island near collapse from both climate change and deforestation but innovative technology and community support are key to this sustainable island’s survival. This free event is open to the public and snacks will be provided.
Registration is required - please present your ticket or ID at the door.This event takes place Thursday, March 8 at 7 PM - 9:30 PM  Arts E Wing Building Room 1E1 at Wilfrid Laurier University. For more info visit here: https://www.facebook.com/events/191290371473386/
Record Breaking February Weather for WaterlooThe first half of the month was a bit colder than average, however the heat really kicked into gear in the second half resulting in an overall temperature that was a little over 2 degrees higher than average.   Within that second half was the high of 15.6°C on the 20th that was the highest February temperature we have seen in the over 100 years of weather data in the region.  Of course that might sound familiar as the previous highest February temperature was just last year when it got up to 15.1°C. Monthly chart here; http://weather.uwaterloo.ca/download/historical/2018/201802.png
Weather Summery here: http://weather.uwaterloo.ca/download/historical/2018/201802t.pdf

PROVINCIAL NEWS
Water is the New Fire says Insurance Bureau of Canada. 
Fantastic article in the Toronto Star shows the rise of costs associated with flooding in GTA. Speaks of the risks of paving over recharge areas. Like Waterlooians and GREN said for years: SAVE don't Pave! Here's the link: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/03/05/water-is-the-new-fire-says-the-insurance-bureau-of-canada-as-researchers-point-to-development-as-major-cause-of-basement-flooding.html
Update on Status of Lake Ontario Fish (based in US but shared waters)A recent statewide angler survey estimated more than 2.6 million angler days were spent on Lake Ontario and major tributaries. The estimated value of these fisheries exceeded $112 million annually to local economies.Updates on the state of the fisheries will happen later this month. Details here: 
http://buffalonews.com/2018/03/03/biologists-to-share-update-on-status-of-lake-ontarios-fisheries/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=puma&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1520114118

Information about DEC’s Lake Ontario fisheries assessment programs can be found at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/27068.html
Ontario's Final Action Plan found lackingEnvironmental Defense warn that current action plans to reduce Great Lakes algae issues doesn’t go far enough to address runoff pollution from agricultural sources – the main cause of the blooms. Details here: https://environmentaldefence.ca/2018/03/05/finalized-lake-erie-action-plan/

2018 Aquahack at Ryerson U (Or online)4 water issues will be revealed at the launch March 21st event. These cases are designed and submitted by NGOs, Municipalities, Farmers and Academia who will provide expert insight to understand the issues. Folks will brainstorm for functional marketable and demand driven solutions with real impact in solving the water issues. Prizes are awarded for the best concepts.  Learn more here: https://aquahacking.com/en/editions/2018/challenge/?utm_campaign=Newsrooms365-AquaHacking-2018&utm_medium=AquaHacking&utm_source=Twitter&utm_content=Attendance-fwxGv
Ontario Carbon Tax Success!The Clean Economy Alliance, a multi-sector coalition of over 100 Ontario businesses and organizations, celebrates the announcement of very strong results from the first cap-and-trade auction following Ontario’s linkage in the joint market with California and Quebec. The 100 per cent sellout of current allowances, along with the sale of future allowances, yielded over $476 million for climate action in Ontario, adding to the nearly $2 billion raised last year.

Ontario Green FundOntario Carbon Taxes are now funding programs and rebates to reduce energy costs and fight climate change. Visit here to see https://www.greenon.ca/

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
BC Anti Slapp Law update from West Coast Environmental Law45 leading groups and public interest advocates deliver letter welcoming BC's commitment to enact Anti-Slapp law. https://www.wcel.org/media-release/leading-public-interest-advocates-welcome-bcs-commitment-anti-slapp-law
Site C Fiscal BoondoggleBetween 2005 and 2017, BC Hydro increased its internal hydro generating capacity by 16% but got less power from each megawatt of installed capacity. This report shows how BC Hydro over produced so much electricity they had to dump excess energy without selling it in order to prevent further fiscal loss. If we add Site C to this mess, it gets far worse. Check it out here: https://in-sights.ca/2018/03/04/what-hydro-government-and-corporate-media-hates-reporting/
EU banning Neonicotinoid Pesticides, Sign Canadian PetitionNeonicotinoid insecticides ("neonics") are on their way out of Europe. A new report from the European Union's scientific risk assessment authority concludes neonics pose a serious danger to honeybees and wild bees. EU member nations are expected to approve a proposal to ban neonics in a vote later this month. France already passed a law to phase out all neonics, starting in September 2018. Visit here to sign David Suzuki's Petition to ban this stuff in Canada too! Sign here: https://action2.davidsuzuki.org/neonics
Diesels Dependency on ReservesRoughly 86% of Canadian off-grid communities depend on diesel for electricity. The federal government recently allocated $220 million over 6 years to help such communities transition to renewables, a marked increase from the $9 million doled out over the past decade. But calculations indicate that it’s not nearly enough to deal with the 450 megawatts of installed diesel in Canada.
https://www.desmog.ca/2018/03/06/canada-s-commitment-220-million-transition-remote-communities-diesel-mere-drop-bucket

Health Savings Outweigh the Risks of Limiting Global WarmingIt would cost US$22.1 trillion to US$41.6 trillion between 2020 and 2050 for the world to hold average global warming under two degrees Celsius says a study in the Lancet Planetary Journal.  "Depending on the strategy used to mitigate climate change, estimates suggest that the health savings from reduced air pollution could be between 1.4-2.5 times greater than the costs of climate change mitigation, globally."  Source is CTV NEWS: https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/health-savings-outweigh-costs-of-limiting-global-warming-study-1.3827358#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=twitter&_gsc=kqsNntN

March 22: UN World Water DayThe UN has an excellent website all focused on water issues featuring reports on the values of wetlands, the benefits of urban agriculture, science and communications of water issues etc. So much to see and say on all these topics. It's lovely! Here is the link: http://worldwaterday.org/?utm_content=bufferb5563&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.c. om&utm_campaign=buffer
Gates of Hell explained by ScienceTwo millennia ago, a small Greco-Roman temple in present-day Turkey was the site of mysteriously dying bulls and yet humans remained unharmed.  A volcano biologist named Hardy Pfanz led a team of scientists to discover that vapors emitted from the mouth of the cave—belched from a fissure running deep beneath the area—reached levels of 4 percent to 53 percent volcanic carbon dioxide, depending on the distance from the ground. The lower to the cave floor, the higher the amount of suffocating gas, which formed a lethal lake of carbon dioxide. Because the bulls noses were closer to the ground, they died and humans were unharmed.  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-22/scientists-discover-the-secret-to-ancient-roman-gate-to-hell

QUICK SIGN PETITIONS: 
Save Caribou: https://www.support.ecojustice.ca/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1943&ea.campaign.id=83939&ea.tracking.id=twitter
Have a good one! 
Lulu :0)

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