[All] Gren News

[Lanteigne]

Hi folks
Here's a quick summery of all the latest Enviro news.

Local
The Costs of Climate Change
Waterloo council has approved three key proposals to improve outdoor spaces in the uptown, while warning the unfunded projects won't happen right away. The city will wait for better mapping of the Laurel Creek flood plain before implementing top outdoor priorities.https://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-story/9205152-plans-to-improve-uptown-waterloo-outdoor-spaces-may-take-time/In 2018, the warmest year on record globally, the IBC (Insurance Bureau of Canada) reported $1.9 billion in insured losses due to high volume of severe weather events. A 2017 report by Partners for Action found that 94 per cent of Canadians living in flood risk zones didn’t know they were at risk.https://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-story/9188223-better-flood-resiliency-required-to-deal-with-wild-weather-experts-warn/
People can also find out their personal level of flood risk by using the online flood risk assessment tool at www.water.cooperators.ca.

Waterloo Region 2017 Water Quality Report 
The report is now online in PDF form and can be viewed here in pdf. https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/living-here/resources/Documents/water/reports/2017WaterQualityReport.pdfRoom  Laurel Creek & Silver Lake Rehabilitation Openhouse
Tomorrow there is a public openhouse on the Class EA process regarding rehabilitation of Silver Lake, Laurel Creek and Waterloo Park taking place March 6 from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex (Swimplex) at 101 Father David Bauer Drive. More info here: https://www.waterloo.ca/Modules/News/index.aspx?feedId=0d868655-ba17-4efa-988b-1951530c7aec&page=2&newsId=556488aa-ea89-4ff2-b111-d44f192c832e

GRCA passes $35.2-million budget
The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) will spend more than $35.2 million this year on programs protecting watershed with updates and implementation of the Drinking Water Source Protection Plan for the four watersheds within the Lake Erie source protection region. The authority will also continue its work to reduce potential flood damage, ensure water supply, improve water quality and build resilience to deal with climate change through its water management plan. They have also been given permission from the province to take up to $1.8 million from reserves to accelerate the hazardous tree management program over the next three years, to help deal with the fallout from the Emerald Ash Borer epidemic and other hazardous trees along trails and in its parks. Improvements will also be undertaken across the watershed at GRCA parks and to water control structures.
Help support the Groundwater Festival with a nice bowl of soup!  Come enjoy a delicious lunch AND support the Children's Groundwater Festival at the "Just Add Water" Soup Fest at @WRegionMuseum on March 22. A $15 ticket will help us teach local students about water this May. Learn more at http://www.wwcgf.com 
Fridays for Futures: Everyone welcome! 
March 15 is the International Fridays for Futures  rally. The local event is happening at 12:30 pm at Waterloo City Hall in solidarity for the Global Climate Strikes happening around the World. Come one come all big or small to demand Climate Change Action. Hosted by Kitchener-Waterloo Climate Save.
Women’s health conference on microbes looks at gut bacteria during pregnancy and their effect on babies. The conference is being held from March 7 to March 9 at McMaster University and will draw professionals from around the globe. It's being held on Thursday, March 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre Auditorium. Dragana Skokovic-Sunjic, a clinical pharmacist on the Hamilton Family Health Team and one of the lead organizers of the conference, says there's still a lot of misunderstanding about the importance of gut health. Every person's gut bacteria is like a unique fingerprint, she says, and can be influenced by a range of factors (including diet, environment and antibiotic use)https://www.thespec.com/living-story/9200837-women-s-health-conference-on-microbes-looks-at-gut-bacteria-during-pregnancy-and-their-effect-on-babies/#.XHqS35X19et.twitter



Provincial 
Happy Birthday Greenbelt! 
Ontario Greenbelt Act turned 14 years old on Feb 28. Here is a lovely video on the successes of the program. It was made at the 10th anniversary but it still captures the amazing benefits and cost savings of the program.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5D-hfj6VjA
Ontario Green Party making History with Galt Paris Moriane BillMike Schreiner aims to protect water in Ontario’s first-ever Green Party bill to Protect the Paris Galt Moraine. Paris Galt Moraine that supplies drinking water to about 130,000 people in Guelph, and more than 200,000 in the region with 8 in 10 residents in Guelph dependant on wells. Guelph as a community could face water shortages in the future if the expected population growth and climate change collide. The region's estimated population is set to increase to one million people by 2041.https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/02/20/news/mike-schreiner-aims-protect-water-ontarios-first-ever-green-party-bill


Note: If we ever wanted to do the same for the Waterloo Moraine, here is a great report we can use:  THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON ONTARIO'S GRAND RIVER BASIN: WATER SUPPLY AND DEMAND ISSUES.   PDF online here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.4296/cwrj2404307

Taxpayers billed for Natural Gas Boondoggle
Last year the Province of Ontario paid $12.3 million to hook up 1,370 homes & 155 businesses to Enbridge gas in Cambray, Cameron & Fenelon Falls. To date only 34 residents and one business are using it. Residents in Cameron and Fenelon Falls  concerned that Enbridge Gas “sneaked in” a system expansion surcharge that will be added to customers’ monthly gas bill for the next 40 years. 
https://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/9179030-cameron-area-residents-accuse-enbridge-gas-of-hiding-system-expansion-surcharge/

Salt Study & PetitionRecent studies have found salt concentrations in some GTA rivers and creeks to be as high as sea water. Salt levels that high are lethal for many freshwater species. What’s to blame? Excessive road and sidewalk salting. Take action with this quick sign petition to reduce the salt. 
https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/35147/action/1?ea.tracking.id=twitter

Suncor is getting Sued for Climate ChangeSuncor warns investors that it is already being sued over climate change & could face more "litigation pertaining to GHG emissions, the production, sale, or promotion of fossil fuels and petroleum products, and/or disclosure." as noted on page 69 of their 2018 Annual Report. PDF here: https://t.co/btFBqxfl9C
Deep Nuclear Geological Repository delayed until next government. The decision for the Lake Huron Nuclear Deep Geological Repository for low level nuclear waste is likely to fall to the next federal government. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna paused the process in August 2017 — the latest in a string of delays for the deep geologic repository — to ensure buy-in from Indigenous people in the area. However, members of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation have made it clear they are in no rush to give Ontario Power Generation their blessing for the proposed facility. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2019/02/17/nuclear-waste-bunker-decision-to-likely-to-fall-to-next-federal-government.html


Federal 
Enbridge Line 3 is delayed for a year.The $7.6-billion, 370,000-barrels-per-day Line 3 pipeline project would not be moving Canadian oil to the U.S. Midwest until mid- to late-2020. The new in-service date is roughly one year later than expected.https://business.financialpost.com/commodities/energy/line-3-delays-may-see-oil-by-rail-rocket-past-500000-bpd-and-alberta-extending-curtailment
A $3.3 million grant for Fort Chipewyan will lead to Canada’s biggest remote solar project.https://www.pembina.org/media-release/33m-grant-fort-chipewyan-will-lead-canadas-biggest-remote-solar-project 


Resolute Forest Vs. Stand Earth & Greenpeace updateResolute Forest Products loses controversial case against Stand Earth and nearly all of Greenpeace claims were dismissed, including racketeering charges.
https://www.stand.earth/latest/protect-free-speech/resolute%E2%80%99s-bullying-lawsuit/us-federal-court-dismisses-free-speech

International
Dangers of Neonicotinoid & Chlorinated Water. Pesticide water monitoring experts at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) paired up with scientists from the University of Iowa in a federally-funded collaboration to track neonicotinoid pesticides or “neonics” in tap water, including the potential to form chlorinated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) from the pesticides and their metabolites that may be more toxic than the original compounds. And, the news isn’t good. When mixed with chlorinated water it creates desnitro-imidacloprid which is 319 times more toxic to mammals than imidacloprid, so even much lower levels could be harmful. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has also found neonics inside fruits and vegetables where they cannot be washed off. Article and links to the reports are online here: 
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jennifer-sass/neonic-pesticide-may-become-more-toxic-tap-water?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=CleanWater
Roundup Lawsuits increasing Bayer is now facing lawsuits from around 11,200 plaintiffs over the health implications of Roundup and Ranger Pro, its glyphosate-based weedkillers.The company is currently appealing against a ruling that said its Monsanto products were responsible for groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson’s cancer.
http://fortune.com/2019/02/27/bayer-monsanto-weedkiller-cancer-risk/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article


Quick Sign Petitions
Tell your MPP it's time for a REAL climate plan in Ontairo https://act.leadnow.ca/MPP-peoples-climate-plan-ontario/

NRDC made it easy to save the environment against ALL of Trump's changes. Just click the blue sections. It is an international petition. https://www.nrdc.org/fighting-trump-agenda?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=socialmedia

Have a good one everybody! 
Lulu :0)  







-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://gren.ca/pipermail/all_gren.ca/attachments/20190306/84539a4f/attachment-0001.html>