¶ Published Monday, April 27th In Environment - No Comments »
Twice last week, the Federal Court of Canada told the Harper government to do its job. First it was the repatriation of Omar Khadr. Then it ordered the Federal government to include in the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) the publication of all mining pollution data, going back to 2006. The NPRI details all the industrial and commercial pollutants released into the air, water and land in Canada. Since 2006, mining companies are required to report all pollutants released during their activities. But in interpreting CEPA, Environment Canada saw an exemption for pollutants present in the tailings and waste rockRead the Rest…
¶ Published Thursday, April 23rd In Environment, Miscellaneous - No Comments »
Like them or hate them, it is the crazy people that push society forward. Challenging us, threatening us and pushing us to change. Greeenpeace is just such a group, great video below. Technorati Profile
¶ Published Thursday, April 23rd In Miscellaneous - No Comments »
When it comes to canadian environmental laws, you have a few options. First, you can consult government websites – they have the laws and some guidance. To simply gain access to legislation and standards, the people at Eco-Log and CCOHS offer good service at reasonable prices. To simply receive environmental law updates, you can subscribe to CERCN and Environmental Compliance Insider or various law firms’ newsletters. For management tools for your legal register, you can handle it in excel or outsource it to a consulting firm. Lastly, for explanations of existing laws, there are books by lawyers and publishing housesRead the Rest…
¶ Published Thursday, April 23rd In Environment, Miscellaneous - 1 Comment »
Yesterday, an excellent PBS Frontline documentary on the environmental degradation of The Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River was aired. The show outlines some of the current problems, but also traces the interesting evolution of the environmental mouvement back in the 1960s, which culminated in the the first Earth Day in 1970. During the 60s, a series of environmental disasters spurred the american government into action. Under Nixon, some progress was made, but the administration was not particularly interested in the environment. Nixon even called the E.P.A., “Eppa”. Times, they are a changing. The documentary clearly states that the driver forRead the Rest…
¶ Published Monday, April 20th In Legal Issues - No Comments »
In an attempt to ‘stimulate’ the economy, the feds may have stirred the pot a little too much. Their removal of environmental assessment on infrastructure projects tied to stimulus has raised some questions. Though removing EA requirements will certainly speed up some projects, it will likely be taken advantage of by companies planning to build otherwise questionable projects. Not much more to contribute to this idea, but see the article here for more information. The money quote from Environmental Defence: “These changes to the law are like cutting the brake line to make a car go faster.”
¶ Published Monday, April 20th In Environment, Miscellaneous - No Comments »
I just finished a day at the Toronto CANECT tradeshow and conference. The show is designed to showcase environmental companies and offer training on new regulations and emerging issues. Located alongside the much larger IAPA (Health & Safety) conference, CANECT seems like a sideshow; the booths are smaller, the lighting dimmer and it is tucked away in a corner. Compared to previous years, attendance seemed sparser, but I do not have any figures to back that up. The one or two training sessions I popped my head into had many empty seats and on the conference floor, corporate EHS managersRead the Rest…
¶ Published Monday, April 20th In Environment - No Comments »
Last week, a landmark ruling by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strengthened the hand of supporters of a climate change bill in the U.S. In it the EPA formally declared that carbon dioxide emissions present a danger to public health. This after the 2007 US Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA in which the court held that the EPA had the authority to regulated GHGs under the Clean Air Act. Now over the next 60 days, the EPA can use the Act to impose limits on heavy polluters of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride.Read the Rest…
¶ Published Friday, April 17th In Design & Features, Environment - No Comments »
Greenies often complain about the sheer amount of garbage society produces. They are right, we produce a lot. Yet, the challenge is not to simply reduce the quantity of garbage, but to re-define it. Plastic is extremely useful. It saves lives, makes items more affordable and accessible and is generally beneficial to society. That being said, we need to redefine what packaging is. There is no reason why all packaging cannot be biodegradable, packaging can become a nutrient as opposed to a contaminant. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located in the Northern Pacific Ocean, is made up of millions ofRead the Rest…
¶ Published Friday, April 17th In Environment - No Comments »
The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) has published its latest report, “Achieving 2050: A Carbon Pricing Policy for Canada“. Its principal recommendation: a unified carbon pricing policy for Canada to achieve “the greatest amount of carbon emission reductions, at the least economic cost”, as opposed to “the current, fragmented patchwork of federal, provincial, territorial, and regional policies.” Here are the four main components of the proposed carbon pricing policy: the implementation of an economy-wide cap-and-trade system the adoption of complementary regulations and technology policies participation in international emissions markets through trading and credit purchases aRead the Rest…
¶ Published Wednesday, April 15th In Environment - No Comments »
Bill 167 may be the leading edge of a new wave of substance regulation in Canada. Following the lead provided by REACH in the European Community, and Proposition 65 in California, Ontario is preparing to put forth a framework to gather information on substances whose effects on human health and the environment are little known. But the operative word here is “framework”, as there is no foreseeable pressure mechanisms on importers or users of listed substances to reduce them – only to report on how they plan to do so. If enacted and if regulations are promulgated (two big “ifs”),Read the Rest…
¶ Published Sunday, April 12th In Announcements - No Comments »
Just made a quick overview (see below) of the Topics section of Nimonik, Higher Quality Video here. Today, we have 18 topics that cover canadian environmental obligations, these topics include: Air Emissions Approvals, Authorizations or Permits Contaminated Sites Emergency Situations Environmental Impact Assessments Fuel Transfers General Waste Management and Stewardship Halocarbons Hazardous Material Management Hazardous Waste Management PCB Management Pesticide Management Petroleum Products Storage Tanks Pollution Inventories Transportation of Dangerous Goods Transportation of Hazardous Wastes Used Oil Management Wastewater Discharges Consult the federal topics, free of charge here.
¶ Published Friday, April 10th In Environment - No Comments »
I attended the CCCA‘s spring conference in Montreal this week where the keynote speaker was Jeff Rubin, until recently the chief strategist and chief economist at CIBC World Markets, and who’s now coming out with a new book in May. According to Rubin the current global economic downturn was caused by high oil prices, more so than defaulting mortgages, just like in four of the last five world recessions (the 1998 Asian meltdown being the exception). Why? Japan and much of Europe had already entered into recession before the financial crisis hit. For Rubin, the real story of this recessionRead the Rest…
¶ Published Thursday, April 9th In Environment - No Comments »
Interesting post at Law 21 today discussing three types of collaboration in legal knowledge: lawyer-to-lawyer (L2L), lawyer-to-client (L2C) and the more disruptive (for lawyers anyway) client-to-client (C2C), a feature Nimonik is developing. Here’s how Jordan describes C2C: In C2C collaboration, clients pool their own legal knowledge and resources to form a vast living database that has the potential to replace much of what lawyers sell. One of the disruptive legal technologies discussed by Richard Susskind in The End of Lawyers? — and emphasized by him during his TECHSHOW keynote address — is “closed client communities” that draw upon their members’Read the Rest…
¶ Published Thursday, April 9th In Environment - No Comments »
To make an educated decision you need data, good data. Unfortunatly, much of the environmental data cited by NGO’s, governments, and the private sector has holes in it and is often out of date by the time it hits the newstand. In this modern age of Google Maps, GPS, and broadband internet, there is no reason why we can’t have better data on our oceans, land, water and air. The New York Times recently lamented how UN data is out of date and its quality is even considered questionable by its own scientists, yet UN data is commonly cited inRead the Rest…
¶ Published Wednesday, April 8th In Environment - No Comments »
Under Federal law, companies must disclose the pollutants they release, but they don’t have to report the quantities of toxic chemicals used or develop a reduction plan. But now Ontario has introduced Bill 167 – the Toxics Reduction Act. If adopted, it will be the first province to require that big companies meet new tracking and reporting requirements on their use and release of toxic substances, and plan for toxic use reduction. The proposed Act would apply to facilities that (1) belong to certain sectors (i.e. manufacturing and mining), (2) have a prescribed number of employees at the facility, (3)Read the Rest…
