¶ Published Monday, June 29th In Environment - No Comments »
Clive Crook at FT.com isn’t impressed. In short: “It proposes safety valves that will ease the cap if it threatens to have a noticeable effect on energy prices. It relies heavily on offsets – theoretical carbon reductions bought from other countries or other industries – so that big US emitters will not need to try so hard. It gives emission permits away, and tells utilities to rebate the windfall to consumers, so their electricity bills do not go up. It creates a vastly complicated apparatus, a playground for special interests and rent-seekers, a minefield of unintended consequences – and theRead the Rest…
¶ Published Sunday, June 28th In Environment - No Comments »
On Friday, by a vote of 219-212, the US House of Representatives narrowly approved the Waxman-Markey climate bill that would force US companies to limit greenhouse-gas emissions. The legislation’s primary aim is the introduction of a cap-and-trade system. It also includes a federal renewable electricity mandate and new mandatory energy efficiency standards. The bill now moves to the Senate, though it remains unclear whether it will survive in its current form which, according to this chart, would impose an overwhelming 397 new federal regulations and 1060 new mandates. By contrast, Canada’s national plan will amount to a set of regulationsRead the Rest…
¶ Published Friday, June 26th In Environment - No Comments »
¶ Published Thursday, June 25th In Environment, Miscellaneous - No Comments »
We are heavily influenced by others. And the more exposure people have, the more likely they will be tolerant and open minded. A recent article in Good Magazine outlines how social networks (Facebook, Twitter…) are makes consumers more responsible and less image conscience. When your online comments, photos and videos determine your reputation, you tend to adjust your behaviour towards the “right thing”. Nate Silver, gave a great talk on why people are racist. This might not appear related, but it is. He breaks down demographics to show that racism is most prevalent in areas where the population is homogenous.Read the Rest…
¶ Published Tuesday, June 23rd In Environment - No Comments »
The Quebec government, Équiterre and Montreal International announced this week the creation of a new International Climate Secretariat in Montreal. These will be the headquarters of the Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA), a coalition of 20 key international organizations working to increase public pressure on the world’s governments (Canada being high on the list) to take action on climate change. The group aims to mobilize that pressure in the months leading up to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting, to be held December 7-18, 2009 in Copenhagen.
¶ Published Monday, June 22nd In Legal Issues - No Comments »
Following regulations when something is first installed may no longer be adequate because a company grows, employing more people, or the regulations are tougher yet the business doesn’t keep up-to-date. The result can be a shockingly expensive work order – and an even more expensive fine. – By Isaac Rudik at Compliance Solutions Canada While the news media likes to portray companies who get fined for violating health and safety rules as cold-hearted, money grubbing, villains, the truth often is very different. In fact, each year many businesses believe they are doing everything correctly, working hard and spending money toRead the Rest…
¶ Published Friday, June 19th In Environment - No Comments »
Debates about climate change policy can get heated. Advocates of a carbon tax clash with those who favour cap-and-trade. And there are those who prefer instead an emissions-intensity regime, which aims to reduce over time the ratio of greenhouse gases emitted to a unit of economic output. All of which is very academic until one gets serious about curbing one’s emissions output. But now that various governments across Canada and the U.S. are finally committed to implementing an emissions regime, lawmakers are finding that reconciling strongly held opinions is no easy task. Caught in the middle is industry of course,Read the Rest…
¶ Published Saturday, June 13th In Environment - No Comments »
Last week, Hillary Clinton and her canadian counterpart, Lawrence Cannon, announced that they would enter into negotiations for new agreements on the great lakes. CBC article. As outlined in the article and my recent post, the Great Lakes are in rough shape. Decades of industrial and government negligence have created a mess in the our backyard. These negotiations cannot start too soon. One example of our failure to safeguard the lakes is the infestation by Asian Carp. The videos below vividly outline the impressive destruction of upstream rivers by asian carp – a highly invasive species brought over to cleanRead the Rest…
¶ Published Friday, June 12th In Environment - No Comments »
Information about the Federal Government’s proposed Offset System for Greenhouse Gases can be found here. The draft rules and guidance documents were released this week for review by interested parties who have 60 days to give their comments. It’s expected that documents will be finalized in the fall, followed by the launch of the Offset System soon thereafter. Though there have been concerns that the proposed federal system would supplant the one already in place in Alberta, it appears that those fears have been assuaged – for now. Of course Canada can’t get too far ahead of itself as itRead the Rest…
¶ Published Tuesday, June 9th In Environment - No Comments »
A few words on Ontario’s Green Energy Act. Many have marveled at how quickly Ontario is moving ahead with new environmental legislation in recent months, not least of which is the recently adopted Green Energy Act which aims to drive investment to create a 21st century “smart” energy grid. The incentive behind this is the Ontario government’s commitment to eliminate dirty coal as a power source by the end of 2014. The question remains though: does Ontario have enough time to meet its 2014 target? Well only if it can find a substitute. Critics of the Green Energy Act –Read the Rest…
¶ Published Saturday, June 6th In Environment - No Comments »
Waterlife, a new film screams for our attention to the plight of the Great Lakes. They are dying a painful death. The Beluga Whales have cancer, the people are sick and the soil is contaminated. They have built an amazing website for the film with alot of information on the situation; I highly encourage you to visit it – Link here. The disaster of the Great Lakes is another example of industries going too far, caring too little and forgetting that they are part of – and not exlusive of – the communities they operate in. The film is clearlyRead the Rest…
¶ Published Friday, June 5th In Environment, Miscellaneous - No Comments »
– by Isaac Rudik at Compliance Solutions Canada Buoyed by tougher rules and armed with more enforcement money from the Ontario Parliament, environmental regulators are hitting the road – literally. The ministry says it is getting stricter about damage caused by trucks, buses and other forms of transport if they pollute the environment, even accidentally. While the vast majority of companies do their best to meet environmental standards at the plant, many forget that their liability remains while it is being transported to a customer, along with the transporting company. Indeed, the MoE is now co-operating with provincial and localRead the Rest…
¶ Published Tuesday, June 2nd In Environment - 2 Comments »
Even without neglect, cost-cutting or carelessness, a private company or government body can get enmeshed in accidental water pollution. Nearly every organisation using water for more than drinking is at risk of causing environmentally damaging water pollution. – by Isaac Rudik at Compliance Solutions Canada – A Nimonik partner It seems that every week, the news media carries another report of how either a community water treatment facility or an industrial plant discharge contaminated water either because of equipment failure, improper or inadequate treatment and inspection, or simple carelessness. The tragic story of what happened in Walkerton, Ontario is aRead the Rest…
