A homeowner installing fiberglass insulation as part of Penticton, B.C.’s energy retrofit loan program. It might be time to replace that aging water heater in the basement. Or that thinning insulation in the attic. The City of Toronto is here to help, announcing last week that it’s taking steps to
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the reeves report: Deal reached to save Experimental Lakes Area
Ontario’s Experimental Lakes Area. After months of negotiation, Queen’s Park announced Tuesday morning a deal has been struck to transfer ownership of the Experimental Lakes Area living laboratory in northern Ontario to the International Institute for Sustainable Development. As part of the deal to keep the freshwater research facility alive,
Continue readingthe reeves report: Time running out on ELA interim agreement
Researchers working at one of 58 lakes in the Experimental Lakes Area in northern Ontario. Only three days remain to finalize the interim agreement to find a new operator for the Experimental Lakes Area laboratory in northern Ontario, but the province’s resource minister is “optimistic” things will work out. “We are
Continue readingthe reeves report: Field naturalists granted construction stay at Ostrander Point
The south shore at Ostrander Point in Prince Edward County (Photo by Terry Sprague.) The Prince Edward County Field Naturalists were awarded a stay of construction at Ostrander Point this week that will prevent wind developer Gilead Power from beginning construction on their nine-turbine, 22 megawatt project until the outcome
Continue readingthe reeves report: Reports question NEB’s approval process for Northern Gateway and Line 9 pipelines
Enbridge under fire as opponents of controversial pipeline projects worry the Canadian energy giant will be ill-prepared to handle potential ruptures throughout Southern Ontario and on B.C.’s rugged coast. Opponents of Enbridge’s Line 9B pipeline in Southern Ontario are scrambling in the wake of its tentative approval earlier this month by the
Continue readingthe reeves report: U.S. energy called on to help West handle Russia
America should rethink overhauling energy export policy in favour of ‘drill, baby, drill’ simply to flex muscle against Russia over Crimean play. Can boosting U.S. energy exports help declaw the prowling Russian bear? In the weeks following President Vladimir Putin’s military expansion into Ukraine’s Crimean region, manipulating U.S. energy sources
Continue readingthe reeves report: Ontario strengthens tools to combat invasives
MNR Minister David Orazietti introduces the Invasives Species Act at Queen’s Park. Groundbreaking legislation a first of its kind in Canada – aims to fill in legislative gaps in combatting invasive species in Ontario. Ontario is attempting to clear away some of the regulatory red tape and overlap that keeps
Continue readingthe reeves report: Separate Great Lakes from Mississippi River to contain Asian carp: study
A recent study led by the University of Notre Dame and the U.S. Forest Service confirmed that hydrologically separating the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River watershed would be 95 to 100 per cent effective at containing Asian carp. “Our study goes beyond just presenting barrier options by putting numbers
Continue readingthe reeves report: Ontario Court backs Gilead Power at Ostrander Point
South Shore of Ostrander Point (Image from CountyLive.com) Seven months after learning a contentious wind project at Ostrander Point had been halted by the Environmental Review Tribunal, an Ontario divisional court overturned that decision Thursday, paving the way for development to begin later this year. In July 2013, the Tribunal
Continue readingthe reeves report: Federal court knocks Ottawa for failing to protect endangered species — Ontario could be next
Woodland caribou listed in Canada as a species-at-risk. (Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller is warning Queen’s Park could face sharp reprimands by the courts for its failure to uphold wildlife protections under the Endangered Species Act. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a federal court confirmed last week the Government of
Continue readingthe reeves report: Indirect Impacts of Pipelines Should Be Included in Assessments
If oil and gas pipeline proponents can talk about indirect economic benefits stemming from new pipeline infrastructure, opponents should be able to consider the environmental impacts of those indirect actions when arguing against them, according to the Pembina Institute’s federal policy director. Fair is fair, according to Clare Demerse, and
Continue readingthe reeves report: Congress considers hydrologic separation to contain Asian carp
A bill from Michigan Representative Candice S. Miller tabled Wednesday with Congress would authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to consult, plan and build a barrier to hydrologically separate the Mississippi and Great Lakes watersheds in one year following its passage. “I believe total separation is the only way
Continue readingthe reeves report: Enbridge’s GTA pipeline project gets greenlight
The Ontario Energy Board gave approval late Thursday afternoon to Enbridge Gas Distribution’s $686.5 million GTA Project aiming to carry natural gas across the top of Toronto. The project, consisting of two segments of pipeline stretching 50 kilometres from a compressor station in Milton into Scarborough where it will link
Continue readingthe reeves report: Green neighbours collide over wind power project
It’s dispiriting when newly rival factions of the environmental movement clash over what has become a touchy subject in green circles. Worse when disagreements end up in the justice system. Yet that’s exactly what played out this week in a Toronto appeals court. In an issue the media have dubbed
Continue readingthe reeves report: Europe looks to coal to reduce electricity prices
One year after The Economist signalled an ”unwelcomed coal renaissance”, Bloomberg News reported Jan. 6 that Europe’s lust for lower energy prices was reviving lignite mining for coal-fired generation in a big way. Lignite, a low-quality form of coal that contains less units of energy and greater volumes of carbon than
Continue readingthe reeves report: Canada must help U.S. pay to contain Asian carp
Canada has an obligation to help the United States pay for physically separating Lake Michigan and the entire Great Lakes basin from the Mississippi River watershed to contain the spread of Asian carp, though the cost may reach $18 billion or more. The latest report from the U.S. Army Corps
Continue readingthe reeves report: Cyclist safety bill passes second reading at Queen’s Park
Crowd riding north on Church Street to ‘Save Jarvis’ Ontario’s efforts to expand cycling infrastructure across the province may have taken a subtle but significant step forward on Dec. 12 with the second reading passage of legislation that would require paving one metre wide shoulders on all provincial, non-400 series
Continue readingthe reeves report: Ontario to roll out Green Bonds in 2014
GO workers wait ahead of announcement from Ontario government about green bonds (Oct. 30, 2013) Ontario made a small splash in the financial world at the end of October when Premier Kathleen Wynne and two top cabinet ministers announced the province was set to become the first Canadian jurisdiction to
Continue readingthe reeves report: Ontario Government “Failed Miserably” to Protect Endangered Species
Woodland Caribou (Flickr image from Jim Winstead) The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has shown a “shocking disregard” for its legal obligation to consult with the public on numerous changes to how species at risk and their habitat are managed in the province, Ontario’s environmental commissioner Gord Miller warned recently.
Continue readingthe reeves report: Asian carp capable of breeding in Great Lakes: USGS scientists
Captured grass carp at Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans research lab in Burlington, ON (Andrew Reeves) Anyone doubting whether Asian carp could successfully breed in the Great Lakes watershed got their answer Monday as researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey and Bowling Green State University in Ohio announced four grass
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