It feels so good to wake up and get some good news for a change, especially given the withdrawal of the United States from COP 21. The National Observer has just reported that two Canadian provinces, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, have already reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels, hitting a national target 13 years earlier than what was required.
The site of Tidmarsh Farms was a commercial cranberry bog until 2010. It produced 1% of Ocean Spray’s harvest. New, more efficient ways of farming have made farms like Tidmarsh inessential, and so the owners decided to ‘rewild’ the bog by slowly turning it back into the coastal wetland it once was. Through careful planning and construction, the site now has a stream that connects to the ocean. Herring can now swim through this stream in order to spawn. As well, previously scarce white cedars are now growing once again in their native habitat.
The Sustainable Prosperity Institute just released a white paper asking critical questions of the policy and research communities for a low carbon policy research agenda. This paper and our recently released national energy strategy, Re-Energizing Canada: Pathways to a Low Carbon Economy, gives the Federal Government clear evidence on how to become a climate leader by 2050.
The google cars that drive around taking photos for Google Maps’ streetview are now equipped to measure something completely different. Two cars have been fitted with environmental sensors to track the air pollution of city streets. So far, the sensors have been tested out in Oakland, California, with an example of the resulting map below. The project aims to track pollution in many more U.S. cities and will make this data available to U.S. policy makers and nonprofits.
Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Mankind is 140,000 years old. If condensed into 24 hours, then humans have been alive for just 3 seconds. And look at all that we have done to our planet. We have “covered our ears to mother nature’s screams and closed our eyes to her help wanted signs”. Watch Prince Ea’s mesmerizing monologue and fact-filled rhymes pleading for the world to come together to ensure we make it to the fourth second.
As the Trump Administration announces their plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, other countries are set to take the lead in reducing global carbon emissions.
In 2008, Norway established a lifeline for humanity to ensure the survival of our precious food supply. On the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, the Norwegian Government built a “failsafe” freezer vault in a permafrost mountain located in the Arctic circle. Intended as insurance for the world, it was filled with nearly a million packets of seeds, each containing an important global food crop.
Support is making a splash at the 2017 Venice Biennale. This monumental sculpture, crafted by artist Lorenzo Quinn, depicts giant ceramic hands reaching from the Grand Canal in Venice to brace the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel.
Stanford University economist, Tony Seba, has just released a new study forecasting that "the entire market for land transport will switch to electrification, leading to a collapse of oil prices and the demise of the petroleum industry as we have known it".
A delegation of the Pacific Climate Warriors, a 350.org climate activist group from the Pacific Islands, are arriving in Canada today to raise a paddle. During their 9-day trip, they will tour the tar sands in Alberta, engage in public events, and meet with various Indigenous Communities in Western Canada.