Sasha on the Street

Is it going to rain today? You can usually look outside and tell if it might rain. There is something about the air, it’s heavy, it’s moist, it almost feels electric. But will it rain tomorrow? The next day? How about a week from now? Isn’t that how you build a case? You load it [...]

Extreme Events. Heavy Rainfall. Widespread droughts and desertification. Mile wide twisters. Category 5 Hurricanes. According to Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers this is what the weather of the future will be like. And why? Because of climate change, because of the harsh impact humans have on the sensitive planet. The book is divided into 5 [...]

With the recent earthquakes and tsunamis and subsequent nuclear disaster in Japan, nuclear reactors across the world have been called into question. Are they built to today’s codes? Could they with stand a hurricane? An earthquake? A tsunami? Can they with stand the effects of climate change and extreme weather events? Much has been written [...]

Someone sent me a link to the US GHG Inventory report for 2011. Here are a couple of highlights from my favourite chapter, Trends in Greenhouse Gas Emissions: “a year with increased consumption of goods and services, low fuel prices, severe summer and winter weather conditions, nuclear plant closures, and lower precipitation feeding hydroelectric dams, [...]

Last week I had the opportunity to attend The International Economic Forum of the Americas – The Toronto Forum for Global Cities. It was a two day conference highlighting the success and failures of the North, Central and South American Countries. The theme was supposed to be about energy, infrastructure and financial sustainability, but seemed [...]

Climate change isn’t a new topic. It probably doesn’t even make the top ten on the news anymore. But it still demands attention. Last night I attended a presentation on Local Governments Efforts to Address Climate Change: Progress and Problems. The speaker, Scott Pasternack spoke passionately about Toronto and New York City, two cities he [...]

This morning I was inspired by a friend of mine after he sent me an article from the New York Times on passive home construction. Last week  I attended the IIDEX Green Building Festival at the Direct Energy Centre, hoping to be inspired for my dream home. Here are some of the highlights: LEED for [...]

Yesterday Dalton McGuinty shuffled cabinet in a hope to improve operations of Ontario Governments. Although, that’s also what he said in January when he had again shuffled cabinet. Instead of efficient, reliable government Ontarian’s were sidled with an eco-fee debacle, a raid on ministries and a strengthened sense that our government is no longer serving [...]

Blue Moutain, Ontario’s Premier Snow Resort, is getting a little greener. Located about 160km north-west of Toronto, just outside of Collingwood is some of the best skiing in Ontario. Blue Moutain Resort is unique in that it has a department solely dedicated to preserving the environment. With a dedicated staff their goal is to “to [...]

Wind. Solar. Geothermal. Hydroelectric. These all are forms of renewable energy that should be part of our future electricity mix. Currently there are incentives in place to help residents invest in personal renewable energy, but what about commercial incentives To date the government has offered no incentives to commercial businesses to invest in individual renewable [...]