CIELAP is proud to announce that our Programmes Manager, Carolyn Webb, was recently selected by the Canadian Environmental Network (RCEN) to edit a Policy Concept Paper related to the Commission for Sustainable Development and the Upcoming Rio+20 Conference.
For more background information on the paper please see here, and you can view the finished paper here.
Dear Friends,
While CIELAP is reaching its 40th year this 2010, our organisation continues to believe that age is no barrier to embracing change.
The internet and other technologies have altered the nature of work and for some time now CIELAP’s researchers have been advising that the quiet of a home office would enhance their work. We’ve decided to embrace the 21st century trend of going semi-virtual. We also see this model as a way to reduce fixed overhead costs so that even more of the financial resources of CIELAP’s supporters are directed to CIELAP’s critical research on issues of sustainability, land use, extended producer responsibility, and the impact of climate change on water resources.
As of June 8th, 2010 CIELAP is moving. We’ve secured an adaptable location at 729 St. Clair West, Suite 13, Toronto, M6C 1B2, which will be our office base for our transition in to our semi-virtual operational model.
Future contact points
Into the future, you’ll be able to reach us at the same e-mail addresses and at our phone number 416-923-3529. We do, however, ask for your patience next week as we move the telephone and internet lines over to our new office space and set up our equipment. Any physical mail that you send to our Spadina address will be forwarded by Canada Post to the new address.
Thanks for all of your support over the years and please do wish us luck with the move!
Yours sincerely,
The CIELAP Team
CIELAP Board of Directors:
Grant Caven, President
Christopher Benedetti, Vice-President
Paul Bottero, Secretary-Treasurer
Richard Ballhorn
Jackie Campbell
Nicole Geneau
Richard King
Alex Matan
David Powell
Staff and Associates:
Matt Binstock (Policy Researcher)(matt@cielp.org)
Maureen Carter-Whitney (Research Director)(maureen@cielap.org)
Thomas Esakin (Executive Director)(thomas@cielap.org)
Praan Misir (Youth Engagement Programme Co-ordinator)(praan@cielap.org)
Satya Mohapatra, Ph.D. (Senior Research Scientist)(satya@cielap.org)
Raul Pacheco-Vega, Ph.D. (Regional Director, Western Canada and Lead Researcher,Climate Change and Water)(raul@cielap.org)
Kate Skipton (National & International Relationships Co-ordinator)(kate@cielap.org)
Romila Verma, Ph.D. (Research Associate)(Romila@cielap.org)
Carolyn Webb (Programmes Manager)(carolyn@cielap.org)
Melting Ice Feeds Warming Trend: Report
Montreal Gazette, 29 April 2010
According to an April 29 report published in the journal Nature, as more sea ice melts, more heat is released into the atmosphere, and climate warming is exacerbated. Alarmingly, arctic temperature increases in the last decade have been twice as high as the global average. The large amounts of thin ice covering the artic this year will likely melt quickly, leading to a large thaw. Additionally, a general trend of decreasing winter sea ice has been observed. This will dramatically impact arctic ecosystems, and threaten the lifestyles of those living in the region.
The fragility of the arctic ecosystem is underscored by oil extraction activity in the region. The recent explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico highlights the potentially doubly negative impact of arctic oil extraction. Not only are greenhouse gases emitted via the extraction and use of fossil fuels, but the technology used to extract these fuels may have catastrophic environmental impacts in the event of a malfunction. The National Energy Board is currently holding hearings on Beaufort Sea drilling. Despite being asked by oil companies to postpone these hearings, the long term result of the hearings may result in a policy that addresses the long-term safety and management of arctic drilling. Many environmental groups have argued that drilling in the arctic should not take place until sound policy regulating it has been implemented.
CIELAP has a strong interest in arctic environmental issues, and has partnered with the National Film Board to hold screenings of films related to arctic issues, among other topics. These films include Arctic Circle, This Land, The Great Adventure, Being Caribou, and Weather Report. The firms depict the unique vulnerability of the artic, and the environmental and social impacts of climate change in the region, and globally. They also present an imperative for policy that addresses the causes and impacts of arctic climate change.
Article 1 link: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2010/05/04/neb-beaufort-drilling.html
Article 2 link: http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Melting+feeds+warming+trend+report/2963542/story.html
Information about past and upcoming CIELAP events: http://cielap.org/events.php
Earlier this year, CIELAP got a chance to sit down with MyCityLives.com to discuss who we are and what we do. You can see that here.
And while you’re there, you should definitely check out the rest of the MyCityLives.com site. There’s amazing content, and a really unique way to look at our city.
Ontario recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of its Greenbelt. To mark the occasion, the City of Toronto has applied for two of its major rivers, the Don and the Humber (including their valleys), to be added to the lands protected under the Greenbelt Plan. The Don and Humber river valleys are crucial to Ontario’s ecological integrity, as they comprise a watershed that connects the Greenbelt to the Great Lakes and the Oak Ridges Moraine. Toronto is applying for protection of the Don and Humber river valleys under a set of criteria established by the province in 2008, which are used to asses requests from municipalities to add unprotected lands to the Greenbelt Plan. Currently, only the Rouge River Valley is within the Greenbelt Plan boundary. Adding the Don and Humber would result in the incorporation of all of Toronto’s river systems into the Greenbelt Plan. The Don and Humber could be incorporated into the Greenbelt as early as the end of 2010.
As part of the Greenbelt, the river valleys would be protected from pollution and habitat loss caused by urban sprawl. Inclusion in the Greenbelt would also prevent municipal governments from reducing the level of environmental protection in the river valleys and create regulatory stability in the affected regions.
CIELAP has extensively researched Ontario’s Greenbelt, as well as similar regional conservation plans in other jurisdictions, in collaboration with the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation. This month, CIELAP released an update of its 2008 Ontario’s Greenbelt in an International Context report, which argued that Ontario’s Greenbelt is currently the world’s strongest and most effective. Greenbelts in general can provide multiple benefits, not only curbing sprawl, land degradation and pollution, but also encouraging agriculture, community-building and environmentally safe recreational activities. Greenbelts can benefit the economy of a region, as well as its environment. We applaud the success of the Greenbelt Plan, but also stress that urban natural features should be given similar protections, as they are vital to the environmental health and resilience of cities.
Article 1 link: http://www.news.ontario.ca/mah/en/2010/02/proposed-greenbelt-expansion-to-include-don-and-humber-river-valleys.html
Article 2 link: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/772423–don-humber-river-valleys-to-get-greenbelt-protection
CIELAP report link: http://cielap.org/pub/pub_internationalgreenbelt2010.php