Blog Entries

Updates on legislative requirements

Stephanie Hamilton

While NIMONIK is a full content subscription database of the environmental legislative requirements in Canada with access to legislation and guidance text, the developers have thought it opportune to offer their update service to non-NIMONIK subscribers. By signing up for a nominal $120 per year per province, you can get descriptions of all the legislative changes on a monthly basis. [...]

Natural Step Canada - sustainability learning programs announced

stuart

Our friends at Natural Step Canada have just announced two sustainability learning programs: a series of two-day Sustainability for Leaders workshops, and a five-month Community Sustainability Planning course.

Sustainability does not equal sainthood

Paul

Business leaders need to be clear that there should be dual motivation for going Green : profit and sustainability. There is no need for pretense to sainthood or being the planet's saviour; in fact, that position is ill advised, as it can have unintended consequences. Profit and sustainability are necessary and worthy goals when pursued together. Ultimately, companies should be thinking about competitive advantages enabled by taking a leading position on sustainability i [...]

Why are we not making more recycled paper in Canada?

Stephanie Hamilton

The newly published 2009 Trends Report by Markets Initiative attempts to spur the North American pulp and paper industry to “remake itself and shift away from consuming intact endangered forests”. The report highlights some solid achievements for 2009, and outlines exciting ideas to meet this challenge.< [...]

Ecosystems, peace and trade

erica

Towards the end of 2008, a report issued by the National Intelligence Council (summarised here) offered its predictions on what the world may look like in 2025. Among its best guesses are increased conflicts over scarcer resources.

The report has stimulated a lot of reflection on the mechanism we most often use to maintainsecurity and stability; namely, trade. It is frequently said that economic systems are best suited to keep the world at peace. The example of the EU, for one, [...]

Community class action suit demonstrating new social compliance?

christian

The recent Supreme Court of Canada judgment in the class-action suit filed against Saint Lawrence Cement / Ciment Saint-Laurent by the neighbouring residents of one of the company’s facilities near Quebec City clearly demonstrates the need for systematic stakeholder engagement. Although building and maintaining good relationships with one’s surrounding community already made business sense, it’s now imperative because stakeholders have legal recourse for social and environment [...]

And the winner is...

erica

A Stanford University study has concluded that wind is the the most desirable of all renewable energy sources. The ranking of energy sources was based on such factors as greenhouse gas emissions, amount of land consumed, water pollution, human health, availability of required resources, and reliability of the energy form. In descending order of desirability, the energy sources are:

WindConcentrated solar power (mirrors heating a tower of water)Geothermal energyTidal energySolar panelsWav [...]

Picking up the pace on renewable energy funding

erica

There has been much applause for President-elect Obama's announcement of $150 billion over the next 10 years for alternative energy development. Not so widely reported has been the steady stream of clean energy funding announced by Gulf States, such as the promise made by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi last January of $15 billion towards clean energy. The crown prince's announcement highlights the massive shift underway in the Gulf States, as they transition from an oil exporting to [...]

BlackBerry (TM) in, blackberry (Rubus sp.) out

erica

Sorry, kids. You’ll have to look elsewhere for the definitions of "heron," "acorn" and "otter." The Oxford English Dictionary for children has decided that many “nature words” are no longer particularly relevant for our urbanised youth. Even the venerable and iconic Canadian “beaver” could not escape the editorial ousting.

You remember the beaver? The little mammal whose pelt drove massive intercontinental travel and [...]

The 7 Wonders of the Modern World...

robert

In an area of the central pacific covering over 1 miIlion square kilometers floats the greatest collection of waterborne waste ever assembled. The pacific trash vortex sits trapped at the center of the currents that form the north pacific gyre. It holds upwards of 100 million tons of suspended plastics and other associatedflotsam.

Thinking of this giant trash flotilla makes one wonder at the, essentially wasted, resources expended in order generate such an incredible phenomenen. [...]

A hierarchy of options

erica

A hierarchy of options is intended to guide actions from most to least effective, from best to slightly less good, to really not-so-great-at-all. “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is a case in point for waste management. I have often wished these options had been explicitly numbered before their release:

1. Reduce
2. Reuse
3. Recycle

Too often we fixate on the lower echelons of the scale. In the case of our dogged yet somewhat misguided [...]

Solar Power Power

erica

One might say it is a sign of terrible times when Big Three Auto go hat in hand asking taxpayers for a bailout. After all, only six years ago GM posted its biggest ever profit, an astounding $1.7 billion. Now they are on life support.

One might also say, with a slight incredulous shake of the head, that it is a sign of possibly better, saner times when a solar company is the one feeding them a drip line.

Germany’s SolarWorld recently aired its intention to bid o [...]

Update on GHG inaction

Stephanie Hamilton

Last week, Frontline aired a 2-hour TV program on how we are tackling our greenhouse gas emissions. This update describes how the world's largest corporations and governments are responding to Earth's looming collision with irreversible climate change. Watch it on-line .

Capital losses

erica

Whether you see it as a rough week in the markets or a great opportunity to buy stocks, the best guess is that Wall Street has to date lost an estimated $1-$1.5 trillion.

If it's hard to wrap your brain around those kinds of numbers, then it may be difficult to appreciate this next estimate: an EU-commissioned study places the cost of deforestation between $2-$5 trillion...annually.

These costs are tied to the ecosystem s [...]

Visualization of CO2

jbrun

Since moving fulltime to NIMONIK, I am now a guest writer here at ÉEM, so my posts may be less frequent.

Just came across an interesting visualization of CO2, "that displays the daily average of CO2 concentration through a chemical reaction in which chalk particles are formed, which in turn changes the opacity of water encapsulated in plastic tubes. The "Statlab" installation samples air direct from a local area, so that the differences in water clarity creat [...]

$1.50 Gas

robert

Feeling the impacts of rising fuel prices, it looks like people are finally making the switch to fuel efficient technologies. An article today in The Globe and Mail reported that waiting lists for hybrid vehicles - the best available option for drivers looking to save on fuel - are becoming increasingly common. Car-makers are now scrambling to up production of these vehicles as sales of their once beloved SUV's sag accordingly.

Given this clear link between fuel price and purchaser [...]

Reimagining industry: an ecosystem approach

erica

We draw on nature for any number of technological innovations. Usually these fits of inspiration come from looking at the level of the individual organism and deriving a product of benefit to humans. Using a shark fin design for underwater energy generation is one example; exploring the elastin in the knees of high-jumping fleas for use in spinal disc prostheses is another.

Beyond the m [...]

Biomimicry and alternative energies

erica

Biomimicry is the art and science of casting an inquiring eye on living organisms and natural systems, and from them drawing inspiration for efficient new technologies.

One of the most common examples of biomimicry is Velcro, which was developed by a Swiss engineer who arrived home from a walk covered in burs. Upon examining the burs under a microscope and noting the hooks [...]

Al Gore, Reloaded

jbrun

Here is a new presentation by Al Gore at the annual TED Conference. He makes the case that the climate crisis is worse than our most conservative estimates and then calls for dramatic action not seen since the race to the moon.

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America and the Environment

jbrun

With Gore winning the Nobel and issues such as the droughts in Atlanta; it is becoming harder and harder for the United States to ignore today's environment issues. Though actions are being taken at the state level, America - a supposed leader in te [...]