EarthMatters

Community bike shops are run on a mandate to eliminate barriers to cycling by teaching people how to repair and maintain bikes (and offering the tools and space to do so), and providing safe, affordable bikes to those who might otherwise be priced out of the market.

Whether running hands-on programs in neighbourhood schools, or just through day-to-day shop activity, those that run bike shops believe that self-reliance builds strong communities.

Plus - Bike!Bike! NorthEast 2019: a regional gathering organized by and for community bicycle projects. The conference is a space for participants from DIY shops and non-profit bike organizations to converge in a different city each year to learn from each other. Bike!Bike! Northeast is a collaborative project of a number of Community Bicycle Projects in Toronto.

The use of plastics today is a highly wasteful, linear, take-make-waste model that is harmful to the environment and misses economic opportunities as value is literally thrown away. This linear economy for plastics requires energy and generates emissions for each production cycle that would largely be avoided, were plastic otherwise reused or effectively recycled.

In a report to the Smart Prosperity Institute, Usman Valiante examines the current state of plastic waste and offers solutions to the global epidemic of plastic waste. Governments, corporations and consumers all have a role to play.  Tougher regulations, judicious and recyclable use of plastics, extended producer responsibility, and smarter consumer choices can all contribute to reducing the amount of plastic filling up our world.

The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) invests in urban solutions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution.

It's vision is for a climate-smart urban region that functions within its environmental means and is a leader among climate-friendly urban centres around the world.

Julia Langer, CEO of TAF, has held senior leadership positions in the environmental sector for nearly 30 years, managing campaigns and organizations, defining strategy and policy, and inspiring public and private action to address air pollution and climate change.

As national governments stumble to address climate change threats, cities are taking action to create stronger, more resilient economies while reducing carbon emissions and preparing for climate change impacts.

'Cities in Action' is a four-day conference being held in Hamilton, Canada featuring national and local leading thinkers and companies to explore the relationship between climate change and the economy, new innovation and real action being taken to build the economy while transitioning to a cleaner future.

We speak with Sandi Stride, Executive Director of the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College, the main organizer for this event.  Topics to be covered and speakers lined up for the conference are discussed.

During a blustery windstorm in August 2003, a power line in Ohio brushed up against some tree branches. 

Three transmission lines had short-circuited causing a cascade of events that left 45 million people in the northeastern U.S., and 10 million in Ontario, without power for hours, days, in some cases even a week.

Because of a complex system of interlinked power sharing and transmission line connections, the outage that started in Ohio ran through the 100 year old system of centralized power transmission before anyone could throw a switch to stop the massive draw on any and all connected sources of electricity.

Today, despite repeated promises of infrastructure investment, the situation could occur at any time.

Craig Clydesdale, of OOM Energy, feels he has the solution – multiple, distinct, independent power systems that provide off-the-grid electricity to homes, apartment buildings, hospitals, factories and industrial facilities. 

Each unit, specifically calibrated to keep a constant generation of power, is stand-alone, often powered by natural gas and sometimes augmented with solar panels, batteries, and even wind turbines, is not an energy storage system but a generator using cleaner fuels than standard diesel or gasoline generators. 

Clydesdale foresees hydrogen as the future fuel of choice and his company is designing new systems to be ready for that. 

https://oomenergy.com/

For the first time in Canada, crowdfunding has been used to decide if a federal research grant will be awarded through a program called Fathom Fund. SmartShores uses drones and proprietary data analysis to examine the effects of pollution on shorelines and wetlands.

Nathan Vadeboncoeur, President and Founder of SmartShores, is a social entrepreneur who combines science and art to help tell the stories of coastal people and places. A former university instructor, climate change researcher, consultant and motivational speaker, he believes that data alone isn't enough to create change - it needs to tell a story. 

Dr. Callvin Lakhan is a research associate at York University in Toronto, Canada.

He is also a co-investigator of the "Waste Wiki" project at York University, a research project devoted to advancing understanding of waste management research and policy in Canada.  http://wastewiki.info.yorku.ca/

A former environmental consultant, and a government Policy Advisor, Callvin has focused his research on the study of recycling, waste diversion and the comparison of Single and Multi-Stream Recycling Systems.

Chantelle Mishael is the Community Program Coordinator for a community environmental organization, BurlingtonGreen.  Chantelle is passionate about waste reduction & diversion, with a focus on food waste reduction and zero-waste alternatives.  https://www.burlingtongreen.org/

Our guest is Chris McLaughlin, Executive Director of the Bay Area Restoration Council (BARC), based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. BARC represents the public interest in the restoration of Hamilton Harbour, long on the list of 'most polluted waterways in North America'. Chris brings us up to speed on the 30 year-long quest to improve water quality and restore a great natural resource to liveable standards.

We also chat about some of 2018's memorable environmental news.

http://hamiltonharbour.ca/

8 80 Cities is a non-profit organization bringing citizens together to enhance mobility and public space so that they can create more vibrant, healthy, and equitable communities.

Gil Penalosa is the Founder and Chair of 8 80 Cities.  EarthMatters caught up with him shortly before he made a presentation to the City of Burlington, Canada.  This is part two of that interview.  Topics covered include Transit, Mobility and the importance of communities working together to find common solutions.

www.880cities.org

https://www.gpenalosa.ca/

https://www.worldurbanparks.org/en/

Gil Penalosa has traveled to more than 300 communities around the world looking for the best ideas to improve life for people of all ages. He believes the measure of a good place is whether we'd feel comfortable with an 8-year-old biking alone to the neighborhood park or someone in their 80s walking to the grocery store. 

Penalosa's philosophy:

1. lively public spaces and parks;

2. streets that are safe for everyone who uses them;

3. comfortable options for cyclists and walkers;

4. convenient, speedy public transportation;

5. public officials will to collaborate with residents

http://880cities.org/

https://www.gpenalosa.ca/