EarthMatters

Tom Llewllyn is the Strategic Partnership Director with Shareable, an online media outlet that reports on the sharing economy, collaborative consumption, and the commons in a worldwide forum. Projects, research, news from around the world and a recently published book, "Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons" are discussed.

He manages organizational, editorial, and events partnerships and has coordinated the global Sharing Cities Network, #MapJam, and other community sharing campaigns, in addition to speaking internationally about real, equitable sharing. Tom is the co-editor of 2 books, "How to: Share, Save Money & Have Fun" (2016) and "Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons" (2018).  shareable.net

An interview with Domenic DeMondo, VP of Technology & Business Development, and Andrew Yousri, Associate Engineer, with GreenMantra, a company that transforms used plastic into other materials such as waxes, adhesives, used in road construction and roofing applications, among other sectors.

Edmonton, Alberta, is part of a global, social, economic and environmental system that supports the quality of life for its citizens.  These systems are being affected by human-made climate change.

Change for Climate is a call to all Edmontonians to take action and work together to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions by 35% (below 2005 levels) by 2035. 

Andrea Soler is the Senior Strategist for Climate Change for the City of Edmonton (the nearest major city to the Alberta Oil Sands).  She explains how her city is leading the community to take steps to mitigate Climate Change.

Suburban Remix brings together experts in planning, urban design, real estate development, and urban policy to demonstrate how suburbs can use growing demand for urban living to renew their appeal as places to live, work, play, and invest. The case studies and analyses show how compact new urban places are already being created in suburbs to produce health, economic, and environmental benefits, and contribute to solving a growing equity crisis.

Authors/Editors Jason Beske and David Dixon discuss their latest book.

Rick Goldring is the Mayor of Burlington, Ontario, Canada - a city of 173,000 and a suburb of Toronto.  How does a politician with an environmental agenda get through to other Councillors and City staff to help drive a sustainable, walkable, transit-friendly community.

Dealing with other levels of government, developers with their own agendas and a restless citizenship that wants to preserve the benefits and culture of 'their town', how can politicians stick handle so many competing points of view when it comes to urban planning - and a four-year cycle of elections?

Jason Thorne is the Director of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  Thorne discusses the challenges of urban planning from a systems-wide point of view; the unusual combination of Planning and Economic Development (usually two sides of the coin); and the inner workings of a municipality of 500,000 people that encompasses a growing urban culture, a healthy agri-business region, endless trails and natural settings (part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve - Niagara Escarpment), and the legacy of Canada's steel industry centre.

Social Venture Connexion (SVX) is an impact investing platform for ventures, funds and investors seeking social and/or environmental impact alongside the potential for financial return. Registered as an Exempt Market Dealer (in most of Canada), SVX provides a single access point for raising capital and making investments.

SVX works across sectors including cleantech, health, work and learning, food, and social inclusion, providing support to enterprises focused on early cancer detection to community power co-operatives producing renewable energy. The organization works to help them raise capital so they can focus on their business.

SVX works with all investors, from foundations and family offices to everyday investors, to help them identify opportunities and to support their decision-making efforts so they can match their money with meaning.

www.svx.ca

SolarShare is a co-operative based in Ontario, Canada. SolarShare's projects convert energy from the sun into clean electricity. Funds are invested directly in solar projects that are already built and generating stable revenues. The Ontario government buys the electricity generated via a 20-year contract.  SolarShare pays its public investor/members interest at a fixed rate - like many other bonds. Over 1500 Ontario residents have invested over $35 million and have earned $3.3 million in returns while supporting a clean energy future. A minimum investment of $1,000 qualifies.  Five-year or fifteen-year bonds are available.

Set to open in 2018, the Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation is the cornerstone of a record-setting $54.25 million renewal of technology labs and classrooms. The five-level centre is also a showcase in environmental sustainability as the region's first net-zero energy institutional building.

The Government of Canada's $20 million investment in the centre is the single largest federal infrastructure funding in Mohawk's 50-year history. Once construction and renovations are complete, enrollment in technology programs will grow from 3,500 to 4,500 students and applied research activity will increase by 50 per cent.

There's no doubt that the world is increasingly turning to renewable energy generation projects.  However, there is one big bottleneck to the smooth transition to renewable energy. And that is the fact that the sun doesn't always shine, the wind doesn't always blow – so energy generated via these two clean energy sources is not as consistent, reliable, and can't be 'fired up' as quickly as fossil fuel generation plants.

The breakthrough that the renewable energy industry has been praying for is Energy Storage.  To help answer that question I'll be speaking to Anthony Ganapathy, Chief Operating Officer, and Dave Del Mastro, President and CEO of Deltro Energy. Deltro has constructed a two-stage lithium ion stationary power system for Toronto Hydro. We'll also look at some of the technology and constraints of lithium ion batteries through research conducted by Jeff Dahn, a professor at Dalhousie University.

According to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance group, the energy storage market will grow to 125 Gw by 2030. More than $100 billion will be invested in the next 15 years. This is based on calculations that battery technology costs will fall to $120 per kWh.