Ford government increasing energy bills and pollution, says watchdog in final report

http://www.upintheairfilm.com #fridays4futurebelleville #climatechaos

County Sustainability Group

Dianne Saxe, Environmental Commissioner in Queen’s Park, Ontario on Dec. 6, 2018. Photo by Cole Burston

The Ontario government is increasing energy bills, air pollution, health impacts and greenhouse gas emissions through policies that promote the use of fossil fuels, says the province’s environmental commissioner, Dianne Saxe, in her final report released on March 27, 2019.

Her report notes that the economy in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, relies on fossil fuels for 75 per cent of its energy, which results in a “hefty” health, economic and environmental pricetag.

Under the previous Liberal government, she said this pricetag added up to $24 billion each year to import fossil fuels such as oil, petroleum products and natural gas, between 2010 to 2015.

“If we were even 10 per cent more efficient, Ontarians could save from $1.6 billion to $2 billion every year,” Saxe said in a statement.

But she also noted…

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10 Myths about Carbon Pricing in Canada

Canadians…..don’t let the prehistoric conservatives use this wedge issue to trick & divide us enough to gain power this fall or we will all be sunk in this ship together.

County Sustainability Group

I am excited to announce our newest report, 10 Myths about Carbon Pricing in Canada.

Over the last 10 years, Canada has made tremendous strides in climate policy. But continued progress is not guaranteed.

In 2019, the debate is heating up and its more important than ever that we have honest, evidence-based conversations about our options to deal with climate change.

Our report today aims to improve the quality of these conversations by debunking 10 common myths about carbon pricing that we hear from Canadians—be it at the dinner table, on social media, and even on TV.

I invite you to check out the report or our infographic, then use it as a resource and share it. We have a video to help with that. And we hope that it will lead to a better debate—for you, your province and the country as whole.

READ THE INTERACTIVE ONLINE…

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Dianne Saxe calls on Ontario faith leaders to stand up for the climate: ‘What are the Ontario bishops and faith leaders doing?’

Religious groups are failing to sound the alarm bells with those who look to them for leadership,and many are supporters of the right wing political parties who deny climate change and refuse to act urgently ( See USA, See Ontario, etc )

County Sustainability Group

Dianne Saxe, Environmental Commissioner in Queen’s Park, Ontario on Dec. 6, 2018. Photo by Cole Burston for National Observer

I’ve got the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO), Dianne Saxe on the phone. It’s late afternoon, in the dead of winter, and she’s on backcountry roads, heading north for a rare weekend off. “I might cut out,” she warns me.

Dianne’s office reports on compliance with the Environmental Bill of Rights, as well as Ontario’s progress on climate change, energy conservation, and other environmental issues. As a staffer at Faith & the Common Good, a national, interfaith charity with the goal of championing environmental and creation care throughout our network of diverse faith & spiritual communities, I am eager to hear directly from the mouth of the commissioner herself how faith groups measure up on the climate action front. And I’m not talking only about energy efficient light bulbs…

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Greta Thunberg nominated for Nobel peace prize

#climatechaos http://www.upintheairfilm.com #SaveWhitePines

County Sustainability Group

Climate strike founder shortlisted ahead of global strikes planned in more than 105 countries

• Listen to Greta Thunberg on the Today in Focus podcast

Greta Thunberg, 15, holds a placard reading ‘School strike for the climate’, during a protest outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm last November. Photograph: Hanna Franzen/EPA

Greta Thunberg, the founder of the Youth Strike for Climate movement, has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize, just before the biggest day yet of global action.

Thunberg began a solo protest in Sweden in August but has since inspired students around the globe. Strikes are expected in 1,659 towns and cities in 105 countries on Friday, involving hundreds of thousands of young people.

“We have proposed Greta Thunberg because if we do nothing to halt climate change it will be the cause of wars, conflict and refugees,” said Norwegian Socialist MP Freddy André Øvstegård. “Greta Thunberg…

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SHOCK, HORROR: Poll Finds Strong Majority Support for Declaring a Climate Emergency

County Sustainability Group

In five countries —  Australia, the USA, Canada, the UK and Switzerland  — an impressive 382 local government authorities covering more than 33 million people have recognised or declared a climate emergency. And now polling conducted in Melbourne shows that a sizeable majority in that city support declaring a climate emergency.

That will be a shock for some of Australia’s largest climate advocacy organisations, who have steadfastly refused to use the climate emergency framing, saying that such language is not plausible, is not supported by market research or that appeals to fear do not work.

Perhaps they should tell that to David Wallace-Wells, the author of the just released book, “The Uninhabitable Earth”, which is destined to become a runaway best seller.

Wallace Wells says that “fear is what animated me.”  He explains: “To go back to the Second World War analogy, we did not mobilise in that way…

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There is hope! Five recent developments which might actually help fight climate change

Never give up hope or stop trying to make things better.

County Sustainability Group

In October 2018 the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, which provided a sobering update on the state of the environment. According to the report, “unprecedented changes” are needed to achieve the target of keeping global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C, after which the risk of extreme weather conditions – such as droughts, floods and forest fires – will significantly increase.

It’s not all bad news though. In need of hope, I turned to Lexology to see how lawmakers are responding to global calls for action and found that many countries are taking positive steps in this regard. Here are five recent developments from around the world which may actually help to mitigate the risks of climate change.

1. US Green New Deal

As the second highest emitter of carbon dioxide after China, many of us have a vested interest…

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Ten things you need to know about a ‘political interference’ scandal involving Doug Ford and the police

The fix was obviously in ……damage has been done and reputations are not easily earned back.

County Sustainability Group

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney take questions from reporters at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Nov. 19, 2018. Photo by Cole Burston

Allegations of political interference that could damage the independence of the Ontario Provincial Police have exploded in a series of stunning headlines.

The allegations were raised in a nine-page letter that was signed by Brad Blair, the interim commissioner of the police force.

Ontario’s interim police chief says “Canadian democracy depends on” an independent review of process to appoint successor, amid complaints of political meddling.

Here are ten of the most compelling arguments and insinuations contained in the letter:

1. That Blair was viewed as a “front runner candidate” for the job, based on his qualifications and experience.
2. That key requirements for the job were modified two days after it was posted, removing the need for a candidate to hold a certain level of rank…

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Youth climate strikers: ‘We are going to change the fate of humanity

The future is here NOW…..no time for delay.

County Sustainability Group

Exclusive: Students issue an open letter ahead of global day of action on 15 March, when young people are expected to strike across 50 nations

The students striking from schools around the world to demand action on climate change have issued an uncompromising open letter stating: “We are going to change the fate of humanity, whether you like it or not.”

The letter, published by the Guardian, says: “United we will rise on 15 March and many times after until we see climate justice. We demand the world’s decision makers take responsibility and solve this crisis. You have failed us in the past. [But] the youth of this world has started to move and we will not rest again.”

The Youth Strikes for Climate movement is not centrally organised, so keeping track of the fast growing number of strikes is difficult, but many are registering on FridaysForFuture.org. So…

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“Life below water: for people and planet”

Never take water for granted….without it there is no life on Earth. March 22nd is UN World Water Day.

C.A.R.E.

Today is World Wildlife Day and the theme for 2019 is “Life below water: for people and planet”, which aligns with goal 14 of UN Sustainable Development Goals. This is the first World Wildlife Day to focus on life below water and an opportunity to raise awareness about the breathtaking diversity of marine life and its importance for future of humanity.

The 3rd of March was designated as World Wildlife Day by the United Nations General Assembly on 20th December 2013, marking the day when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was adopted back in the year 1973. The United Nations General Assembly resolution also designated the CITES Secretariat as the facilitator for the global observance of this special day for wildlife on the UN calendar. World Wildlife Day has now become the most important global annual event dedicated to wildlife.

When we…

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Bill McKibben: Climate Change Is Scary—Not the Green New Deal

History will show that those on the right of the political spectrum are so wrong that they will be judges harshly by our descendants. #climatechange #SaveWhitePines http://www.upintheairfilm.com

County Sustainability Group

It’s very clear that conservatives have one plan for dealing with the popularity of the Green New Deal: scaring the hell out of people.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey announce Green New Deal legislation in Washington on February 7, 2019. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Myron Ebell of the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, the man who led the drive to pull America out of the Paris climate accords, said the other day that the Green New Deal was a “back-to-the-dark-ages manifesto.” That’s language worth thinking about, coming from perhaps the Right’s most influential spokesman on climate change.

Ebell’s complaint (and that of the rest of the Right) is that the set of proposals to address climate change and economic inequality put forth last week by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey would do too much, and cost too much. Indeed, he describes the Green New Deal…

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