Climate Change
Vancouver School Board Introduces High School Sustainability Course
SOLARIS, a 4 credit, year long course in sustainability, is being offered to Vancouver students in grades 11 and 12. The course will focus on a range of topics from housing and transportation to forestry and fisheries. Read more here.Richmond approves $60-million to buy Garden City lands
Although Mayor Malcolm Brodie didn't like the terms of the deal, he said a deal's been brokered with the Musqueam Indian Band and the Canada Lands Company, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to vote against it at this point.
But Brodie made his position clear during the special meeting of council Mionday, in which Coun. Sue Halsey-Brandt participated via conference call.
"It's not the deal I would have made," he said.
Budget Puts Climate Action on Ice
The Harper government has taken a pause in financing federal action on climate change.
In his budget speech Thursday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was literally silent on the issue – climate change was not mentioned, though the government has in the past described it as one of the major challenges of the age.
School grows greener graduates; Dedicated students teachers staff at Reynolds High School lead way in environmental education
Over the last few years, the Green Spaces Project has gone from concept to reality, with landscaping, gardening and educational activities transforming areas of the school into welcoming and sustainable micro-ecosystems.
U.N. says emissions vows not enough to avoid rise of 2 degrees C
Emission cuts pledges made by 60 countries will not be enough to keep the average global temperature rise at 2 degrees Celsius or less, modelling released on Tuesday by the United Nations says.Scientists say temperatures should be limited to a rise of no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above pre-industrial times if devastating climate change is to be avoided.
World's top firms cause $2.2tn of environmental damage, report estimates
Report for the UN into the activities of the world's 3,000 biggest companies estimates one-third of profits would be lost if firms were forced to pay for use, loss and damage of environment.
The cost of pollution and other damage to the natural environment caused by the world's biggest companies would wipe out more than one-third of their profits if they were held financially accountable, a major unpublished study for the United Nations has found.
Oceans' acidity rate is soaring, claims study
Under terms revealed in leaked copies of the new Canada-US trade deal, Ontario will become the only province in Canada allowing unrestricted access to those countries who have signed onto the World Trade Organization's Government Procurement Agreement for publicly-funded contracts supplying schools, universities, social services and hospitals, said Fred Hahn, President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario at Queen's Park today (February 11, 2010).
West Coast Environmental Law Comments on Metro Vancouver 2040 Shaping Our Future
West Coast provided comments on Metro Vancouver’s latest draft of a new Regional Growth Strategy (RGS), entitled Metro Vancouver 2040: Shaping Our Future ( November 2009 draft). While West Coast supports the direction and goals of the new draft RGS and the range of strategies proposed, we have concerns that many of the actions and processes stipulated as the means to accomplish those goals reflect a lack of commitment to concerted, firm action by member municipalities.
Rebuild Haiti, This Time Green
And show the world how to move to a just and sustainable economy. An 'Eco-conversion' Manifesto.
From Copenhagen to Port-au-Prince
The planet's fate balances on a knife edge, two cities on either side. Which offers hope? You may be surprised.
This is the story of two very different cities. One is a city whose past is steeped in historic achievement, and recent failure. The other is a city whose horrific past has gotten desperately worse, but whose future... well, who knows? Though world's apart, these places embody a common metaphor for an elusive global possibility.
City of the past: Copenhagen
