More bad news: Ontario sinks to "has been" status

Say it ain't so! Ontario has now officially slipped in to "poor cousin" status with federal equalization payments coming our way for the very first time.

The fingers are already pointing at Dalton McGuinty and his mishandling of the manufacturing meltdown. No easy answers but it did make me wonder (fear) what impact this will have on my industry (newspaper media) which is already staggering to its' knees from changing social habits and vanishing advertising.

Should be an interesting couple of years.

Catching up on all the news that's fit to barf.

Lots of negative news in the world these days. Ah happy spring. Where is the good news? Is there such a thing as good news?

Well here is at least one piece of good news.
Ontario pesticide ban looking like a go. And on first glance the ban looks pretty comprehensive. "Ontario's proposed ban on the sale and cosmetic use of pesticides will be the toughest in North America once it becomes law, supporters said Tuesday."

But really so what? We ban pesticides but will there be enough food?

Food prices soaring out of control. "we're plunging headlong into a world food crisis. Rocketing prices are squeezing billions and triggering food riots from Bangladesh to South Africa." Says avaaz.org

Apparently humans were almost extinct 70, 000 years ago.

Gas prices continue their upward trajectory like growing corn at a biofuel farm.

And the loss of high paying, once-secure manufacturing jobs at companies like GM continue to devastate Ontario's manufacturing sector. No wonder considering they still continue to build trucks and suvs that spit in the face (blow smoke up the arse maybe) of peak oil and pretend there is no environmental crisis. Come on people.

But at least the sun is shining today ;-)

First step in the Ontario pesticide ban

I was alerted via an email from Pesticide Action Burlington today that the Ontario Pesticide bylaw process has begun with a call to comment on what that bylaw may end up looking like.

Here is a snippet:

"In November 20, 2007, the government committed to a toxics reduction strategy to help protect Ontarians from potentially harmful environmental toxics. Further to this, the government has made a number of commitments with respect to the proposed ban on cosmetic uses of pesticides, including:

• “New legislation would also ban the cosmetic use of pesticides in our cities and towns.”
• “Legislation to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides to be introduced in the spring of 2008”.
• The ban would apply to cosmetic uses, such as “lawns, private gardens, parks and school yards” with a focus on “small towns and cities, not on restrictions for rural residents.”
• “Agriculture will be exempt. Ontario farmers already have stringent rules on the storage and application of pesticides.”
• “Golf courses will also be exempt but we would require golf courses to develop plans to limit the environmental impact of pesticides.”
• “We will also ensure that pesticides can still be used in situations where it is warranted to ensure public health (for example, to fight West Nile virus).”
• “The focus of our efforts will be on outreach and education on alternatives to pesticides on lawns. Enforcement will be a last resort.”

The government will look at other communities and jurisdictions, including Quebec, that have implemented bans on cosmetic uses of pesticides. Currently, the use of pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, or combinations of any of these) is restricted in a number of municipalities across Ontario. "

I urge anyone with an interest in this issue to follow the link, read the release and send a comment.

Airsick video from thestar.com

Oh and the Star also posted this great video called AirSick - my son loved it.



Here is the link to the video on youtube

Earth Hour: March 29, 2008, will it look the same as March 28?

The Toronto Star launched their coverage of Earth Hour over the weekend. thestar.com/earthhour has lots of great information and green living tips including a green life blog which has only one post so far but a lot of comments and ideas on being green.

My only observation so far - I hate the look of compact fluorescent bulbs - the light they give off is horrid. Are LEDs any better?

Burlington revisited.

As fall rolls along and work coagulates into one large boredom clot, I thought it would be fun to reflect on the past 2.5 years since we moved to Burlington and balance out the good, the bad and the ugly.

In that time there have been some good changes to the city.

• Ice rink opened downtown.
• Downtown waterfront pier started.
• Central Library re-opened.
• Commitment to build a McMaster Campus downtown.
• Commitment to passing a pesticide ban by-law.
• Mountain Equipment Co-op announces a new store for Burlington.
• GO transit starts refurbishing the Fairview station and opens a new rail line and introduces weekend service.
• Upper Brant (below Fairview) gets a make over.
  

The flip side to the above - some not so good developments for the city.

• McMaster campus blows off the downtown deal and looks for a place with a parking lot.
• Walmart wins at the OMB and plans to build close to downtown.
• Traffic continues to be snarled.
• The pesticide bylaw may take a while to enact
• Home prices run amok - so much so that we can not even afford Burlington anymore.
• Global warming and climate change news continues to dominate the media and Burlington's modest efforts to control carbon emissions will be a drop in the ocean.
  

Toronto's trees get a little help in fighting drought

Toronto's trees took a beating this past summer.

Youtube link.

Are we acceptable.

When Robert Frost was in his sixties he wrote, "I am no longer concerned with good and evil. What concerns me is whether my offering will be acceptable."

I wonder if our species' offering is acceptable?

Sometimes words fail me...

So the summer weather in October will be today's spokesman on the state of our planet's climate.

That and the freaky sunny thunderstorms and rain bursts.

That was just weird...

Mildly funny Green Party ad from Youtube

Slightly simplistic election video from the Green Party of Ontario vs the Grey Parties of Ontario. Parody of Mac/PC ads .

Using Ontario's power more wisely is not an option. Are people in Ontario, especially in the GTA, really committed to voluntarily reducing their energy consumption?