December 13, 2011

We come to the close of another busy and effective year.  We have constructed community gardens, provided education and skills on issues relating to climate change including renewable energies, waste, food security, water contamination issues, Transition Towns, cleaner air, and creating resiliency for communities while improving the planet. 

Our newsletter below is divided into sections of Events and Articles, containing items that are regional and global in scope. You'll also find a survey on A Greener, Cleaner, Holiday Season plus events including a local free concert and loads of gifting ideas. 

CLIMATE ACTION NIAGARA is a  member-driven organization that relies on membership to provide direction at the upcoming Strategic Planning meeting, so if you are considering supporting these initiatives, now is the time. 

Many thanks for a great year,

The Board of Directors of CLIMATE ACTION NIAGARA

 

Happy Holidays! 

ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Thu Dec 15 / 6:45pm

ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETYThursday, December 15, 2011 at 6:45 p.m.Beginners meeting at Niagara Falls Library. www.astronomyniagara.com...

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Transitions Studio
Thu Dec 8 - Sat Dec 17

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CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
Sun Dec 18

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTSunday, December 18, 2011.The Peninsula Field Naturalists annual "census" of birds in the St. Catharines area. Seenewsletter for details. Marcie Jacklin 905-871-2577...

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BIRDING
Mon Dec 19 / 6:00pm

BIRDINGMonday, December 19, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.Linda & Ron Goodridge speak to the Bert Miller Nature Club pot luck at Fort Erie ConservationClub, 2555 Ott Road, Stevensville...

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WOODHOUSE BIRD COUNT (NORFOLK)
Sun Dec 18

WOODHOUSE BIRD COUNT (NORFOLK)Sunday, December 18, 2011 David Okines davidokines@aol.com...

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Niagara Falls Nature Club Xmas Party
Wed Dec 21 / 7:30pm

CHRISTMAS PARTYWednesday, December 21, 2011, 7:30 p.m.Members show night for the Niagara Falls Nature Club at the Niagara Falls Library, 4848Victoria Ave....

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HAMILTON CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
Mon Dec 26

HAMILTON CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT Monday, December 26, 2011 Tom Thomas 905-689-5920...

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HALDIMAND COUNTY BIRD COUNT
Sat Dec 31

HALDIMAND COUNTY BIRD COUNTSaturday, December 31, 2011 Linda Thrower 905-774-1230 giantindians[at]3web.net...

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NIAGARA FALLS NATURE CLUB BIRD COUNT
Tue Dec 27

NIAGARA FALLS NATURE CLUB BIRD COUNTTuesday, December 27, 2011. Kayo Roy 905-892-4433...

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DUCK COUNT
Sun Jan 8

DUCK COUNTSunday, January 8, 2012. Limited participation. John Black 905-684-0143...

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WATERFOWL COUNT
Sun Jan 1

WATERFOWL COUNTSunday, January 1, 2012. Marcie Jacklin 905-871-2577...

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A Greener Christmas Season

A Greener Christmas Season   Each December, residents wish to support a greener holiday season through conservation, reducing waste in a consumptive society, and this year we have developed a survey that measures our efforts.  It shouldn&...

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A member's letter sent in response to article by John Naish

The article by John Naish really struck a chord.  Incessantly we are bombarded by a constant urge to buy and consume - in every newspaper and magazine we see, in massive billboards in the streets and malls, and in hoards of flyers which come uni...

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Another Chemical Running Off Airport

CATCH News – November 22, 2011 Environment Canada testing has found aircraft hydraulic fluids in the streams flowing from Hamilton’s airport. The peer-reviewed study has also confirmed extremely high levels of PFOS (perfluoroctane sulfon...

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Albert Zappitelli: Niagara Falls restaurateur getting off the grid

Albert Zappitelli: Niagara Falls restaurateur getting off the grid  December 12, 2011 ANNIE SILVESTER/Bullet News The sun, that power-plant in the sky, has the capacity to give the earth enough energy for all its needs and then some....

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Canada Seems to be Another Exception to "Just About Every Government." JCB Marching Off the Cliff

6 December 2011 Noam Chomsky, Truthout A task of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, now under way in Durban, South Africa, is to extend earlier policy decisions that were limited in scope and only partially implemented.These...

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Burning Love

by Elizabeth Kolbert December 5, 2011 Americans have never met a hydrocarbon they didn’t like. Oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, tar-sands oil, coal-bed methane, and coal, which is, mostly, carbon—the country loves them all, not w...

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Coming to a Theater Near You: The Greatest Water Crisis in the History of Civilization

Coming to a Theater Near You: The Greatest Water Crisis in the History of Civilization The Age of Thirst in the American West by William deBuys Consider it a taste of the future: the fire, smoke, drought, dust, and hea...

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Dear Humans: The Planet Needs Your Help

Sturla Gunnarsson’s “Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie” is constructed around a speech that its Japanese-Canadian subject — an engaging, erudite scientist, educator, broadcaster and eco-activist — calls his “...

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Durban climate conference: 'We are progressing as cooperative, global citizens'

Durban climate conference: ‘We are progressing as cooperative, global citizens’  December 11, 2011 MELANIE MULLEN/Special to Bullet News DURBAN, South Africa – To quote Christiana Figueres, a good friend and the exec...

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Firms Choose the Wind Direction

Companies including Bloomberg, Motorola and Lego have agreed to source at least a quarter of their energy from wind power under a scheme designed to drive investment in renewable energy. The WindMade label, which is backed by WWF and the Global Wi...

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Falls transit due for major upgrades, riders say

  Falls transit due for major upgrades, riders say Niagara Falls Review, November 29, 2011 NIAGARA FALLS — Marlene Pierce is the self-described face of Niagara Falls Transit. "My entire household takes transit," Pierce told city coun...

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Geo-Engineering: Destroying the Atmosphere

Radio Liberty Seminar, October 23, 2011, Aptos, California. Rosalind Peterson and Allan Buckmann present their findings relating to geo-engineering.  Video Link --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yg8FBnGXIk&feature=player_embedded#...

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Green Certification - Toronto Buildings That Take the LEED

These green-certified structures are relatively new to Canadian architecture. The first building stamped with a designation of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) was a technology centre in Victoria a decade ago. More related to thi...

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Low income? City wants to help you eat healthier

Low income? City wants to help you eat healthier Hamilton Spectator   Mon Nov 28 2011 Byline: Danielle Wong The Hamilton Spectator dawong@thespec.com The city wants to introduce a gift-certificate program to help people on social assista...

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Making a Place for People; Community Opportunities

8-80 is offering professional consultation opportunities to a limited number of communities who  are looking to make public spaces more engaging for people. 8-80 Cities is looking for sites across Ontario to participate in a community-led proces...

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Meetings on the Bus

Meetings on the Bus Celebrate and Support Niagara’s long-awaited Regional Transit System   Did you know that Niagara now offers regular intercity bus service? This is a huge benefit to ALL Niagara citizens. Transp...

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Minister: China wants to build U.S. roads, rails

Minister: China wants to build U.S. roads, rails JOE McDONALD BEIJING— Associated Press Posted on Friday, December 2, 2011 9:17AM EST China wants to convert some of its mountain of U.S. government debt into investment in renovating...

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Monsanto (Still) Denies Super Insect Problem, Despite Evidence

Dec. 8, 2011 http://motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2011/12/superinsects-monsanto-corn-epa Back in August—as I reported here—something strange began to happen in isolated Iowa corn fields: Otherwise healthy corn plants were falling over, t...

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Race to Reduce

Globe and Mail, Monday, Nov 14, 2011 In office towers throughout Toronto landlords and tenants are working together to reduce energy waste. This type of collaboration is a key element of a unique energy challenge under way in the Greater Toronto Are...

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SPEEDWAY OPPONENTS FINALLY GET THEIR DAY IN COURT

 Fort Erie, ON:  Residents of Fort Erie concerned about the proposed motor speedway development for the town will want to put January 17th, 2011 on their calendar.  This is the rescheduled date set by the Ontario Municipal Board for a...

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Ontario breaks Temagami pledge

Ontario breaks Temagami pledge Published On Mon Dec 12 2011, Toronto Star   Moira Welsh Staff Reporter      Ontario is planning to kill its promise to protect an ecological gem — an old-growth forest...

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Niagara Region Launch New Version of Niagara Navigator as part of Geographic Information Systems Day

Niagara Region, Nov. 15, 2011 - As part of international GIS day on Nov. 16, Niagara Region is launching a new and improved version of its popular Niagara Navigator, a public interactive web mapping tool, which provides information on properties, roa...

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Natural Policy Review

Dr. Faisal Moola, PhD, Director, Terrestrial Conservation and Science at the David Suzuki Foundation  regarding their latest report Natural Policy Review. Close to 80 % of Canadians now live in cities and suburbs. As a consequence, how we manag...

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New Economic Order Needed to Fight Climate Change: Dion

The world needs a new economic order if it is to mitigate the effects of climate change, former Liberal leader and onetime environment minister Stéphane Dion told a local environmental group on Sunday. With a previous limit on global warming...

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THE TRANSITION COMPANION by Rob Hopkins

 Is now available in Canada.  Price $32.95 Canadian.  ISBN 9781603583923 We suggest that members purchase the book through your local bookstore orthrough a Canadian on-line retailer.  Canadian distributors for Chelsea Green Boo...

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Transit At A Crossroads

TRANSIT AT A CROSSROADS: The head of Niagara Falls Transit admits the system has not kept pace with the growth of the city, so is it time to shift gears? Niagara Falls Review, November 25, 2011 The city's public transportation system has...

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