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August 2007
Media clips
Arrests loom at uranium site after court injunction served
CBC News, August 31, 2007
A court injunction allowing police to arrest Algonquin protesters blocking the site of a potential uranium mine in eastern Ontario was formally served Friday afternoon, as required by a legal deadline.
The order that protesters have been anticipating arrived before 3:30 p.m. Friday, confirmed CBC Radio's JC Kenny from the scene.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/31/ot-sharbot-uranium-070831.html
Rich Countries Deadlocked Over 2020 Climate Goals
Planet Ark, August 31, 2007
VIENNA - Industrial nations were deadlocked on Thursday about whether to set stringent 2020 goals for cutting greenhouse gases at a first UN session about long-term climate targets, delegates said.
A draft text at the Vienna meeting said rich countries should recognise a need for cuts of between 25 and 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 to avert the worst effects of climate change.
Russia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland objected that such goals would be too demanding after a first period of the UN Kyoto Protocol, the main plan for fighting global warming, ends in 2012, delegates said.
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/44047/story.htm
Ontario Liberals to pledge provincewide ban on pesticides: sources
CBC News, August 30, 2007
Dalton McGuinty's Liberals will introduce a provincewide ban of household pesticides if they are re-elected in October, CBC News has learned.
Sources said the pledge will be part of the party's election platform, which is expected to be released next week as parties kick off their campaigns for the Oct. 10 Ontario election.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/30/liberals-pesticides.html
McGuinty plans ban on pesticides
Globe and Mail, August 30, 2007
Homeowners across Ontario would no longer be able to use chemicals to zap dandelions on their lawns under Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty's campaign pledge to ban the use of pesticides.
Mr. McGuinty will make a provincewide ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides on lawns, gardens and parks, which can pose a health risk, part his platform for the Oct. 10 provincial election, a Liberal party source said yesterday.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070830.wpests30/BNStory/National/home
Lac Leamy : Un taux de plomb élevé
Radio-Canada, le 29 août 2007
Le taux de plomb dans certaines zones du lac Leamy, dans le secteur Hull à Gatineau, dépasse jusqu'à trois fois les normes du ministère de l'Environnement. C'est la conclusion d'une étude commandée par les grands feux du Casino du Lac-Leamy pour connaître les effets des activités pyrotechniques sur le plan d'eau.
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2007/08/29/001-lac-leamy-plomb_n.shtml
Ontario to spend $25B on nuclear plants
CBC News, August 29, 2007
The Ontario government is planning to spend more than $25 billion on nuclear power plants to ensure the province's electricity supply until 2025.
The Ontario Power Authority's new power plan released Wednesday also increases the amount of conservation and hydroelectric power it thinks can be achieved.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/29/ontario-nuclear.html
Algonquin on 'red alert' after order to end blockade
Ottawa Citizen, August 28, 2007, page a3
Ciara Byrne
An order demanding the Algonquin community quit its blockade at Sharbot Lake immediately has put members on "red alert."
"We're filling this place up," said Paula Sherman, co-chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, who said she's surprised the events have turned sour so quickly. The community now awaits a possible confrontation in what they said they hoped would be a peaceful protest.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=e76d1629-03bc-4ae6-8fab-5c98fcf00c5a
Algonquins ordered off mine property; Allow company onto uranium site, judge rules in interim injunction
Kingston Whig-Standard, August 28, 2007
Steve Serviss
A judge has ordered a group of Algonquins blocking access to a proposed uranium mine north of Sharbot Lake to leave the property immediately.
The order is directed at members of the Algonquin and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations, who have been stationed at the entrance to the site near Clarendon Station, about 60 kilometres north of Kingston, that is being prospected for uranium.
http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=671081&catname=Local%20News&classif=
Carbon dioxide ruins animals' grazing land: study
Ottawa Citizen, August 28, 2007, page a3
Tom Spears
The gases that cause global warming threaten to turn the Prairies from grasslands into an area covered by woody shrubs that cattle can't eat, a new study says.
But it's not the warmer temperatures that are to blame.
The main greenhouse gas causing global warming is carbon dioxide, and rising carbon dioxide levels favour the growth of woody plants -- but not grasses.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=d14531d8-2c67-4c30-a8d5-8fa2e209c157
Algues Bleues: la ministre promet de l'aide aux municipalités
Le Droit, le 27 août 2007
Line Beauchamp s'engage à donner de meilleurs moyens aux municipalités pour faire appliquer les lois et règlements qui protègent les cours d'eau et qui préviennent l'apparition des cyanobactéries (algues bleues).
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070827/CPDROIT/70827190/6784/CPDROIT
Algues bleues
La ministre Beauchamp s'arrête en Outaouais
Radio-Canada, le 27 août 2007
Le gouvernement du Québec songe à mieux outiller les municipalités qui veulent forcer les citoyens à respecter la réglementation actuelle pour protéger les cours d'eau. Il souhaite ainsi freiner la contamination des algues bleues dans les lacs de la province.
La ministre du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs, Line Beauchamp, s'est rendue en Outaouais lundi dans le cadre de sa tournée des régions du Québec pour faire le point sur la situation. Elle a discuté avec des élus et des riverains.
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2007/08/27/003-algues_bleues.shtml
Greenbelt drags down Ottawa's eco ranking
Ottawa Citizen, August 26, 2007
Andrew Thomson
Ottawa has definite advantages in this age of environmental consciousness and green politics: clean air, an educated workforce and new residential developments sprouting up across downtown.
But old problems remain, according to the Pembina Institute, an energy and environmental think-tank. Among those problems is a Greenbelt that fuels urban sprawl and lengthens exhaust-spewing commutes.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=0cf429a3-eb77-4252-9da1-ead3ad575878&k=48653
Ontario Community Sustainability Report — 2007
Pembina Institute, August 26, 2007
This study provides a snapshot of the sustainability of selected communities across Ontario in recent years. The study employs 33 indicators in three broad categories (smart growth, livability and economic vitality) to develop an overall community sustainability index for 27 Ontario municipalities. The municipalities include major cities, regional municipalities and medium- and smaller-sized cities from across the province. The sample of municipalities includes communities experiencing high, medium and low levels of population and population growth.
http://www.pembina.org/pub/1512
Editorial: We are water stewards
Ottawa Citizen, August 27, 2007, page c4
If people in the Outaouais want their lakes to be clean, they're going to have to understand that humans are part of the ecosystem.
If we humans don't reduce our reliance on phosphate-laden detergents and fertilizers, toxic scum will keep showing up in the water.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=09bee979-5477-4ca6-b1b2-6219d40665e1
La ministre Beauchamp visitera trois lacs
Le Droit, le 24 août 2007
La ministre du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs du Québec, Line Beauchamp, visitera trois lacs de l’Outaouais affectés par les cyanobactéries, lundi.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070824/CPDROIT/70824216/6784/CPDROIT
Pesticides : moins dans les champs, plus à la maison
Le Soleil, le 24 août 2007
Annie Morin
À trop chercher la paille dans l’œil du voisin, on ne regarde pas la poutre qu’on a dans le sien. Il s’étend de moins en moins de pesticides sur les champs cultivés du Québec, et leurs ingrédients actifs sont de moins en moins dommageables pour l’environnement et la santé de leurs utilisateurs.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070824/CPSOLEIL/70823192/6110/CPENVIRONNEMENT01
Why we should worry about the Montebello talks
rabble news, August 21, 2007
Bruce Campbell
The term SPP is likely to draw blank stares from most Canadians, though hopefully that will change after the upcoming summit of North American leaders George Bush, Felipe Calderón and Stephen Harper in Montebello, Quebec.
The North American Security and Prosperity Partnership (that's what SPP stands for) was launched by the three NAFTA countries in March 2005. This is their third meeting and the first held in Canada.
The SPP is the successor to the 1994 NAFTA, the next stage on the path to fully integrate the North American economy along the lines advocated by business and political elites. It is a NAFTA-plus initiative but with several differences.
http://www.rabble.ca/in_his_own_words.shtml?sh_itm=28a2c14c65b3ca1992a53645c5c319ce&rXn=1&
Algonquins to continue uranium site blockade despite court order
CBC News, August 21, 2007
Two First Nations communities plan to continue blocking access to a potential uranium mining site in eastern Ontario despite a judge's order.
"Our plans at the site are to continue to secure the gate and not permit entry into our lands without our permission," Bob Lovelace, former chief of the Ardoch First Nation, said Tuesday. "And certainly the exploration company will not be permitted to do any test drilling."
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/21/ot-uranium-070821.html
Ontario awash in toxic substances: coalition
CBC News, August 20, 2007
Ontario is steeped in chemicals and the province needs to take immediate action in reducing toxic emissions and cancer-causing substances in the environment, says a coalition of health and labour groups.
"We think there are just too many carcinogens released in air, water and soil and there's an opportunity here to reduce that," Sarah Miller, co-ordinator and researcher at the Canadian Environmental Law Association and member of the Cancer and the Environment Stakeholder Group, told cbc.ca.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/20/carcinogens-coalition.html
Urbandale puts light rail back on the table
Ottawa Citizen, August 16, 2007
Jean-François Bertrand
Light rail could be making a comeback after an unsolicited new rail plan stole the agenda at the joint transportation and transit committee yesterday.
The plan was submitted by an Ottawa development company, the Urbandale Corporation, which commissioned a consultant, Morrison Renfrew, to put it together. Working by himself, Mr. Renfrew did the work in three weeks.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=3f6d9e87-b083-438b-a174-3908e75ad8a8
Le train refait surface
Le Droit, le 16 août 2007
Dominique La Haye
Mort et enterré au début de l'année par la Ville d'Ottawa, le projet de construction d'un train léger refait surface, l'idée ayant été lancée, hier, par un important promoteur immobilier de la municipalité.
La proposition présentée par la compagnie Urbandale, propriétaire de plusieurs terrains dans le secteur Riverside Sud a séduit à l'unanimité les conseillers siégeant sur les comités de transports et de transports en commun d'Ottawa.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070816/CPACTUALITES/708160316/6790/CPDROIT
McGuinty evasive on uranium dispute intervention
CBC News, August 16, 2007
Premier Dalton McGuinty has not signalled whether he plans to intervene in a dispute between a company that wants to develop uranium deposits in eastern Ontario and two First Nations communities in the area.
When asked on Wednesday about the letter sent by the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan Algonquins First Nations to his office on Tuesday, McGuinty told reporters he did not know enough about the situation to comment properly.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/16/ot-algonquin-070816.html
Scientists praise rapid response to algae menace
CBC News, August 14, 2007
The Quebec environment department is earning praise from international scientists for acting quickly on the blue-green algae contamination in the province's lakes and rivers. In other parts of the world the problem is much worse.
More than 1,500 scientists are attending a conference on water issues in Montreal this week.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/14/bluegreen-algae.html
Ottawa transit planning miffs Gatineau mayor
Ottawa Citizen, August 13, 2007
by Jake Rupert
Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau is disappointed that the City of Ottawa is considering acting in a unilateral manner when it comes to inter-provincial transit planning.
Earlier this year, Mr. Bureau agreed to temporarily halt a joint Ottawa-Gatineau-National Capital Commission study aimed at improving transit links across the Ottawa River until Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien's transportation task force filed its report.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=cfb133f7-e17d-48c3-b14a-70f0a03ad9cf&k=7640
Positive results a negative for reactors
Ottawa Citizen, August 13, 2007, page c1
by Ian MacLeod
A key safety feature in two nuclear reactors near Ottawa isn't working despite years of attempted fixes, according to a new Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission report.
The resulting eight-year delay in putting the MAPLE reactors into commercial production for life-saving medical isotopes is potentially threatening Canada's world dominance in the $3.7-billion global molecular imaging and radiotherapeutics market, led by Ottawa's MDS Nordion.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=074601f6-b0f0-4f4c-b4c6-bf51953aed28
World experts to discuss blue-green algae problem
Ottawa Citizen, August 13, 2007, page a4
MONTREAL - At a time when blue-green algae is choking lakes in many parts of Canada, 1,500 experts from 61 countries are meeting in Montreal this week to discuss the problems confronting the world's fresh water.
The blue-green algae found in our waterways are microscopic organisms that, in the right conditions, can proliferate and form a bloom, emitting toxins that are a potential health hazard for humans and animals.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=9ada6983-d034-40a6-bb0c-bcfa6b1bf987
Dozens more species in danger in Canada
Ottawa Citizen, August 13, 2007, page a1
by Tom Blackwell, with files from Zev Singer
Expanding cities, pollution, logging and predatory house cats are being blamed as the federal government considers adding three dozen more species to the list of endangered, threatened or otherwise at-risk animals and plants in Canada.
In documents published by Environment Canada over the weekend, loss of habitat to one form of human development or another is cited repeatedly as the biggest threat to the various vulnerable species.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=095d9bde-8cb0-4044-b594-a91b5bea40c1
Les riverains passent à l'action
Radio-Canada, le 12 août 2007
Il y a actuellement 107 lacs et rivières contaminés par les algues bleues au Québec. En Estrie, on compte 14 plans d'eau touchés par les cyanobactéries. Des associations pour la protection des lacs en Estrie veulent jouer un rôle dans la lutte contre la prolifération et souhaitent l'appui des municipalités ainsi que du gouvernement.
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/estrie/2007/08/12/001-cyanobacteries-lutte_n.shtml
Québec songe à une taxe sur les sacs en plastique
La Presse, le vendredi 10 août 2007
Nadielle Kutlu
Le ministère de l'Environnement du Québec s'intéresse de près à l'idée d'un écologiste montréalais, qui suggère de taxer les deux milliards de sacs en plastique circulant dans la province, a appris La Presse.
Jacques Lalonde est traducteur, mais aussi fondateur de l'organisme citoyen Écocontribution. Il incite le gouvernement à imposer une «écotaxe» de 20 cents sur chaque sac en plastique fourni à la caisse des commerces lorsque les clients les demanderont.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070810/CPACTUALITES/708100447/6110/CPENVIRONNEMENT01
City in search of short-term transit cash
Wish list would require help from provincial, federal coffers
Jake Rupert
The Ottawa Citizen
Thursday, August 09, 2007
The city released a $612-million wish list of short-term transit and transportation projects yesterday, but funding from upper-tier governments to help pay for them is not guaranteed.
The projects include extending the O-Train south to Leitrim Road, filling in gaps in the west and southwest bus transitways, building the Cumberland transitway and the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge, widening some roads and improving downtown stations and streets.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=6a8b56b1-4f7c-4bcd-8987-490516490ea3
Transit plan mapped out
Roads, bridges carry $612M price tag
By DEREK PUDDICOMBE, CITY HALL BUREAU
August 8, 2007, Ottawa Sun
Every corner of Ottawa stands to benefit -- some more than others -- if the city gets its way on a wish list of transit priorities.
With the cancellation of the $1-billion north-south light rail project and subsequent revision of the city's transportation master plan, city staff have released a $612-million package of proposed transit goodies.
Almost half the money, $287 million, would go to the rapidly growing South Urban Community -- Barrhaven and Riverside South.
Topping the list there is extending transitways and the current O-Train network south from South Keys to Leitrim where the line will end in a field, but where the city intends to build two nearby park-and-ride facilities.
Also a priority is the Strandherd-Armstrong bridge that will cross the Rideau River linking Barrhaven to Riverside South -- a community with a population of 65,000 that is expected to grow by more than 100,000 over the next two decades.
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2007/08/09/4404126-sun.html
La plage O'Brien demeure fermée
Le Droit, le 3 août 2007, Philippe Orfali
La plage O'Brien restera fermée au moins jusqu'à lundi prochain en raison de la présence d'algues bleues dans ce secteur du lac Meech, ce qui ne semble pas importuner les visiteurs qui continuent d'affluer en très grand nombre au parc de la Gatineau.
Cela fait maintenant dix jours que la plage O'Brien est fermée, en attendant que le ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs (MDDEP) réalise les analyses nécessaires pour déterminer si les algues bleues retrouvées dans le lac Meech sont dangereuses ou non.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070803/CPACTUALITES/708030425/6790/CPDROIT
Il en coûtera 809 000 $ au demandeur d'informations au sujet du dossier du train rapide
Le Droit, le 3 août 2007, Dominique La Haye
La Ville d'Ottawa vient de recevoir la plus grande requête d'accès à l'information jamais demandée d'un groupe inconnu dans le cadre de la poursuite judiciaire de 175 millions $ l'opposant à la multinationale Siemens.
Il en coûtera 809 000 $ au demandeur pour obtenir tous les documents liés à la signature du contrat de construction d'un train léger par la firme Siemens que la ville a résilié.
Ces documents incluent lettres, messages électroniques, courriels, mémorandum, notes et agenda liés au projet de train.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070803/CPACTUALITES/708030428/6790/CPDROIT
Judge urges truce in mining dispute
Ottawa Citizen, August 3, 2007, page f1
by Suzanne Ma
A tense stalemate over a potential uranium mine north of Kingston may end today as an Ontario Superior Court judge continues to push both sides of the dispute to reach a temporary compromise.
This is the latest round in a conflict that began in late June when two Algonquin communities in Eastern Ontario formed a blockade near Sharbot Lake, about 50 kilometres north of Kingston, to stop Frontenac Ventures, a uranium-prospecting company, from drilling for uranium core samples on disputed land.
The Algonquins claim the land being prospected is theirs and that Frontenac Ventures has no right to be there.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=80810558-38d4-4877-98fb-bc89b0bfb1f1
Ont. judge asks uranium firm, native protesters to compromise
CBC News, August 2, 2007
A uranium mining exploration company that is suing Algonquin protesters in eastern Ontario is to appear in court Thursday after the two parties were asked by a judge to reach a temporary truce.
Frontenac Ventures Corp. is claiming $77 million in damages against the protesters from the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan Algonquin First Nations, who have been blocking an area in North Frontenac Township that the company is interested in developing for uranium mining.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/02/ot-uranium-070802.html
Les maires de banlieues "achètent" le projet de train
Le Droit, le 2 août 2007
Dominique La Haye
Une trentaine de maires des municipalités de l'Est ontarien et du Pontiac embarquent dans l'ambitieux projet du maire d'Ottawa, Larry O'Brien, de mettre sur rail un train reliant la ville aux banlieues rurales, mais à condition d'être traités sur un pied d'égalité et de ne pas s'engager hâtivement sur le plan financier.
Malgré l'absence des élus gatinois, le projet a franchi une étape significative, hier, lors du Sommet de transport du maire O'Brien à Ottawa, lors duquel 32 représentants municipaux ont signé la lettre de soutien au projet. Un comité spécial sera formé pour rendre plus concret le projet.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070802/CPACTUALITES/708020362/6784/CPDROIT
Les Amis du O-Train demandent la réalisation du projet original
Le Droit, le 2 août 2007
Dominique La Haye
Loin de reprocher au maire d'Ottawa de planifier la mise sur rail d'un train de banlieues rurales avec d'autres municipalités de la région, mais Les Amis du O-Train lui demandent à Larry O'Brien de passer en deuxième vitesse pour réaliser le projet de train léger à Ottawa même.
L'organisme ayant vu le jour dans la foulée de la mise au rancart par M. O'Brien de l'ancien projet de train léger demande au maire d'aller de l'avant avec le prolongement du train au sud de la ville.
"C'est bien que le maire planifie à long terme un train avec les banlieues, mais à court terme, il faut régler les problèmes de congestion en prolongeant le train jusqu'à Greenboro, à 5,5 kilomètres au sud dans le secteur de l'aéroport", indique le porte-parole de l'organisme, David Jeanes.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070802/CPACTUALITES/708020363/6790/CPDROIT
Area leaders back commuter-rail plan, but Gatineau will stick to buses
Ottawa Citizen, August 2, 2007
by Jake Rupert
Municipal leaders from across Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec expressed support "in principle" yesterday for a regional commuter-rail system. But a key player, Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau, was missing.
At a meeting called by Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien, more than 30 municipal leaders or their designates signed a memorandum of support for a commuter-rail system linking Ottawa with communities as far away as Renfrew, Perth, Smiths Falls, Brockville, Alexandria, Cornwall and East Hawkesbury.
There were also representatives from several Quebec municipalities. But Mr. Bureau didn't attend the meeting and would not have signed the document, even though it's non-binding.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=b87ce9ee-f345-4902-acf5-2ffd04452b8e
Ontario doesn't need planned nuclear plants: study
CBC News, August 1, 2007
Ontario could eliminate the need for two planned new nuclear plants by counting on interprovincial energy imports, stepping up renewable power generation and encouraging energy conservation, two national environmental groups say.
The Pembina Institute and World Wildlife Fund want to make the proposed plants an issue in this fall's election and on Wednesday opened the debate by presenting a computer modelling study showing how Ontario could meet future energy needs without the new plants and how it could shut down its two coal plants before the current 2014 deadline.
"You'd have economic incentives to get rid of your old energy pigs," said Keith Stewart, climate change campaign manager for the World Wildlife Federation. "We'd start seeing things like people having solar panels on their roofs."
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/01/ot-nuclear-070801.html
Municipal leaders endorse eastern Ont., western Que. LRT network
CBC News, August 1, 2007
More than two dozen eastern Ontario and western Quebec municipal leaders have signed a memorandum of support "in principle" for a proposed light rail network that would sprawl through the region by 2037.
"I, for one, think it's a great first step in making a kind of integrated, balanced transportation system a reality for eastern Ontario and western Quebec," said Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien.
He hosted a meeting in his home city Tuesday to discuss the plan that would link Ottawa with Gatineau, Arnprior, Carleton Place, Smiths Falls, Wakefield, Cumberland, Alexandria and other nearby communities using largely existing rail lines.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/01/ot-lrt-070801.html
Transport en commun par train
Les maires de la région s'entendent
Radio-Canada, le 1er août 2007
Le projet de train à Ottawa pourrait bien renaître, mais sous une forme régionale. Vingt-cinq maires de l'Est ontarien et de l'Outaouais ont en effet signé mercredi un mémorandum pour appuyer un éventuel plan de transport par train qui desservirait la région.
Le réseau s'étendrait de Arnprior et de Smith Falls, à l'ouest, jusqu'à Cumberland et Alexandria, à l'est. L'éventuel train pourrait même rejoindre Wakefield et Masson-Angers au nord.
Même si l'appui semble unanime, des zones d'ombres persistent. « On ne connaît même pas les coûts », commente la mairesse d'Hawkesbury, Jeanne Charlebois.
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2007/08/01/006-transport-train_n.shtml
Algues bleues: Québec refuse de se jeter à l'eau
Radio-Canada, le 1er août 2007
La ministre québécoise du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs, Line Beauchamp, se fait rassurante au sujet des 85 lacs et cours d'eau contaminés par les cyanobactéries.
En conférence de presse, mardi, elle a fait valoir qu'elle était préoccupée par la situation actuelle, mais qu'il n'y avait tout de même pas de crise. Le problème est circonscrit, dit-elle, et il n'y a pas de risque pour la santé publique.
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2007/08/01/005-algues-beauchamp_n.shtml
Rainsoaked Germany unlikely solar power hotspot
Ottawa Citizen, August 1, 2007, page a14
by Erik Kirschbaum
It rains year round in Germany. Clouds cover the skies for about two-thirds of all daylight hours. Yet the country has managed to become the world's leading solar power generator.
Even though millions of Germans flee their damp, dark homeland for holidays in the Mediterranean sun, 55 per cent of the world's photovoltaic (PV) power is generated on solar panels set up between the Baltic Sea and the Black Forest.
So far, just three per cent of Germany's electricity comes from the sun, but the government wants to raise the share of renewables to 27 per cent of all energy by 2020 from 13 per cent.
It is a thriving industry with booming exports that has created tens of thousands of jobs in recent years, posting growth rates that surpassed the optimistic forecasts made by the fathers of a pioneering 2000 renewable energy law.
This law, known by the acronym EEG, has helped this cloudy, rainy country on the northern rim of central Europe become a solar giant.
"The EEG was the single most important vehicle to boost the solar energy market," Frank Asbeck, chairman of SolarWorld AG, said. The law, which offers cash incentives to people introducing renewable energy sources, was designed to help fight climate change and reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
"There has also been an enormous interest for solar power from the public in general," added Mr. Asbeck, who, in 1988, started his Bonn-based company making and marketing PV products. Its 1,350 staff have doubled in number in the past two years.
"Germans have a fondness for inventing and developing technologies -- especially when it might lead to big export rates. Helping fight climate change is a bonus," said Mr. Asbeck, who plans to nearly double the staff again within two years.
There are now more than 300,000 photovoltaic systems in Germany -- the energy law had planned for 100,000.
Spread out across the country, they are owned by legions of homeowners, farmers and small businesses capitalizing on the government-backed march into renewable energy.
By tapping the daylight for electricity -- which power companies are obliged to buy for 20 years at more than triple market prices -- they are at the vanguard of a grassroots movement in the fight against climate change.
"It's grown much faster than anyone thought it would," said Juergen Trittin, the former environment minister who masterminded the scheme. He was mocked at the time for his claims that it would create jobs and not hurt the economy.
There are now 250,000 jobs in Germany in the renewable energy sector. Mr. Asbeck expects the number of jobs in solar power alone to double to 90,000 over the next five years and hit 200,000 in 2020.
The law has also since served as a model for other countries including Spain, Portugal, Greece, France and Italy.
Germany's photovoltaic systems generate about 3,000 megawatts of power -- 1,000 times more than in 1990.
Mr. Asbeck said political decisions in the 1990s made it easy and even lucrative for average people to put the systems on their roofs.
At the heart of the scheme is a "feed-in tariff," giving anyone who generates power from solar, wind or hydro a guaranteed payment from their area power company. The power firms are obliged to buy solar electricity for 49 cents per kilowatt hour -- or nearly four times market rates.
This can work out at a better return than putting money in the bank. So despite the cloudy weather, the investment pays for itself within 10 years.
There are some critics of the solar power incentives who want the government to phase out the program faster than now planned. The lucrative feed-in-tariffs are, however, guaranteed for 20 years for all existing owners.
Gerhard Mueller-Westermeyer, a climate researcher at the German national weather service, said most of Germany is covered by clouds between five and six eighths of the time and there are only a handful of days each year with no clouds at all. Many German towns have annual sunshine of 1,500 hours -- about half as much as in Spain.
"Obviously, there would be a better return on solar panels set up in sunnier places like Africa," he said. "But the energy would have be transported and that's difficult.
"So it makes sense to build solar panels where people need them."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2007
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