<html> <div align="center"> Green On. The Conservation Council of Ontario's e-newsletter Please forward to your friends.  To unsubscribe, go to <a href="http://www.greenontario.org/" eudora="autourl">www.greenontario.</a><a href="http://www.greenontario.org/" eudora="autourl">org</a> January 5, 2005 Editor:  Chris Winter, Executive Director, The Conservation Council of Ontario </div> In this issue... > A Request for Donations for tsunami relief > Canadian NGOs Quick to Respond > Emergency Preparedness and Conservation -- the Lesson for Ontario > 2004 -- A Year of Progress > Our Agenda for 2005 > Energy Workshops -- Register by January 7. A Request for Donations Usually around this time, we send out a fundraising request to all our contacts asking them to support conservation in Ontario.  We will delay this request this year, in order to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to support the relief effort for the survivors of the December 26 tsunami.  All donations received before January 11th can be claimed on your 2004 income tax. Please visit the CBC's information page <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/asia_earthquake/helping.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/asia_earthquake/helping.</a><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/asia_earthquake/helping.html" eudora="autourl">html</a> for a list of organizations that are accepting donations. Canadian NGOs Quick to Respond It is with some pride that we can say how quickly Canadian organizations have responded to the crisis.  It is also interesting to note how these organizations have developed their programs over the years to help prepare for emergencies. The funding office for Oxfam Canada (one of many worthwhile organizations on the CBC's list) is one floor above our office at 215 Spadina Ave. in Toronto.  Staff came in over the holidays to help process the donations and help with the relief effort.  Not only does Oxfam provide aid, they help communities prepare for possible future disasters. One of Oxfam Canada's key goals over the next five years has been to support disaster preparedness programmes in vulnerable communities around the world.  In Nicaragua, for example, they have been working with communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch to help them prepare for future hurricanes. Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontieres) is another organization of note -- a past recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.  They provide medical relief in war zones and after environmental crises.  Speed is critical to successful intervention following a natural disaster.  MSF has tested and stored pre-packaged medical and technical kits in its warehouses and is able to immediately dispatch them to devastated areas.  An MSF team - currently numbering 40 - has been working in the town of Banda Aceh since Tuesday night and is using four mobile teams to bring medical care along the coast.  And here's an interesting partnership to note -- the Greenpeace vessel the Rainbow Warrior Rainbow Warrior is helping Médecins Sans Frontieres to get relief supplies to parts of Indonesia devastated by the Indian Ocean earthquake. <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/news/details?item_id=700819" eudora="autourl">http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/news/details?item_id=700819</a> Emergency Preparedness and Conservation -- The Lesson for Ontario If there is a positive side to the devastation it is that there will likely be a tsunami warning system set up for the Indian Ocean similar to the Pacific Ocean system.  Out of the crisis comes a commitment to make sure a similar event in the future will not result in the same loss of life. Sadly, nothing motivates like a crisis. It was another crisis just over a year ago -- the August 14 blackout in 2003 -- that led to a resurgence in support for conservation and the creation of the provincial Conservation Action Team.  It took the Walkerton E.coli tragedy to wake up the government to the dangers of cutbacks in environmental programs.  Looking further back, it was Hurricane Hazel in 1954 that led to a stronger role for Ontario's conservation authorities in acquiring and protecting floodplain lands.  In each case, the crisis led to a long-term commitment to prevent any future occurrence of a similar scale. Ideally, we want to act in advance of a crisis -- "anticipate and prevent" is the commonly-used term in eco circles.  While the challenge is always to be able to predict what the next crisis will be, the key point to remember is that a conserver society is always more resilient to crisis, whether it be a catastrophic event, gradual climate change, pollution, or the gradual loss of essential resources (such as energy, food, water, or raw materials).  Emergency preparedness and prevention should be among the goals for conservation, in particular with respect to how we design our buildings, communities, and economy.  Energy efficiency, renewable power, conservation, and a diversified energy system will help protect against inevitable energy shortages or emergencies.  Efficient urban and building design are critical components -- we need to design for scarcity, not for abundance.  Investing in local agriculture will help maintain a secure regional supply of food.  Greenspace protection, stormwater retention, and watershed management is protection against both water shortages and sudden storms.  Efficiency and recycling of natural resources braces our economy against fluctuations in price and supply.  In short, sustainable development is also resilient development. We also need to develop the depth and coordination within non-governmental organizations that will allow us to respond to crises.  When the 2003 blackout hit, there was an immediate call for emergency conservation measures.  However, there was no effective way to reach people with the conservation message, outside of repeated calls through the media by our political leaders.  A year later, and we still have scant few resources or volunteers on the ground.  Ontario needs a strong conservation movement with support services and a network of organizations and community networks to get the message out to the public. The Cassandra approach (i.e. fear of shortages and blackouts) may not be the way to market conservation, especially in times of prosperity, but those who plan Ontario's future should certainly ensure that our infrastructure is resilient and that our society can react or adapt to future crises. 2004 -- A year of Progress Much happened on the conservation front in 2004. The Conservation Council had a busy and productive year.  We have initiated a strong working relationship with the provincial government through the government-wide Ontario Conserves initiative, the provincial Conservation Action Team, and with key ministries (such as Energy, Environment, and Public Infrastructure and Renewal). On November 25, we co-hosted Ontario's Conservation Summit 2004 with the provincial government and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.  230 people attended and contributed ideas on how we can build a stronger conservation movement in Ontario.  For the summit proceedings and final report, please see the summit website, <a href="http://www.greenontario.org/summit/index.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.greenontario.org/summit/index.html</a>. One of our key roles as a "Conservation Council" is to build a stronger conservation movement.  To this end, we have provided ongoing support for the Ontario Smart Growth Network as a lead organization for coordinating efforts to control suburban sprawl and promote compact, livable communities.  The OSGN has been awarded a short-term grant of $25,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to develop a communications plan and to study the feasibility of establishing a Municipal Smart Community Accreditation Program (a rating system for municipalities that have opted to incorporate principles of smart growth into their plans, community designs and individual developments).  For more information on the network, see <a href="http://www.greenontario.org/smartgrowth/index.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.greenontario.org/smartgrowth/index.html</a> or contact Marty Collier at marty.osgn@sympatico.ca. We have also seen a rise in corporate interest in conservation.  We are particularly grateful to The Beer Store for making us their lead community partner for environmental issues and for supporting the development of a provincial conservation campaign.  Corporate interest in the Conservation Summit was strong, and we expect to see some new partnerships between the corporate and NGO sectors over the next year. The provincial government had an ambitious environmental agenda as well for 2004, which kept many of our members and colleagues active in consultation exercises around the Planning Act, the Greenbelt, Places to Grow, the provincial gas tax, a Biodiversity Strategy, and energy conservation and renewable power. Most important, the provincial government realizes the important role of Ontario's conservation organizations in helping build support for conservation and in providing the public with conservation solutions.  We look forward to their continued support in 2005. Our Agenda for 2005 We have an ambitious agenda for 2005.  Building on the 2004 Conservation Summit, we will be looking to develop a strong conservation movement in Ontario.  Our agenda includes: > identifying or establishing coordinating networks for major areas of interest > fostering collaborations between like-minded organizations and companies to assist in marketing and delivering conservation solutions > developing community networks and support programs to facilitate local action and voluntarism > developing special campaigns to promote public involvement in conservation > updating the Green Ontario website as a portal to Ontario's conservation movement. To achieve this agenda, we will work with partner organizations to support their leadership role and areas of expertise, and we will help set up collaborations between organizations that can best deliver results. Details of the action plan will be posted on the Conservation Summit web page by the end of January. Energy Workshops -- January 18, 2005 Two Workshops, One Location The Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance's 2005 Energy Conservation Forum and Workshop "Effective DSM implementation for your bottom line!" AND Clean Air Foundation's  "Building Partnerships for Energy Conservation" The Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Clean Air Foundation are pleased to bring you two concurrent energy conservation workshops. The workshops will be held January 18th at the Liberty Grand on the CNE Grounds in Toronto. Participants will register for one event but are free to move between workshops as they wish.  Registration is requested by Friday January 7th. For further information, please see <a href="http://www.climateairconnections.ca/" eudora="autourl">www.climateairconnections.ca</a> or contact Stephanie Thorson, Climate Air Connections Coordinator: sthorson@cleanairfoundation.org <div align="center"> -------------------------------------- </div> Green On. is a periodic e-newsletter of the Conservation Council of Ontario, made possible through the financial assistance of the Ontario Trillium Foundation and The Beer Store. <div>***************************</div> <div>Promoting conservation leadership, cooperation, and action for over 50 years</div> <div>The Conservation Council of Ontario</div> <div>Suite 132, 215 Spadina Ave, Toronto, M5T 2C7 </div> <div>Ph: (416) 533-1635</div> <div>Fx: (416) 979-3936 </div> <div><a href="http://www.greenontario.org/" EUDORA=AUTOURL>www.greenontario.org</a> </div> <div>Chris Winter, Executive Director</div> </html>