[greenon-l] We Conserve News, January 18,2011
cco
cco at web.ca
Tue Jan 18 15:26:41 EST 2011
Online version: here
<http://www.weconserve.ca/newsletter/2011/january18_2011.html> About
the Conservation Council of Ontario: here
<http://www.weconserve.ca/cco/index.html>
January 18, 2011
THINK LIKE A MOVEMENT
<http://www.weconserve.ca> We Conserve: Ontario is organizing and taking
action for a greener future.
Individually, we are learning to <http://www.weconserve.ca/solutions>
live lightly.
In our communities, we are organizing for
<http://www.weconserve.ca/communityaction> community action.
Provincially, we have a <http://www.weconserve.ca/strategy> voluntary
transition strategy to promote common solutions.
<http://www.weconserve.ca/joinus.html> Join us.
<http://www.weconserve.ca/donate.html> Support Us. Above all, get involved
in shaping a sustainable future!
Transport Futures
Simcoe Area Growth Plan
New MOE Website
CCO Annual Meeting
Transport Futures,
February 3, 2011 in Toronto
For the last few years, the CCO has provided support to Transport Futures,
the only organization facilitating an on-going dialogue on a range of
challenging TDM measures and infrastructure funding mechanisms (road
pricing, parking, transit fares and fuel taxes). We thought you would be
interested in attending their upcoming Mobility Pricing Conference on
February 3rd. CCO members and We Conserve subscribers receive a special 15%
discount. Simply add Coupon Code "CCT2" when completing your contact
information.
Visit http://www.transportfutures.ca/mobility for full program details.
_____
Deadline approaching for Comments on Growth Plan
Proposed Amendment 1 (2010) to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden
Horseshoe, 2006: An amendment and implementation tools for the Simcoe
Sub-Area
EBR Registry Number: 011-1528
<http://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=
MTExMjQx&statusId=MTY2OTI0&language=en> Ministry website: Places
<https://www.placestogrow.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=210&I
temid=15> to Grow Secretariat
The Proposed Amendment focuses on four key areas for ensuring sustainable
long-term growth in the Simcoe Sub-area by:
* Identifying urban nodes that are the focus for growth and
intensification to help curb sprawl;
* Providing population and employment growth forecasts for all
communities in the Simcoe area to ensure that growth is focused where it can
best be accommodated;
* Requiring that communities assess the land they need to meet their
forecasted growth by 2031, and manage the supply of land available for
development; and
* Identifying focused, strategic industrial employment areas along
Highway 400 to support job creation, manufacturing and industrial activities
and economic employment districts that can support local employment.
Response to the amendment has been mixed. On the positive side, the
amendment seeks to deal with the reality of development pressures in the
Simcoe area, and it recognizes the importance of the 400 highway for
locating industrial development. On the negative, it seems to allow
leapfrogging of the Greenbelt and doesn't place enough controls or
incentives to promote compact and complete community design.
Earthroots, STORM, and the Council of Canadians have prepared a primer
<http://smartgrowth.on.ca/pdf/Earthroots_Simcoe_Growth_Primer1-1.pdf> on
the Simcoe growth Plan, which we have made available on the Ontario Smart
Growth Network (OSGN) website. You may also want to follow the discussion
on the OSGN
<http://list.web.net/archives/getsmart-l/2011-January/thread.html>
listserve, or sign <http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/getsmart-l> up to
contribute.
_____
New Ministry of Environment Website
Not usually newsworthy, but the Ministry of Environment has updated its
website. There's a really cute guy on the main page at the moment, helping
return the one billionth container through the Bag it Back program. That's
him, in the middle.
The Ministry has re-organized its site to provide better access to
information about issues, Ministry programs and community activities.
They've created a new indexing
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/main/contents/index.htm> feature
that organizes the subject matter within the website. They've also organized
sections around the key Ministry priorities, Protecting
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/category/air/index.htm> our Air,
Conserving
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/category/water/index.htm> our
Water, Diverting
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/category/waste_recycling/index.htm>
our Waste, Reducing
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/category/toxic_substances/index.htm
> Toxic Substances, and Acting
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/category/climate_change/index.htm>
on Climate Change.
I took a quick cruise through the website to see how easy it was to find
information of interest to me:
1. Ministry Strategic Planning - Is there a clear vision and strategy
for the Ministry? You have to dig to find anything. I found links to the
Results-based
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/resources/STD01_078816.html> Plan
Briefing Book for 2011 and a 2007 Environmental
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@ene/@resources/documents
/resource/std01_079503.pdf> Primer for the People of Ontario on the
Ministry publications page. The ministry website is structured around the
key themes of the results-based plan, so it should be an easy step to give
the ministry vision and strategy more prominence on the website.
2. Statement of Environmental Values (SEV) and Environmental Bill of
Rights EBR - The Ministry's SEV is not evident on the website, nor is there
an EBR section.
3. Community Funding - There is a funding and incentives section under
Resources <http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/resources/index.htm> ,
with links to three programs, Environmental
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/resources/results/index.htm?txtSear
chType=library&txtSearchValue=Environmental%20Cleanup%20Fund> Cleanup Fund
(no results found), Ontario's
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/resources/results/index.htm?txtSear
chType=library&txtSearchValue=Environmental%20Cleanup%20Fund> Environmental
Leaders, and the Pollution
<http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/resources/results/index.htm?txtSear
chType=library&txtSearchValue=Environmental%20Cleanup%20Fund> Prevention
Pledge Program. Thie first uses environmental fines to fund community
restoration projects, and the other two are recognition programs for
voluntary leadership. There is no link to the Community Go Green Fund, which
is wrapping up. All in all, it clearly shows that the Ministry does not have
an effective community engagement and support program in place.
Bottom line, a well-designed website with a few gaps that helps to draw
attention to the need for better strategic planning and leadership in
support of our common environmental goals.
_____
CCO Annual Meeting
Last reminder about the Conservation Council of Ontario Annual Meeting,
Thursday January 20,
10 a.m. to Noon:
* meeting details here
<http://www.weconserve.ca/cco/meetings.html>
* E-voting on memberships and directors for CCO members here.
<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JQ36RFZ>
Make a difference. Become a Friend of Conservation
<http://www.weconserve.ca/donate.html>
To subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, see the newsletter box at
<http://www.weconserve.ca/> www.weconserve.ca.
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