Greenspiration News & Events: Electric Future

Mon Nov 3 16:03:04 UTC 2025

INTERNATIONAL

Here’s What Nuclear Testing Does to the Earth—and Us

With trials of atomic weapons set to resume, we recall the environmental and health damage wrought by such testing.

https://nautil.us/heres-what-nuclear-testing-does-to-the-earth-and-us-1245174/

ZeroCarbon Climate Newsletter by Chris Hatch

News on Bill Gates, EVs in Nepal (75% of new cars!), suing the CPP, Canada's climate strategy, Power to people not ‘tech bros and crooks’, bike lanes crucial, geo-thermal heating/cooling, heat pumps and more.

https://mailchi.mp/nationalobserver/692evi7pav?e=02591b0337

The hidden military pressures behind the new push for small nuclear reactors

Why the renewed excitement about going nuclear? The real reasons have less to do with energy security, or climate change – and far more to do with military power. French president Emmanuel Macron put it clearly: “Without civilian nuclear, no military nuclear, without military nuclear, no civilian nuclear.” Military nuclear capabilities are seen as a way to stay at the world’s “top table”.

https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-military-pressures-behind-the-new-push-for-small-nuclear-reactors-266301

CANADA

Carney gets it wrong on climate

Last week our Prime Minister announced that the Gov't of Canada will invest $2 billion in Doug Ford’s plan to build four new U.S. nuclear reactors in the GTA, which will require us to import enriched uranium from the U.S. to fuel them and ramp up polluting gas.

https://www.cleanairalliance.org/carney-wrong/

It’s Our Electric Future

Send a letter: Keep a strong, consumer‑focused EV Availability Standard (EVAS)

https://www.ourelectricfuture.ca/

Food Banks as a Lifeline - Canada's New Normal

The following findings from Hunger Count 2025 illustrate the scale and the urgency of food insecurity in Canada: Monthly visits to Canada’s food banks have doubled since 2019. Nearly 1 in 5 food bank clients are employed but still can’t make ends meet, compared to just over 1 in 10 in 2019. One-third of food bank clients are children.

https://foodbankscanada.ca/hunger-in-canada/hungercount/

Are data centres a threat to the Great Lakes?

Ontario could learn a lot from Michigan about the coming data centre boom, and how it could impact our freshwater resources. But much is still unknown. The Greater Toronto Area along the shores of Lake Ontario is already home to 108 data centers. 

https://thenarwhal.ca/great-lakes-data-centres-threat/

ONTARIO

Electricity rates for Ontarians increased 29% on Nov. 1, though will be partly offset by a higher provincial rebate. This massive subsidy disguises the real cost of keeping the lights on with expensive nuclear reactors.

https://www.cleanairalliance.org/rates-to-rise-29/

Ontario’s Halloween Electricity Cost Surprise: For electricity consumers, it can only get worse from here

https://marksw.blog.yorku.ca/2025/11/02/for-ontario-electricity-consumers-it-can-only-get-worse-from-here/

The truth about Ontario’s Ring of Fire ads

The biggest problem: The province doesn’t have the right to the land. The Ring of Fire — which is actually called Mammamattawa, which means “many rivers coming together” or Bakitanaamowin Aki, meaning “the Breathing Lands” — is home to several remote First Nations within Treaty 9 territory.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/the-truth-about-ontarios-ring-of-fire-ads/article_5903c107-3364-4f66-b2a6-49051fc7021d.html

TORONTO

Inside the deal that’s making geothermal heating/cooling go mainstream in Toronto

In the past decade, geothermal has gone from being installed in less than one per cent of new homes in Toronto to nearly 30 per cent this year - due to an innovative business model. Heating/cooling with geothermal can reduce a building’s carbon emissions by 70% (a similar amount to an air-source heat pump, but using less electricity).

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/inside-the-deal-thats-making-geothermal-heat-go-mainstream-in-toronto/article_e9ea0c5e-00de-4735-a35b-bdd87a9fa161.html

Why this lawsuit over a new shelter seems meant to intimidate a city councillor

https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/opinion/community-group-lawsuit-over-shelter-etobicoke-slapp-suit-city-councillor-11381290

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EVENTS

COPs 101: What Everyone Should Know About Climate Diplomacy

Mon. Nov. 3, 11 a.m. ET

What is a COP? What do all those acronyms mean? How did we get here? This session is a crash course on the UN climate negotiations, from how COPs work and their history to how decisions are made, who’s in the room and what makes the process so complex, interesting and, at time, frustrating. We’ll break down key terms, explain the roles of different countries and negotiating groups and offer historical context to help you feel confident covering climate diplomacy, whether you’re new to it or just need a refresher.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_baAIKTefSaqmIJ1pVHKSZw#/registration

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What’s at Stake at COP30?

Tues. Nov. 4, 11 a.m. ET

Why is COP30 so important, and what should we be watching for? This session focuses on the global and regional context surrounding COP30. We’ll look at the current state of climate progress, what issues are likely to dominate the agenda and how Brazil, the COP host, is shaping the narrative. From fossil fuel phaseout and climate finance to the future of the Amazon and the role of Indigenous peoples, we’ll highlight the topics you need to follow to be on top of the negotiations.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qrL3hQgNQtqW9Dj-ZfMDcw#/registration 

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Home: Place and Belonging

Tues. Nov. 4, 7 p.m. ET

How do the places where we gather shape how we connect? From housing to green spaces, public libraries to digital forums, the environments around us play a vital role in fostering belonging and community. Four experts will share their unique perspectives on how the spaces we design and invest in can strengthen our social fabric. In this virtual talk, we’ll explore the challenges and rewards of creating and sustaining “third spaces” (social environments outside of home and work), and consider the responsibility to create places that connect us and serve our communities.

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-walrus-talks-at-home-place-and-belonging-tickets-1761095356619 

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Coding for Conservation

Tues. Nov. 4, 4 - 5 p.m. ET

Brentwood Public Library, 36 Brentwood Road North, Toronto

Learn how to use R software for effective scientific communication. This workshop will guide you through loading data into R software, creating plots, and running simple analyses.

https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEVT575331&R=EVT575331

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Emergency Town Hall on Austerity Budget - with Avi Lewis and Libby Davies

Wed. Nov. 5, 7 - 8 p.m. ET

If you're angry or scared about the "sacrifices" the Liberals expect Canadians to make in their upcoming budget, you are not alone. Both Liberals and Conservatives are racing rightward, scapegoating immigrants and Crown corporations like Canada Post instead of confronting the real problem: a system rigged for big corporations and the rich. And when establishment parties abandon working people, fascism fills the vacuum. We've been here before. In the 1990s, Liberals slashed social programs and abandoned the poor, parents, and people with disabilities. Join NDP's Libby Davies and Avi Lewis for an emergency town hall connecting the dots between Canada's austerity past and present, and to hear their action plan for this crisis moment.

https://act.lewisforleader.ca/austerity-budget-town-hall

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Community Choice Energy

Thur. Nov. 6, noon ET

Community activist Erin Mahan will discuss Community Choice Energy, an Alternative Electricity Model. CCE enables cities and counties to purchase renewable electricity in bulk, offering residents lower rates, choice for a higher amount of renewable energy, and reinvestment into local programs such as microgrids and low income programs. This energy consumption model is already successful in several U.S. states. 

https://actionnetwork.org/events/presented-by-erin-mahan/.

See Erin's earlier presentation on renewables here: 

https://www.nazcca.org/speaker-series-climate-talks-for-everyone.

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More Toronto events 

https://showuptoronto.ca/ 

For the best Canadian climate and energy news, visit and subscribe to the Energy Mix newsletter

http://theenergymix.com/ 

Democracy Now Daily Show - global peace, justice and enviro news

https://www.democracynow.org/ 

Tooker Tapes Archive Project - Youtube Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3IwhNn-WrINTQz2fBNayDoBWLW0y59le

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Submissions, subscribes, unsubscribes, and comments: mailto:angela at cleanairalliance.org 

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