Green Beat: Environmental news for a world that cares
Welcome to Green Beat, EnviroCentre‘s new weekly digest of suggested reading, viewing, listening, and doing.
We’ll be delivering Green Beat to your virtual doorstep every Saturday morning and hope to provide you with inspiring ways to continue caring for our planet.
Feel free to reach out to us with comments, suggestions, or news to share at communications@envirocentre.ca.
COVID-19 Analysis
How blue power can spur a green recovery
Once COVID-19 has passed; the economy will need a boost with a clean grid at its center. Read more on how Canada can respond to the crisis and still engage in lowering its GHG emissions. From the perspective of Anne-Raphaelle Audouin, President & CEO of WaterPower Canada. Keep reading.
What the Coronavirus teaches us about Climate Change
This video by Our Changing Climate looks at how we have responded globally to the Coronavirus and how we could be responding to climate change. The pandemic of COVID-19 resulted in rapid behavioural and structural changes, showing us how quickly we can adapt to a crisis collectively.
Could we not do the same for the climate crisis? If so we would be on our way to a zero-carbon future. Watch now.
We can’t go back to normal
We can’t go back to what our world was but what kind of world will emerge from this crisis? The world will have to choose between two paths – which one will we follow? Keep reading.
Climate Good Reads
New renewable capacity hit record levels in 2019
Recent data from the International Renewable Energy Agency shows that solar, wind and other green technologies now provide more than one-third of the world’s power. Almost three-quarters of new electricity generation capacity built in 2019 uses renewable energy. Fossil fuel power plants are in decline in Europe and the US. The world is on the right path to reduce its GHG emissions, though of course we still need to do more. Keep reading.
How EV production can help refuel Canada’s post-pandemic economy
As the global economy goes low-carbon, demand for electric buses, cars, and trucks will only accelerate. The Canadian electric vehicle industry needs provincial and federal investment to boost its development. With the right political signal Canada could become an auto manufacturing heavy hitter again, all while revving the low-carbon economy. Keep reading.
It’s time to start planting forests (not just trees) to grow Canada’s climate solutions capacity
The two billion trees program of the Canadian government is not enough to help reverse the climate breakdown. Canada can do better and instead of planting trees, we can plant forests, that should be the new target. The purpose of enlarging the number of trees planted is to help regenerate forests. By planting about a trillion trees, forests could store about two-thirds of all the carbon emissions produced since the Industrial Revolution. Keep reading.
Climate & Culture
Healing Earth: An Ecologist’s Journey of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship
A book by John Todd (2019) – a pioneer in the field of ecological design.
Healing Earth presents us with Todd’s diverse projects. Each chapter offers a workable engineering solution to an existing environmental problem: healing the aftermath of mountain-top removal and valley-fill coal mining in Appalachia, using windmills and injections of bacteria to restore the health of a polluted New England pond, working with community members in a South African village to protect an important river.
A mix of both success stories and concrete suggestions for solutions to tackle as yet unresolved issues, Todd’s narrative provides an important addition to the conversation about specific ways we can address the planetary crisis. Keep reading.
New York 2140
A novel by Kim Stanley Robinson (2017) – science fiction
New York 2140 is a “comedy of coping” in a future where climate change and sea-level rise has happened, but life goes on. “It’s surprisingly utopian. New York may be underwater, but it’s better than ever” reads a review in the New Yorker. “Sure, it was a rough hundred years for the planet … Now, though, New York is the SuperVenice.”. Keep reading.
Sustainable World Radio – Jill Cloutier
A podcast by Jill Cloutier
Learning From and Working With Nature: Interviews, news, and commentary about ecology, permaculture, organic gardening, sustainability, green living, and ethnobotany. Since 2004, Sustainable World has interviewed experts from around the globe; experts who learn from and work with nature. Tune in to discover positive solutions to environmental challenges; solutions that adhere to the Permaculture Ethics of Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share. Listen here.
Online Green Learning Opportunities
Circular Economy – Sustainable Materials Management
Gain knowledge about materials for sustainability, circular business models, circular design, policies and networks, and circular societies. Learn about the circular economy and what roles suppliers, designers, businesses, policymakers and all of us as consumers have to play. Free on Coursera, 25-40 hours. Learn more.
Introduction to Environmental Sustainability
Learn more about the basic necessities of life, sustainable and non-sustainable materials, carbon footprints, and more. Free on Alison, 2-3 hours. Learn more.
Managing Responsibly: Practicing Sustainability, Responsibility and Ethics
Managers are increasingly confronted with issues of sustainability, responsibility and ethics. Managing responsibly is an integrative approach to sustainability, responsibility and ethics, which allows you as a manager to deal competently with such challenges. This course will facilitate your learning process to engage in changing practices to make them more sustainable, responsible, and ethically informed. Free on Coursera, 9 hours. Learn more.
Ottawa this Week
Algonquin College Always Connected: Sourdough Bread – A Primer
Tuesday, April 14th from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
This 1-hour primer on bread will help you understand two different approaches to bread baking: working with commercial yeast versus working with wild yeast, a.k.a. sourdough.
Bread By Us owner Jessica Carpinone will demonstrate how to use sourdough in your bread, how to maintain a starter, and how to mix bread dough. The session will close with information on the concept of fermentation, and some basic tips on how to get a good bake in your home oven. This session is suited for people who have very little or no bread baking experience, but who are keen on learning! Learn more here.
Impact Hub’s Virtual Brown Bag Lunch: A Guide to Going All-Remote
Thursday, April 16th from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Hopefully, you were already well prepared to go fully remote during this enforced social distancing period, but if not, don’t worry! This Brown Bag Lunch will be a break-glass emergency session, drawing on lessons & recommendations from Autumn’s many years of experience in building ‘remote by default’ IT systems & workflows for non-profits with teams distributed across continents. Come with your questions! We’ll be sure to leave plenty of time for Q&A and sharing others’ learnings. Learn more here.
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