December 2023
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Dear Friend,
The holiday season is upon us and we have a message from the board at the end to wrap this year up and bring in the new one!
Thank you to everyone who donated during our donation campaign - make sure to check those spam folders for our email! We've recently moved to a brand-new website and are having some email issues in the meantime, hence the spam folder. Don't fret! Emails are coming through normally for us, so if you do want to reach out, you can still reply to this newsletter.
Our work wouldn't be possible without you and we will be forever grateful for that.
- The CNL Team
CNL Acts to Reduce Natural Gas Expansion
Recently, CNL became aware that the Ministry of Energy had called for a consultation on the future of the Ontario Natural Gas Expansion Program (NGEP) and home heating affordability in Ontario (with submissions due Dec. 15) with a focus on some specific areas including rural Ontario.
Given that:
- Affordable housing and heating are so critical in Lanark County and Smiths Falls;
- there have been substantial technological developments in the past few years that have changed the residential heating environment;
- electric heat pumps are now acknowledged to be less expensive over their lifetime and far less polluting when compared with natural gas systems in most residential applications; and
- the County’s Climate Action Plan calls for the elimination of fossil fuels to stop overheating the planet…
CNL sent a request to all our area municipalities to endorse a Resolution calling for the Ontario government to give electric heat pumps their due in any side-by-side comparison with natural gas, to evaluate the cost savings of the two methods and to provide similar funding assistance to electric heat pumps as is provided to the natural gas expansion.
As well, CNL joined with Environmental Defence and the Ontario Clean Air Alliance in “a complaint to the Canadian Competition Bureau over deceptive marketing by Enbridge Gas to encourage homeowners to connect to its “natural” gas system.” We have just received confirmation that the Competition Bureau is starting an investigation.
Meanwhile, CBC has done an extensive report on our complaint and our information rally in Lanark Village. Find the article here.
CNL acknowledges that at the moment, there is currently no less costly substitute for natural gas for crop drying and that the federal government is supporting investigations into developing alternative technologies. CNL is focused on assisting homeowners to make heating decisions with full information about the merits of cold-climate heat pumps.
COP28 But Locally
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What is this global convention and how does it relate to tackling climate change locally?
This year we witnessed unprecedented impacts from a warming planet: record-breaking wildfires, catastrophic flooding, and unbearable heat waves. This year, the climate COP28 met November 30- December 12, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The overall goal of these meetings is to increase global cooperation to fight climate change, and the focus areas for COP 28 2023 include the following:
Transition to Clean Energy - a more rapid energy transition to reduce emissions before 2030 to limit our global temperature increase to 1.5° C (2.7° F) above pre-industrial levels.
Focus on nature, people, lives, and livelihood, especially in vulnerable communities when it comes to climate action
Climate finance- create a new framework that offers affordability, accessibility, and availability to developing countries.
Mobilize inclusivity- decisions and discussions on how solutions are implemented and are done in collaboration with Indigenous People and local communities.
All of these focus areas weave into the values and principles that Climate Network Lanark stands for.
Our Climate Concierge Initiative on home retrofitting connects with focus areas #1 of COP28. Through community clusters, we provide information on how local residents can retrofit their homes to a cleaner energy source, like heat pumps and solar.
Our Wetlands/Nature Based Climate Solutions Initiative reflects a strong focus on nature as we recognize how much protecting and restoring natural habitats reduces emission levels.
Finally, a shared focus on mobilizing inclusivity where decisions are best implemented through collaboration with both Indigenous People and local communities is paramount for our progress.
Municipalities have influence over roughly 50% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada. By adopting practices that reduce, remove, or avoid GHG emissions, and pursuing meaningful ways to adapt to changing climate realities, municipalities can improve their residents’ quality of life, reduce costs to taxpayers, and lessen our impact on the environment.
3 Strategies that Contribute to a Hopeful & Collaborative 2024:
1. Become familiar - with Lanark County’s NEW- 10-year Climate Action Plan
Lanark County Climate Action Plan
Lanark County Climate Action Plan Quick Reference Guide
2. Become involved - attend one of your local Environmental or Climate Committee Meetings.
Here is a list of some of your lower-tier municipality committees:
Climate Action Working Group-Lanark County
Carleton Place Environmental Advisory Committee- provides environmental advice, recommendations and information to Council concerning all aspects of environmental issues related to public policies, programs and projects. They meet the 1st Monday of every month in the CP Public Library Boardroom
Smiths Falls- Climate Protection Working Group - contact the town to submit an application to become a member
Engage with the Perth Climate Sustainability Advisory Panel and read the Perth Climate Action Plan from 2017
Engage with the Tay Valley Green Energy and Climate Change Working Group and read the TVT Climate Action Plan from 2021
3. Become friendly - Build relationships with local politicians- Get to know your councillors! Find out who yours is and how to reach them. Take them out for a coffee and ask them some of the following questions:
a) What components of the County CAP are you most interested in?
b) What steps are you taking re. Climate Action
c) What are you most concerned about?
Mississippi Mills Approved the Development of a Battery Storage Bank
Almonte Battery Energy Storage System or BESS is a proposed 4,999 Mega-Watt stand-alone lithium-ion project passed by the Mississippi Mills Council this month. Almonte Energy Storage Website.
As Ontario’s demands for electrification increase, projects that provide electricity storage sites will help address any emerging electricity needs. This Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) procured facility will serve as an important energy storage facility to address emergencies like power outages and will balance power supply and demand efficiently. With Lanark County possessing 17 large solar farms, having a large-scale storage system allows our power networks to work more effectively and distribute electricity instantaneously, thus ensuring future resiliency.
Volunteer of the Month: Cathie Green
Cathie Green studied sociology as an undergraduate, and got her non-profit administrative skills in San Francisco's theater community in the 1980’s. Her professional life remained in the public sector after immigrating to B.C. where she worked in non-profit community service agencies, and then the BC Ministry of Women's Equality. She completed a certificate in Cconflict Rresolution Sskills at the Justice Institute of BC in Vancouver.
Cathie says that being raised in an activist and musical household, her work over the years in the arts, social justice, and community development felt like a natural evolution. When she moved to Ontario in 2008 she shifted to municipal services and found her niche in Public Works administration, developing a keen interest in waste management which she describes as "a service that touches everyone's lives and has a monumental impact on climate issues. I'm lucky to work with rural
communities that still have local waste sites and landfills, because this makes the reality of garbage and recycling tangible for people. In Lanark County, the rural waste sites have proven to be a nexus for community engagement around issues of waste diversion. Our ReUse Centres are examples of successful partnerships between municipal government and community people that we can all be very proud of."
Cathie retired from full-time municipal work in May 2022 and now contracts as a part-time as a consultant for the Continuous Improvement Fund, providing supportive consultation to municipalities across the province as they transition their blue box programs to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR.) Cathie says "I am pleased to be able to act as a resource person to CNL on topics of municipal waste management and the move to EPR, which is a move toward sustainability."
Cathie’s loyalty to CNL stems not only from the subject matter, but the twofold approach the organization takes addressing climate issues from within local government as well as from a community base. “I appreciate that CNL works at the committee level with Lanark County and its municipalities, as well as from a grassroots base. We need both approaches to truly make progress. I absolutely believe that government needs to lead on major initiatives through the development and implementation of social policy. This is how we create new options for consumers, through things like subsidies to make greener technologies more accessible. There are also lots of initiatives that residents get off the ground through sheer creativity and energy, and we need that too.”
Cathie lives with her husband Dean in Lanark Highlands where they roam the mixed deciduous forests and paddle the waterways with their brilliant and adorable geriatric dog, Yogi.
We Need Your Support
Do you want to act, but don’t think you can make a difference in the climate fight?
CNL wants to continue to grow our reach in the community. We have been working hard to expand our projects since we started four years ago. But to keep going, we need your help!
CNL relies on YOU in order to keep pushing for climate action in Lanark County. We need stable staff positions, and to do that we need stable funding. Projects that we are excited to expand may be stalled when we don't have a stable funding base. We would love for you to consider helping in any way you can. Please consider becoming a monthly donor and join the movement!
We offer charitable receipts for your donation through our partnership with the Salal Foundation. Monthly donors receive an annual receipt in time for tax season.
Donate Today!
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“Our world is facing extraordinary challenges and if you are like me, you must be wondering what is next. I suspect, at points, our ancestor's felt the same way.. We stand on their shoulders recognizing their courage and good will. My hope for this holiday season and 2024 is that we can each find moments to touch our neighbours and loved ones with kindness. We are in this together.. ”
- Scott Hortop, Board Chair
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