<![CDATA[LEARN-CC - Put Climate Change on the Map

<![CDATA[LEARN-CC - Put Climate Change on the Map - Action of the Month]]>Wed, 08 Apr 2020 02:33:08 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Hamilton (Digester Gas) Cogeneration Plant]]>Mon, 24 Feb 2014 16:29:27 GMThttp://www.mapclimatechange.ca/action-of-the-month/hamilton-digester-gas-cogeneration-plantDid you know that the much of the wastewater in Hamilton is treated in a plant that partially powers itself? If you go down to the Woodward Avenue wastewater treatment plant, you will see what looks like a big globe. This is where the action takes place.

In this sphere, bacteria are digesting waste products in an anaerobic (without oxygen) environment. The bacteria break down pollutants into methane. The methane is transported to a generator and burned to create power. The plant produces 1.6 MW of power every day and offsets about a fifth of the wastewater treatment plant's total daily load.
For more information, visit this fact page from the Ontario Power Authority or this paper describing some of the challenges that had to be overcome.

]]><![CDATA[YES WE CANNON - BIKE LAnes]]>Fri, 03 Jan 2014 15:17:37 GMThttp://www.mapclimatechange.ca/action-of-the-month/yes-we-cannon-bike-lanes

In Hamilton, Yes We Cannon has been engaging and empowering the community over a common goal – improving cyclist and pedestrian safety in the lower city by creating a bi-directional bike lane on Cannon Street.

Yes We Cannon is a citizen’s group focused on creating a safe transportation route for cyclists along Cannon Street in Hamilton, Ontario. Officially launched in May 2013, Yes We Cannon and has been a great success. More than 2,300 residents signed a Yes We Cannon petition calling for segregated, bidirectional bike lanes on the fast-moving, four-lane artery and on September 5th, city councilors approved a pilot project which would place bike lanes on Cannon Street between Sherman Avenue and Bay Street. Grassroots efforts were the main push behind the pilot project creating the longest stretch of protected two-way bike lanes in the City and providing a safe cycling route from east to west across the lower city.

The Yes We Cannon campaign only launched in May of this same year but gained widespread support throughout the City of Hamilton through various outreach and engagement initiatives, including riding with students on Bike to Work Day in May and a Bike Parade in June, which resulted in the motion to create the bike lane.

The Yes We Cannon campaign has been a great success and over the past month members took time to celebrate all of their hard work and, of course, separated bike lanes on Cannon! This great success for active transportation in the City of Hamilton was paired with others including support for a bike share system as well as a Pedestrian Mobility Plan.

For more information about Yes We Cannon, please visit their website or Facebook Page.

]]><![CDATA[Green Homes]]>Mon, 22 Jul 2013 20:14:02 GMThttp://www.mapclimatechange.ca/action-of-the-month/green-homesIt has been nearly a month since LEARN-CC launched and we are proud to announce that Hamiltonians have been rising to our challenge. There have been 79 action submissions and 3 impact submissions thus far. There are private and public projects, community efforts and business practices. With your help, we are beginning to put climate change on the map. Thank you.

If you haven't already, please submit an action/impact or at least check out the maps and slideshows.

We are excited to start this Action of the Month blog, where we will highlight some of our favourite actions. Check here monthly to find out more about an interesting sustainability project in Hamilton.

So let's get going with the first ever Action of the Month. This prestigious title goes to Jim Feilders and his green home.

Jim identifies his participation in the One Tonne Challenge of the early 2000s as the tipping point that got him thinking about the Earth and its long-term health. He started a renewable energy business, Jade Environmental Services, in 2005 and decided to build his green home in the fall of 2009.
It took 8 months to complete, but the project was a labour of love for this engineer. He thought up the design and acted as the general contractor, but had the the house professionally drawn and built. He also enlisted the help of his sister for the interior design.
So what makes this house so special? From the furnace to the placement of the windows and the garden, every element of the property was designed with the Earth in mind. The driveway is porous stone, eliminating the toxic runoff created by asphalt driveways. All the faucets and toilets are low-flow and there is a greywater recycling system that uses shower or sink water to flush the toilets. The appliances and furnace are EnergyStar certified and there is extra insulation in the walls and roof to keep heat indoors in the winter.
A very interesting feature of the Burlington home is its passive solar design. The window and eaves placement takes advantage of the fact that the summer sun rises higher in the sky than the winter sun. In order to keep the house cool in summer and gain some extra solar heat in winter, many of the windows face south and the eaves extend out to shade the windows in summer but still let the winter sun in.

The house is so energy efficient that Jim expects to save enough in the first 5-10 years (depending on energy prices) to compensate for the increased initial cost. He admits that the cost and process can be frightening, but insists there are companies and organizations that are ready and willing to help. He stresses that building green, whether new or as a retrofit, is "good for the homeowner, the pocketbook, and the planet".

If you would like to find out more about this project or about Jim, you can contact him by email at feilders@yahoo.com or visit his website at http://www.jadeenvironmentalservices.com/jims_home.pdf

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