An analysis of the most recent transit use data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that transit use grew by up to 47% in major metropolitan areas in the U.S. from 2006-2008, with several metro regions in the South and West growing by more than 10%.

The South and West, being more dominated by automobile-oriented development and auto use, have historically struggled to get significant transit ridership. However, the top ten cities with the highest recent increase in ridership include several metro areas in the South and West, including Charlotte, NC (47%), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA (26.7%), Pheonix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (23.6%), San Antonio, TX (15.1%) and others. This seems to shine a light of hope on increased transit use in the southern and western U.S. in the future.

First, however, why are we seeing a boom in these places?

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Canadian province Ontario is to introduce green-coloured licence plates, available only to drivers of plug-in hybrids and battery-powered electric vehicles.

Sounds like another gimmick? Well, here’s the deal - vehicles sporting the new green plates will be able to drive in the province’s dedicated carpool lanes until 2015, even if only one person is in the vehicle.

Speaking about the initiative, Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said, “The McGuinty government’s plan is to have one out of every 20 passenger vehicles on Ontario’s roads an electric vehicle by 2020.”

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“Emission-free nuclear power remains a crucial aspect of Ontario’s supply mix,” Smitherman said Monday. “Unfortunately, the competitive bidding process has not provided Ontario with a suitable option at this time.”

The proposed 10 year, multi-billion dollar project may eventually be restarted, but government spokespeople confirmed that all bidders have been asked to extend their proposals indefinitely.

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After 136 years, the Ontario government is planning on revising its 136 year old mining law to reflect modern circumstances (including prohibiting exploration on private land in Southern Ontario). Drafted in the 1873 when the exploitation of natural resources was seen as the key to economic success, mining was treated as an activity that superseded anything else. Based on a “free entry” system, a mining company could explore and stake land anywhere in the province, including personal property, aboriginal lands, and some zones of ecological sensitivity.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/05/03/ontario-updates-its-136-year-old-mining-law-to-limit-exploration-rights/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/05/great-lakes-the-next-great-offshore-wind-power-source/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/05/great-lakes-the-next-great-offshore-wind-power-source/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:34:31 +0000 Dave Tyler http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/05/great-lakes-the-next-great-offshore-wind-power-source/

Are we destined to see offshore wind farms cropping up all over the Great Lakes?

Presenters at the Michigan Wind Conference, which closed Wednesday in Detroit, think so. The bountiful prevailing winds and relatively shallow depths make the lakes excellent locations for farms, speakers told the more than 1,000 people attended the event, according to WWJ radio.

“Offshore wind is the next wave — lots of puns, folks, I warn you,” said Peter Mandelstam, founder and president of Bluewater Wind, LLC, of Delaware. “The Northeast and the Great Lakes are natural markets.”

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/05/great-lakes-the-next-great-offshore-wind-power-source/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/02/25/would-you-vote-for-a-green-energy-act-to-create-50000-jobs/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/02/25/would-you-vote-for-a-green-energy-act-to-create-50000-jobs/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:04:48 +0000 Gavin Hudson http://ecoworldly.com/2009/02/25/would-you-vote-for-a-green-energy-act-to-create-50000-jobs/ Ontario, Canada presented legislation on Monday to encourage renewable energy growth. The government estimates the act would create 50,000 new jobs.

The Green Energy and Green Economy Act of 2009, if passed, would implement a feed-in tariff to fund renewable energy construction. It would also boost domestic requirements for renewable energy, a move that would create jobs in many sectors, from steel mills and law firms.

“Ontario’s Green Energy Act could propel the province past California as the most innovative North American leader in the renewable energy field,” said Denis Hayes, the former director of the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory and founder of Earth Day. “This is the sort of healthy, friendly competition between Canada and the US that will leave us both better off.”

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In a 390-25 vote, the House approved a measure on Tuesday that will increase protection of the Great Lakes region. It will prohibit any new diversions of the water to other places, and require states that border the lakes to adhere to new conservation standards.

Together, the five Great Lakes account for 20 percent of the world’s supply of fresh surface water.

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A huge swath of Canada’s northern Boreal forest will be permanently protected from tree harvesting and mining as part of a plan to combat climate change, the Province of Ontario’s premier Dalton McGuinty announced Monday.

Canada’s Boreal forest forms a band of mostly coniferous trees almost 620 miles wide across the entire country, and has remained mostly undisturbed since the retreat of glaciers 10,000 years ago.

Growing foreign demand for Canada’s natural resources, like timber, wood pulp, hard rock, and fossil fuels, as well as ecological pressures from forest fires and insect infestations, are threatening the health and well-being of Canada’s Boreal forests.

Through this new arrangement, the future of Ontario’s northern Boreal lands and waters will be determined through an innovative land use planning initiative with Canadian First Nations. Under the plan, almost half of Ontario’s Boreal forest, or about 87,000 square miles, an area nearly equal to the entire United Kingdom, would be restricted to eco-tourism and traditional aboriginal uses, such as hunting or fishing.

The portion of the Boreal Forest that is protected, (encompassing nearly 45% of the province of Ontario), is home to billions of migrating birds, threatened species such as Woodland Caribou, Polar Bear and Lake Sturgeon. The massive ecosystem is also one of the globe’s most significant carbon sinks with the Ontario tract absorbing some 12.5 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, said McGuinty.

Conservation groups hailed the decision, both in terms of the land protection itself, and the land use planning model that was put in place to protect that land. In a statement, Janet Sumner, Executive Director of CPAWS Wildlands League said, “This is a visionary and unprecedented policy. Today’s announcement fulfills the Premier’s promise to protect the Boreal Forest by doing Land Use Planning before large scale industrial development.”

Other Posts on Forest Policy:

• “700 CA Wildfires: Why Don’t We Have Enough Firefighting Resources?” :: Red, Green, & Blue
• “The Nature Conservancy: 320,000 Acres Protected in Landmark Deal” :: Planetsave
• “Baltimore Plans for Urban Forest” :: Sustainablog

Terra Daily
Photo: © Andre Nantel | Dreamstime.com

Streets are for People sponsored this anti-car petition on an actual car in Ontario.

We the undersigned do hereby demand that not one more dollar go to promote, support, or perpetuate car culture. We want bike lanes, public transit and a train system. We want our public space back. We want local food, clean air, sustainable industry, a liveable future for our children, and an end to oil wars. We want to dance in the street. We want a government that values life over money.

Over 4,000 people have signed the car.

Via:  Spacing Toronto

Image: Peyton Chung

Sources:  The Globe and Mail, 

The Canadian province's plan infuses environmental education in all grade levels across disciplines, as well as creates an optional Grade 11 course focuses exclusively on environmental education. Ontario previously had mandatory environmental education, but that initiative was eliminated in 1998. The new initiative will cost $4 million.

The plan was partially in response to a report issued by the Ontario Ministry of Educations's Curriculum Council and their Working Group on Environmental Education that recommended the standardization of environmental lessons and inclusion of parents in that education. The report, titled Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future, is available online.

The plan is just part of a string of environmentally-friend initiatives the Ontario government has supported, including the EcoSchools program, two green-themed websites targeting high school and elementary students, and a Clean-Air and Climate Change artwork and essay contest.

OptiSolar Farms of Canada, a subsidiary of California-based Opticsolar, Inc. was awarded the 20-year contract. The Ontario Power Authority will purchase the solar energy for 42 cent per kilowatt hour, a premium price that contributed to OptiSolar choosing Ontario for the massive project over its home base of California.

The company wouldn’t talk about the cost of the project for proprietary reasons, but they claim to have developed a way of mass-producing solar cells to dramatically lower the cost of the technology. Solar still isn’t cheap: some estimates put the cost of the plant at around $300 million. But you’ve got to start somewhere, and Ontario’s provincial government wants to make solar – typically a low-maintenance technology - a common energy source. From the Toronto Star:

“Deborah Doncaster, executive director of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, said the premium may seem high but is justified given the environmental benefits. She said it's often forgotten that solar-generated electricity tends to offset natural gas during peak periods when air conditioners are blasting and electricity rates are at their highest.”

This is a big solar step for Canada. The Sarnia project is 400 times larger than the country’s next biggest solar system. But even this project won’t be the world’s largest for long: Germany is planning a similar sized plant, and Australia announced funding for a proposed 154 MW solar plant to be online by 2013.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Toronto Star, via Slashdot