Brockville Climate Action Group

Toronto Star / Cameron Smith / 16 August 2008

Wendy Banks has come back from a place of pain and shadows – and she's doing what she can to make sure no one else has to go there.

About 10 years ago, she developed environmental sensitivity, triggered by working in a greenhouse where insecticides and herbicides were present.

The Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network is spearheading the development of a Biosphere Trails Council, and has issued the following proposal.

Why a Biosphere Trails Council?

“Regional Trail Committees act as the support network for the development, management and promotion of these provincial trail structures at the local level. As most trail development occurs at the grass roots level, support at the local level translates into support at the provincial level.” (Ontario Trails Council)

A Biosphere-based council would embrace the geological and biological diversity of the area as recognized by the United Nations. Through the creation of a Biosphere Trails Council, municipalities and constituent organizations would benefit from the support and guidance of the Ontario Trails Council, which fosters the development of trails across the province. It is a strong advocate of regionally based trails councils.

The 2008 Upwind Downwind Conference: Climate Change & Healthy Cities will be held on February 25th & 26th, 2008 at the Hamilton Convention Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. The two day conference will focus on Air Quality and Climate Change and the linkages with public health, planning and action.

Who should attend?

Between November 2nd and 4th, 2007, more than 500 citizens from the Kingston region gathered at the Food Down the Road Local Food Summit to celebrate the successes and challenges of building a sustainable local food system.* Participants were invited to write down their ideas on “key priorities to build our sustainable local food system.” This invitation yielded more than 600 thoughtful submissions; during the final session of the Summit, participants sorted this data and identified priorities for our local food system.

The Age / Richard Eckersley / 22 September 2007

A FEW years ago, my then teenage son and I were watching world news on television. An item began about the humanitarian tragedy in Darfur, Sudan (which is still with us). "Can we turn this off, Dad?" my son said. I asked why. "It's depressing," he said. "I don't need reminding what a horrible place the world is."

It is depressing, and it is becoming more depressing as our perceptions of the world and its future are increasingly shaped by images of global or distant threat and disaster: earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, bushfires, disease pandemics, war, terrorist attacks and famine. These hazards are not new, but previous fears were never so sustained and varied, never so powerfully reinforced by the frequency, immediacy and vividness of media images. This effect seems certain to intensify as global warming and other threats begin to impact more deeply on our lives.