tea - Smog, Climate Change and Energy

Toronto Smog Hike

2007-09-27T07:54:29Z

Brahms Energy Saving Team

2005-08-10T09:30:08Z

The Brahms Energy Saving Team:
Engaging Tenants in the Culture of Conservation

Low-Income Energy Solutions

2005-05-09T04:36:39Z

Rising energy prices can mean that some people will have to choose between eating, heating and paying the rent. Energy conservation measures (like draft-proofing and more efficient furnaces or appliances) which meet people's energy needs while using less fuel are the fastest, cheapest and cleanest solution to the challenge of energy poverty. But the up-front investments are often out of the reach of low-income households.

TEA believes that we can fight both poverty and pollution. That is why we helped to found the Low Income Energy Network (LIEN) in 2004 to raise awareness of implications for low-income families of increases in energy prices and to suggest solutions.

LIEN's mandate is to ensure universal access to adequate energy as a basic necessity, while minimizing the impacts on health and on the local and global environment of meeting the essential energy and conservation needs of all Ontarians. LIEN promotes programs and policies which tackle the problems of energy poverty and homelessness, reduce Ontario's contribution to smog and climate change, and promote a healthy economy through renewable and energy efficient technologies.

Working with other environmental, anti-poverty and affordable housing groups, we have proposed a comprehensive program that delivers energy conservation to low-income consumers which permanently reduce bills and pollution, provides bill payment support and emergency assistance to those who need it, and educates consumers and policy makers on low-income energy issues.

City Smog Plan

2005-09-09T06:20:50Z

Toronto must be a leader in the fight against smog and climate change.

To reduce air pollution and do our part towards meeting Canada's international commitment under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, we need a new Toronto Smog Plan that include:

Lower fares and faster, more frequent service on the TTC.
Streets that are safe for cyclists and pedestrians.
The toughest energy efficiency rules in North America for new buildings and incentives for innovative 'green building' techniques.
Making city-owned Toronto Hydro a leader in renewable energy and conservation.
Planting more trees - and protecting existing ones - to provide shade and help filter the air.
Fixing up low-income housing so that it is more energy efficient and providing other support as necessary so that no one has to choose between eating and heating or paying the rent.

Our local government - at TEA's urging and with the support of Toronto citizens - has already made some ambitious clean air commitments (see TEA's annual Smog Report Card in the publications section for details on progress towards meeting these commitments). But more is needed.

Fortunately, cities are uniquely placed to influence corporate and individual behaviour by providing better public transitand through rules governing land use planning, street design, building codes, vehicle idling and parking.

Municipal governments are also responsible for the direct emission of smog-causing and greenhouse gases as owners and operators of vehicle fleets, buildings, and water and sewage treatment facilities. They can reduce their own contribution to air pollution by greening their fleets (cleaner fuels and vehicles), making their buildings and operations more energy efficient, and investing in green power for their own use.

Take the One-Tonne Challenge

2005-03-03T07:02:20Z

As part of meeting our international commitments under the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, Canadians are being asked to take the One-Tonne Challenge. We are each being challenged to reduce our annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by one tonne.

Green Power

2005-03-01T05:12:35Z

Green power is energy from renewable resources - such as solar, wind, geothermal, small hydro, and biomass - which are a lot less harmful to our environment than conventional energy sources like coal, oil, gas or nuclear power.

Smog Facts

2005-03-01T09:20:23Z

Health impacts of smog in Toronto

Air pollution affects the health of all Canadians, especially children, the elderly and those with respiratory and cardiac conditions.

Climate Change

2005-11-10T07:30:59Z

Smog, Climate Change and Energy

2005-03-15T04:59:40Z

We are changing the very air that we breathe. Smog hurts our health while climate change threatens our future. These problems have a common source: the unnecessarily large amounts of gasoline, oil, coal and natural gas we burn every day to heat our homes, power our vehicles, manufacture goods and provide electricity.