Our environment has changed rapidly
over the past couple of centuries. There are pollutants in our air,
water, and ground that are more difficult to remove than
it was to put them there. Preventing further pollution
is our best course of action, and renewable technologies such as
solar power and geothermal energy offer many benefits to the environment
by offsetting the needs to burn fossil fuels and to use nuclear
power.
Nuclear plants release small amounts of air pollutants
compared to fossil fuels, but mining for uranium is energy-intensive,
and the long-term storage of toxic, radioactive waste poses
a huge threat of polluting ground and water.
There is also the serious danger of a nuclear meltdown.
The David Suzuki Foundation has an excellent article on
why we should abandon nuclear energy: A
few good reasons why we should abandon nuclear energy for
good.
According to a 2012
report from the Ontario Energy Board, 45% of
the increase in Ontario’s electricity generation
costs since 2006 are the result of subsidies for
the nuclear industry, while only 6% of the increase
is due to green power.
The process of generating electricity using
fossil and nuclear fuels also consume huge amounts of fresh
water that would otherwise fill lakes, streams, and sustain
animal and plant life. Solar energy consumes no water during
operation.
Professor Sundar Narayan, P. Eng, PhD from
Lambton College's Alternative Energy Engineering Technology
program presented the following facts, that at our current
rate of consumption, we will:
- run out of petroleum by 2039;
and
- run out of natural gas by 2069.
Cleaner air and cleaner water means a healthier
environment, and therefore a healthier
population. Shutting
down coal-fired power plants and instituting more renewable
energy systems will help us achieve this goal.
Natural gas and hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking")
A recent development in the mining for natural
gas is using a process called hydraulic
fracturing, or "fracking" as it is often called. This
process pumps water and chemicals underground to release the natural
gas stored there, allowing it to be captured and used as fuel. Not
only does this pollute ground water, it has also
been proven to cause earthquakes, particularly
in places that rarely experience seismic activity. The US government
confirmed the link between fracking and earthquakes, in this article
from November 2011: US
Government Confirms Link Between Earthquakes and Hydraulic Fracturing.
Recycling and responsible disposal of waste
London has four
waste depots to accept household waste, including recyclables,
yard materials, tires, batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, electronics,
building materials, and scrap metal. Ensuring that none of these
types of waste go the landfill is the responsibility of every London
resident.
W12A Landfill
Oxford St. Community EnviroDepot
Clarke Rd. Community EnviroDepot
Try Recycling
3502 Manning Drive
1450 Oxford St West,
west of Sanatorium Road
28 Clarke Road, 500 m north of Hamilton
Road
Clarke Road north of Sunningdale
Road
Composting
London does not yet have a green-bin
program, so installing a composter in your backyard
is a great way to avoid sending biodegradable materials
to the landfill. Not only are you lessening the amount of
waste in the landfill, you are also reducing methane buildup
in the dump itself.
Single-use plastic is
one of the worst polluters, and we see it every day, everywhere.
Many of it is not actually recyclable and ends up in landfills,
or worse: check out this YouTube video about the "garbage
patch" in the Pacific Ocean:
Bottled water is a huge
contributing factor to plastic polution. Here is another
YouTube video, an interview with "The Water Brothers"
about water in our world:
The No-Plastic Project has developed a petition
asking Ontario fruit producers and Loblaw Companies to stop
selling fruit in the single-use plastic containers in which
they were sold in many places this past growing season.
This is the first year they've used these packages, apparently
in response to a request from Loblaws, and there is a meeting
to review the packaging "performance and consumer concerns".
Please take a moment to sign the petition with your name
and location via the link below. Please also forward it
to others in Ontario, so we can get the widest response
possible and send a strong message to the fruit producers
and Loblaws.
SunTap Technologies supports the
groups listed below because of their desire to better London's environment.
ecoLIVING Londonsupports Londoners in making daily
lifestyle choices that have a positive impact on their personal
health, the health of their family, and the health of the planet.
SunTap believes in being "green"
in all aspects of one's life, and ecoLIVING London is a proponent
of this philosophy - hence why we have been a member since 2012.
Thames
Region Ecological Association (TREA) has a number of initiatives
to motivate the community towards the development of an ecological,
responsible, and sustainable future. They are involved with
a number of progressive initiatives in the city and SunTap endorses
TREA's ongoing efforts.
PostCarbon
London’s mission is to bring issues surrounding peak
oil and global warming to the forefront of London and area residents.
SunTap believes that using renewable energies is the first and
most important step toward this goal and is happy to back PostCarbon.
Transition
London is a grassroots community organization with the objective
to find positive, community-based solutions to the present and
future challenges facing London. SunTap supports Transition
London to create a more sustainable city.
ReForest
London is a non-profit organization that engages individuals,
groups, and businesses in planting and caring for trees in neighbourhoods
and natural areas throughout London. Since trees are important
to keeping our air, ground, and water clean, SunTap encourages
Londoners to get involved to live up to the name of The
Forest City.
Friends
of the Coves Subwatershed strives to protect the natural
heritage of the Coves, a collection of three ponds fed by the
Thames River right in the geographic centre of the city. Keeping
this environmentally sensitive area protected for future generations
is an undertaking that SunTap strongly supports.
Check out Emitter,
a Web site that tracks pollution in your neighbourhood.
Ontario's
Green Future is a Web site that outlines the real cost of
nuclear power in the province. Visit the site to learn more about
nuclear power in Ontario and what alternatives are available to
provide us with clean, safe energy.
Come
Clean.ca is a Web site dedicated to ensuring that elected
officials know that environmental concerns are important to the
people of Ontario.
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