(09-08-2020, 10:06 PM)tomh009 Wrote:

(09-08-2020, 07:11 PM)plam Wrote: Individual actions alone aren't going to get us out of this mess. It really does have to be systemic change with how we build our societies. Car-dependent suburbs are not viable.

Just to add onto the CO2 point: in Ontario natural gas currently supplies 29% of electricity; the rest aren't CO2 emitting. But that doesn't account for all the CO2 cost of suburbs. There's also embodied costs in the concrete that it takes to build these houses and the supply chains for them. Also, even electric vehicles produce particulates from tires and brakes. Not CO2 but it is pollution.

Fixed that for you. No, a single person isn't enough. But if a million Canadians decide to drive an EV, or even drive a smaller car, or to eat less beef, it will indeed have an impact. Not enough, on its own, no. But neither is any Canadian government policy going to solve things on its own. We are all in this together, and we all need to act, individually and collectively.

Regarding CO2, reducing industrial/commercial electricity use will typically reduce natural gas-based generation, and thus reduce CO2. EV charging at home is off-peak and can (currently!) be handled through surplus nuclear power with no CO2 impact. But "supercharging" etc increases daytime load and CO2 emissions. And if we have enough EVs, we may need natural gas generation at night, too, at some point.

(09-08-2020, 11:51 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:

(09-08-2020, 10:06 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Fixed that for you. No, a single person isn't enough. But if a million Canadians decide to drive an EV, or even drive a smaller car, or to eat less beef, it will indeed have an impact. Not enough, on its own, no. But neither is any Canadian government policy going to solve things on its own. We are all in this together, and we all need to act, individually and collectively.

Regarding CO2, reducing industrial/commercial electricity use will typically reduce natural gas-based generation, and thus reduce CO2. EV charging at home is off-peak and can (currently!) be handled through surplus nuclear power with no CO2 impact. But "supercharging" etc increases daytime load and CO2 emissions. And if we have enough EVs, we may need natural gas generation at night, too, at some point.

The problem is more serious than that though...even if every Canadian in the whole country stopped driving entirely, and ate a vegan diet, and never flew, we'd still have a pretty big carbon footprint. The policies of the country, and indeed our capitalist economy ensure that even if everyone was doing everything right (even against their self interest), we'd still have trouble making the difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvhXtOps4MM&t=1s&ab_channel=KurtisBaute

The biggest thing personal change actually achieves, in my opinion, is a market and political signal to those making the more impactful decisions that it's time to stop screwing around and actually deal with this problem.

(09-08-2020, 02:45 PM)jeffster Wrote: And I have been preaching, and no parishioners obviously, cars will be mostly electric in the future.

(12-11-2020, 02:18 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Targeting transit users? I see that only four of the mask-bylaw tickets were to transit passengers. Much more significant tickets issued at private residences ($880 a pop).

Quote:The Region and its partners will not be doing active enforcement and ticketing related to these by-laws at this time. We continue to take an education-first approach, asking people to comply with the by-law and educating them on the importance of protecting each other. We are appealing to residents’ goodwill and willingness to cooperate for the greater good.

(12-11-2020, 02:01 PM)Bob_McBob Wrote: So the region is finally starting to enforce the mask bylaw they said they would essentially never enforce, and have consistently failed to enforce in any way... to target public transit users.

https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/ten-tickets-issued-in-waterloo-region-last-week-for-failing-to-comply-with-covid-19-restrictions-1.5227340

(12-11-2020, 04:41 PM)panamaniac Wrote: I'm astonished to think someone would be allowed on a bus without a mask.  WTF?

(12-11-2020, 05:03 PM)Bob_McBob Wrote: Don't get me wrong, I fully support fining people who refuse to wear masks on public transit, just like in any other public space covered by the mask bylaws. My point is that the region is specifically only enforcing the bylaw for public transit users. Selectively enforcing laws like this is not right.