Renewable Energy in Canada, Solar Energy, Solar Power, Wind Power, Green Energy, Sustainable Energy


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Green, Renewable Energy: Power That Doesn't Destroy
(a People & Planet Gateway & Guide)

Contents
Introduction
Energy Links, Organizations, Resources
Green/Sustainable Energy Organizations in Canada
The Tar Sands / Oil Sands
Featured Books & Articles
How can we change the ways of industry?
Sustainable & Simple Living

Jump to:
· Renewable Energy Jobs, Contracts & Internships in Canada
· Green Energy Volunteering & Internships
· Energy Events & Conferences in Canada
· Climate Change Gateway
· The Blackout, Energy & You
· Alternatives to Air Conditioning
· Car-free Living

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Introduction

Energy is what makes the world go around. Without the continuous supply of energy that most of us take for granted, things would quickly grind to a halt. We are dependent on energy for our very survival. Heating our homes, transportation, communication, health – even our daily food supply – all depends on energy. But while energy delivers much that is good, it is also a primary factor – arguably the primary factor – in the destruction of the world's life support systems. From smog, to acid rain, to climate change, to nuclear radiation, the effects of our current energy habits are fundamentally destructive, threatening our and all future generations.

This page is intended as an introduction to sustainable energy in Canada and the world. Within the links below you will find many ideas for things you can do – as a homeowner, student, teacher, activist or business person. There are many benefits: you can save a lot of money; live more securely and independently; adopt a simpler lifestyle; find a new job or career; and contribute to creating a healthier, more sustainable world.

But why does mainstream business and politics only give lip service to renewable energy, while continuing to invest billions in oil and nuclear? What is the honest, sustainable approach? Read this article, Sheer success with energy, by David Suzuki and Faisal Moola.

– Peter Blanchard

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Energy Links, Organizations & Resources

(1) Conserve Energy (and save money)
Green Communities Association (residential energy efficiency services across Canada) www.gca.ca
Greensaver Toronto (home energy efficiency assessments & services- save money & the environment) www.greensaver.org
More: Energy Conservation | Google Directory (2) | Sustainable Architecture | Efficiency vs. Extraction, by David Suzuki | Sustainable Living (2) (3)

(2) Buy Green Electricity
Electricity Choices www.electricitychoices.org
Green Power in Toronto & Ontario www.torontoenvironment.org/greenpower/ (Toronto Environmental Alliance)
Consumers Guide to Choosing Cleaner Electricity www.cleanair.web.net/whatsnew/fs1.pdf
Green Tags Ontario www.greentagsontario.com
Green Power Trade Show (Annual, November): www.sierraclub.ca/national/green-power/

(3) Start a Community Green Energy Project
Ontario Sustainable Energy Association www.ontario-sea.org

(4) Solar Power
Canadian Solar Industries Association CanSIA.ca
Solar Energy Society of Alberta SolarAlberta.ca
BC Sustainable Energy Association BCsea.org
Solar Nova Scotia www.solarns.ca
Quebec – AQPER AQper.com
USA: Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) www.seia.org
USA: American Solar Energy Society www.ases.org
International Solar Energy Society www.ises.org
More solar links & resources: SESCI links | Curlie (formerly Google Directory) | Wikipedia (more) | Search | News

(5) Wind Power
Canadian Wind Energy Association www.canwea.ca
American Wind Energy Association www.awea.org
European Wind Energy Association www.ewea.org
Toronto Windshare Co-op: www.windshare.ca
Citizens for Renewable Energy www.cfre.ca
More: Google Directory | Wikipedia (more) | Search | News

(6) Other Forms of Renewable Energy

Ground Source & Geothermal
Earth Energy Society of Canada www.earthenergy.ca
Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium geothermalheatpumpconsortium.org | Wikipedia (2)
International Ground Source Heat Pump Association www.igshpa.okstate.edu

Hydro & Microhydro
Wikipedia Hydro | Small hydro | Micro hydro | Google Directory | Search

Bioenergy/Biomass/Biofuels/Agrofuels/Biodiesel
Bioenergy or Biofuels are fuels that are refined from living biological sources, as opposed to fossil fuels. Although marketed as 'green' and renewable, this is questioned by some. First-generation biofuels in particular have been criticized, including the food-vs-fuel problem. Are first generation biofuels destroying soil ecology and starving the disadvantaged in order to fuel the SUV's of the wealthy? Second generation biofuels are more truly sustainable, being manufactured from residual or waste products.
· Environmental questions & concerns about Bioenergy/Biofuels/Agrofuels
Foodfirst.org | Biofuelwatch.org.uk | Grain.org | CBAN.ca | Biofuel Moratorium | News | Wikipedia
· Food vs. Fuel: Wikipedia | Search | News
· About Bioenergy/Biofuels/Agrofuels: Wikipedia | Google Directory | Search (2) | News (2)

More information on Renewable Energy
Google Directory | Wikipedia (more) | Search | News

(7) Home-Made Power

Home-made power can be either off-the-grid, or depending on local regulations, grid-connected. Net Metering is when an electricity utility allows consumers to connect their systems to the grid and deduct from their bill any energy they produce, resulting in a 'net' bill from the utility. (Wikipedia | Search | News).

Governments sometimes favour megaprojects, perhaps because of corporate lobbying, the revolving door and other forms of corruption and influence peddling. Small-scale, distributed systems have many advantages, however, especially in light of the solar, wind, ground-source and small hydro technologies that now exist.

Canadian information, products and services for generating power for your home or business:
· Small Wind Energy
· Canadian Solar Industries Association

In developing countries, the introduction of small energy systems depends on Microfinance: Wikipedia | Search | News.

See also the sections on Solar Power and Wind Power, above.

(8) Green Energy vs. Smog, Climate Change, Radiation
Clean Air Alliance www.cleanairalliance.org
OntAIRio www.ontAIRio.org
Energy Revolution www.energyrevolution.net
Citizens For Renewable Energy www.cfre.ca
Toronto's Annual Smog Summit: www.smogsummit.org

(9) Climate Change (formerly known as "Global Warming")
Climate Change Solutions www.climatechangesolutions.com
Climate Action Network of Canada www.climateactionnetwork.ca
David Suzuki Foundation www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/
Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change (book) www.earthfuture.com/stormyweather/
More: http://directory.google.com/Top/Science/Environment/Global_Change/

(12) General/uncategorized Links
Canada
Promoting Renewable Energy & Conservation www.greenontario.org/strategy/energy.html
Green Energy Coalition http://eastern.sierraclub.ca/campaing_energy_gec.shtml
Renewable Energy Nonprofit Orgs. in Canada http://energy.sourceguides.com/businesses/byGeo/byC/Canada/byB/org/org.shtml
Canadian Association for Renewable Energies (c.a.r.e.) www.renewables.ca
U.S.A
Midwest Renewable Energy Association www.the-mrea.org
Rocky Mountain Institute - Energy Pages www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid17.php www.rmi.org

(13) Events, Workshops, Conferences
Renewable Energy & Sustainable Living Fair (annual; largest in North America) www.the-mrea.org (click on "Energy Fair")
Renewable Energy Events Calendar www.the-mrea.org (click on "Events Calendar")
People- & Planet-Friendly (mostly Ontario, Canada) www.planetfriendly.net
More http://directory.google.com/Top/Science/Technology/Energy/Conferences/ www.planetfriendly.net/calendars.html planetfriendly.net/learningcentres.html
(various events, workshops, volunteer and apprenticeship opportunities can also be found in the above sections)

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Canadian Green Energy Organizations
(in alphabetical order)

BC Sustainable Energy Association www.bcsea.org
Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout www.cnp.ca
Canadian Associaton for Renewable Energies www.renewables.ca
Canadian District Energy Association www.cdea.ca
Canadian Environmental Network (RCEN) - Energy Caucus www.cen-rce.org/eng/caucuses/energy/
Canadian Renewable Fuels Association www.greenfuels.org
Canadian Solar Industries Association www.cansia.ca
Canadian Wind Energy Association www.canwea.ca
Citizens for Renewable Energy www.cfre.ca
Clean Air Alliance www.cleanairalliance.org
Clean Air Partnership www.cleanairpartnership.org
Climate Action Network www.climateactionnetwork.ca
Earth Energy Society www.earthenergy.ca
Electricity Choices www.electricitychoices.org
EnerACT www.eneract.org
Energy Action www.energyaction.net (US & Canada)
Energy Efficiency Alliance www.energyefficiency.org
Energy Probe www.energyprobe.org
Green Communities Association www.gca.ca
Green Ontario www.greenontario.org/solutions/energy.html
Greenpeace www.greenpeace.ca/e/campaign/climate_energy/
Independent Power Producers' Society of Ontario www.ippso.org www.newenergy.org
MicroPower Connect www.micropower-connect.org
Ontario Environment Network - Energy Caucus www.oen.ca/index.php?page=energy
Ontario Sustainable Energy Association www.ontario-sea.org
Pembina Institute www.pembina.org
Pollution Probe www.pollutionprobe.org/whatwedo/greenpower/
Post Carbon Institute www.postcarbon.org (USA & Canada)
Sierra Club of Canada www.sierraclub.ca/national/nuclear/ www.sierraclub.ca/national/climate/
Solar Energy Society of Canada www.sesci.ca
Talk Energy www.talkenergy.com
Toronto Environmental Alliance www.torontoenvironment.org
Windshare Co-op. (Toronto) www.windshare.ca
More Energy Groups & Organizations (mostly in Ontario): www.oen.ca/dir/searchguide.html#energy

USA:
Rocky Mountain Institute www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid17.php
www.cbc.ca/news/background/poweroutage/energy_warning.html

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The Alberta Tar Sands

"A business-as-usual case for the tar sands will change Canada forever. It will enrich a few powerful
companies, hollow out the economy, destroy the world's third-largest watershed, industrialize nearly
one-quarter of Alberta's landscape, consume the last of the nation's natural gas supplies, and erode
Canadian sovereignty." – Andrew Nikiforuk, Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent

About Tar Sands (now being remarketed as "Oil Sands")
Wikipedia: Tar sands | Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta | Oil Fields of Canada | Google search | News

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Featured Books & Articles (many more can be found in the links above)

Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions To Global Climate Change (book) – Climate change: why is it happening? What can we do about it? By Guy Dauncey www.earthfuture.com/stormyweather/ www.earthfuture.com

Power Shift (report & presentation) – Canada has the ability to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half using current technology. By Ralph Torrie. www.torriesmith.com/power-shift.cfm

The Low-Emission Path to Innovation & Efficiency – Canadians can save $200 billion on energy bills by surpassing Kyoto targets says a new study from the David Suzuki Foundation and the Climate Action Network of Canada. The report is in stark contrast to claims from powerful business interests that the Kyoto targets are unrealistic and too expensive. The report explains how Canada can dramatically cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, while creating jobs and cutting energy costs at the same time. "It’s a straightforward approach that is based on existing technologies and practical, proven energy efficiency techniques," said Ralph Torrie, the report’s author and one of Canada’s leading sustainable energy experts. www.torriesmith.com/Kyoto_and_Beyond.cfm

Petrotyranny (book) – "In experiencing movies, commercial broadcasting and the mass circulation press, what is astonishing is how they fail to capture the biggest problem of our time – the blight of petrotryanny. This is the continuing ability of dictatorships to keep themselves in power through the manipulation of vast pools of oil wealth. The secrecy of this problem hides the reality of a path toward a democratic and environmentally sustainable peaceful world, free of the blight of terrorism." – author John Bacher. Published by Dundurn Press and Science for Peace | Petrotyranny | Search

Laying the Groundwork for a Sustainable Energy Future: article by David Suzuki

Eco-bookstores, libaries & online/mail-order

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How Can We Change The Ways of Industry?

Just Transition is about safeguarding workers as unsustainable production methods are replaced by sustainable ones. www.conservationeconomy.net/content.cfm?PatternID=15 www.alternativesjournal.ca/271/absburro.htm www.clc-ctc.ca/environment/justtrans.html www.justtransition.org www.jtalliance.org www.google.com/search?q=%22just+transition%22

Pollution Prevention is about shifting the focus of environmental protection activities towards minimizing the creation of wastes rather than trying to manage them after they have been created. directory.google.com/Top/Science/Environment/Pollution_Prevention_and_Recycling/
Canadian Centre For Pollution Prevention: www.c2p2online.com

Extended Producer Responsibility is the principle that manufacturers bear a degree of responsibility for the impacts of their products throughout their life cycles.
Extended Producer Responsibility: Search | News | Wikipedia
Life Cycle Assessment / Cradle-to-grave Analysis: Search | News | Wikipedia

Clean Production is a holistic way of looking at how design and consumption is causing severe ecological problems. www.rachel.org/bulletin/bulletin.cfm?Issue_ID=1373 www.rachel.org/bulletin/bulletin.cfm?Issue_ID=1478 www.cpa.most.org.pl/cp-guide.html www.google.com/search?q=%22Clean+Production%22

Related:
Ontario Environment Network, Labour Caucus www.oen.ca/caucuses/labour.shtml
Questioning Business, Green Business & Environmental Economics www.planetfriendly.net/business.html

"Where once the student was taught that the unexamined life was not worth living, he is now taught that the profitably lived life is not worth examining." – Benjamin Barber.

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Sustainable & Simple Living

Sustainable Living Guide www.planetfriendly.net/living.html
Frugality Websites, Books & Resources http://directory.google.com/Top/Home/Homemaking/Frugality/
Simple Living Websites, Books & Resources http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Lifestyle_Choices/Voluntary_Simplicity/
Frugal/Mindful Living Resources www.igc.org/frugal/
Voluntary Simplicity Articles www.life.ca/home/simplicity/
Global Ecovillage Network www.gaia.org

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