Rita Bijons's blog

After Hurricane Hazel, which killed dozens of people in 1954, Torontonians made strong decisions through their local and provincial governments – such as banning development from flood plains and creating conservation authorities – that proved extremely effective in preventing a repeat of the mayhem. Considering the recent storms and flooding in Calgary and Toronto, and Hurricane Sandy’s devastation to the United States last year, we need to take equivalent bold measures today.

LAC MEGANTIC, Que. – Balls of flames shot several metres into the air after a train carrying crude oil derailed in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic early Saturday, sparking several explosions.
Hundreds of people were evacuated in the community about 250 kilometres east of Montreal.

It was not immediately known whether there were any casualties.

“It’s dreadful,” said Lac-Megantic resident Claude Bedard. “It’s terrible. We’ve never seen anything like it. The Metro store, Dollarama, everything that was there is gone.”

 On June 9th, the official launch of Save Our Ash, Ward 13's Emerald Ash Borer project, took place in Lithuania Park.  Seven ash trees have already been removed from this park, 7 of the 50 ash trees lost in Ward 13 since February '13. After the launch, canvassers headed out for the first group canvass.

The following is the op ed of May 13 by Mark Reynolds:

Two numbers on climate change we ignore at our own peril

Bill McKibben, 350.org writes:
On May 9th, for the first time ever, the carbon dioxide counter on the side of Mauna Loa, the most important scientific instrument on earth, recorded a daily average of above 400 parts per million. It’s a grim landmark -- it’s been several million years since CO2 reached these levels in the atmosphere.