The Ministry of the Environment has completed the inspection of all 645 municipal water treatment plants across the province as part of Operation Clean Water.
Between June 1 and December 1, 2000, various deficiencies were found at 357 facilities. The ministry has ordered the owners of 311 plants to take corrective actions to meet the strict requirements of Ontario's Drinking Water Protection Regulation.
During the latest inspection period - October 30 to December 1, 2000 - 54 plants were inspected. Deficiencies were found at 27 plants and 22 orders were issued. The four most common reasons water treatment plants were found deficient by the ministry during recently completed inspections were:
Fireworks were the highlight of Millennium celebrations the world over. But was there an environmental component to the fiery displays around the globe? Fireworks could pose a chemical insult to those who suffer from lung and heart conditions. While usually exciting, the pyrotechnic displays shower toxic particulates, says Earth Island Journal, published by the San Francisco-based Earth Island Institute. The report says that fireworks displays can generate increased levels of airborne arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead, copper, zinc, and chromium. Citing a Swedish technical journal, the article links airborne chemical particulates to lung cancer and heart attacks.
The introduction of viruses, bacteria and non-indigenous species is a special problem to Canada with its bountiful rivers and lakes. Velox Technology Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, has developed patented technology for use in preventing the introduction of human pathogens and non-indigenous species through ballast water.
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| Queen Noor (left) presenting the award to Alanna Mitchell. |
Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, presented the 2000 Reuters-IUCN Global Media Award for excellence in environmental journalism to Alanna Mitchell of The Globe and Mail, in Amman, Jordan, October 9, 2000.
Mrs. Mitchell received the award for her article From the Vanishing Forests of Madagascar, a comprehensive look at the growing number of extinct species on this island nation off the East Coast of Africa, which is often referred to as "the land of living fossils".
Methane has long been the coal miner's nightmare resulting in thousands of fatalities over the years. Now in Wales, there is a coal mine which is an example of "green" thinking that reduces pollution and saves both fossil fuel and money.
Operating for 24 hours every day, Tower Colliery, near Aberdare, is powered by a generation plant that makes use of the methane gas produced at the coal pit. Conventionally, the methane released during coal mining was vented into the open air for safety reasons.
Methane has been shown to be a major contributor to global warming and United Kingdom utility group Hyder cooperated with Tower Colliery to harness the waste gas and use it to make the pit self-sufficient in electricity.
This saves more than 500,000 pounds sterling in energy costs and reduces pollution considerably. Excess electricity generated from the Tower plant is sold to the national grid system to help power homes and businesses in the area. Hyder is the UK's leading operator of methane-gas power generation, and of renewable and green energy projects and has won awards for the environmentally sensitive development of schemes.
It has more than 50 schemes using methane gas across the country which, if combined, would produce enough electricity for about 200,000 homes. Many of them involve landfill sites where domestic waste naturally releases gas similar to that produced in coal mining. The greener power plant at Tower Colliery was warmly welcomed by the new Welsh National Assembly.