NEWS: Canada's Advanced Research Network funds world's first wind and solar-powered internet network EllisDon collaborates with Cisco on smart construction Government of Canada funds large Alberta carbon capture and storage project Thomson Reuters invests in CSR content through ASSET4 acquisition Government of Canada invests in climate change adaptation in the North

VIDEO: Mexico City: Transforming a city while fighting climate change

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COLUMNS:

BC continues the renewable energy momentum
By Cheryl Slusarchuk
British Columbia is aggressive in its determination to remain a global leader in clean and renewable energy. This is not surprising, given that a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study predicts that BC's independent power sector could inject $26.1 billion into the provincial economy by 2020. Determined to maximize this economic potential, the BC government recently established a Green Energy Advisory Task Force and a new Cabinet Committee on Climate Action and Clean Energy. more...

The American public is losing interest in climate change; are Canadians following in their footsteps?
By Keith Neuman, Ph.D.
Climate change has been around as an environmental issue since the late 1980s and finally emerged to capture the spotlight in 2007, helped by a combination of climatic, political and media events (including Al Gore's award-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth). Polls showed the public in most parts of the world starting to take this issue seriously and looking to their governments and corporations to make this a priority. However, progress on solutions has been halting, and as the global community gathers in Copenhagen this month many doubt a viable international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale can be achieved. more...

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FEATURES:

The Smart Grid: 5 Issues that will define what it looks like, and when it will be achieved
There is much talk today about renewable power, the smart grid and cleantech that is supposed to change the nature of our power grid. But while we are seeing a positive move to a greener and more intelligent electricity grid, there are lots of hurdles we will have to tackle before we achieve the intelligent grid we are aiming for. Those hurdles were concisely captured in Roger Gale's recent keynote address at the Association of Power Producers of Ontario's (APPrO) annual conference. more...

Riding Scotland's renewable wave – a potential energy boom
An international renewable energy contingency was in Ottawa recently for the Ocean Renewable Energy Group's (OREG) 2009 Fall Symposium. Prior to the event, which assembles Canada's ocean energy industry leadership and international associates who see the resource and economic opportunities our oceans and massive river systems offer, Scottish Development International hosted a workshop to highlight Scotland's achievements in the areas of tidal, current and wave energy and how those are able to be translated to other parts of the world. Green Business had a chance to talk to Paul O'Brien, head of Scottish Development International's Renewable Energy Sector, about Scotland's success so far and plans for the future. more...

The transition to a low carbon world: Manufacturers need to prepare
By Julie Matthews
With prospective climate change legislation and policy discussions in the United States and Canada, intensive international negotiations culminating later this year, and ongoing stakeholder interest, companies are scrambling to develop or boost their climate change strategies. For heavy manufacturers, it is now clear that climate change regulation would have a significant impact on business. The US Environmental Protection Agency's mandatory reporting under the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Rule and the Ontario draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting regulation and guideline now have a reporting threshold of 25,000 tonnes from combustible emissions per facility. more...

Smarter, more agile green IT – now within reach for small businesses
The value of having greener, more energy efficient IT departments has been well understood for the past few years, but until recently those efficiencies weren't financially viable for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Times have changed quickly, as Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada can attest to. With IT virtualization, the company has become much more agile and, in the process, much more efficient. more...

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

CanSIA Solar Conference 2009, December 7-8, Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto, ON

GEA and the Smart Grid Development in Ontario, January 26, St. Andrew's Club and Conference Centre, Toronto, ON

Renewable Energy in Ontario, March 1-2, St. Andrew's Club and Conference Centre, Toronto, ON

Strategic Supply Chain Management Forum, March 2-3, Toronto Board of Trade, Toronto, ON

GLOBE 2010, March 24-26, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC

Check out the Calendar of Events on the Green Business website for more upcoming industry seminars, conferences, shows and training sessions.

Got an event you want us to include on the website? Please send an e-mail to editor Rob Colman: rcolman@clbmedia.ca.