See our new Smart Growth section to follow the developments in Ontario's Smart Growth Strategy

	download the Conservation Council's vision statement and/or the 20 page background paper;
	compare the Council's vision with the government's;
	send your comments to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Conservation Council.

With all the talk about "Smart Growth", the Conservation Council of Ontario decided to do a little digging into the underlying principles and goals of the American Smart Growth model upon which Ontario's initiative is based.

The results of the research can be found in the position paper, "Smart Growth Ontario: A Vision Statement".  Among the conclusions:

	Smart Growth in America is primarily designed to control urban sprawl, protect the environment, and create healthy communities.
	There are already precedents to the guiding principles of smart growth in Ontario -- namely the Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition and the Ontario Round Table on Environment and Economy.
	The commonly-accepted principles of smart growth have been changed to reflect the economic development priorities of the Ontario government.
	Ontario needs a new vision statement that reflects the real guiding principles and goals of smart growth.

The Council has proposed a new vision statement, which places equal emphasis on healthy communities, a healthy environment, and a healthy economy. The recommended new  vision statement has been submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing under the official consultation period, which ended June 25. 
  

The Conservation Council is proposing that organizations that support its comprehensive vision statement should join together and form an Ontario Smart Growth Alliance.  The alliance should include all major stakeholders in Smart Growth:

	community and social development groups,
	environmental organizations,
	economic development organizations (such as chambers of commerce)
	municipal governments,
	crown agencies (such as conservation authorities and the service boards),
	professional associations (including planners and landscape architects),
	farm and food associations,
	business associations (including developers),
	labor,
	the provincial and federal governments

The conditions for membership in the alliance should be that each participating organization endorses the vision statement for smart growth, and that they integrate the guiding principles and goals into their own policies and activities.

Ideally, the alliance would be able to forge partnerships in implementing smart growth policies, conduct independent monitoring and research, and provide a forum for information exchange and debate.

As a first step, the Conservation Council of Ontario is asking interested groups to send an e-mail (to cco@web.ca)  with an initial expression of interest in participating in a Smart Growth Alliance. The Council will then coordinate a process for refining the vision statement, developing specific targets and performance measures, and identifying how the partners in the Ontario Smart Growth Alliance could contribute to achieving this vision.
   

GreenOntario Update:
New Factsheets Online

Our new factsheet on Multiculturalism and the Environment highlights some of the efforts to link the environment with Ontario's diverse cultural heritage.  With over 60 major language groups, reaching all of Ontario's citizens can be difficult.  However, there are also some wonderful opportunities!

The Environmental Ambassodors project (run by the Toronto Chinese Health Education Committee) provides us with an excellent model for reaching out to Ontario's cultural communities.  The project trains volunteers in environmental issues. The volunteers then commit to spending time raising environmental awareness by contacting local businesses and participating in community events. 

 

Keeping Cars Clean and Energy Efficient

It costs $8,900 per year to drive a car (according to the Canadian Automobile Association in March 2001), and that's after you've paid your income tax. 

Sure enough, the best car is a bike!  But let's be practical. We live in a car-centred society, and most of us depend on a car to get from home to work.   So let's look at what is being done to make cars as environmentally-benign as possible.  Our Green Cars factsheet looks at three main areas of activity:

	Design (energy efficient cars)
	Manufacturing (minimizing environmental impacts)
	Stewardship (looking after your car)

No surprise, the most efficient cars are the Japanese models, with the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius being the best of the pack. 

 

Dry Cleaning: Looking for a  Cleaner way to Clean

Cleaning clothes shouldn't dirty the environment, says our factsheet on Dry Cleaning.

There are an estimated 2,500 drycleaning facilities in Ontario. It's one of the most popular small businesses going.

The most common form of dry cleaning uses a chemical called perchloroethylene (or "perc"). Ninety percent of the industry uses perc, and drycleaning accounts for between one-third and one-half of all the perc used in Canada. Perc has been designated under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act as a persistent, bio-accumulative chemical that is toxic to the environment. 

So what are the alternatives? 

1. Buy clothes that don't need drycleaning;  
2. Look for a drycleaner that doesn't use perc; or 
3. Look for drycleaners that use the best management practices and most efficient ("third generation") machines. 

Two alternatives to perc are mentioned -- wet cleaning (Green Clean) and silicone-based cleaning (Green Earth).  The technology is there, but there are no plans in place for conversion to greener drycleaning, or for raising public awareness of the alternatives.