ORA’s first Youth Engagement event!

By Linda Heron on Wednesday, April 12th, 2023

Posted in Alternatives, Aquatic Life, Climate Change, Dams, Energy, Environmental Registry, Events, Hydroelectric, Media, ORA Reports, ORA Submissions, Photos, Presentations, Regulatory Submissions, River Concerns, Safety, Turbines, Water as a Commons

ORA collaborated with Engineers Without Borders (UW Chapter) to host a youth engagement workshop for 35 grade 11 students in St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School on March 31st. The group included students from the STEM Club and from the Environment Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) Red Seal Program. ORA offered the students a Sector-Partnered Experience (SPE) focusing on real-world environmental issues to be solved.

ORA’s team consisted of a Fisheries Biologist, Civil Engineer and Environmental Sciences experts interacting with the students to present and discuss the significant and ongoing environmental effects of hydroelectric facilities, as well as the engineering principles behind them.

The students were then assigned to groups and encouraged to think of alternative eco-friendly solutions to meet the growing electricity demands of the country. We helped them consider several aspects of power generation including how electricity can be used more efficiently, its impacts on wildlife and communities, and the criteria we need to consider when constructing electricity generation facilities. The groups presented their innovative ideas and gift cards were awarded to the group with the most sustainable and feasible solution.

We were thrilled and amazed at the enthusiasm and ingenuity of the students!

Is it Renewable Energy if it Degrades the Environment?

By Linda Heron on Sunday, January 9th, 2022

Posted in Alternatives, Aquatic Life, Dams, Energy, Fisheries, Heavy Metal Contamination, Hydro Impacts 101: The Trade-offs, Hydroelectric, Nuclear Fusion, Pollution, Renewable Energy on Crown Land, River Concerns, Rivers at Risk, Safety, Species at Risk, Thorium, Water Quality

Is it really renewable energy when it degrades the environment and impacts on communities in a negative way?

There are 241 hydroelectric dams in Ontario, and only 3 facilities have provided any form of fish passage.

The effects of dams and waterpower facilities on fisheries have been well documented over the past century, and include the loss or serious decline of many iconic fish species, which are resources of importance to Ontario’s economy, biodiversity, and natural and cultural heritage.

The Wrong Climate for Damming Rivers

By Linda Heron on Wednesday, January 20th, 2016

Posted in Alternatives, Dams, Energy, Fisheries, Hydroelectric, Impacts, Media, River Concerns, Video

Lockheed Martin Claims Fusion Breakthrough That Could Change World Forever

By Linda Heron on Thursday, October 16th, 2014

Posted in Alternatives, Articles, Energy, Media, Nuclear Fusion

Lockheed Martin, the aerospace and defense conglomerate based in Bethesda, Md., is claiming to have made a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion, which could lead to development of reactors small enough to fit on the back of a truck within a decade.

In the simplest terms, nuclear fission breaks a single atom into two whereas nuclear fusion combines two atoms into one.

Fusion, the holy grail of nuclear power, creates three to four times as much energy as fission. More importantly, fusion’s key advantage over fission is that it does not produce cancer-causing radioactive waste. Read the rest of the article here.