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Blogs
Like Environment Probe, the bloggers on this page champion the use of property rights, markets, and decentralized decision making to empower individuals and communities to protect the environment. Beyond that, they are a diverse group, representing perspectives that are often at odds with those of Environment Probe. We look forward to lively debates! To read the entries of a particular blogger, click on his/her name. To read all of our blogs, scroll through the entries below. And please join the discussion. Let us know what you think! - Elizabeth Brubaker
Elizabeth Brubaker is Environment Probe's executive director. Her primary interests are water and wastewater, agricultural pollution, and the use of property rights to protect the environment. - Full Bio - Glenn Fox
Glenn Fox, an agricultural and natural resource economist, is a professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph. He specializes in property rights and natural resource stewardship. - Full Bio - Pierre Desrochers and Hiroko Shimizu
Pierre Desrochers is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Toronto Mississauga. His interests include business-environment interactions, environmental policy, and food policy. Hiroko Shimizu writes on economic and public policy issues. Her current focus is on agriculture and food. - Full Bio
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According to a recent poll, two-thirds of Canadians support public-private partnerships (P3s) for water treatment and sewage facilities. These numbers are up considerably from last year. read more »
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The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario is once again calling on the Ontario government to promote the full-cost pricing of water. In his Annual Report for 2010/2011, released last week, the ECO argues that water charges should be levied to promote conservation, pay for municipal infrastructure, and cover the province’s costs of managing the resource. read more »
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The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy has released Charting a Course: Sustainable Water Use by Canada’s Natural Resource Sectors. The report calls for new approaches to managing water use by the energy, mining, forest, and agriculture sectors – the country’s biggest water users. read more »
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One year ago, the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, killing 11 crew members and sending more than four million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Although drilling in the Gulf's deep waters is resuming, the law limiting oil companies' liability for the damage they cause has yet to be changed. Until lawmakers eliminate the liability cap, oil companies will lack full incentives to prevent future disasters, and will be ill-equipped to deal with them should they occur. read more »
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A new survey of Canadians' attitudes toward water reveals deep concerns about both water quality and water quantity. It also exposes a dangerous reluctance to address these issues if doing so means paying more for water or wastewater infrastructure or services. read more »
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Ontario's latest drinking water report is out, and the news isn't good. The report, like its predecessors, reveals wide-spread problems at drinking water systems across the province. read more »
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In Safe Drinking Water Policy for Canada, Steve Hrudey warns against complacency among the operators and regulators of water systems. He argues for an approach to water safety that involves "ongoing critical self-examination" – a far cry from the approach here in Ontario.
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In a new study, drinking water expert Steve Hrudey warns that many Canadian water systems remain unsafe. More than a decade after the Walkerton tragedy, Hrudey reports, Canada remains "vulnerable to future water-quality failures, most likely in smaller systems. The problem is not that numerical water safety criteria are inadequately stringent; the documented failures have been caused by an inability to operate water systems effectively, pointing to inadequate competence." read more »
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A dairy farmer who has been polluting Ontario's Lake Simcoe has hit the jackpot, winning a grant of $99,950 to construct and maintain a concrete tank to store manure from his 55-cow milking herd. Environment Canada explained that the project will significantly reduce the levels of phosphorus and other nutrients entering the watershed. It didn't explain why it chose to reward a major polluter with a grant, rather than slapping him with a fine – why, in other words, it administers a system of "polluter gets" rather than "polluter pays."
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On a typical day, there are more than 1,500 drinking water warnings in place across Canada. read more »
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