Mark S. Winfield Professeur agrégé, Faculté des Etudes Environnementales, Université York, Toronto Traduit par Luce Lefebvre (www.lucelefebvre.com) Le 29 décembre 2013 La semaine dernière, la reprise du service ferroviaire de Lac-Mégantic, au Québec, a fait revivre de pénibles souvenirs …
Lac-Megantic: The Case for a Judicial Inquiry – Published in the Montreal Gazette, January 1, 2014
December 29, 2013 The return to train service to Lac-Megantic, Quebec last week has brought back painful memories of the events of the early hours of July 6th 2013 for the town’s residents, when an unattended train of 73 car-loads of …
Ontario’s new energy plan – some initial thoughts
December 2, 2013 My initial thoughts on the new Ontario energy plan might be of interest. They are as follows: Renewables: The big loser here looks like renewables, with the exception of some additional hydro. Although the target date for …
The Political Economy of Scientific Evidence in Decision-Making: Address to the Ontario Association for Impact Assessment October 24, 2013
Introduction Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to address your conference. I was asked to look at the question of the role of scientific evidence in decision-making from the perspective of an academic observer and participant in these …
Green Energy Debates More about Ideology than Fact.
October 23, 2013/York University’s Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) announces the publication of the 5th in its series of research papers on Ontario Electricity Policy. Understanding the Economic Impact of Renewable Energy Initiatives, by SEI Co-Chair Professor Mark Winfield, examines the …
Letter to the Editor Re: “In Ontario, electricity bills are reason to weap” published in the Globe and Mail, September 13, 2013
September 12, 2013 The Editors The Globe and Mail 444 Front St. Toronto, Ontario Dear Sir/Madam, While Ontario electricity ratepayers may have much to weap about in terms of the consequences of energy policy decisions made by a succession of …
Comments on EBR Registry Number 011-9490 Making Choices: Reviewing Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan
September 16, 2013 Julie Green Senior Policy Advisor Ministry of Energy Regulatory Affairs and Strategic Policy Strategic Policy Branch 880 Bay Street 2nd floor Toronto Ontario M7A 2C1 Re: EBR Registry Number 011-9490 Making Choices: Reviewing Ontario’s Long-Term Energy …
Working Paper: Understanding the Economic Impact of Renewable Energy Initiatives: Assessing Ontario’s Experience in a Comparative Context
The key conclusions from this new working paper from SEI are as follows. The full paper is available at http://sei.info.yorku.ca/files/2012/12/Green-Jobs-and-Renewable-Energy-July-28-20131.pdf. Comments welcome until August 30, 2013 to marksw at yorku.ca. Proponents of renewable energy initiatives like the Ontario FIT program …
Incubating Disaster: The Lac Megantic Rail Tragedy – Published in the Ottawa Citizen July 24, 2013. Montreal Gazette July 26th, 2013, Edmonton Journal July 27, 2013
Students of major disasters often talk of the concept of ‘disaster incubation’ – a period of cumulating failures on the part of operators and regulators which eventually overwhelm even-multilayered safety systems and lead to tragic outcomes. No better term could …
Re: Nuclear power as “emission-free” energy. Letter to the Editor, Published in the Globe and Mail July 1, 2013
June 28, 2013 The Editors The Globe and Mail 444 Front Street Toronto, Ontario Re: Nuclear power as “emission-free” energy. Two recent articles in the Globe (“McGuinty’s green energy ‘vision’ starts to fade” and “Ontario gets two nuclear options”) have …