Why Strike??

Introduction

Climate change is one of the most important environmental issues of our time. Climate change is caused by the increase in concentrations of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. These are primarily due to human activities such as the use of fossil fuels or agriculture.

The climate crisis is an emergency and we demand the leaders respond to this.

Basis

In August 2018, Greta Thunberg began the “Fridays For Future” movement. The first climate strike in solidarity with Greta in the Americas happened in Canada on Friday, November 2, 2018. By Friday, December 7, 2018, there were nine youth groups in Canada striking. Many youths in Canada are now striking regularly. There were 98 strikes for Canada’s national strike on Friday, May 3, 2019, and 104 events across Canada on the May 24th global strike. Around the world, youth and adults will unite during the week of September 20-27.

Coolearth Architecture Inc. is joining the movement and will be striking on Friday, Sept. 20th.

A wide variety of factors have an influence on the level of GHG emissions in Canada. Globally, about 78% of GHG emissions from human activity are from the production and consumption of energy. This includes activities such as using gasoline for transportation, non-renewable electricity production, oil and gas production, and heating and cooling of buildings.

In 2015, world leaders adopted the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda, which introduced 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), sets out a transformative plan for people and planet. A way of contributing could be, to reduce GHGs used in the heating and cooling of buildings.

How can we Help

Canada’s industrial, transportation, commercial and institutional sectors are large consumers of energy. One of the key benefits of efficiency improvements is that they slow the rate of growth in energy use and reduce GHG emissions.

Energy efficiency is a measure of how effectively energy is used for a given purpose and an important path towards decarbonization.

Creating an air-tight building along with increased insulation, reduce heating/ cooling requirements for a building and using energy-star rated products that reduce the energy load with the addition of solar panels or other similar renewable energy sources, make a net-zero building (zero GHG emissions) more attainable.

Call-to-Action

Unity is Strength!!

Join us on Friday, 20th Sept. Its time to take action!!

Resources

All links/ websites

  1. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/greenhouse-gas-emissions.html
  2. 2. https://fridaysforfuture.ca/
  3. Wikipedia

Coolearths’ Sammon Passive House Tour: Passive House Canada Conference 2019

We are excited to be working with Passive House Canada to offer a tour of the Sammon Passive House while it is under construction as part of the second annual Passive House Canada Conference which will be taking place at University of Toronto (Scarborough campus) October 17-18, 2019.

The Sammon Passive house will be one of the first EnerPHit certified homes in Toronto. We are excited to meet the attendee’s and answer their questionos.

Thanks to the team at Ontario Construction News for the great article!

Climate Strike 2019

The climate crisis is an emergency and we need to protect our planet!!

In September, people are walking out of their homes and workplaces to join youth-led #ClimateStrike actions demanding that leaders respond to this emergency. The time has come for multi-generational action against climate breakdown. We must follow alongside the youth who have been leading the way this year.

Fighting climate breakdown is about much more than emissions and scientific metrics – it’s about fighting for a just and sustainable world that works for all of us. If we are going to fight for this, we need everyone. That includes you and me.

Join us on Sept 20, to support the Global Climate Strike 

386 Pacific Avenue , Toronto (9 a.m.- 5 p.m.)

#climatestrike #fridaysforfuture #globalclimatestrike #climatejustice #savetheearth #climate #climatechange #climateemergency #planetearth  #strikeforclimate

Watch this space for more information coming up next week!! 

Sammon Passive House – Toronto

This is our first home renovation on-track to receive Passive House Certification in Toronto. We are targeting Enerphit Certification from the Passive House Institute.

The house is 276m2 GFA (2,965sqft) detached house will be the first to be Passive House certified in Toronto. Located in the Danforth, east end of Toronto, this full renovation and addition will maximize the solar gains in the South during the winter and shading the window in the peak of summer.

The heating load is also optimized by reducing the thermal bridging of the enclosure to the minimum, requiring only the equivalent of an electric heater to heat the house in the peak of the winter. Triple glass windows with high-quality frames will make the whole house comfortable and provide natural light to the rooms.

       

Sheena – Panelist at Ontario Heritage Conference 2018

June 7-9th, 2018 — Sheena Sharp, a principal at Coolearth, will be in Sault St. Marie this Thursday and Friday as part of the 30th Annual Ontario Heritage Conference 2018. Sheena is participating in a roundtable discussion with John Stephenson, Catherine Nasmith, Andrew Pruss, entitled: “Landmark not Landfill – Retrofitting our Cultural Heritage Buildings”. The panel was organized by John Stephension, and the outline is summarized below:

 

Architectural perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of retrofitting culturally significant heritage buildings. 

Led by Moderator John Stephenson, a panel of distinguished architects will present their work and thoughts about the challenges and opportunities of retrofit and adaptive re-use of cultural heritage buildings and discuss why it matters.  The work discussed cover the range from small to very large and will consider the cultural and environmental imperative for preservation instead of demolition.

 

Sheena will be presenting on “the importance of retrofit from a sustainability perspective”.  Hopefully some of you will be able to attend. You can see the full Ontario Heritage Conference program here.

 

 

Pictured above is Alton Mills, which Sheena Sharp worked on with Catherine Nasmith in 2009. 

City of Toronto’s first Net-zero Childcare Facility – Mount Dennis Childcare Centre

Coolearth Architecture, in joint venture with CS&P Architecture is working on an innovative Net Zero Energy childcare facility for the City of Toronto. It is to be located at 1234 Weston Road, within the Mount Dennis area, at the corner of Weston Road and Glenvalley Drive. The building is designed to be Net Zero Energy and to meet the Canada Green Building Councils “Zero Carbon Building Program”.

As part of the City of Toronto’s TransformTO GHG Reduction projects, and the Province of Ontario’s Municipal Challenge Fund it is estimated that by going Net-zero this project will achieve Greenhouse Gas reductions by March 2031 of 457 tonnes.

Working with the City of Toronto facilities Management team we are using a detailed and high-performance design framework that ensures energy efficiency measures are considered through all phases of the project, from initial schematics through to construction, commissioning and operation. The project will be used as a groundbreaking case study on how to create a net zero energy institutional facility, using envelope enhancements, geothermal and PV/T on site energy.

As this is the first City of Toronto Net Zero Energy project, it is expected to be a showcase project, and lead the way for future Net-zero Energy Building projects. The building envelope and mechanical systems will include Passive House high performance and air tightness principles.

We will be posting updates as the project advances! Stay tuned 🙂