The London District and Labour Council hosts the Good Green Jobs Conference 2012. More information in the attached .pdf file. 

Health Canada's Great Lakes Health Effects Program prepared an analysis of health statistics for each of the Canadian AOCs that "may be linked to exposure to environmental contaminants." While not directly making a cause and effect link, each report stated what kinds of chemicals are known to result in particular health problems. The Health Canada reports were printed and ready for release by November 1998. The government, however, withheld them and they weren't released until almost a year later in October 1999. This was only because the government was forced to after community activists gained access to them and gave them to a news reporter. The Health Canada release was brief and they were quickly removed from the web and buried again. Shortly thereafter, Health Canada closed down its ground-breaking Great Lakes Health Effects Program. This document compiles reports for the following Areas of Concern: Jackfish Bay, Nipigon Bay, Peninsula Harbour, St. Marys River, and Thunder Bay.

Health Canada's Great Lakes Health Effects Program prepared an analysis of health statistics for each of the Canadian AOCs that "may be linked to exposure to environmental contaminants." While not directly making a cause and effect link, each report stated what kinds of chemicals are known to result in particular health problems. The Health Canada reports were printed and ready for release by November 1998. The government, however, withheld them and they weren't released until almost a year later in October 1999. This was only because the government was forced to after community activists gained access to them and gave them to a news reporter. The Health Canada release was brief and they were quickly removed from the web and buried again. Shortly thereafter, Health Canada closed down its ground-breaking Great Lakes Health Effects Program. This document compiles reports for: Bay of Quinte, Hamilton Harbour, Metro Toronto, Niagara River, Port Hope Harbour, St. Lawrence River.

The United States had a record 210 million automobiles on the road in 1999, up 15 million from 1994, and the total for all of North America in 1996 was more than 235 million. Each year, some 12 million of these vehicles are retired from useful life. Many of the materials used in their production create problems along the way, either in the vehicleÕs manufacture, use or end-of-life. This report examines the historic and continuing use of the highly toxic metal mercury in automobiles and estimates its releases to the environment from end-of-life vehicle (ELV) processing. The report will show that emissions from vehicle recycling and disposal processes are one of the largest sources of mercury contamination to the environment. The report also examines strategies for cleaner production and proposes key policy solutions to eliminate mercury hazards from both new and existing vehicles. 

This report is to provide the United States delegates to the POPs treaty negotiations with an overview of relevant legal and policy issues that emerge from the Great Lakes experience and agreements, where work on POPs elimination has been underway for over two decades. Of particular concern in the current round of negotiations are a broad set of exemptions advanced by the US delegation which would be severe loopholes to the proposed treaty. This report evaluates relevant lessons learned in the Great Lakes and consistency issues between what has been done in the Great Lakes and the pending global POPs treaty. The report demonstrates that: 1) The "virtual elimination"; and "zero discharge" goals adopted in the Great Lakes region are necessary and practical policies to include in any POPs treaty. 2) The POPs treaty should include the precautionary principle. 3) The US-proposed exemptions are inconsistent with the policies adopted and lessons learned in the Great Lakes region.

In 2005, a report entitled "Ocean Shipping in the Great Lakes: Transportation Cost Increases That Would Result from a Cessation of Ocean Vessels Shipping" was published. This research activity was funded by The Joyce Foundation and looked at transportation cost increases that would occur if, for whatever reason, ocean shipping ceased in the Great Lakes. The research concluded that shippers would incur additional costs of $55 million annually if this should occur. This is a relatively small amount compared to overall transportation costs associated with the movement of ocean vessel cargo into and out of the Great Lakes region. These cost advantages must be weighed against the costs associated with ocean vessel shipping, especially the cost of invasive species introduction and management. In fact, the research was originally prompted by a number of initiatives related to invasive species and their control through better methods of ballast management.

This report outlines five areas in which the Obama administration and 111th Congress can take action to stop invasive species in the United States. It includes: screening intentional imports; preventing inadvertent introductions; funding early detection and response; federal leadership; addressing other funding gaps.

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, signed by Ontario with nine other Great Lakes jurisdictions, requires each state and province in the basin to establish water conservation goals, objectives and programs. Implementation of the recommended actions in this report would position Ontario as a regional leader on conservation.

This report explores the history of water use and diversion in the Great Lakes, the policy framework that directs action, and the threats facing the Great Lakes from irresponsible water use. It provides recommendations to better conserve and protect the Great Lakes.

In 2005 and 2006 the Alliance for the Great Lakes convened a dialog among leading Great Lakes nongovernmental policy groups (NGOs) in the Great Lakes region to identify key issues and recommendations for the current review of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Agreement), a pact the environmental NGOs have cared passionately about for decades. This report is a result of that process.