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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Energy and material flows of megacities

Chris Kennedy, a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto, recently led a team of researchers to quantify energy and material flows for the world’s 27 megacities. This major undertaking and the sheer magnitude of the flows these researchers discovered (e.g., 9% of global electricity, 10% of gasoline; 13% of solid waste), shows the importance of megacities in addressing global environmental challenges.

Megacities face enormous social stresses because of their sheer size and complexity and it is critical for these cities to be able to access, share and manage their energy and material resources. Kennedy et al.’s research help identify megacities exhibiting high and low levels of consumption and those making efficient use of resources. Correlations are established for electricity consumption, heating and industrial fuel use, ground transportation energy use, water consumption, waste generation, and steel production in terms of heating-degree-days, urban form, economic activity, and population growth.

Read the full research paper here.