Earth Hour 2011 in Toronto was a bust. Although the lights went out on the CN Tower and the billboards at Yonge and Dundas Square, aside from the former, surveys of the skyline offered little indication of the collective effort made by those who did participate in the annual event, which was founded by the World Wildlife Fund in Australia back in 2007.

Move over Auto Show? Well, not exactly. Because this vehicle demonstration, launched at the Evergreen Brick Works on Thursday, is less about sweet rides and all about what's powering those rides.

Better Place, a much-hyped provider of electric vehicle infrastucture, has opened an interactive electric vehicle education centre at Evergreen Brick Works now open to the public. The exhibit features a mock-up vehicle charging station, a replica of the eight now up in running in Ontario, each of which can support two electric vehicles at a time. The demonstration also includes information about fully battery-powered cars, charge spots and battery switch stations, and electric vehicle car software designed to optimize battery use.

Photo by Dennis Marciniak

Project Neutral is an initiative that's been put together by a small group of volunteers in the hopes of establishing the first carbon neutral neighbourhood in Canada. Led by members of the Emerging Leaders Network (which is affiliated with the Greater Toronto Civic Action Alliance), the current stage of the project involves a competitive process in which neighbourhood leaders apply for the opportunity to partner with the Project Neutral team in pursuit of carbon neutrality.

On January 31st of last year, Toronto ushered in North America's first municipally mandated green roof policy. Proposed as an integral part of the city's Climate Change Action Plan, it requires all new buildings and retrofits to include a green roof. Passed by council with only two votes against (of which Mayor Ford was one), it was welcomed publicly with mixed reviews. Heralded for its contribution to reducing energy consumption and increasing urban biodiversity, the 'nays' worried the added expense of installation and bimonthly maintenance would deter buyers.

As with most green initiatives, the short-term is not where success can be effectively measured, but let's take a look at the new and notable projects this policy fostered in 2010:

Although electric cars have yet to arrive in Toronto, given that the Electric Vehicle Technology Roadmap for Canada anticipates "the production and deployment of 500,000 or more EVs in Canada by 2018," the question as to how the country's largest city will power all these cars is rapidly becoming more and more pressing. Due to a whole number of factors -- including cost, charging times, safety, and durability/weather -- the implementation of this infrastructure is not exactly a straightforward proposition.

Rob Ford has indicated that the plastic bag tax is next on his list of targets to kill. Apparently he's heard enough complaints from shoppers over the holiday season that he's ready to act. Although his plan is yet to become clear, he stated plainly that he wants "to get rid of it." As a piece of David Miller policy -- he introduced the tax in June 2009 -- and a non-moneymaker for the city, I understand why Ford would want to abolish the fee, but it'd be much better if his review of the program didn't result in its being scrapped.