We are thrilled to share our Earth Day special edition with an abundance of resources available to you and your organization.

A couple of things to note in our Earth Day edition:

• Special feature on community collaboration efforts with BurlingtonGreen and the Rotary Club of Burlington Central.
• Top 10 TCI Things to Do for Earth Day/Earth Month.
• Carbon Cautious: We identify the hidden impacts of AI on our resources.
• In our " Did You Know " section, we highlight why Canada is continuing its leadership in space by developing a third robotic arm to support climate and atmospheric research.
• Check out the Environmental Leaders/activists TCI has had the privilege of meeting as we honour them today.

Having had the privilege of working directly with David Suzuki over the years, I can attest that his messaging was impactful then and remains profoundly relevant today concerning our planet.  

"We are the earth, through the plants and animals that nourish us. We are the rains and the oceans that flow through our veins. We are the breath of the forests of the land and the planet of the sea. What we do to nature we do to ourselves." David Suzuki.

We invite you to share your love for protecting nature and reducing carbon in your buildings. Drop us a note at mcresswell@thomascoleinc.com.

Local Leaders Call for Holistic Approach to Environmental Action and Community Wellbeing

An in-depth conversation between environmental advocate Kale Black, 

Senior Program Manager and business professional James Thomas Cole Cresswell from TCI, is shedding light on a more integrated, human-centered approach to climate action—one that blends environmentalism with personal wellbeing, community connection, and social awareness.

Black, a long-time leader with BurlingtonGreen, described his philosophy as “holistic environmentalism,” an approach that combines environmental advocacy with mindfulness practices, anti-racism education, and grassroots community events.

The Hidden Impacts of AI on Resources

Roughly 1,500 AI text summarizations consume as much energy as fully charging a Tesla electric car. (Dr. VJ Gapali, Chief Technology Officer at Radium Cloud and Senior Staff member at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory.)

AI Energy Demands: ChatGPT processes over a billion words a day, consuming enough energy to power 10,000 American homes for a year.

Experts from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimate that “by 2028, AI will consume as much electricity annually as 22% of all US households” (O’Donnell and Crownhart, 2025).

“Training one large ML model, such as Meena, is equivalent to 242,231 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle as far as carbon emissions” (Wu et al., 2022, p.2).

Water Cooling: “The global AI demand is projected to account for 4.2– 6.6 billion cubic meters of water withdrawal in 2027, which is more than the total annual water withdrawal of four to six Demarks or half of the United Kingdom” (Li et al., 2025, p.1). For example a session of questions and answers with GPT-3 (roughly 10 to 50 responses) drives the consumption of a half-liter of fresh water” (Berreby, 2025). 

NASA & CSA Research: Monitoring Earth’s health from space, the Canadian Space Agency and NASA track CO2 levels, greenhouse gas emissions, and the carbon cycle in real-time.

Canadarm 3: Canada is continuing its leadership in space by developing a third robotic arm to support climate and atmospheric research.

Project HAARP: A high-altitude research project studying the upper atmosphere and its impact on climate and agriculture.

The "Plan B" Warning: Research into Mars exploration (the Artemis project) serves as a reminder that we must protect Earth, as "Planet B" is a difficult alternative.

Future Energy: Insights into hydrogen-powered cars and the role of modern nuclear energy as a clean power source.

If you have an interesting story that you would like to share don't hesitate to get in touch with NZT Editor: mcresswell@thomascoleinc.com for a chance to be featured in the next issue.

Schools take on Earth Month challenge: "Reduce a Little. Change a Lot!"

TVDSB will mark Earth Month (April), Earth Week (April 20–24, 2026) and Earth Day (April 22, 2026) with board-wide activities designed to show how small, everyday actions can make a big difference when it comes to the environment.

School communities will be encouraged to engage in activities such as classroom waste audits, outdoor learning experiences, environmental footprint calculations, art projects using natural or recycled materials and more.

Algonquin College Pembroke Campus Earns ENERGY STAR® Certification - First College in Canada to Receive Recognition

Algonquin College’s Pembroke Campus has earned ENERGY STAR® certification from Natural Resources Canada, becoming the first college in Canada to receive this respected designation for superior energy performance.

The certification recognizes buildings that meet strict energy efficiency standards and perform in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide. This milestone underscores the Pembroke Campus’s commitment to sustainability, operational efficiency, and environmental leadership.