The way tensions between pipeline opponents and Kinder Morgan contractors have escalated during the last week should come as a surprise to no one.
The mishandling of the National Energy Board review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline...
A new study has found that there is no evidence of the delays in the federal environmental review process that lead to the sweeping changes the Harper government introduced in last year’s omnibus budget bill C38.
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If only this were milk there would be no need to cry. Cleanup efforts are currently underway in four separate oil spills that have occurred in the last ten days.
French oil and gas giant Total SA is pulling out of its tar sands partnership with Suncor. Total purchased its 49% stake in the Voyageur upgrader project in 2010, saying they were making a “long-term bet” on the profitability of the Alberta tar sands. Now they’re selling their shares back to Suncor at a $1.65 billion loss, rather than spending the $5 billion required to keep the project going.
The Alberta government has hired a team of “foreign special interest groups“ to lobby the U.S. Congress and the White House in a desperate attempt to garner support for the risky Keystone XL pipeline that would carry (and certainly spill) tar sands crude through the heartland of America to the Gulf Coast and on to export markets overseas.
British Columbia’s Fraser River was once the most productive sockeye salmon river in the world. In recent history, hundreds of millions of salmon would return to its tributaries, spawning along the thousands of kilometers of rivers and streams that serve as nesting grounds for this keystone species.
Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault hasannounced that she is launching an investigation into the “muzzling” of scientists. The announcement comes in response to a lettersent by the non-partisan citizen advocacy groupDemocracy Watch and The Environmental Law Centre (ELC) at the University of Victoria earlier this year.
For those who sense that something isn’t quite right with endless growth as an economic model, developing alternatives can be an isolated task. The evening news rarely leads with a story extolling the virtues of co-ops and community currencies, and the language of sustainability has been coopted by the status quo.
Canada has many times more energy in untapped wind, solar and hydro resources than it ever will from the Alberta tar sands a new report released today finds.
It is being reported today that Canada's Minister of the Environment, Peter Kent, would not allow the public posting of a final report by the now-defunct National Roundtable on Energy and Environment (NRTEE), a 25-year old government funded project that brought together Canada's brightest minds to work on the convergence of environmental sustainability and economic prosperity.
While the Alberta government remains hopelessly hooked on oil revenue, the province’s capital city is quietly leading a green revolution. This January, Edmonton became the first city to break ground on its own fully integrated waste-to-biofuel facility.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s 2013 federal budget might be heavy on jobs, but critics say it’s light on detail and almost silent on climate change.
The only real mention of the issue of climate change in the 450-page Economic Action Plan comes in the form of a grant of $325 million over eight years to Sustainable Development Technology Canada “to continue support for the development and demonstration of new, clean technologies that create efficiencies for businesses and contribute to sustainable economic development.”
The future of Ontario’s Experimental Lakes Area is still up in the air, but the Conservative government has already begun dismantling the cabins that house the scientists who come to study at the world-renowned research facility.
The Helmholtz Association of Research Centres, a major German scientific body with more than 30,000 researchers and US$4.4 billion in annual funding, has dropped out of a joint Alberta tar sands project over fears that the project was damaging the institution's reputation.
The Algonquins of Barriere Lake, Quebec have once again voiced their objection to copper mining in their area. According to a statement released through Mining Watch Canada, the First Nations community objects to the continued efforts of the junior mining company Copper One to develop their Rivière Doré property on unceded Algonquin territory.
Yesterday Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver held a press conference to respond to NDP leader Tom Mulcair’s open objection to the Keystone XL pipeline. Oliver, who has recently returned from a US tour to advertise Canada’s tar sands as green, finds Mulcair’s recent trip to Washington, D.C. somewhat disconcerting.
Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board has released its findings following the investigation of the Rainbow pipeline spill in April 2011, and the results highlight longstanding issues both with Alberta oil companies and the bodies that monitor them.
On day one of the two-day LNG conference titledFueling the Future: Global Opportunities for LNG in BC, Premier Christy Clark announced in her keynote address that BC would lead the world in transitioning “to the cleanest fossil fuel on the planet.”
One year after plans were announced for a new system to monitor the environmental effects of the Alberta tar sands, there is still no sign of any formal data.
In February of 2012, the federal government, in partnership with the government of Alberta, announced plans for a new three-year environmental monitoring system to collect information on the Alberta tar sands. Touted as world-class by environment ministers at both the federal and provincial levels, the three-year plan is meant to track data on water, air, land and wildlife, and provide annual reports for the first three years, followed by a comprehensive peer review in 2015.
The Harper government has been using taxpayer money to sharpen its marketing toolkit in the debate over natural resource development. According to a recent report from Léger Marketing, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) commissioned the company to perform pre- and post-testing of their $9 millionResponsible Resource Development advertising campaign.
The way tensions between pipeline opponents and Kinder Morgan contractors have escalated during the last week should come as a surprise to no one.
The mishandling of the National Energy Board review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline...
Help us clear the PR pollution that clouds the public square.
None have captured the unique beauty and wildlife of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest like acclaimed photographer Ian McAllister.
A resident and long-time conservationist of the unique coastal wilderness, McAllister has intimately documented the region and its iconic species, like the spirit bear,...
This week’s episode of DeSmogCAST covers the fallout of the U.S. midterm elections and what a GOP-led Congress will mean for climate action and the Keystone XL pipeline.
Hosted by DeSmogBlog contributor Farron Cousins, our DeSmog cast – featuring Carol Linnitt, Brendan DeMelle and Steve Horn – also takes a...
Last week, in my quest to see whether British Columbia could become a 100 per cent renewable energy region, I looked at personal transportation. This week I take on the far more challenging task of long-...
This is a guest post by Shiri Pasternak.
Recent revelations that the RCMP spied on Indigenous environmental rights activist Clayton Thomas-Muller should not be...
The below video originally appeared on the Toronto Star.
Birdwatchers – the paparazzi of the natural world – are subverting our democracy...
This week DeSmog is launching its inaugural episode of DeSmogCAST, a weekly newscast featuring our writers, experts and invited guests. Each week we’ll discuss breaking stories and engage...