Author: James Wilt

It’s easy to assume the plummet in energy prices will be a boon for the fight against climate change as emissions-intensive oilsands projects are cancelled or put on hold, but experts say that will only be the case if we learn some lessons from the current downturn. Here are the three

By now, it’s an almost entirely predictable routine: a celebrity takes a tour of the Alberta oilsands for a day or two and quickly harnesses apocalyptic rhetoric in press conferences to detail the experience. Chagrined industry spokespeople lash out. News coverage dissipates after a few days. Rinse and repeat. Thus

By now, it’s an almost entirely predictable routine: a celebrity takes a tour of the Alberta oilsands for a day or two and quickly harnesses apocalyptic rhetoric in press conferences to detail the experience. Chagrined industry spokespeople lash out. News coverage dissipates after a few days. Rinse and repeat. Thus

Smokey haze, intense heat, encampments of evacuated residents next to the highway: these were the conditions that greeted Renee Lertzman when she recently drove through Oregon. It’s no wonder why the environmental psychology researcher and professor resorts to the term “apocalyptic” to describe the scene. “It was a surreal experience,” says

“Frankly, we need an army of carpenters, electricians and contractors going out to plug leaky buildings,” federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May said during the August 6 leaders debate. “Thirty per cent of carbon pollution comes from the energy we waste and the money we waste heating the outdoors in

“Frankly, we need an army of carpenters, electricians and contractors going out to plug leaky buildings,” federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May said during the August 6 leaders debate. “Thirty per cent of carbon pollution comes from the energy we waste and the money we waste heating the outdoors in

The number of anti-science decisions the federal government has made in recent years is staggering: axing the long-form census, trying to shut down the Experimental Lakes Area, sending media relations personnel to accompany scientists at international conferences. There are so many mindboggling instances, in fact, that the non-profit organization Evidence for

The number of anti-science decisions the federal government has made in recent years is staggering: axing the long-form census, trying to shut down the Experimental Lakes Area, sending media relations personnel to accompany scientists at international conferences. There are so many mindboggling instances, in fact, that the non-profit organization Evidence for

Earlier this week, TransAlta — the massive, publicly traded electricity generation company based in Calgary — was found culpable by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) of repeatedly manipulating prices in 2010 and 2011 by intentionally shutting down power plants during peak demand to boost costs for consumers. The Market Surveillance Administrator estimates

Earlier this week, TransAlta — the massive, publicly traded electricity generation company based in Calgary — was found culpable by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) of repeatedly manipulating prices in 2010 and 2011 by intentionally shutting down power plants during peak demand to boost costs for consumers. The Market Surveillance Administrator estimates

The agriculture sector will rise in importance in coming decades as the world warms and moves away from fossil fuels. That’s the most recent prediction from Jeff Rubin, former chief economist for CIBC World Markets, whose latest book, The Carbon Bubble, forecasts a not-so-distant future in which climate change will open

The agriculture sector will rise in importance in coming decades as the world warms and moves away from fossil fuels. That’s the most recent prediction from Jeff Rubin, former chief economist for CIBC World Markets, whose latest book, The Carbon Bubble, forecasts a not-so-distant future in which climate change will open

It’s finally happening: after years of stalling by the Progressive Conservatives, Alberta’s new NDP government announced Thursday it will double the province’s meager carbon levy on large emitters by 2017. Industry and environmentalists alike welcomed the decision, while also saying it doesn’t go far enough.  Currently, any facility that emits more than

“Transparent,” “credible, “world-class” — those are just a few of the words that have been deployed to detail the aspirations of the one-year-old organization tasked with monitoring the air, water, land and wildlife in Alberta. But there are a lot of questions about whether the Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

A single mention in 25 pages — that’s how frequently “public transit” was referenced in the Alberta NDP’s recent election platform. Tags:  Alberta NDP carbon capture and storage ccs public transit energy minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd Shell Quest Project Alberta Carbon Trunk Line

Back in March when the prospect of a majority NDP government in Alberta was still a twinkle in Rachely Notley’s eye, the to-be premier introduced a motion to phase out the province’s use of coal for electricity by 2030. “The evidence is clear that it is time to phase out coal

In a stunning and historic move, Alberta elected a majority New Democrat government on Tuesday. The Progressive Conservatives, which finished in third place, consistently mismanaged the environmental and climate change file. Ralph Klein, controversial premier from 1992 to 2006, despised the Kyoto Protocol and infamously flipped the bird at an activist who

At an estimated 2,700 litres, the bunker fuel spill in English Bay was relatively small — yet the stakes of that spill couldn’t be much higher. With Enbridge and Kinder Morgan both hoping to build oil pipelines to B.C., which would significantly increase oil tanker traffic in the province’s inside coastal

Think of Norway and your mind likely conjures up a Narnia-like folklore: vikings, salmon, fjords, Svalbard reindeer. But there’s another element — albeit slightly less fabled — that’s been added to the list recently: the Government Pension Fund Global. It’s also known as the “most successful sovereign wealth fund in the

Think of Norway and your mind likely conjures up a Narnia-like folklore: vikings, salmon, fjords, Svalbard reindeer. But there’s another element — albeit slightly less fabled — that’s been added to the list recently: the Government Pension Fund Global. It’s also known as the “most successful sovereign wealth fund in the