EOG Resources.jpg DeSmogBlog, on multiple occasions, has reported that the damage caused by hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" in the unconventional oil and gas industry goes far beyond water contamination, put in the spotlight by the documentary film "Gasland." The multi-pronged harms were tackled in a comprehensive manner in our report, "Fracking the
Continue readingTag: British Columbia
Left Over: The Little School Board that Could, part 2….
To quote Kurt Vonnegut, and so it goes… Education Clown Minister Abbott has fired the Cowichan School Board, for not doing something that the Provincial Liberals haven’t be able to do either…pass a balanced budget..if only we could fire them.. The worst part about this whole issue is that this
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Sand Land: Frac Sand Mining in Western Wisconsin – Video Report by DeSmogBlog
Sand mine.jpg The rush to drill for unconventional gas, enabled by a process popularly known as "fracking," or hydraulic fracturing, has brought with it much collateral damage. Close observers know about contaminated water, earthquakes, and climate change impacts of the shale gas boom, but few look at the entire life
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Fixing Canada’s Democracy, Part 74 of 877
I spent 3 hours in the House of Commons from midnight to 3am this morning watching the contemptuous debauchery of the Conservative government squash democracy in ramming through Bill C-38. Several weeks ago I also spent some time in the BC legislature watching that version of embarrassing contempt. Beyond a
Continue readingNEW MEDIA AND POLITICS CANADA: Al Jazeera Reports On The Enbridge Pipeline
It would be great if we could get some in-depth reporting on the issues surrounding the Alberta tar/bitumen sands from the Canadian media (from some place other than the completely terrific Tyee that is). For now however, we have to rely on organizations like Al Jazeera to provide us with
Continue readingNEW MEDIA AND POLITICS CANADA: Al Jazeera Reports On The Enbridge Pipeline
It would be great if we could get some in-depth reporting on the issues surrounding the Alberta tar/bitumen sands from the Canadian media (from some place other than the completely terrific Tyee that is). For now however, we have to rely on organizations like Al Jazeera to provide us with
Continue readingNEW MEDIA AND POLITICS CANADA: Al Jazeera Reports On The Enbridge Pipeline
It would be great if we could get some in-depth reporting on the issues surrounding the Alberta tar/bitumen sands from the Canadian media (from some place other than the completely terrific Tyee that is). For now however, we have to rely on organ…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: TransCanada’s Latest Extreme Energy Export Pipelines in the U.S. and Canada
shutterstock_48011347.jpg TransCanada was once in the limelight and targeted for its Keystone XL pipeline project. Now, with few eyes watching, it is pushing along two key pipeline projects that would bring two respective forms of what energy geopolitics scholar Michael Klare calls "extreme energy" to lucrative export markets. Pipeline one: the southern
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Could Harper Force the Evacutation of Vancouver?
Tanker Navigating the Second NarrowsNo Margin for Error Harper’s fetish to deliver petro-sludge to China via British Columbia ports includes Vancouver as well as Kitimat. If Kinder Morgan gets its way, Vancouver could play supertanker roulette just about once a day. That probably sounds a bit alarmist to anyone unfamiliar
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: To New York, Paris, Vancouver, and Toronto
Big orangutan kisses to all of you there for showing your support for the Quebec student movement. You have brought this ape to tears (and this rarely happens). Thank you. New York City Paris Vancouver Toronto
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: To New York, Paris, Vancouver, and Toronto
Big orangutan kisses to all of you there for showing your support for the Quebec student movement. You have brought this ape to tears (and this rarely happens). Thank you. New York City Paris Vancouver Toronto
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: To New York, Paris, Vancouver, and Toronto
Big orangutan kisses to all of you there for showing your support for the Quebec student movement. You have brought this ape to tears (and this rarely happens). Thank you. New York City Paris Vancouver Toronto
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: We Must Force the Politicians to Go Post-Carbon
We need to leave the tarsands oil in the ground. We need an increasing carbon tax. We need to stop subsidizing carbon energy producers. We need public money invested in post-carbon energy. We need to do it now. I say all this, as does this NASA physicist: The science of
Continue reading350 or bust: Northern Gateway Pipeline: Not A Pretty Picture
Renowned Canadian artist Robert Bateman speaks out against the Northern Gateway Pipeline: * Sign the petition at: http://www.notankers.ca
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How To Resolve The Transit Fare Evasion Problem
Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom is bringing in new legislation to crack down on fare evaders, allowing collection agencies to go after people who don’t buy tickets. If Lekstrom really wants to deal with fare evasion, then he needs to realize why people don’t pay the transit fares. If people can’t afford to buy a transit
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: School employers seek to force BCTF members to volunteer
This is kind of amazing – the BC Public Schools Employers’ Association (the arms-length thing the government created to manage negotiations with the BCTF) is going to the LRB to try to have the withdrawal by teachers from voluntary activities declared illegal. Uhh, what? So the BC government thinks that
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Is Harper Giving British Columbia Real Cause to Secede?
Some weeks ago Conservative senator Mike Duffy dismissed opponents of the Northern Gateway bitumen pipeline as “anti-Canadian.” The more I think about it, he may just have a point. Does the prime monster’s insistence on grievously imperilling the British Columbia coastline and fisheries with dangerous supertanker traffic not give British
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: More Worker Bashing in BC, with Squishy Numbers
Below is a recent tweet from a new worker/NDP/union attack Twitter i.d. talking about how awful unionized workers are. Read it, then let’s de-spin it for sanity: Average salary in BC $44k, average teacher salary $70k bced.gov.bc.ca/reporting/ #Underpaid #Overworked #Lies #BCPoli #BCNDP #BCTF via Twitter / @NotBCNDP: Average salary in
Continue readingeaves.ca: Public Policy: The Big Opportunity For Health Record Data
A few weeks ago Colin Hansen – a politician in the governing party in British Columbia (BC) – penned an op-ed in the Vancouver Sun entitled Unlocking our data to save lives. It’s a paper both the current government and opposition should read, as it is filled with some very
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Let’s Have an End to People Dying at Work
Ben Isitt is a Victoria city councillor, historian, professor, lawyer and optimist. Rarely have I been so moved by an account of the struggle working people have in the face of this new world order of anti-worker 1%ism. We are so effectively trained to accept the balance of power is
Continue reading