Tag: Common Sense Journalism

Watershed Sentinel, BC’s scrappy environmental magazine, is a past and very grateful recipient of financial assistance through the Canada Magazine Fund, and the now defunct Publications Assistance Program. Last year the magazine applied for funding to improve its on-line services for readers. In April, editor Delores Broten was informed in

For years, various Cassandras have tried alerting the world to the true nature, purpose and “legacy” of the Olympic Games – yet their warnings have fallen on deaf ears, muted by the cacophony of corporate advertising, saccharine network TV coverage and “patriotic” celebration. All that may be about to change

It’s happening again. Research confirms agreement among most climate scientists that we are altering the Earth’s climate, mainly by burning fossil fuels. And industrial interests, backed by climate change deniers, pull out every trick to sow doubt and confusion. What will it take for us to start seriously tackling the

Despite over 9,500 public submissions to the Joint Review Panel for the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline – with a resounding 96% opposed – John Carruthers, the company president in charge of the project, remains confident it will proceed. Carruthers told reporters outside the final round of hearings in Terrace,

Rafe on Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer’s “pussycat approach” to BC Hydro’s multi-billion dollar budget woes and ensuing skyrocketing rates for consumers: “The Campbell/Clark government has forced BC Hydro into making deals with private companies for energy they don’t need yet must take at a cost at least double the market

Rafe on Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer’s “pussycat approach” to BC Hydro’s multi-billion dollar debt and skyrocketing bills for consumers: “The Campbell/Clark government has forced BC Hydro into making deals with private companies for energy they don’t need yet must take at a cost at least double the market price. These

Are You a Multi-Issue Extremist? If you read this site regularly, and subscribe to the claims and advice of Rafe Mair, you probably are. Because the 81 year-old Mair is British Columbia’s most well-known and well-loved Multi-Issue Extremist. The now long-established CSIS “Counter Terrorism Strategy” has defined individuals who express

The federal government recently announced a reorganization of the National Research Council to make it more “business-led” and industry-focused. It appears we’re coming full circle to the early 1970s, when Sen. Maurice Lamontagne released “A Science Policy for Canada,” a report proposing Canadian science be directed to “mission-oriented” work rather

The federal government recently announced a reorganization of the National Research Council to make it more “business-led” and industry-focused. It appears we’re coming full circle to the early 1970s, when Sen. Maurice Lamontagne released “A Science Policy for Canada,” a report proposing Canadian science be directed to “mission-oriented” work rather

Premier Clark has already designated the power from proposed Site C Dam for energy intensive Liquefied Natural Gas – and it is here we descend into the world of madness. Clark says that LNG will eliminate our debt and give us a $100 Billion “Prosperity Fund”. The Premier would have

Ok, John Horgan (BC NDP Energy critic), now I’m pissed off. You were quoted in the Vancouver Sun this week as saying you’re unhappy that the NDP lost, etc, weep, sob…What you did was let down British Columbians who couldn’t care less about political parties but looked to you to

Watch this presentation by Caleb Behn, a young, First Nations lawyer-in-the-making from Treaty 8 territory in northeast BC – one of the most heavily industrialized places on earth. The subject of the forthcoming documentary film Fractured Land, Behn discusses the blending of indigenous and colonial law to address the conflict

Future Tense is the title of one of Gwynne Dyer’s many best-selling books. His expertise has been war, with detailed analyses of the politics, psychology and circumstances that bring humanity to this most crude and unfortunate behaviour. And this book’s title has a ingenious double entendre, suggesting both the future

Here are three things to remember about Premier Clark and the Enbridge pipeline: 1. She did not reject the pipeline – she simply said that Enbridge had not met BC’s conditions; 2. She has, simply said “we want money”; 3. She hasn’t asked the main question – nor has anyone

What makes a city great? Among other things, great cities are tolerant communities that welcome and celebrate ethnic diversity. They support and foster local arts, have access to venture capital to spur entrepreneurship and innovation, and benefit from healthy local environments with clean air, clean water and access to nutritious,

As my friend wrote following the NDP’s surprise election loss 3 weeks ago, for the next four years, there will be: NO public inquiry into the BC Rail and BC Hydro scandals; NO comprehensive public Environmental-Economic Impact Assessment for major resource development projects (pipelines, mines, fracking, etc.); NO restoration and

I think most environmentalists are still in a state of shock over the Liberals’ victory – or more correctly, the NDP loss…A battle has been lost, although considering Adrian Dix’s waffling on environmental matters generally, perhaps the NDP would have been no better than the Liberals. It’s up to First

What people must not lose sight of, is that electric vehicle technology is in its infancy. What the Tesla Motors story shows us, is that there are power structures in place that do not wish to see alternatives succeed. The creation of new clean technologies is critical to the success

BC Premier Christy Clark’s decision today to oppose formally the Northern Gateway Pipeline, coupled with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s shift in focus to the Keystone XL project, means Enbridge’s pipeline is all but dead. Yet the Clark Government’s final submission to the Enbridge review panel pointedly leaves the door open

Two surprising, important and connected events took place in British Columbia in May, 2013. On Tuesday, May 14, the province’s citizens elected a majority Liberal government. Five days earlier, on Thursday, May 9, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached 400 parts per million — the last time