Reluctant as I normally am to say kind words about Ezra Levant, I have to admit that his campaign to re-brand the Alberta oil sands from what environmental activists in the United States had lately taken to calling “dirty oil” … Continue reading →
Continue readingTag: energy
DeSmogBlog: EnergyNOW! Tackles Keystone XL, And Talks To Me About Pipelines
energyNOW!.jpg
On Sunday, energyNOW! news tackled the Keystone XL debate in a wide-ranging half hour program that covered the controversial pipeline in typically comprehensive fashion.
An ov…
The Liberal Scarf: Ontario Liberals protecting the environment and moving Ontario forward
Ontario Liberals are taking the next steps to safeguard our environment for Ontario families. Liberals are protecting precious water resources for future generations with a Great Lakes Protection Act that will be the next chapter in clean water for Ont…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: America’s Woefully Inadequate Oversight of Pipeline Safety: A New York Times Stunner
Last week, the New York Times published a bombshell of an expose about the government's woefully inadequate program to monitor and ensure the security and safety of American energy pipelines. I’ve spent a lot of time lately investigating the …
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: Video: 2011 Manitoba Election Environment Forum
Manitoba citizens will elect a new provincial government Oct. 4, 2011 and environmental issues will play an important role in determining which political party forms that government. Where should Manitoba Hydro construct its planned Bipole 3 transmission line – or should it be built at all? How should we save Lake Winnipeg from choking to […]
Continue readingEnvironmental Law Alert Blog: Why Harper’s shot at PNCIMA also hit Enbridge in the foot
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Canadian government recently withdrew suddenly and unexpectedly f…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Polluters Join Forces To Pressure Obama On Oil And Gas Drilling
Drill_Baby_Drill.jpg
In the wake of President Obama’s speech on job creation last week, major players in the energy industry have banded together to put pressure on the president to speed u…
Continue readingThings Are Good: From Landfill to Sustainable Power Plant
Madison, New York, has a landfill that has been sitting and rotting and essentially not doing anything productive. That’s all about to change. A new pilot test of a Spectro PowerCap Exposed Geomembrane Solar Cover system – a sheet of something close to magic that will convert the mound of trash into a mound of […]
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Dear Greenpeace, re Tzeporah Berman (RERUN)
Tzeporah Berman was at Capilano University Wednesday evening performing at the North Shore Credit Union Centre for the Performing Arts. Her act was promised to be an exploration of the past and future of the environmental movement. In view of her contr…
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: The Orange and the Green
When provincial NDP leader Andrea Horwath announced this summer that her party wanted to reduce the HST on gasoline, I must say I raised an eyebrow. After all, the NDP is supposed to be (among many other things) an environmentally friendly party, and conventional environmental wisdom states that high gas taxes are an effective way to reduce consumption.
Now, it’s one thing to argue against that premise, and certainly many have done just that. But to completely ignore the environmental implications of cutting an energy consumption tax and just drop it straight into the ‘saving taxpayers money’ file seems a little… well, un-NDPlike.
Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so.
NDP losing its green allies
In a stinging letter to Horwath, circulated to members of a green coalition, Environmental Defence executive director Rick Smith complained that her party had lost its way:
“Some of your existing policy positions are not in the best interest of environmental or human health protection,” Smith wrote last month.
“How can any party that claims to be concerned about global warming advocate de facto subsidies for buying oil and gas. This is absolutely the wrong direction.”
Significantly, Smith is a former chief of staff to the late federal NDP leader, Jack Layton, who made environmentalism a cornerstone of his campaigns in a way that Ontario New Democrats have not. The party’s former research director, Hugh Mackenzie, has also condemned its recent positions.
Ouch!
The article also calls into question Horwath’s delicate dance around the issue of wind turbines, in which she seeks to simultaneously avoid offending either her green allies or her sizeable rural constituency without tying herself in a knot and falling off the stage.
I’m sure some political operative is telling them that this is the best way to capitalize on the perceived momentum from their federal cousins. And maybe they’re right. But if the provincial NDP really wants to bask in the orange afterglow from Jack Layton’s passage, they might want to try adopting his principles and his strength of resolve instead of emulating his opponents’ political flexibility.
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: The Orange and the Green
When provincial NDP leader Andrea Horwath announced this summer that her party wanted to reduce the HST on gasoline, I must say I raised an eyebrow. After all, the NDP is supposed to be (among many other things) an environmentally friendly party, and conventional environmental wisdom states that high gas
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: The Orange and the Green
When provincial NDP leader Andrea Horwath announced this summer that her party wanted to reduce the HST on gasoline, I must say I raised an eyebrow. After all, the NDP is supposed to be (among many other things) an environmentally friendly party, and conventional environmental wisdom states that high gas
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Crimes in progress (another 2010 article brought forward)
News item:
British Columbia Liberals announce the new Clean Energy Act sets the foundation for a new future of electricity self-sufficiency.
Definition:
Self-sufficiency: The ability to satisfy one’s basic needs without outside help.
News item:
…
Continue readingThings Are Good: Brazil: Wind Power Now Cheaper Than Natural Gas
In Brazil a recent energy auction has shown that wind power is cheaper than natural gas in the country, and also a better investment opportunity. The competitiveness of sustainable energy sources continues to impress everyone (even with the subsidized resource-extraction industries), it’s only a matter of time until other sustainable energy options get this cheap.
They […]
Environmental Law Alert Blog: Meeting the tar sands face-to-face
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Recently, West Coast Staff Lawyer, Josh Paterson, was invited to particip…
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: Proud to be a clean, green Ontarian
http://blog.ontarioliberal.ca/2011/08/proud-to-be-a-clean-green-ontarian/
Great blog posted by the great Hillary Buchan-Terrell on her experiences as an Ontario Young Liberal in Copenhagen and how Ontario Liberal plans and ideas are creating green job…
Continue readingThings Are Good: Nissan Cars May Power Your Home
Nissan has built a car that can charge on the road then use the excess charge it holds to power a home. This car can then be used to power a home in the case of a blackout or an emergency.
The system works by linking the car via a quick charging port to the […]
The Liberal Scarf: Dirty NDP
On the same day that we learn of massive cuts to Environment Canada coming from the federal Conservatives, it’s important to remember that the ONDP is going off track on the environment in the same way.Check out http://www.dirtyndp.ca/ for more info, a…
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: What does Jack Layton’s former chief of staff think about ONDP environment policy?
He think it is ”anti-environmental nonsense”, “a serious disappointment”, and “entirely the wrong direction” Meanwhile, what do Rick Smith & Environmental Defence (of which he serves as executive director) say about Ontario’s Green Energy Act?They…
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: Say No to Andrea Horwath’s dirty schemes
The Ontario Liberals are the only party that will stand up for creating new green jobs and a cleaner environment.
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