First Nations and farmers join forces at “Paddle for the Peace” to oppose Site C (Damien Gillis) B.C. First Nations chiefs recently travelled to Ottawa to urge the federal government to pull the plug on the costliest infrastructure project in the country. At an estimated $7.9 billion and growing, the
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The Common Sense Canadian: First Nations to Ottawa: Scrap Site C Dam or LNG is a no-go
BC Chiefs Roland Wilson, Liz Logan and Stewart Phillip taking their anti-Site C message to Ottawa (Twitter) Read this Sept. 24 Globe and Mail story by Dene Moore on the trip taken by several BC First Nations chiefs to Ottawa, calling on the federal Cabinet to reject the proposed Site C
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Large hydro dams aren’t “green” – they actually drive climate change
BC’s WAC Bennett Dam (Photo: Damien Gillis) Read this August 14 EcoWatch column by Gary Wockner, which explodes the myth of “green” hydro dams – food for thought as Canada considers building Site C Dam atop some of the country’s best farmland. People believe hydroelectric dams provide clean energy. It’s not true. I
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: BC Hydro vastly underestimates loss of farmland to Site C Dam
At a recent press conference in Vancouver, renowned agrologist Wendy Holm and lifelong Peace Valley farmer Renee Ardill spoke to the vast, quality farmland that the proposed Site C Dam would flood or disrupt. “These soils are completely unique,” explained Holm, a past president of the BC Institute of Agrologists.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Audio: From Site C’s economic folly to update on Mount Polley
The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis and CFAX 1070′s Ian Jessop discuss the economic disaster that the proposed Site C Dam represents from British Columbians. At a projected cost of over $100 per megawatt hour – and likely more than $8 billion for construction – the project stands to lose BC taxpayers
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Site C Dam: Food for thought
Check out this short video from The Peace Valley Environment association and The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis on the extraordinary agricultural land that would be flooded by the proposed Site C Dam. The Peace River Valley, in northeast BC, provides much of the province’s energy needs from two large dams and
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Hudson’s Hope issues water quality advisory as heavy metals detected
Hudson’s Hope, BC (OurBC.com) A water quality advisory has been issued by the District of Hudson’s Hope, in northeast BC. Residents are being warned not to drink or use water from Lynx and Brenot Creeks. The district advises against using it for “drinking water, livestock watering, and irrigation due to the presence of
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: “Fundamentally uneconomic” Site C Dam would lose $350 million a year for taxpayers: Industrial energy expert
The retired head of the Association of Major Power Users of BC, Dan Potts, estimates the proposed Site C Dam would lose $350 million for taxpayers and BC Hydro ratepayers. The 30-year pulp mill manager told media in Vancouver yesterday that the project, estimated to cost $8 Billion or more, is
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Big Oil Madness: Gastem’s $1.5 million lawsuit against tiny Quebec village of Ristigouche
Gastem, a Quebec oil and gas exploration company is suing the tiny Quebec village of Ristigouche-Sud-Est to the tune of $1.5-million. The post Big Oil Madness: Gastem’s $1.5 million lawsuit against tiny Quebec village of Ristigouche appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Site C: Damning the Peace…while US decommissions hydro projects
Damien Gillis and Kootenay Co-op Radio’s Suzy Hamilton discuss Canada’s plan to build a massive new hydroelectric project on the Peace River, while America is busy decommissioning dams. The Peace is home to some of Canada’s best farmland, 30,000 acres of which would be impacted by the dam – enough
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Dams can cause heart attacks in sprinting salmon: UBC-BC Hydro study
Read this Aug. 21 Vancouver Sun story by Tiffany Crawford on the effect of swimming through fast-moving waters, downstream from dams, on sockeye salmon – according to a new study by UBC and funded by BC Hydro. University of B.C. researchers say sockeye salmon that sprint to spawning grounds through fast-moving
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: SFU, regional district expand Peace Valley water study re: oil and gas
Read this Aug. 20 story by Elaine Anselmi in the Alaska Highway News on SFU’s baseline studies Rural residents in the Peace River area are being asked to put their water to the test and allow researchers from Simon Fraser University (SFU) to dip into their wells and springs. “It
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Where Oil Meets Water: Energy East an unacceptable risk to waterways
The Council of Canadians says TransCanada’s proposed Energy East tar sands pipeline is “a ticking bomb that threatens Canada’s precious waterways.” The post Where Oil Meets Water: Energy East an unacceptable risk to waterways appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Monica Potts responds to the big lie that increasing inequality and perpetual poverty are necessary – or indeed remotely beneficial – as elements of economic growth: Hanauer and Piketty inspire these broadsides because they are challenging, in a far more aggressive way than
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Recent B.C. Toxic Waste Spill Alarming, But Unfortunately Not Surprising
This week’s massive waste spill in B.C. proves that mining companies are gambling with our drinking water, our health and the environment, says the Council of Canadians. The post Recent B.C. Toxic Waste Spill Alarming, But Unfortunately Not Surprising appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the need to take downside risks into account in discussing industrial development – especially when our water, land and lives are at stake. For further reading…– The CP and Jenni Sheppard report on the many warning signs which should have identified the causes of the Mount Polley spill
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Detroit turns taps back on after outrage over private water control
Read this July 29 story from the Associated Press, via globalnews.ca, on the latest twist in the battle ove water in Detroit. DETROIT – Control of Detroit’s massive municipal water department, which has been widely criticized by the United Nations and others for widespread service shutoffs to thousands of customers,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Peace Valley farmland, ecosystems worth $8 Billion a year: study
The Peace River Valley is one of Canada’s most fertile regions (Damien Gillis) Keeping the Peace Valley’s farmland and ecosystems intact would be worth $7.9 billion to $8.6 billion a year, says a new study from the David Suzuki Foundation. The region, in northeast BC, is under threat from the proposed Site
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Trish Garner highlights the futility of trying to answer poverty, equality and other social issues with the empty promise of low-paying “jobs! jobs! jobs!”: The central “solution” in the government’s action plan is jobs. The little money dedicated to this initiative is all
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Industrial energy expert: BC govt policy, IPPs to blame for high power bills
Construction of a private power project on the Ashlu River (Photo: Range Life) Read this July 24 op-ed in The Vancouver Sun by the former head of the Association of Major Power Users of BC, Dan Potts – who places the blame for skyrocketing power bills squarely on the BC Liberal Government’s
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