Click the audio player to hear my interview with John Bennett, Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada, about the federal government’s proposed changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act. Bennett explains why so many people and organizations, including the musicians Sarah Harmer, Gord Downie and Feist as well as Ottawa Riverkeeper Meredith Brown and Mountain Equipment Co-op, […]
Tag: water
Things Are Good: A Solar Powered Combustion Engine May Be in Your Future
This may sound counter-intutitive, but researches have begun a project to build an internal combustion engine (a common car engine) that runs off of solar power. Instead of using gas to ignite everything they want to heat water, add a dash of oil, to create a replacement to the overused pollution producing machine that is […]
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Banning Tankers On BC Coast Is Fundamentally Wrong
The good thing with fundamentalism is, it’s non-partisan. Opposition to all oil tankers off the coast of British Columbia has shown that it’s not just conservatives that can give up on moderation and pragmatism, progressives can too. In 2008 the Conservative government passed legislation imposing mandatory minimum sentences for certain
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Cowichan Valley Water and The CVRD
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Here is a guest post from Cowichan Conversations contributor-Larry Woodruff This subject has become one of hypocrisy at its finest. Recently our benevolent members of the CVRD Board have turned the problem they have created to the public, supposedly to get quote “Our Ideas” on what to
Continue readingArt Threat: How Many Gallons per Hour? – Water Portraits brings water usage closer to home
In the excitement at finally convincing his father to be the first subject of his water portraits, Peter Holmes poured cold water over his father’s head. A surprise to both of them. Since the initial portrait, 16 have been taken over a two year period in North America, Europe, Morocco,
Continue readingThings Are Good: Robots That Ride Waves for Science and Understanding
New surfboard sized robots are riding the waves and doing science! They’re autonomous robots called Wave Gliders and they are being used to monitor shipping and more importantly they are tracking information on the oceans that have traditionally been too costly to gather. Researchers are warming up to the technology
Continue readingWater—a matter of security
When we think about security in the global sense we tend to focus on terrorism although, according to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, Iran is now the most significant threat to security in the world. Of course it isn’t, and terrorism is actually a trivial threat on the world stage.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Great Lakes get More Protection
In a demonstration of the usefulness of having an embassy in another country, Canada and the USA have renewed a pact to protect the Great Lakes. This is a good thing as the Great Lakes need more protection and better environmental care from both sides of the border. The pact
Continue readingThings Are Good: Boston Cleans Up the Harbour
Boston has had problems with sewage and keeping water clean, and all of that is set to change thanks to a new initiative. They are are going to increase fines on people illegally dumping sewage and use that money to clean up the waterways surrounding the city. “Boston is entering
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Better Shower
People like to stay healthy and clean, well most people anyway, and the act of cleaning oneself can end up consuming a lot of resources. Showering and bathing can use up a lot of deliciously potable water and be quite wasteful in the process. There is tons of room for
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Drought, Fracking, Coal and Nukes Wreak Havoc on Fresh Water Supplies
nukeplant.jpg This is a guest post by EcoWatch, republished with permission. For the last few months EcoWatch has been covering what's become the worst drought in the U.S. in more than half a century. More than 3,200 daily high temperature records were set or tied in June, and July is in
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Water, Water, Where Exactly?
This image is an absolute eye-opener. We think of Earth as the Blue Planet, literally covered in water – fresh, saltwater or frozen. So, just how much water do we really have to go around? This much: This picture shows the size of a sphere that would contain all of
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: As Close As We’ll Get
SaskAdapt.ca feels like waving the white flag, but it is an important website, and a project at the UofR. It’s also the closest we’ll get to an admission from the Sask Party government that climate change is real, and is a grave threat to our people (and every living thing
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Does Red Leaf’s "EcoShale" Technology Greenwash Oil Shale Extraction?
Red Leaf EcoShale.png At the Clinton Global Initiative in 2008, former Vice President Al Gore called the possibility of fossil fuel corporations extracting oil shale "utter insanity." Insanity, though, doesn't serve as a hinderance for deeply entrenched and powerful fossil fuel interests. Oil shale, also known as kerogen, should not be confused with
Continue readingTrashy's World: Where can I get a drink around here?
This is a pic of an old water fountain in my old home town. One side for people and the other for horses!
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that to occupy your Canada Day. – Tim Harford discusses why randomized trials as part of a genuine evidence-gathering process are a must in developing public policy. – Mike de Souza reports that the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans was already short on resources to do its
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: The sales pitch
Following up on yesterday’s Photoshop post, let’s salute one of the most eminently parody-worthy moments of the Cons’ spring: namely, Joe Oliver’s pitch to get Canadians drinking water from oil sands tailings ponds. Joe Oliver pitches Conservative Sludge
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 readingDeSmogBlog: The Sky Is Pink: New Josh Fox Video On Fracking Controversies in New York (and Much More)
Gasland director Josh Fox is back with a must-watch new short video taking a look at the controversy in New York where Governor Andrew Cuomo is considering plans to lift the state's moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for unconventional gas. But it's much more than just a local story. Fox
Continue readingearthgauge: June 8 is World Oceans Day
The following is a guest post from WorldOceansDay.org. This is an important event and deserves our attention so I am reposting it on Earthgauge. World Oceans Day, the UN-designated day for the global community to celebrate and take action for our shared ocean. This year, take a moment to make
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