Bearing Witness: From Vesuvius to Climate Change
Pliny the Elder and his nephew Pliny the Younger both bared witness to the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24th, 79 CE. Their writings on the subject are…
Common Sense Journalism
Rafe on Liberals’ Delusional LNG Scheme
The BC Liberal Government’s speech from the throne on February 12 – which hinged on promises of a $100 Billion windfall from BC’s heretofore nonexistent Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) industry…
Why the NDP Can and Should Say No to Site C Dam
The BC NDP may finally coming to their senses on Site C Dam. On the heels of the release of new documents from BC Hydro in recent weeks, the Official…
MP John Weston, Rafe Mair Debate Pipeline Risks, Environmental ‘Process’
MP John Weston’s office responds to Rafe Mair’s recent column on the Harper Government’s sham environmental “process”. “Regrettably, has adopted an extremist position, rejecting a Northern Pipeline in principle, no…
Of Frogs and Fishes: Farms Spawn Lethal Diseases
Ray Grigg discusses the parallels between a deadly fungus wiping our the world’s frogs and lethal salmon viruses – both incubated in industrial farming operations. “Somewhere in a frog farm,…
Vaughn Palmer’s Wrongheaded Defense of Private Power Projects
In a recent column, the Vancouver Sun’s Vaughn Palmer defends gross overpayments to IPPs on the grounds that the contracts were granted at a time when electricity prices were much…
Geology 101: Why Nuclear Problem Can’t be Buried
Ignoring Geology 101, governments (including Canada’s) have been pushing hard for many years to establish “Deep Ground Repositories” (GDRs) as a “final solution” to the growing problem of nuclear waste.…
Rafe’s Welcome Letter to New Sun & Province Publisher
Rafe welcomes Postmedia’s new publisher for The Sun and Province, Gordon Fisher. For the past decade, Postmedia’s coverage of important environmental and economic matters for BC – private power projects,…
Idling Harper: Why First Nations Movement Poses Genuine Threat to PM
Ray Grigg discusses revealing insights from a former senior Harper advisor into the way the PM thinks – and how the Idle No More movement, which sprang up in reaction…
Oil, China and Why David Emerson Wants Alberta to Start Paying Taxes
In a recent “State of the Province” televised address, Alberta Premier Alison Redford outlined a “once in a generation” re-engineering of the province’s fiscal framework. Suddenly, her constituents’ long-cherished “Alberta…
Environmental ‘Process’ a Myth in Stephen Harper’s Canada
It’s past time that we began to examine the word “process” as it relates to the environment. It has become, you see, a federal buzz word for sacrificing the environment…
Are ‘Frankenfish’ Swimming Your Way? FDA Debates GM Salmon
The seemingly straightforward question, “What are we having for dinner?” may get trickier to answer, due to a revolution in science. Many people call it “frankenfood” when the answer to…
The Salmon Recipes
The Salmon Recipes: Stories of Our Endangered North Coast Cuisine is not only visually exciting but it exudes an intense and compelling power that is conveyed in an instant, before…
Environment Still an Afterthought to BC Media in Election Run-up
There is, evidently, a strong aversion in the mainstream media to talk about the environment and I can only guess why. Was the Kalamazoo spill by Enbridge too complicated to…
10 Ways to See Earth’s Temperature Rising
Ray Grigg provides some key facts and figures which chart the planet’s growing fever in recent years. “The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in October, 2012, that the…
Fractured Land Crowd Funding Campaign Hits Target!
Following a last-minute outpouring of support from around the world, the crowd funding drive for Fractured Land achieved and surpassed its target late yesterday. The campaign surged past its $50,000…
Rumours of Plan to Oust Embattled Atleo as AFN Chief Denied…For Now
Read this story from the Globe and Mail on internal discussions within the Assembly of First Nations to push out National Chief Shawn Atleo – rumours which are being denied…
New Fractured Land Trailer, Crowd Funding Campaign Enters Final Stretch
For the past two years I’ve been privileged to co-direct a forthcoming documentary film, Fractured Land, which examines our key energy challenges through the eyes of a compelling, young First…
Rafe Mair: Why BC’s First Nations Should Refuse Harper Meetings…For Now
While I have no insight into all the considerations of BC First Nations, I do pretend to know something about politics. Let me tell you what I would feel if…
The Business of a Cortes Forest
Ray Grigg on the logging of Cortes Island’s old growth forests. “These are the business forces allied against Cortes and the people of Wildstands Alliance who are trying to mitigate…