Why the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act is worth celebrating
Wednesday, May 17, 2017 On May 12, 2017, the federal government introduced Bill C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, for first reading in Parliament. You could say that the Act…
energy
United we beat Enbridge: Celebrating the defeat of Northern Gateway with the people of Haida Gwaii
Monday, April 10, 2017 West Coast Environmental Law was happy to accept an invitation to attend a celebration in Gaaw (Old Massett) on March 25, co-hosted by Haida Gwaii CoAST…
Ontario’s Electricity Sector II: Political Economy Update
This is a third guest post by Edgardo Sepulveda, who is a Toronto-based expert in telecommunications and regulatory economics. Twitter: @E_R_Sepulveda By Edgardo Sepulveda In my previous post of January…
Leadership 2017 Links
The latest on the NDP’s leadership campaign. – Karl Nerenberg sees the youth debate in Montreal as having shown more differences in style than substance, while Christo Aivalis identifies some…
Wresting authority from the regulators: The proper role of the National Energy Board in environmental assessments
Friday, March 31, 2017 It is not every day that we have an opportunity to effect transformative legal change. It is natural, then, that when last summer a number of…
Renewables Had a Record Year in 2016
Renewable energy production is growing more every year and 2016 was no exception to that growth. In 2016 capacity of renewables increased by 8.7% and for the first time solar…
What will it take to get Canada’s Arctic off diesel?
The planned Innavik Hydro Electric Project will provide clean energy and propel the indigenous Inukjuak community in Northern Quebec off its dependency on dirty diesel energy. But the project faces…
A Kinder Morgan snapshot
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 It’s been a while since we’ve updated you about Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker expansion project (KMX). A lot has happened in the past…
More Americans Working in Solar Than in Coal
The coal industry is failing and sustainable alternatives are on the rise. No matter what politicians do to try and “save” coal it’s clear that the dirty source of electricity…
Will the Pacific north coast oil tanker ban hold water? A review of Canada’s proposed new legislation
Tuesday, January 31, 2017 On November 29, 2016, the federal government announced that it will introduce legislation in spring 2017 to entrench an oil tanker ban on the north coast…
Will the Pacific north coast oil tanker ban hold water? A review of Canada’s proposed new legislation
Tuesday, January 31, 2017 On November 29, 2016, the federal government announced that it will introduce legislation in spring 2017 to entrench an oil tanker ban on the north coast…
Extracted Carbon: Re-examining Canada’s contribution to climate change through fossil fuel exports
We just published a new report, Extracted Carbon: Re-examining Canada’s contribution to climate change through fossil fuel exports, by yours truly. It is part of the Corporate Mapping Project, a…
Reusing Renewable Power Pieces
Despite being more efficient and better than other forms of generating electricity renewable power generation does cause waste. The waste isn’t in the form of smog or tailing ponds or…
Use of Coal Power to Shrink Regardless of Politics
Coal producers can’t keep up. Coal used to be the cheapest form of energy, but that was before cheap renewable technology and more efficient gas plants came along. What’s more…
2017: A Look Ahead to Protect Nature, Climate and Communities
Thursday, January 5, 2017 Check out our short video to meet some of our talented lawyers and see what we're most excited about for 2017! From providing legal aid for…
Obama and Canada Bans New Coastal Oil and Gas Drilling
Obama is leaving office and he’s clearly worried that the next president will ignore climate change and its effects on humanity. In order to stymie any damage that president Trump…
Now is the Time to Sell Stocks in Fossil Fuels
Most everyone knows that fossil fuel energy is on its way out and renewable energy usage is accelerating. This means that air quality will improve and energy will become cheaper,…
Are politicians really standing up for our climate with the Pan-Canadian Framework?
Friday, December 16, 2016 The new Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change – and the games played by BC’s Premier Christy Clark during the process leading up to…
Field notes: A week of pipeline action and cross-Canada solidarity
Tuesday, December 6, 2016 Staff Counsel Eugene Kung recounts an action-packed week preparing for – and responding to – the federal government's approval of the Kinder Morgan tar sands pipeline…