Bracing For Disappointment As Durban Climate Talks Begin
The annual circus round of global climate talks starts on Monday in South Africa. I wish I was feeling more optimistic about the possibility of elected politicians to come to…
energy
With Keystone shelved, Northern Gateway must not go ahead
Monday, November 14, 2011 Throughout the debate about whether the Keystone XL Pipeline should be b...
Koch Brothers Behind Push To Dismantle EPA
Koch Fat Cat.jpg During last week’s Americans For Prosperity (AFP) event, a common theme kept creeping into the speakers’ presentations: Dismantle the EPA. And as the major funders of...
Prosperity Redux: a disappointing decision for the environment, First Nations and the EA process
Monday, November 7, 2011 Today, November 7, 2011, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency) announced that Taseko Mine Ltd.’s gold and cop...
USA Can be 100% Powered by Geothermal Energy
Here at Things Are Good we like geothermal energy and countries that use it. The USA could be on the list in the future! Researchers from SMU that have received…
IBM Launches 3rd Annual Smarter Cities Challenge
smarter cities.jpg At a time when corporations’ misdeeds are under a bright spotlight (and rightfully so,) we needn’t overlook the few companies that are working to bring innovation a...
Charge Your Phone with the Sun
We’ve seen DIY iPod solar chargers before and now an Ottawa-based company has produced a consumer one. The PowerTrip is a small battery with a USB jack and a solar…
Home energy retrofit (part 2)
This summer I put our household through an energy efficiency retrofit. I was working on a research paper on energy efficiency, and then both the BC and federal governments announced…
Billion Dollar Bill
A short animated feature from the folks behind the Renegade Economist.
Local governments on the south coast make a move on oil tankers
Thursday, October 13, 2011 At the end of September, West Coast lawyers hit the Union of B.C. ...
The Influence of Green Parties
Green parties so often exist on the fringes of the political spectrum, often without direct political power, and so it is important to periodically remind ourselves of why they are…
Robert Bryce – The Media’s Industry-Funded Go-To Guy
Robert-Bryce-250x314.jpg Robert Bryce, a fellow at the dirty industry-funded Manhattan Institute, is under increasing scrutiny as media outlets continue to use him as an “expert” on e...
Are smart meters worth the cost?
A notice in my mailbox last week told me that smart meters are going to be installed in my neighbourhood. I’ll admit that the geek in me would like to…
Busy London Rail Station to be Solar Powered
Blackfriars station has been under some major construction in the past few years and it’s about to reopen to operations next year. While that’s happening construction has begun on installing…
Candle Power!
Who knows where our power is coming from in the future? Canada’s candlelight providers: ready to meet the surge in demand that comes from people wanting to turn the lights…
Oil Lobbyists Targeting “Super Committee”
oil_subsidies.jpg As the so-called “Super Committee” works to figure out how to trim $1.2 trillion from the U.S. government’s federal deficit, the dirty energy industry has thei...
Fighting energy poverty and the transition to zero-emission housing
Today CCPA released a new Climate Justice Project report, Fighting Energy Poverty in the Transition to Zero-Emission Housing: A Framework for BC, by yours truly, Eugene Kung (a lawyer with…
Canada Can be Powered only by Geothermal Energy
Geothermal power is yet another proven sustainable source of energy, indeed Iceland’s geothermal production accounts for 99% of their energy production. Researchers in Canada have concluded that there is enough…
The Ontario NDP Platform
Pollsters tell us that Ontario’s New Democrats may double their seat total in next month’s provincial election. It’s also entirely conceivable that they could be part of a coalition government…
Rebranding the Tar Sands
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…