Alberta tar sands a “war on the earth”: Brigette DePape
For Canadian activist Brigette DePape, participating in last weekend’s final tar sands Healing Walk in Fort McMurray, Alberta, was akin to “witnessing a war on the earth, and being part…
environment
Province urged to hold off on Rouge land transfer
A coalition of worried environmental groups is calling on Premier Kathleen Wynne to refrain from transferring provincially owned land in Scarborough to Ottawa over fears that ecological protections in Bill…
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Jessica McDiarmid reports on the hazardous materials being shipped by rail across North America – and it’s particularly sad that Canadians can…
Court Upholds Small Towns’ Right to Ban Fracking
The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that local communities have the right to ban the environmentally-harmful practice of fracking by oil and gas companies. The post Court Upholds…
Just Not Ready to Laugh at Climate Change
We had a great end-of-year send off by a few teachers who took the time and effort to make the final day entertaining. Years ago, we had a team that…
A Gift from Chief Justice McLachlin: The Tsilhqot’in Decision on Aboriginal Rights*
On June 26, 2014, in a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin gave the First Nations (and the rest of Canada) a treasure map.…
This Cowichan News Leader Story Is Right On The Money!
This story is a keeper! What a contrast to recent to the confused Cowichan Citizen offerings about the Balme’s efforts to process gravel through a ‘Temporary Use Permit.’ It is…
Report: World’s Oceans on Brink of Collapse
The world’s oceans face irreparable damage from climate change and overfishing, with a five-year window for intervention, says environmental group Global Oceans Commission. The post Report: World’s Oceans on Brink…
CVRD Acting CAO Raimondo’s Oral Report About Legal Opinion On Balme Gravel Application
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Exclusive audio report that the CVRD did not want you to hear. Cowichan media coverage of local government affairs is scanty, when covered at all. Both the…
It’s the Climate, Stupid!
Not two weeks since the federal government’s long-anticipated approval of the Northern Gateway pipeline, the magnitude of the obstacles faced by the project are becoming clearer by the day. There…
How the Tsilhqot’in Land Title Ruling Can Help Kill Enbridge
Watch Pam Palmater’s response to the SCC ruling. Click above. Stephen Harper had about a week to enjoy the glory of his remarkably understated whispery notification that the Enbridge climate…
Cowichan Bay Residents Win Battle Over Gravel Processing-Director Gerry Giles 100 Percent Wrong!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Acting CAO Frank Raimondo told the Board of Directors yesterday afternoon that he had received a requested legal opinion that made it clear that they (Directors Giles,…
New column day
Here, on how personal and institutional stress make it more difficult for people to defend their interests – and on the need to respond to political strategies increasingly aimed at…
in which i defend the suburbs against misconceptions (some thoughts on reading jane jacobs)
I’m reading Dark Age Ahead, Jane Jacobs’ 2004 strong caution to North American society. I’ll blog about the book in general at a later date, but wanted to share some…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Gar Alperovitz suggests in the wake of Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century that it’s long past time to reconsider who controls…
How the Federal NDP Plans to Alienate Eco-Voters
Mulcair wants to out-Liberal the Liberals led by the charismatic son of a charismatic Liberal prime minister. He will fail: “I think what Canadians want are people who are realists,…
Edmonton Has a Massive Waste to Biofuel Facility
The province of Alberta is usually only mentioned on this site when people are campaigning against the tar sands and the destruction of the environment. Today though, the capital of…
Time for an Ocean Cleanup
We recent looked at Illinois banning microbeads, which will cut back on plastic pollution in large bodies of water. But what about the plastics that are already in the oceans?…
The Harper Government’s Eight Years of Standing Up For Canada
I came across the Conservative Party of Canada’s 2006 election platform: Standing Up For Canada. Stephen Harper is the first and only leader of this Party that was formed in…
Rafe Mair: Why I’m for Massive Civil Disobedience
We are indeed in for the struggle of our lives.The Enbridge pipeline proposal is just one arm of the current energy frenzy that has gripped Alberta and British Columbia, but…