British Columbia

The Dirty Dozen: ‘Carbon bombs’ threaten to blow up Canada’s climate commitments

23/11/22

Author:

Nicholas Gottlieb, graphics by Elysse Deveaux

Link:

Ricochet Media

The Dirty Dozen: ‘Carbon bombs’ threaten to blow up Canada’s climate commitments

Website Editor: A great summary of Canada's fossil fuels situation and politics in this article.

Nov. 22, 2022

Canada wants to be the last country producing fossil fuels, even if it kills us

COP27 is over. The UN summit took one big step forward on climate justice with the creation of a loss and damage fund for the most impacted nations, while taking two enormous steps backwards by failing to call for a phaseout of all fossil fuels.

Read the full article.

Category:

'Alternative' energy and less energy

Carbon trading: A tool for reconciliation or colonization?

23/11/22

Author:

Matteo Cimellaro

Link:

National Observer

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger at a protest at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Deranger critiques how carbon markets may affect Indigenous nations. Photo by John Woodside / Canada's National Observer

Nov. 23, 2022

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger’s home community of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is in what she calls a “sacrifice zone.” The nation borders the oil production epicentre of Canada: the oilsands, which leak toxic chemicals and wreak havoc on local ecosystems.

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Category:

How much of Canada’s ongoing climate failure is caused by oil and gas industry pollution?

22/11/22

Author:

Barry Saxifrage

Link:

National Observer

Nov. 21, 2022

Canada's failure to reduce climate pollution has left us far behind most of our peer nations. The primary cause of this failure has been surging emissions from our oil and gas industry. Unfortunately, it’s not the only Canadian sector with stubbornly rising emissions.

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Category:

Eby Launches Housing Action Plan

22/11/22

Author:

Andrew MacLeod

Link:

The Tyee

Premier David Eby says the new legislation is just part of the government’s response to the housing crisis. Photo via BC government.

". . . BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau said she was concerned that the bills failed to mention non-market housing or protect against real estate investment trusts buying and redeveloping strata housing.. . . " indeed!

Nov. 22, 2022

Two bills aim to increase condo rentals and set housing growth targets for cities.

On Monday, the British Columbia government introduced two bills aimed at easing the province’s housing crisis.

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Category:

British Columbia

Social

Urban

‘Back to Normal’ Is Bringing a COVID Crisis for Children

22/11/22

Author:

Dr. Christopher Applewhaite, Kerri Coombs, Dr. Susan Kuo and Protect Our Province BC

Link:

The Tyee

We can protect children in schools from the potentially devastating effects of COVID. Photo via Shutterstock.

Nov. 21, 2022

The group Urgency of Normal published a National Post article that misinforms, denying grave risks from lax school protections.

Just weeks after schools reopened this fall, the National Post published an opinion piece titled “Let the old normal reign in schools without the threat of COVID restrictions.”

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Category:

British Columbia

Canada

Social

Delayed NDP Promise Boosts BC Extinctions

22/11/22

Author:

Ainslie Cruickshank

Link:

The Narwhal

When born, fisher are blind, deaf and only partially covered with fine hair. In B.C., they're categorized as "red," which is reserved for "any species or ecosystem that is at risk of being lost," according to the province. Photo: Shutterstock

Nov. 10, 2022

The B.C. NDP campaigned on protecting species at risk. Years later, the province still doesn’t have stand-alone species at risk legislation

‘Huge legal gaps’ are driving B.C. species to extinction, conservation groups say

More than five years ago, during an election campaign that saw the B.C. New Democrats form government, the party committed to enact a stand-alone law to protect species at risk of extinction.

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Category:

More dikes and bigger dams could be a multi-billion dollar mistake: here’s how B.C. could ‘build back better’

22/11/22

Author:

Erica Gies

Link:

The Narwhal

A catastrophic atmospheric river caused extensive flooding in B.C.’s Sumas Prairie in November 2021. As governments allocate billions of dollars for rebuilding, experts are proposing more funds be spent on nature-based solutions informed by Traditional Knowledge. Photo: Jonathan Hayward / The Canadian Press

Nov. 14, 2022

A year after catastrophic floods in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, some are concerned the recovery is too focused on trying to fight water with bigger engineering, instead of embracing a global movement to work with water and prioritize nature-based solutions

This story is part of Going with the Flow, a series that dives into how restoring nature can help with B.C.’s flood problems — and what’s stopping us from doing it.

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Category:

The Problem with Sending Police to Mental Health Calls

19/11/22

Author:

Jen St. Denis

Link:

The Tyee

Experts and advocates say expanding crisis lines, preventive measures and more social supports would be more effective than hiring more police for mental health calls. Photo via Shutterstock.

Nov. 18, 2022

Vancouver’s new council wants to spend $6 million on more police and mental health nurses. Experts say there’s a better way.

[Tyee Editor’s note: This story includes discussion of suicide prevention and mental health distress. It may be triggering to some readers.]

Read the full article.

Category:

British Columbia

Social

Urban

‘Uncontrolled Emissions Everywhere’ as Canada Tackles Methane

19/11/22

Author:

Primary Author: Bob Weber

Link:

The Energy Mix

Nov. 16, 2022

As the federal government moves to tighten regulations on methane emissions, new assessments suggest the amount of the potent greenhouse gas escaping into the atmosphere has been significantly underestimated.

Read the full article.

Category:

Many Holes in Ottawa's Draft Methane Regulations

19/11/22

Author:

Cloe Logan

Link:

National Observer

A natural gas flare at an oilfield. Photo by Jonathan Cutrer via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Nov. 16, 2022

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault proposed regulations Tuesday that would help Canada cut back on emissions of methane in the oil and gas industry, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Read the full article.

Category:

British Columbia

Canada wants to be the last country producing fossil fuels, even if it kills us

Two bills aim to increase condo rentals and set housing growth targets for cities.

The group Urgency of Normal published a National Post article that misinforms, denying grave risks from lax school protections.

The B.C. NDP campaigned on protecting species at risk. Years later, the province still doesn’t have stand-alone species at risk legislation

‘Huge legal gaps’ are driving B.C. species to extinction, conservation groups say

A year after catastrophic floods in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, some are concerned the recovery is too focused on trying to fight water with bigger engineering, instead of embracing a global movement to work with water and prioritize nature-based solutions

Vancouver’s new council wants to spend $6 million on more police and mental health nurses. Experts say there’s a better way.

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