It has become a habit to check the gas price every time I leave the neighbourhood. I would not have imagined that I would be seeing prices over $2.00 per litre a few months ago. Since I don’t yet own an electric vehicle, I choose ecodriving techniques to save money and realize that my choice […]

In Canada, progress on social and ecological justice often faces roadblocks. When women got the right to vote here in 1918, organizations sprang up to argue voting was incompatible with women’s “traditional roles.” When universal health care was introduced in the 1960s, doctors in Saskatchewan went on strike, accusing the government of exercising too much […]

When large tracts of forest are clear-cut, we lose more than the trees and their shelter and all the other plant and animal species they nurture and protect; we also lose water. Our demands for water are increasing. Growing populations, water-hungry industries (including fracking and nuclear power production) and the growth of data centres all […]

Canada is among the world’s most resource-rich countries. Forty per cent of its land is covered in forests. It holds 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater reserves. It’s the fourth-largest crude oil exporter. It produces more than 60 minerals and metals and ranks in the top five for 14 of them — critical to […]

B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) is seeking feedback on a newly proposed expedited environmental assessment process designed to reduce assessment timelines and support more efficient decision-making for major projects deemed to be in the public interest. The expedited process has been created for projects that are designated under the Infrastructure Projects Act, so they can […]

A new international order is emerging, according to representatives at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and at the Munich Security Conference — one of fragmented states acting in their own self-interest, sovereign fortresses sliding toward economic nationalism. A Munich conference statement places much of the blame on Canada’s neighbour: “The international order […]

PFAC report highlights forestry problems, but political will remains the barrier to real reform The Provincial Forest Advisory Committee’s (PFAC) newly released report on forest management acknowledges long-standing problems in B.C.’s forestry system, but ultimately fails to address the core reasons meaningful reform has stalled for decades, says Wildsight. While the report includes some positive recommendations — […]

German scientists are warning that global warming is accelerating, that the planet could heat by as much as 3 C over pre-industrial levels by 2050 — just 24 years from now — and that we could exceed 5 C of warming by the century’s end. This should be top headline news. It should alarm us […]

Beneath the communities, farms, and ecosystems of the Columbia Basin lies a hidden lifeline: groundwater. A new scientific assessment commissioned by Living Lakes Canada finds that the majority of the region’s high-risk aquifers are unmonitored. This data gap limits the information available for long-term water security planning.   The assessment, summarized in Living Lakes’s latest Watershed […]

We must stop using fossil fuels now, for the sake of the climate, but also to bring about greater global peace and stability. Renewable energy technologies are improving rapidly while installations continue to ramp up. Energy from wind, solar and storage is now the most cost-effective and prices continue to drop. It’s more efficient and […]