British Columbia’s child poverty rate rose to 12 per cent in 2009 in the wake of the international economic downturn, Statistics Canada reported recently — it was the highest child poverty rate of any province for the eighth year in a row. The BC rate also remained higher than the national child poverty rate of […]

By Suzanne Goldenberg, guardian.co.uk It looks like Barack Obama may be reneging on his promise to put solar panels on the roof of the White House by the end of this spring. On the other hand, the administration is pushing ahead with its plan to expand the deployment of large-scale solar power plants. The interior […]

Yes, of course, it is a big stretch to suggest that Preston Manning, for the former head of the Reform Party had anything to do with the rioting in Vancouver after the hockey game. But in trying to determine what is at the root of this mindless violent – and the almost equally mindless spectator […]

By Editor, Worldwatch Institute More than 1.9 billion people worldwide were overweight in 2010, a 25 per cent increase since 2002, a new Worldwatch analysis shows. A survey of statistics in 177 countries shows 38 percent of adults — those 15 years or older — are now overweight. The trend is strongly correlated to rising […]

Dear Editor: It is with interest that I read the comments of Minister Lynne Yelich in regard to my statement on the budget.  Rather than reiterate what I had originally said, I would like to make a few other comments.  It is certainly reassuring that Western Diversification will continue to provide effective programs.  However,...

By John Vidal, guardian.co.uk Read the documents here Lighter-coloured crops, aerosols in the stratosphere and iron filings in the ocean are among the measures being considered by leading scientists for “geo-engineering” the Earth’s climate, leaked documents from the UN climate science body show. In a move that suggests the UN and rich countries are despairing […]

British Columbia’s cleantech industry is one of the province’s fastest growing industries and has the potential to be a significant economic generator by creating thousands of new high paying jobs, attracting significant new investment and generating billions of dollars in exports. These are among the findings of the Cleantech Report Card for British Columbia, conducted […]

Water Smart Ambassadors are now in 12 communities across the Basin, educating residents about water conservation and offering free residential landscape and irrigation system audits. The Columbia Basin Water Smart Initiative (Water Smart), developed by Columbia Basin Trust (CBT), helps local governments assess their water conservation needs and develops plans to reduce community water consumption. […]

By Tracy McVeigh, guardian.co.uk Global warming has long been blamed for the huge rise in the world’s jellyfish population. But new research suggests that they, in turn, may be worsening the problem by producing more carbon than the oceans can cope with. Research led by Rob Condon of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in […]

Tweets and “likes” are becoming more beneficial to business, a new Robert Half Technology survey suggests. More than 44 per cent of chief information officers (CIOs) surveyed said they permit employees to use social media sites like Twitter and Facebook on the job as long as it’s for business purposes. This is up from 22 […]