Despite its recent investment in wind energy, Ontario will periodically ask wind operators to turn off their turbines, leaving gas and nuclear operating, This Magazine has learned. Conservation efforts and more energy production have led to an occasional surplus of electricity in the province, requiring Ontario to power down some generators at certain times of […] More »

With any legitimate climate work being continually ignored by government, Canadians are growing weary. In tandem with our American friends, we’ve for years been witnessing the leadership void at the federal level being filled by some provincial, state and municipal governments, universities and businesses. With Earth Hour showing that widespread participation in environmental initiatives is […] More »

The climate issue is struggling to gain political traction in this country as of late. As much as media likes a hot story, they also appreciate access to good information, to local quotes and home-grown science. The Conservative government is continuing a war on science, not just because of their distrust of the method, but […] More »

All the papers last week were abuzz about an op-ed written by now-backbench Conservative MP Maxime Bernier. Writing how climate change is an unsure thing indeed, he said his party was on the right track by playing it cool in Copenhagen. He was roundly criticized by Canadian media and bloggers. Globe contributor Robert Silver called […] More »

We’re not getting the job done with the Harper government, so where do we go next? Rebecca’s option of industry leadership in last week’s column may have raised some eyebrows for those of us working on policy like pricing carbon or regulation to get industries to do the right thing. And also for those who […] More »

We’ve marched, oh how we have marched. The “get back to work” signs now find their place in the closet where dust has begun to flirt with the climate-themed “350” signs of October and December. The proroguing of Parliament has left the country with no ability to act on any sort of climate legislation (though […] More »

Things are not going well in Copenhagen. I find nothing positive to report from any of my contacts at the conference. It seems that delegates are fighting on the behalf of unnamed interests—those who want to maintain their greed and the status quo. There is a great rift between the wishes of the people of […] More »

Nearing mid-December, I arise to Toronto’s first snowfall—though to my Christmasy disappointment, an unimpressive slop of wet snow and rain greeted the city’s drivers and transit riders with delays and headaches. The symptoms are similar for citizens rallying in Copenhagen this week, though for different reasons. An annual Christmas letter from relatives proved that November […] More »

I came out of Tuesday night’s Munk Debate on Climate Change feeling kind of funny. Given that NASA scientists and others tell us we have about seven years to cap global greenhouse gas emissions before “runaway climate change”—and the next couple weeks may establish whether that happens or not—it strikes me that a debate about […] More »

Canada has been a hotspot for international climate activists this week. We’ve got Al Gore in Toronto, warning among other things that using tar sands oil takes away any advantages of greening our vehicle fleet. Then there’s Britain’s George Monbiot speaking this Saturday at the University of Toronto (2-4PM) on the “Countdown to Copenhagen: Who […] More »

Over 1,000 people attended an indoor rally in Victoria this week with high profile speakers from the environmental community discussing the Canadian Government’s approach at Copenhagen. The international day of action on Copenhagen brought perhaps its best attended Canadian event to Vancouver. Downtown Toronto now has an annual rally organized in time for the international […] More »