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Body Politic #1: Health care of the rich and famous

lyndsie bourgon

[Editor’s note: today we introduce “Body Politic,” a new blog column about medicine and public health, written by Lyndsie Bourgon. Visit her website or follow her on Twitter. Body Politic will appear every other Thursday.] As the Calgary Flames hit the ice this weekend they appeared to show no great superpower, which is what I […] More »

Coming up in the November-December 2009 issue of This Magazine

Graham F. Scott

The November-December 2009 issue of This Magazine is now snaking its way through the postal system, and subscribers should find it in their mailboxes any day now. We expect it to be available on newsstands next week, probably. (Remember, subscribers always get the magazine early, and you can too.) We’ll start posting articles from the […] More »

Whole internet gangs up on Calgary Sun's Ian Robinson; hilarity ensues

kim hart macneill

Local columnists didn’t have much to worry about before the internet. Maybe a few dirty looks while waiting for a morning coffee, or in the grocery store after,  but by the next day all would be forgotten. A new column would hit the ink and everyone would get over it. Not so for Ian Robinson. […] More »

New study finds further evidence of Athabasca tar sands leakage

Graham F. Scott

So you may remember the little scuffle we had with the Alberta government a few months ago over one of Emily Hunter‘s blog posts about the Alberta tar sands. A spokesperson for the provincial government disputed some of the assertions the post made at the time about leakage of toxins from tailings ponds, and the […] More »

Prairie Postcard Project #2: Edmonton, AB

Laura TretheweyWebsite

[Writer Laura Trethewey recently travelled across Canada by train, and sent us five postcards on the way, from B.C. to Northern Ontario. The “Prairie Postcard Project” chronicles that leg of her trip and the people she met along the way. Visit her blog for the whole story. Click the postcard images to enlarge.] Dearest This: […] More »

Postcard from London: On climate change, new message is “Blame Canada”

Zoe CormierWebsite

I was pretty sure I knew what the Canadian flag, held upside down, was supposed to represent. But I had to ask anyway. Last Monday afternoon, standing outside the Houses of Parliament in London in Parliament square, I held my cell phone aloft with a hundred other protesters, taking part in a “climate flash mob,” […] More »

Wednesday WTF: If you don't measure acid rain, it's not happening!

Graham F. Scott

The Alberta environment ministry announced this week that they’re going to cut back on acid-rain testing in the northern tar sands region, citing budget cuts. Up to now, the province has been sampling rain for its acidic content every week. They believe they can get the same top-notch quality results by testing less: “It’s a […] More »

EcoChamber #15: Meet the woman at Ground Zero of the tar-sands fight (UPDATED YET AGAIN)

emily hunter

[Editor’s note: Every month, EcoChamber profiles an environmental activist from Canada or abroad in a series called “Eco-Warriors.” These profiles are part of a collection of stories Emily is working on for a book called The Next Eco-Warriors.] [This post has been updated yet again, see below] Imagine being afraid of the air your daughter […] More »

EcoChamber #14: Science Fiction and Fact collide in Alberta's tar sands

emily hunter

[This is part two of a three-part series of posts Emily is writing on the tar sands. Last week’s post is here.] It’s scary sometimes how science fiction can parallel with reality. The Tar Sands dilemma has come to do just that. As we seek to find a solution to our intensive emissions, here in […] More »

EcoChamber #13: Stephen Harper's climate math doesn't add up

emily hunter

[This is the first in a three-part series on the Alberta tar sands. Also note: EcoChamber will be moving to Mondays starting today.] There is a sense of progress in the air. For the first time in over a decade, G8 countries and developing nations, including China and India, have agreed to reduce their emissions […] More »

EcoChamber #7: Canada's nuclear problem

emily hunter

It is my birthday this week. As I turn 25, there is one question I face: do I have a future? My life from here on out, and the lives of my generation, will be shaped by the choices we make now. The choices we make depend on one word: energy. We are at a […] More »