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 »

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 »

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 »

Make way, Homer Simpson—there’s a new Donut King in town: Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Choosing donuts over climate change deserves the title of King. King not only of donuts (as one critic called Harper) but the King of climate deniers. Last week, our Prime Minister skipped a day at the UN Climate Summit in New […] More »

[Editor’s note: EcoChamber is back after a short break while Emily Hunter was on assignment in the Alberta Tar Sands to see the devastation first hand. Her observations will appear at This.org and in the print edition soon.] The show must not go on. That is what activists are saying about the Toronto International Film […] More »

In March 2008, when the invasion of Iraq by George W. Bush’s “coalition of the willing” marked its fifth anniversary, Canadian media outlets were in a self-congratulatory mood: “Canada isn’t involved” there, one reporter wrote. “The further we get away from the actual date, the better Canada’s decision to not get involved with the U.S. […] More »

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 »

[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 »

[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 »

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 »

On the surface, Victor Buffalo v. The Queen is a dispute over mismanaged oil money—$1.38 billion of it, to be exact. But the deeper questions raised by the case could spark a full-on legal war across Canada, topping $190 billion in claims and changing the face of Canadian government/aboriginal relations forever More »