For a long time, the story went that the tobacco industry cooked up disinformation and then spread it to the fossil fuel guys, the chemical industry, pharma, you name it. But one thing that became incredibly clear when we began digging into PR firms and specific publicists was that this version of history is not […]
Fossil fuels
Posted inNews + Opinion
SCIENCE MATTERS: Reconciling energy and Indigenous rights
In 2007, Canada was one of four countries to vote against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (with New Zealand, the United States and Australia). With its single-minded focus on making Canada an “energy superpower,” albeit only with fossil fuels, the Harper government feared the declaration’s concept of “free, prior and informed” […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Kinder Morgan pipeline controversy proves need to shift course
On March 31, an underwater pipeline carrying oil to a refinery in Balikpapan, Indonesia, broke, spreading crude over 20,000 hectares of Balikpapan Bay. Some of it ignited, killing five fishermen. Area residents experienced health problems including nausea, vomiting and respiratory difficulties, and marine life and mangroves were also devastated. In mid-January, an Iranian tanker carrying […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Public coffers, private bonanza
It’s torture watching this loop play over and over again: Public money filling the already-deep pockets of the corporate elite, while they hypocritically tout the mantra of the free market economy. Last week the feds announced that Ocean Supercluster, a consortium claiming to be Atlantic Canada based—including big names like Emera, Clearwater, Petroleum Research Newfoundland […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Government for the people, not fossil fuel corporations
I consider voting a privilege and a responsibility. But I wish politicians would take their responsibility to voters more seriously. We elect them to represent us. Sometimes our interests coincide with corporate priorities. After all, corporations create jobs and economic opportunities and often develop products and services citizens need. Corporations can’t vote, but by putting […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
First in its divest class
Laval got the headlines, but it turns out Halifax’s smallest university was actually the first in Canada to divest from fossil fuels. The Atlantic School of Theology made the historic decision more than a year ago. The Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and PEI—which controls the school’s investments—quietly passed the resolution at a diocesan council […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: Oil spills pose unacceptable threats to marine life
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says oil pipelines have no place in B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest. Opponents of the approved Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion to the West Coast and the cancelled Energy East pipeline to the East Coast argue pipelines and tankers don’t belong in any coastal areas. Research led by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation confirms […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: We can’t dig our way out of the fossil fuels pit
[Image-1] I’ve often thought politicians inhabit a parallel universe. Maybe it’s just widespread cognitive dissonance, coupled with a lack of imagination, that compels them to engage in so much contradictory behaviour. Trying to appease so many varying interests isn’t easy. Rather than focusing on short-term economic and corporate priorities, though, politicians should first consider the […]