Cost of Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Forests

Tzeporah Berman: Then – and now

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More than thirty years have passed since Tzeporah Berman catapulted into public view as an organizer of the Clayoquot Sound logging blockade. She is the Co-founder and International Program Director at Stand.earth, the Founder and Steering Committee Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, and serves as a member of the Advisory Group for InfluenceMap. She is also an author, former adjunct professor, and has sat on committees advising the governments of B.C. and Alberta. When she’s not away speaking at conferences, or in the midst of negotiations, Tzeporah Berman is back in her home overlooking Gunflint Lake on Cortes Island. In the first of a series of broadcasts recorded there, she talks about then – and now. 

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Energy

The U.S. just approved a giant space mirror to test ‘sunlight on demand.’ Low Earth orbit is getting weird

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By Drs. Samantha Lawler and Aaron Boley, the Conversation via UBC News

A giant mirror to create “sunlight on demand” was just approved by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), despite opposition from astronomers and the public, and real safety concerns.

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Communications

Data centres, rising demand, and Alberta’s energy bills

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By David Pick-up and Kari Hyde, Pembina Institute

Canada needs more electricity — fast. In part, this is due to the projected growth of data centres that can power artificial intelligence and the increasing demands of our digital services. Both the federal and Alberta governments see data centre development as a compelling opportunity to attract investment and position Canada to benefit from the growing role of AI in areas ranging from health and research, to productivity and innovation. At the same time, policymakers are increasingly focused on building Canadian data sovereignty and ensuring appropriate protections are in place as the technology continues to evolve.

Yet, at the heart of the increasing integration of AI into our lives is an important question: how can we power data centres without driving up energy bills, driving up harmful emissions or putting too much pressure on the grid?

This blog explores what the challenge looks like in Alberta’s natural gas–reliant grid and what the expansion of data centres could mean for affordability in the years to come.

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Fire

Wildfire Risk on Cortes: interview with Fire Chief Eli McKenty

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(A series of 4 broadcasts made July 20-23, 2026 – All of which four are now embedded on this page)

A couple of weeks ago, Cortes Currents ran a story about an emergency preparedness workshop offered on Cortes Island by SRD staffer Sarah Rosen. In the course of that workshop, volunteer firefighter Mike Brown and Fire Chief Eli McKenty made some comments about wildfire risk on the island, which they saw as the biggest potential emergency islanders face.

In early July, I conducted an in-depth interview with Eli, in which we discussed wildfire risk in greater detail. I had a lot of questions: Why and how has this risk intensified over the last twenty years? How is our fire department responding to the growing hazard? What can Cortes Islanders do to protect themselves and their homes?

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Cost of Climate Change

The World Spends Close to US$3 Trillion on War While Efforts to Address Climate Change and Foster a Just Energy Transition Face a Funding Shortfall of US$2 Trillion

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Press release from the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative

Military spending has been increasing for more than a decade, reaching US$2.7 trillion in 2024 and US$2.88 trillion in 2025. Meanwhile, there is a US$4 trillion dollar shortfall in funding needed to achieve the world’s Sustainable Development Goals and of that, a US$2 trillion funding gap for climate and energy transition action. Militarism, climate change and environmental destruction are interconnected crises.  Addressing these risks requires redirecting funding away from war towards global climate justice with transitioning away from fossil fuels as a core tenant of a reallocation framework via a Fossil Fuel Treaty. 

Continue reading The World Spends Close to US$3 Trillion on War While Efforts to Address Climate Change and Foster a Just Energy Transition Face a Funding Shortfall of US$2 Trillion →

Whats Current on Cortes and Beyond