By Roy L Hales
British Columbia assumed a climate leadership position when it adopted a carbon tax in 2008, but there has been little climate since 2012 and now the province’s carbon emissions are rising. They are expected to reach 72 megatonnes (Mt) by 2020. To get back on track for the province’s 2050 target, a group of forward looking BC Mayors call for strong provincial climate action.
Continue reading BC Mayors Call For Strong Provincial Climate ActionBy Roy L Hales
A healthy forest, on the west coast of British Columbia, has some trees that are a thousand to two thousand years old. Many different species of plants and flowers are closer to the ground. There is a variety of wildlife, and fish in the streams. This is disappearing from British Columbia and Sierra Club BC is calling on BC to protect endangered coastal rainforests.
Continue reading Calling On BC To Protect Endangered Coastal Rainforests
By Roy L Hales
British Columbia’s regulatory accounts have been receiving a lot of attention lately. Business Vancouver compared them to a shell game, in which expenses are deferred to the future so that the government can report “profits.” Vaughn Palmer writes that the province has “cumulative long-term obligations amount to $102 billion, with Hydro accounting for the bulk of them.” The item that really caught my eye was $50 billion for electricity BC does not need.
Continue reading $50 Billion For Electricity BC Does Not NeedBy Roy L Hales
One of the smartest things Premier Christy Clark’s government has done was ask Matt Horne, of the Pembina Institute, to join BC’s Climate Leadership Team last year. The credibility they gained from that single act opened the door to new possibilities. Unfortunately that door appears to have shut . Premier Clark chose to ignore the suggestions made by her Climate Leadership Team. Yesterday Horne has released a statement that the proposed LNG facility on Lelu Island could become Canada’s largest carbon polluter.
Continue reading Lelu Island Could Become Canada’s Largest Carbon PolluterBy Roy L Hales
The controversial Site C Dam project was rejected twice (back in the 1980s and 90s), before Premier Christy Clark’s government decided to go over the heads of provincial agencies like the BC utilities Commission and Agricultural Land Commission. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government issued the necessary permits to start construction during the last Federal election. As Treaty 8 gave local First Nations use of the land this project will submerge, it seems likely that a treaty is being broken. Despite all of this, BC Hydro began what many view as the environmental destruction of the Site C Peace River Valley. Since then a new Canadian government has been elected. They spoke of the need for social license and promised a new era of respect for indigenous peoples. Will The Feds Intervene On Site C?
Continue reading Will The Feds Intervene On Site C?
