Category Archives: Technology

Energy

Pembina Institute: Why Canada Needs An Emissions Cap for the Oil and Gas Sector

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the oil and gas sector is a major contributor to Canada’s economy, employing 182,000 people and generating $209 billion in GDP during 2023, yet it is also the source of 31% of Canada’’s Greenhouse gas emissions.

 “Demand for oil and gas is not going to go to zero tomorrow.  It is a transition that takes decades  to undergo.  There will be a role for oil and gas as we move forward along that transition, but it is likely to be a  cleaner oil and gas sector as the rest of the world stops buying  the oil and gas products that Canada and other countries produce. Which, I think, really underlines the importance of investing in decarbonization now while we’re still using oil and gas  to 2050 and a little bit beyond  if we get on a net zero trajectory,” explained Janetta McKenzie  from the Pembina Institute, a Canadian think tank and non-profit focused on energy. 

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Technology

The Quadra Project: Settling Mars

Life on Mars” is a playful but unsettling article in New Scientist (16 November, 2024). The authors, a biologist and a cartoonist, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, are commenting on the aspiration of Elon Musk to start establishing a million person colony on Mars by 2030. “Has anyone thought this through?” they ask with a skepticism that summarizes the tragic-comic history of humanity on this planet.

“Mars sucks,” they suggest. Going there would be the equivalent of “moving to a toxic waste dump because your neighbours aren’t mowing their lawn often enough.” As they point out, launching rockets and performing antics in zero gravity is fun, but Mars would not be. The temperature varies from a chilly –153°C to only brief periods of a comfortable 20°C at high noon. And the air, which is mostly carbon dioxide and only 1% the density on Earth, would be fatal to anyone attempting to breathe it.

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Environment, Transportation, Youth

Cortes Round-up: Spring is here and its time to …

  • ✅ Get involved in the federal election and support a Climate Champion candidate
  • ✅ Prepare for the fire season by cleaning up around your property
  • ✅ Plan your garden to grow your own food this year
  • ✅ Share the Cortes Roundup with your friends!

Enjoy the latest climate news for Cortes & beyond for March, 2025

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Communications

Disruptions of CityWest Services on Cortes and Quadra Islands

CityWest’s internet service for Cortes Island was cut off again, sometime after 10:44 on Saturday, March 8, and not restored until after 9:00 on Monday, March 10. This is the third or fourth time in the last 12 months. 

The outage did not affect CKTZ, which relies upon Mascon de TELUS, but did shut down numerous CityWest customers (including Cortes Currents).

‘Rumour’ has it that the fibre cable was cut somewhere on the underwater stretch between Denman Island and Williams Beach.  

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Energy

One oil and gas site was ‘stinky,’ another was ‘gurgling.’ B.C. officials gave them a pass anyway

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

“Serious deficiency.” “Very stinky.” “Leakage.” “A hazard.”

Those are some of the ways BC Energy Regulator officials described oil and gas sites when they documented apparent environmental infractions during routine inspections, according to internal documents. 

The regulator, a provincial government agency, is largely funded by the oil and gas industry and charged with managing oil and gas activities across the province. 

The Narwhal and the Investigative Journalism Foundation identified more than 1,000 instances when inspectors documented apparent infractions yet gave the sites in question a passing grade, according to more than 40,000 records released through freedom of information legislation. The records reveal a widespread pattern: the B.C. government is failing to ensure oil and gas companies comply with regulations designed to protect ecosystems and human health and safety. 

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