Renewable Energy

A recent oil spill in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland began last Wednesday when an undersea pipeline began leaking. By Monday, an estimated 1,300 barrels of oil had been released into surrounding waters.This latest spill shows us yet again that it's not a matter of "if" an oil spill will happen—it's a matter of "when."

Related to this is the move by Shell to start drilling for oil in the Arctic. However, Shell has prepared a woefully inadequare spill response plan to deal with any leaks. ... Read more »

Global warming is the world’s greatest environmental challenge and Canada is falling behind the United States in reducing the pollution from industry that is causing the problem, say newly released briefing notes prepared for Environment Minister Peter Kent.

The warnings, submitted to Kent in January when he took over the environment portfolio in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government, say global warming will have significant social, political and economic implications, putting Canada on the hot seat over its own record and commitments.

“Climate change is the most serious environmental issue facing the world today and carries with it significant impacts on human health and safety, the economy, natural resources, and ecosystems in Canada and throughout the world,” say the briefing notes, which were released under access-to-information legislation.
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OTTAWA — Natural Resources Canada says a powerful oil and gas industry lobby group was responsible for organizing a key meeting and some controversial messaging, in partnership with government, to polish the image of Alberta's oilsands industry.

In newly released emails and internal records, department officials said the strategy to "turn up the volume" and get "the right attitude" on oilsands advocacy was actually proposed by high-ranking officials from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers during a March 2010 meeting involving senior federal and Alberta government officials, as well CEOs from oil and gas companies.... Read more »

A recent article in the Globe and Mail talks about the provincial governments inconsisisent support of solar power.

Ontario’s burgeoning solar industry is a result of the advantage of a financing incentive the provincial government was rolling out this fall. That incentive was the feed-in-tariff (FIT) program, introduced as part of the Liberal Party’s Green Energy and Green Economy Act, to subsidize electricity generated by renewable sources of power and heralded as the most progressive scheme of its kind, earning accolades the world over.

The support that the government promised never came. If Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak is elected premier in the Oct. 6 election he may follow through with his threats to kill the FIT program.... Read more »

An event held by Friends of Wind Ontario, will discuss the roadblocks, attitudes and misinformation that stops communities from working together towards energy sustainability. The meeting will share all the facts about renewable energy, particularly wind turbines.

One of the topics to be talked about is how renewable energy is a good revenue source for independent farmers.... Read more »