Image of the Day: Satellite view of Siberia forest fires, 10 July 2012

Caption by Adam Voiland12 July 2012 As in the western United States and northern Canada, Russia is ablaze. On 11 July 2012, more than 25,000 hectares (97 square miles) of forests were burning, according to the Russian Federal Forestry Agency. Most of the fires—uncontrolled wildfires in boreal forests—were in central and eastern Siberia. Fires had […]

Smoke from Siberia fires raises ozone levels in British Columbia to record levels

11 July 2012, Canadian Press – Smoke lingering over much of British Columbia from Siberian wildfires has pushed ozone levels in parts of the province to never-before-seen numbers. By Monday, ozone levels reached 84 parts per billion in the central Interior region, about three times the average for July. B.C. Ministry of Environment air-quality meteorologist […]

Smoke from Siberia wildfires settling in British Columbia and Pacific NW – ‘It must be one big fire’

Prince George, B.C., 9 July 2012 – The bluish haze that has settled over the City is not the result of any local pollution. It is smoke from a forest fire, but not one that is raging in B.C. and, despite what you might think, it isn’t smoke that is being pushed north from the […]

Mercury contaminating bird eggs in oilsands region: Environment Canada

By Mike De Souza, Postmedia News 31 May 2012 OTTAWA – Environment Canada scientists have observed evidence of toxic contamination of wildlife upstream from Alberta’s natural bitumen deposits that coincides with the oilsands industry’s expansion, Environment Minister Peter Kent was told last summer. According to internal documents obtained by Postmedia News, the government was urged […]

Photo gallery: The Canada oil sand mines refused us access, so we rented this plane to see what they were up to

By Robert Johnson18 May 2012 When reaching out to Alberta oil sands companies before a trip to Canada last month, I thought all of them mined oil the same way — they don’t. The open mining most people think of when they picture the oil sands is just one way of extracting crude from the […]

The age of extreme oil: ‘This used to be a forest?'

By Arno Kopecky 19 May 2012 One grey Thursday at the end of April, a plane touched down in Fort McMurray, Alta., carrying four Achuar Indians from the Peruvian Amazon. They had flown 8,000 kilometres from the rain forest to beseech Talisman Energy Inc., the Calgary-based oil and gas conglomerate, to stop drilling in their […]

Poachers cut down, steal giant 800-year-old red cedar in B.C. park

By Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist 17 May 2012 Tree poachers have stolen one of the largest red cedars in Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park in what is believed to have been a two-part operation over the past year. “If poachers can run around roughshod in the parks, it’s a terrible thing for B.C.,” said Torrance Coste, […]

James Hansen: Game over for the climate

By JAMES HANSEN9 May 2012 GLOBAL warming isn’t a prediction. It is happening. That is why I was so troubled to read a recent interview with President Obama in Rolling Stone in which he said that Canada would exploit the oil in its vast tar sands reserves “regardless of what we do.” If Canada proceeds, […]

Koch Brothers’ activism protects their 50-year stake in Canadian heavy oils

By David Sassoon, InsideClimate News10 May 2012 Over the last decade, Charles and David Koch have emerged into public view as billionaire philanthropists pushing a libertarian brand of political activism that presses a large footprint on energy and climate issues. They have created and supported non-profit organizations, think tanks and political groups that work to […]

U.S. ‘dirty oil’ imports set to triple

By Steve Hargreaves30 April 2012 NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – U.S. imports of what environmentalists are calling “dirty oil” are set to triple over the next decade, raising concerns over the environmental impact of extracting it and whether pipelines can safely transport this Canadian oil. The United States currently imports over half a million barrels a […]

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