Author name: Mitch Anderson

Of the many health impacts linked to fossil fuels perhaps the most gruesome is chimney sweep testicle. Following the Great Fire of London in 1666, chimneys were required by law to be regularly cleaned to avoid another catastrophic conflagration. Coal was the common fuel in the 1700s and boys as young as four years old were forced to […]

The post What ‘Chimney Sweep Testicle’ Can Teach Us About Fossil Fuels’ Staggering Health Consequences appeared first on DeSmog.

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“This is what happens when ideology runs the power grid,” said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in July 2023 when asked about the province’s sky-high electricity rates. Smith was attempting to cast blame on renewable energy policies of the former New Democratic Party government that had left office more than four years earlier. Just one month later the premier […]

The post Understanding Alberta’s Expensive, Ideological War on Renewable Energy appeared first on DeSmog.

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On Sept. 29, 2015, then-Bank of England Governor Mark Carney strode to the podium at Lloyd’s of London and delivered a landmark speech on the threat of climate change to the financial sector, insurance industry and the world in general.  To avoid catastrophic consequences, Carney urged governments and business leaders to recognize that the “vast […]

The post Mark Carney’s Climate Warning from 2015 and the Perils of Pragmatism appeared first on DeSmog.

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Canadians have been bombarded with media stories promoting a common and simplistic theme equating more oil production with greater Canadian prosperity. But what if the opposite was true? Lost in the oil-friendly media cacophony was a recent report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) — an award-winning independent think tank — showing that as the […]

The post The Peak Numbers Canada’s Oil-Friendly Newspapers Keep Ignoring appeared first on DeSmog.

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Does production equal prosperity? Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been throwing around some very optimistic what-if numbers in her relentless lobbying efforts to build ever-more oil pipelines. “If we had the Energy East, if we had Keystone XL, if we had Northern Gateway, we would be producing two and half million barrels a day more […]

The post Oil Sands Expansion Hasn’t Brought Alberta the Prosperity Its Leaders Promised appeared first on DeSmog.

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“Now the real work starts.” These words from Prime Minister Mark Carney marked the rapid passage of Bill C-5, which grants sweeping powers to his cabinet to fast-track infrastructure projects. While his recent meeting with Canada’s premiers was described as a love-in, the love may be short lived if certain powerful industries don’t get the […]

The post Fast Tracking a Pipeline to BC’s Coast Will Undermine Canada’s Security appeared first on DeSmog.

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Close observers of Alberta politics might be forgiven for wondering if official announcements are actual attempts at public policy, or performative trolling on behalf of the oil patch. Case in point is the latest kneecapping of the province’s once-booming renewable energy sector by imposing what might be the most onerous reclamation requirements of any jurisdiction in […]

The post Alberta Is Making It Even Harder to Develop Renewable Energy appeared first on DeSmog.

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Political spin and hard facts had another messy moment in Alberta this month. The governing United Conservative Party just released a report touting their alleged strong record on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. “The 2023 report shows our oil sands sector is producing more energy with fewer emissions per barrel — a clear sign of innovation […]

The post Alberta’s ‘Emissions Intensity’ Hasn’t Improved, Despite Government Claim appeared first on DeSmog.

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“Decarbonized oil” is now apparently a thing. Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke glowingly about this mythical substance in the context of new bitumen pipelines after his meeting last week in Saskatoon with Canada’s premiers. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith chimed in her support for carbon-free unicorn oil as part of a new “grand bargain” where Ottawa […]

The post Earth to Mark Carney: ‘Decarbonized Oil’ Is as Real as Vitamin Cigarettes appeared first on DeSmog.

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Canada’s new energy minister Tim Hodgson is getting mixed messages from Pathways Alliance, the lobby group representing six of the largest oil sands producers. On one hand, the members claim to be moving forward with a massive carbon capture and storage (CCS) proposal that will only become economically viable through billions in public subsidies and […]

The post Pathways Alliance Lobbied for Policy That Hurts Its CCS Viability appeared first on DeSmog.

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Is our country more important than another oil pipeline? Apparently not, according to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. On the very day that Prime Minister Mark Carney was flying to Washington for a high stakes meeting with President Trump, Smith delivered a speech demanding pre-approved oil corridors to the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic coasts under the barely veiled threat […]

The post Top Free-Market Think Tank Unsure That Canada Needs More Pipelines appeared first on DeSmog.

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Key hydrogen projects are collapsing, but that isn’t stopping developers from begging for more taxpayer money and support from the Alberta government. And it seems like the industry’s lobbying is paying off. The province is now pursuing an ill-conceived idea to allow hydrogen to be mixed with natural gas for home heating. Hyping the increasinglydebunked “hydrogen revolution” […]

The post Engineer Explains Why Alberta’s Hydrogen Strategy Is Money-Losing Climate Failure appeared first on DeSmog.

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