Author name: Mitch Anderson

If an election were held in the UK tomorrow, hardcore climate denier Nigel Farage’s Reform UK would likely win as the party is surging in the polls. This outcome – almost unimaginable just a few years ago – can trace its roots back to another once-fringe movement based in Alberta.  Preston Manning, founder of the […]

The post The Political Roots of Nigel Farage and Reform UK Stretch Back To Alberta appeared first on DeSmog.

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Separation from Canada would be a disaster for Indigenous rights in Alberta and plunge the provincial economy into even greater uncertainty. Yet providing an easier path for Alberta separatists seems strangely to be a top priority of Premier Danielle Smith, regardless of the ensuing constitutional chaos. Bill 14 was hurried through the Alberta Legislature just […]

The post Alberta Separatism Would be Terrible for Indigenous Rights appeared first on DeSmog.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney has been playing up protecting Canada’s energy sovereignty by expanding fossil fuel extraction. But who owns the oil patch? The reality is that U.S. capital controls the majority of oil and gas companies operating in Canada and that American ownership of the Canadian oil resources is increasing. Recent reporting from Oilprice.com shows that U.S. equity owns […]

The post Mark Carney Claims Fossil Fuel Expansion Is ‘Canada Strong,’ but U.S. Investors Get the Profits appeared first on DeSmog.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s once-vaunted climate credibility appears to be in free-fall. After eliminating the carbon tax and rolling back vehicle emissions standards, his government announced fast-track support for two liquified natural gas projects and exactly zero renewable energy developments. Carney’s latest fossil fuel photo op was with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith concerning a contentious pipeline to […]

The post ‘Utterly Abusive’: First Nations United Against Mark Carney’s Alberta Pipeline Plans appeared first on DeSmog.

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A 2015 report by the Canadian pro-development group Resource Works cynically telegraphed the growing recognition by industry a decade ago that major projects like liquified natural gas (LNG) need First Nations partners to accelerate regulatory approvals in British Columbia. “The value the band will bring to the table by getting them to support you will […]

The post As Mark Carney Fast-tracks Canadian LNG Projects, First Nations Face Hidden Financial Traps appeared first on DeSmog.

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In 1944, German war planners apparently dismissed reports about the staggering scale of U.S. wartime production. The newly constructed Willow Run plant operated by the Ford Motor Company in Michigan eventually produced a B-24 bomber every hour, 24 hours a day. This mile-long factory consumed 16 million pounds of aluminum each month and employed 42,000 workers. The four-engine B-24 could carry four […]

The post What Wartime Hubris Can Teach Us About the Global Energy Transition appeared first on DeSmog.

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“I miss recess,” said Asher, a Grade 5 student when asked for comment by CityNews on the Alberta’s teachers strike, adding that he even missed math class. “It’s fun. I get to learn more skills.” Adults are supposed to ensure students like Asher have an opportunity to learn, that teachers are properly paid and that […]

The post What Is Alberta’s Oil Wealth Paying for? Not Better Education appeared first on DeSmog.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney recently announced five proposals he intends to fast track to defend our economy from the hostile Trump administration, live up to Canada’s climate commitments, and demonstrate respect for Indigenous rights. Do the projects live up to these aspirational values? Let’s take a closer look. Among the first five projects is an […]

The post Why Is Canada Fast-Tracking LNG? Not for Economy, Climate or Reconciliation appeared first on DeSmog.

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“This is a test of whether Canada works as a country,” warned Alberta Premier Danielle Smith after she finally announced a proposal for a bitumen pipeline to the B.C. coast sponsored by… the government of Alberta. After months of futile door knocking and arm twisting in the oil patch, Smith obviously failed to find a […]

The post Danielle Smith’s Pipeline Without a Proponent Is All Dollars and No Sense appeared first on DeSmog.

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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith boasted in June that a private sector proponent for a new bitumen pipeline to British Columbia’s coast would come forward “within weeks.” Three months have passed and exactly zero companies have bet their own money to back up the pipeline hype constantly coming from Smith.  Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the first tranche […]

The post Renewables Are a Global Economic Engine, Not a Culture War Threat appeared first on DeSmog.

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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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