Andrew Weaver says B.C. government is a blatant "climate laggard"

Andrew Weaver says B.C. government is a blatant “climate laggard”, find out more in this National Observer article.

The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada's gift to the world

Linda Solomon Wood reports on the importance of the Great Bear rainforest.

As news of Enbridge revival spreads, opponents ready for battle

Latest story in National Observer's Tar Sand Reporting Series.

Catherine McKenna appeals to renewable energy industry for help to fight climate change

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna wants the renewable energy sector to help Canada create jobs and fight climate change. Read Mike De Souza's National Observer article.

European refugee crisis coming to an ugly head

Andrew Lodge is a physician with the University of British Columbia. He is currently in Greece working as a medical volunteer with incoming refugees.

In his story, which I just published in National Observer, Andrew argues that we have no idea about the mounting catastrophe.
He points to the people walking through Europe with no home, through pouring rain, snow, mud, encouraging children on with no guarantee of a safe destination, hated by the locals, to have angry police beat them and their children back with batons, to have food thrown at them.... to be caged, fenced, thwarted, to despair to that degree and with no end of the despair in sight.

Andrew's found something to do about it, a difficult grace that eludes most, one that requires bravery and selflessness to make use of. He doesn't have much time to write, he says. But he penned this short painful wake-up call.
Canada has taken in 25,000 refugees in Canada, but millions more have nowhere to go.

http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/03/19/opinion/european-refugee-crisis-coming-ugly-head

Editor Linda Solomon Wood

Will New Policies on Climate Change Happen Quick Enough?

The UN Climate Talks in Paris ended on a high note with international agreements and ambitious promises last December from leaders from 110 nations. But political leaders now must act quickly to shift from fossil fuels and meet the agreement’s target of 2 degrees C. So much depends on this, from the fish in the oceans that grow more acidified by the day to the people in the developing world hit hardest by climate change and pollution caused by the over consumption of developed nations, like Canada and the U.S.

World leaders, including Obama and Trudeau, vowed to create policy that will fix the problem. They vowed to seize the opportunity we still have to curtail global warming and make future generations proud.

But are they taking action quickly enough. Are they making good on what they said?

What about the fact that experts say 2 degree goal will not effectively combat the true magnitude of the worsening global runaway climate crisis in the next decade. They say that only by fast-tracking North American decarbonisation, and curtailing American-Canadian fossil fuel exports and resulting foreign nation emissions, can this happen.

What’s the truth?  This is going to be the subject of a new special report we’ll be crowdfunding for, starting next week on Kickstarter.  I’m hoping we’ll be successful enough to go far in answering these questions.

-Linda Solomon Wood

New Article in National Observer

New article up on the National Observer today looking at how Canada can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, tackle challenge of climate change and at the same time continue to enjoy a stable economy.

http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/03/02/analysis/visualizing-canadas-2030-climate-target-show-me-money