THE ECO TOUR
David Suzuki and Jeff Rubin
Wednesday, February 27
John Dutton Theatre, Calgary Public Library, 7pm
Tickets are $15

Environmentalist David Suzuki and economist Jeff Rubin are bringing their collaborative speaking tour to Calgary tonight. Suzuki says the pairing came about when he read about Rubin’s recent book, The End of Growth. He realized Rubin’s ideas on why the economy cannot grow indefinitely were closely related to what he and other scientists have long said about humans and the environment, particularly in his latest tome, Everything Under the Sun. In their joint book tour, the two authors attempt to explain the interdependence of ecology and economy.

“Ever since the Club of Rome in 1972 published  … Read More

According to Bike Calgary, there's good news and there's bad news in the latest count of commuters entering the downtown core, at least in terms of cycling. The good news: the number of cyclists commuting into work is up 20 per cent from last year (1 in 17 vehicles). The bad news: there's not a single bike lane in the entire core.

Bike Calgary has a great blog post breaking down the numbers, complete with an infographic outlining how cyclists are accessing the downtown core. It points out that the numbe of cyclists is up 40 per cent since 2006, when the count began. The fact that the count is in February dispels notions that nobody rides their bike in the winter.

The Peace Bridge is now number two in terms of how many cyclists use to cross into … Read More

A man claiming to be a Calgary firefighter says he has seen thousands of liters of toxic waste disposed of at the Tsuu T'ina landfill. The landfill is the site of a fire that burned over at least a two-day period earlier this month. He was one of roughly 150 members of the public who attended a town hall meeting in the S.W. community of Woodlands called by Alderman Diane Colley-Urqhart to discuss the impacts of the fire.

Stressing that he was not speaking as a Calgary Fire Department representative and asking that he not be identified, he said that he was at the Tsuu T'ina reserve landfill in 1995, when he saw a vacuum truck pull up to the dump and empty its contents of what he is certain was hazardous material.

"This vacu-truck pulls up … Read More

Natural gas company SemCAMS ULC has been charged under Alberta's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act for allegedly leaking waste water and hydrocarbons into a creek near the town of Fox Creek, roughly 240 km NW of Edmonton.

A government press release states a "pipeline failure" in August 2010 led to the release of 850,000 liters of saline and hydrocarbons into the creek. One km of the creek was contaminated, reportedly destroying aquatic life and killing a "substantial" number of fish.

Four charges have been laid under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. The company has also been charged by Environment Canada under the federal Fisheries Act.

SemCAMS was also charged in 2009 for failing to … Read More

The Calgary Food Committee commenced its Food System Assessment and Action Plan today. The assessment will research Calgary’s food system, studying how and where Calgary’s food is produced, processed, shipped, eaten and ultimately thrown away.

City of Calgary sustainability consultant Rebecca Newlove says the report will contribute to the city’s Food Action Plan; an initiative intended to help Calgarians "access and afford more local, healthy, nutritious food."

"What we don’t have currently is information on how many Calgarians have access to healthy food," Newlove said at a Jan. 12 press conference.

The Food Committee consists of farmers, local businesses and chefs, city staff and representatives from Alberta … Read More