canada posts, articles, and infographics

Regulatory Efficiency: A Must for Electricity Infrastructure Renewal

February 7, 2012 by Jim Burpee
with 199 views

We at the Canadian Electricity Association have publicly raised, many times, that our electricity sector faces a complex challenge over the next two decades. In order to meet Canada’s increasing demands for electricity, we must invest in electricity infrastructure. That means renewing, replacing and adding to the generating stations and power lines that power the economy. [read more]

Siemens to acquire Canada’s RuggedCom for $382 million, a 50% premium to Belden’s hostile offer

January 30, 2012 by Tyler Hamilton
with 133 views

Good news for shareholders of Toronto-based RuggedCom, one of the world’s leading makers of ruggedized networking gear for the smart grid. Facing a hostile takeover from St. Louis-based Belden Inc., RuggedCom has found a white knight in Siemens Canada Ltd., the Canadian subsidiary of German industrial giant Siemens AG. Siemens has agreed... [read more]

Climate Change & the Holiday Season

December 23, 2011 by Simon Donner
with 140 views

This short video, made with the help of my great undergraduate assistant Cory Kleinschmidt, tells the story of how climate change might be affecting a holiday tradition among many Canadian families, including my own. [read more]

Canada Withdraws From Kyoto & Continues Developing Tar Sands

December 21, 2011 by Jake Schmidt
with 173 views

Literally one day after the global warming negotiations ended in Durban, South Africa the government of Canada formally notified the world that they were withdrawing from the global warming pollution targets they had taken on under the Kyoto Protocol. Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent must have signed the formal withdrawal... [read more]

Canada Doubles Its Wind Capacity in 2011

December 6, 2011 by Nathanael Baker
with 250 views

Canada's wind industry has had a record year. According to the latest data from the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA), 1,400 megawatts of wind capacity was installed in 2011, more than doubling 2010's output. With over 5,400 megawatts of wind energy at its disposal, enough to power 1.5 million homes, the country now holds the ninth largest wind generating capacity in the world. This year's record number of installations cumulatively represent almost $3.5 billion in investment as well as 13,500 jobs. [read more]

Keystone XL, One Head of the Hydra

November 25, 2011 by David Lewis
with 897 views

In ancient Greek mythology, the Hydra was a deadly monster that had many heads. If one was cut off two grew in its place. Killing Keystone XL won't stop Canada from developing its tar sand deposit. Even if no new pipeline crossing the US border is ever approved, US ability to import as much tar... [read more]

Breaking Our Oil Addiction Takes More Than Killing Keystone XL

November 15, 2011 by Geoffrey Styles
with 723 views

In an article in today's Washington Post an official of the National Wildlife Federation was quoted linking rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline with breaking our addiction to oil. Even with the administration having delayed its decision on the project until 2013--quite possibly killing it--this point merits further exploration. Just... [read more]

The Costs of Delaying Keystone XL

November 15, 2011 by Mark Green
with 467 views

More on the Keystone XL pipeline, starting with the administration statement on delaying a decision on the project until early 2013: "Because this permit decision could affect the health and safety of the American people as well as the environment, and because a number of concerns have been raised through a public process, we should... [read more]

Take a Stand on Keystone XL, Mr. President

November 14, 2011 by Robert Rapier
with 144 views

When I worked in Scotland, one of my managers was a wise Englishman named Graham Walker. As with many people whose paths I have crossed in my life, some nuggets of wisdom were transferred from Graham into my long-term memory. One of the things that stuck with me was Graham’s push for decisiveness. He would tell me “Just make a decision and move on. We have a business to run here.” Graham would say that most of the time the decisions would prove to be correct, and when they weren’t we would live with them or correct them down the road. (And of course if a person frequently makes incorrect decisions, then they can be replaced with someone who makes better decisions). But his point was that you can’t live in fear of making the wrong decision, because then nothing gets done. [read more]

Carbon Disclosure Project Canada 2011 Report: Key Highlights

October 13, 2011 by Derek Wong
with 271 views

Carbon Disclosure Project releases its Canada 2011 report today at the Toronto Stock Exchange. More Canadian companies than ever publicly report their greenhouse gas emissions. Contrary to the common belief that going green slows growth, businesses who take the lead into a low carbon economy deliver twice the financial return compared to... [read more]

Canada's Sham Of A Climate Policy

August 23, 2011 by Simon Donner
with 245 views

There are two stories here. The first is that Canada has made many emissions pledges but repeatedly failed to enact any plan to meet those pledges. This is not a partisan issue. It happened under majority and minority Liberal governments, and it is happening under minority and now majority Conservative governments [read more]

Natural Gas Not the Answer to a Low-Carbon Future

July 17, 2011 by Tyler Bryant
with 613 views

A transition to natural gas to achieve a low-carbon energy system is not the least cost pathway. [read more]

Study: Slow Down Natural Gas Development

July 14, 2011 by Tyler Hamilton
with 362 views

Two of Canada’s top environmental NGOs — the Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation — issued a jointly prepared study today slamming our rising dependence on natural gas, warning that the fossil fuel, while generally cleaner than coal, could seriously slow down efforts to combat climate change if our increased reliance on it... [read more]

More Voices Advance a New Climate Paradigm Abroad

June 9, 2011 by Breakthrough Institute
with 137 views

After 20 years of dominance, the pollution paradigm--the idea that we could solve climate change similar to the way we've addressed conventional pollution problems--irretrievably failed in 2010. At the end of 2009, the collapse in Copenhagen spelled the end of efforts to enact legally binding emissions caps at the international level. In... [read more]

Biggest Roadblock To Building New Nuclear Plants: Skilled Construction Labour

June 3, 2011 by Tyler Hamilton
with 415 views

Ontario’s Liberal government says we need to refurbish our province’s nuclear fleet and build another major plant near Toronto. The opposition Progressive Conservative leader, confident he will win this October’s election, says nuclear will be a cornerstone of his party’s energy policy. Indeed, as countries such as Japan, Germany... [read more]