The Climate Lens

Coming off the hottest year and worst wildfire season in recorded history you might think Canada as a whole would have finally learned our lesson and gone all in on climate solutions but you'd be wrong as the prime political discussion in Canada these days are about getting rid of our carbon tax with precious little about what climate solutions we'd like in their place. This sentiment is strongest in Alberta where our once mighty clean energy industry was first hobbled by a 6 month moratorium then followed by far reaching anti-renewable policy in place for the foreseeable future. To help us break down all this today we have Martin Olszynski, Associate Professor at the University Of Calgary, Faculty of Law.*****Sources used in this episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mpV-cwGOoXW8HC1OWf_nN1DUIWE_9g5IJrm0Dxsw_3E/Transcript of the episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VsXEfX_Q3fby2kynppIVyD29lCHs8AXzycWjxuvbJ98/*****If you appreciate what we're doing here at the Climate Lens one way you could help out is become a member of our Patreon for just 5 bucks a month at https://www.patreon.com/TheClimateLens or make a one time donation via the Calgary Climate Hub website at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/92219*****CALLS TO ACTION!Speak at City Hall Training - April 18th: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/rezoning_speak_city_hall_train_apr24*****Martin Olszynski: https://twitter.com/molszyns****Calgary Climate HubWebsite: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.caTwitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/calgaryclimatehub/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calgaryclimatehub/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzh9NWUmvSzpOsa7ReTs83QBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/climatehubyyc.bsky.socialMastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYCVolunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteerBecome a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membershipDonate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donateSupport us on Patreon!

The Housing Crisis. It's a hot topic everywhere, from federal politics to the neighborhood. Facebook group. Calgary, along with other Canadian municipalities, is trying to deal with the fact that there are more people who want to live here than places for them to live. In September of 2023, Calgary City Council adopted a housing strategy which included a controversial proposal for citywide rezoning. According to the City of Calgary website, properties that currently allow single or semi-detached homes will be rezoned to R-CG, R-G, or H-GO. That means that buildings like townhouses and rowhouses will be allowed on any residential lot. As climate advocates, we love a plan for urban densification and rezoning as a chance to make our voices really count. The City of Calgary has planned a public hearing on the proposal April 22nd. Here today to discuss rezoning and the climate implications is Ward Eight Councillor Courtney Walcott. This show was recorded the day after council voted to proceed with the public hearing instead of kicking the decision down the road to a plebiscite in the 2025 civic election.*****Sources used in this episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fDRgr31m3FAgxAbls2xbNEZRrJny7OfBSnmeH5TEquY/Transcript of the episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R2PYwO4Ylh52cc7ET1AAHCUi4o9uUKpwvUafuYS9L6g/*****If you appreciate what we're doing here at the Climate Lens one way you could help out is become a member of our Patreon for just 5 bucks a month at https://www.patreon.com/TheClimateLens or make a one time donation via the Calgary Climate Hub website at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/92219*****CALLS TO ACTION!Speak at City Hall Training - April 18th: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/rezoning_speak_city_hall_train_apr24*****Courtney Walcott's personal website: https://www.courtneywalcott.com/Courtney Walcott's page on the City of Calgary's website: https://www.calgary.ca/council/ward-8/warddefault.htmlTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/CWalcottYYC****Calgary Climate HubWebsite: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.caTwitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/calgaryclimatehub/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calgaryclimatehub/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzh9NWUmvSzpOsa7ReTs83QBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/climatehubyyc.bsky.socialMastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYCVolunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteerBecome a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membershipDonate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donateSupport us on Patreon!

Energi Media’s Markham Hislop shares learnings about the energy transition from his interviews with business and energy leaders. Could Alberta make the change from dirty oil exporter to clean materials manufacturer?Sources used in this episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BcnM9_glw2cs-X6__ipsT6_BR2YqlNQvWIwAYP6D4oA/editTranscript of the episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YGoR5yyHHZIRwWXcvlj3IS0X8Xn7CjsdvPVjhidR25s/edit*****If you appreciate what we're doing here at the Climate Lens one way you could help out is become a member of our Patreon for just 5 bucks a month at www.patreon.com/TheClimateLens or make a one time donation via the Calgary Climate Hub website at www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/the_climate_lens*****CALLS TO ACTION!Speak at City Hall Training - April 18th: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/rezoning_speak_city_hall_train_apr24*****Energi Media website https://energi.media/Twitter/X @EnergiMediaMarkham Hislop @politicalham****Calgary Climate HubWebsite: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.caTwitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYCBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/climatehubyyc.bsky.socialMastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYCVolunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteerBecome a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membershipDonate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donateSupport us on Patreon!

2023 was the hottest year in recorded history and also the worst wildfire season Albertans have ever known and it's only in the first week of January that we've had anything resembling what a normal winter looks like before hitting deep freeze extremes in the opposite direction. In the midst of all this our Christmas present from the Alberta government was an extreme drought warning for 2024 which likely flew under the radar for a lot of ordinary Albertans given the timing. The common thread through all of these stories is water so we're very happy to have with us today Phillip Meintzer & Kennedy Halvorson, two conservation specialists for the Alberta Wilderness Association (or on X/Twitter at https://twitter.com/ABWilderness***** Sources used in this episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14fU3EEG_M0EIoDq4MIXDJGINH-1m9M3V8PShexQTItATranscript of the episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m8DDtthQ-2WiTNdWknesw7y8NU3Qe6lnFbz11HV4hTQ*****If you appreciate what we're doing here at the Climate Lens one way you could help out is become a member of our Patreon for just 5 bucks a month at www.patreon.com/TheClimateLens or make a one time donation via the Calgary Climate Hub website at www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/the_climate_lens*****CALLS TO ACTION!1) Tree Equity Workshop - Jan 30th: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/tree_equity_workshop_jan2024_202401302) Advocacy in the Prairies - February 10th (in Calgary): https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/crpc_prairies_advocacy_training_calgary_jan243) The Kananaskis Logging Slowdown Campaign: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/kananaskis_logging_slowdown_24*****Alberta Wilderness Association website https://albertawilderness.caTwitter/X @ABWildernessPhillip Meintzer @PhillipMeintzerKennedy Halvorson @kentomologieAWA News Release: Four Big Oil Companies Used 200 Billion Litres of Alberta’s Freshwater Last Year https://albertawilderness.ca/news-release-four-big-oil-companies-used-200-billion-litres-of-albertas-freshwater-last-year/Aquatic Ecosystems – Gaps Opportunities and Law Reforms https://elc.ab.ca/sdm_downloads/aquatic-ecosystems-gaps-opportunities-and-law-reforms/****Calgary Climate HubWebsite: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.caTwitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYCBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/climatehubyyc.bsky.socialMastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYCVolunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteerBecome a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membershipDonate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donateSupport us on Patreon!

The Best and Worst Climate Stories of 2023 with Calgary’s climate community. Druh Farrel (former City of Calgary's councillor), Claire Kraatz (co-lead of Alberta's chapter of For Our Kids), Noel Keough (co-founder of Sustainable Calgary), Jenny Yeremiy (reclamation specialist), Jodi Conuel (program coordinator at the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley), Andy Kubrin (creator of the Alberta Beyond Fossil Fuels blog), Markham Hislop (energy writer and independent journalist), Daniel Smithies (volunteer & admin Coordinator at the Calgary Climate Hub) and Joe Vipond (president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment) join Steve Bentley to reflect on the year that was. *****In 2023 the COP global climate conference has never been more important yet more compromised. Catch up wth the Hub's daily COP28 coverage on this Youtube playlist 5ec28e3e36243a24b049ea873969f449****Energi Media https://energi.media/Markham Hislop Twitter/X: @politicalham****Alberta Beyond Fossil Fuels https://albertabeyondfossilfuels.ca****Bow Valley Green Energy Cooperative https://www.bvgreenenergy.org/****Sustainable Calgary https://www.sustainablecalgary.org/****For Our Kids https://www.forourkids.ca/****Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment https://cape.ca/****PATREON: Join the Climate Lens 'Focus Group.' These shows aren't created in isolation. They start with great conversations amongst smart people that care about the right things. We're going to ask the tough questions and follow the Truth wherever it leads us. Join us. https://www.patreon.com/TheClimateLens*****Calgary Climate HubWebsite: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.caTwitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYCBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/climatehubyyc.bsky.socialMastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYCVolunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteerBecome a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membershipDonate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donateSupport us on Patreon!

On Sept 28th 2023 the Alberta government launched an 8 million dollar cross country media campaign called "Tell The Feds" reaching audiences in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and of course here in Alberta. This campaign makes a number of dubious claims about Canada's efforts for a net zero energy grid by 2035 which would pave the way for a net zero country in 2050. To help us sort through some of the claims of this campaign we have with us todayJenny Yeremiy a Calgary-based Geophysicist turned oil and gas properties clean-up & reclamation expert and a member of the Calgary Climate HubRob Tremblay is an electrical engineer who works in clean energy, and co-chair of the Calgary Climate HubSasha Adamova is a high school student, member and public speaker from Fridays For Future Calgary, a grass roots, youth-led climate activism organization. ***** PATREON: Join the Climate Lens 'Focus Group.' These shows aren't created in isolation. They start with great conversations amongst smart people that care about the right things. We're going to ask the tough questions and follow the Truth wherever it leads us. Join us. https://www.patreon.com/TheClimateLens ***** Calgary Climate HubWebsite: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.caTwitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYCBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/climatehubyyc.bsky.socialMastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYCVolunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteerBecome a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membershipDonate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donate ***** Jenny Yeremiy: https://twitter.com/JennyYeremiyRob Tremblay: https://twitter.com/RobTPublicFridays For Future Calgary: https://www.fridaysforfuturecalgary.ca/ Support us on Patreon!

On September 16th, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a lawsuit against some of the world's largest oil and gas companies, saying that for more than 50 years, Big Oil has been lying to us, covering up the fact that they've long known how dangerous the fossil fuels they produce are for our planet. To get a sense of the scope of this news, as well as what it might mean for Canada and perhaps even right here in Calgary, we're happy to have Andrew Gage, staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law. They're part of the Sue Big Oil movement in British Columbia, whose website reads in big, bold letters : They knew. They profited. They need to pay their fair share. ***** PATREON: Join the Climate Lens 'Focus Group.' These shows aren't created in isolation. They start with great conversations amongst smart people that care about the right things. We're going to ask the tough questions and follow the Truth wherever it leads us. Join us. https://www.patreon.com/TheClimateLens ***** Calgary Climate HubWebsite: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.caTwitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYCMastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYCVolunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteerBecome a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membershipDonate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donations ***** Sue Big Oil: https://suebigoil.ca/ and https://twitter.com/SueBigOilAndrew Gage: https://twitter.com/singingwithinWest Coast Environmental Law: https://www.wcel.org/Support us on Patreon!

This month's guest is Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, representing 175,000 unionized Alberta workers from both the public and private sectors. Gil recently penned an op-ed for the Tyee entitled "Alberta Workers See Their Future. Denial Blocks the View" and his organization published in 2022 a roadmap for a prosperous Alberta that leads the energy transition instead of hiding from it entitled 'Skate to where the Puck Is Going.' Both pieces are required reading for any Albertan that cares about where our province is going during this critical time. We talk about this critical moment in Alberta's history and how to get back on the ice. ***** PATREON: Join the Climate Lens 'Focus Group.' These shows aren't created in isolation. They start with great conversations amongst smart people that care about the right things. We're going to ask the tough questions and follow the Truth wherever it leads us. Join us. https://www.patreon.com/TheClimateLens ***** Calgary Climate HubWebsite: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.caTwitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYCMastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYCVolunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteerBecome a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membershipDonate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donations ***** Gil McGowan: https://twitter.com/gilmcgowanAlberta Federation of Labour: https://www.afl.org/"Alberta Workers See Their Future. Denial Blocks the View" https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2023/09/03/Alberta-Workers-Future-Denial-Blocks-View/The AFL's "Skate to Where the Puck Is Going" report https://www.afl.org/ground-breaking_report_from_alberta_unions_urges_province_energy_industry_to_skate_to_where_the_puck_is_going_by_embracing_job-rich_energy_future#:~:text=CALGARY – Today%2C the Alberta Federation,the oil and gas sector. ***** The World Petroleum COUNTER Congress RSVP: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/wpcc_climate_rallySupport us on Patreon!

Just one day after Alberta announces a moratorium on renewable energy, Climate Lens host Bentley goes one-on-one with John Vaillant, author of "Fire Weather: the Making of a Beast." Don't miss this! ***** PATREON: Join the Climate Lens 'Focus Group.' These shows aren't created in isolation. They start with great conversations amongst smart people that care about the right things. We're going to ask the tough questions and follow the Truth wherever it leads us. Join us. https://www.patreon.com/TheClimateLens ***** Calgary Climate HubWebsite: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.caTwitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYCVolunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteerBecome a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membershipDonate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donations ***** John Vaillant: https://twitter.com/JohnVaillant"Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast" by John Vaillant: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/739360/fire-weather-by-john-vaillant/9780735273160 ***** Support us on Patreon!

The Pathways Alliance is a coalition of six of Canada's largest oil sand producers: CNRL, Cenovus, Conoco Phillips, Imperial Oil, MEG Energy Corporation and Suncor. Their stated goal, as per their website, is reducing annual oilsands emissions to net zero by 2050. A vital pillar of which seems to be carbon capture and storage, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently described as the least effective yet most expensive approach. It's been recently revealed that Pathways is lobbying the Federal Government for delayed and weakened caps on emissions, and they're currently under investigation by Canada's Competition Bureau over allegations of false or misleading claims in an ad campaign geared towards the Canadian public.  With us today, we have Alberta Environmental Network's Molli Bennett as our co-host. And to help us put all of this under the Climate Lens is the Pembina Institute's director of Oil and Gas, Jan Gorski, as well as energy writer and independent journalist Markham Hislop.*****Calgary Climate HubWebsite: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.caTwitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYCVolunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteerBecome a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membershipDonate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donations*****Pembina Institute: https://www.pembina.org/Jan Gorski: https://twitter.com/jangorskEnergi Media: https://energi.media/Markham Hislop: https://twitter.com/politicalham Support us on Patreon!