The Climate Lens

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-1m9M3V8PShexQTItA Transcript 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_20240130 2) Advocacy in the Prairies - February 10th (in Calgary): https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/crpc_prairies_advocacy_training_calgary_jan24 3) The Kananaskis Logging Slowdown Campaign: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/kananaskis_logging_slowdown_24 ***** Alberta Wilderness Association website https://albertawilderness.ca Twitter/X @ABWilderness Phillip Meintzer @PhillipMeintzer Kennedy Halvorson @kentomologie AWA 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 Hub Website: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYC Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/climatehubyyc.bsky.social Mastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYC Volunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteer Become a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membership Donate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donate Support 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  38c45b281a948870755599cf92265241**** 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 Hub Website: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYC Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/climatehubyyc.bsky.social Mastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYC Volunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteer Become a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membership Donate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donate Support 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 today Jenny Yeremiy a Calgary-based Geophysicist turned oil and gas properties clean-up & reclamation expert and a member of the Calgary Climate Hub Rob Tremblay is an electrical engineer who works in clean energy, and co-chair of the Calgary Climate Hub Sasha 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 Hub Website: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYC Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/climatehubyyc.bsky.social Mastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYC Volunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteer Become a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membership Donate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donate   *****   Jenny Yeremiy: https://twitter.com/JennyYeremiy Rob Tremblay: https://twitter.com/RobTPublic Fridays 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 Hub Website: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYC Mastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYC Volunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteer Become a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membership Donate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donations   *****   Sue Big Oil: https://suebigoil.ca/ and https://twitter.com/SueBigOil Andrew Gage: https://twitter.com/singingwithin West 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 Hub Website: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYC Mastodon: https://campaign.openworlds.info/@ClimateHubYYC Volunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteer Become a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membership Donate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donations   *****   Gil McGowan: https://twitter.com/gilmcgowan Alberta 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_rally Support 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 Hub Website: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYC Volunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteer Become a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membership Donate! 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 Hub Website: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClimateHubYYC Volunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteer Become a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membership Donate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donations ***** Pembina Institute: https://www.pembina.org/ Jan Gorski: https://twitter.com/jangorsk Energi Media: https://energi.media/ Markham Hislop: https://twitter.com/politicalham   Support us on Patreon!

Today, we discuss the proposed clear-cut logging in the West Bragg Creek area of Alberta with the help of Devon Earl, conservation specialist from the Alberta Wilderness Association. We shed light on the potential impacts of the logging plans, the importance of public consultation, the value of the area for outdoor recreation, and the need for collective action to protect Alberta's wild spaces. The episode also addresses the relationship between logging and wildfires and highlights the historical focus on resource extraction rather than environmental considerations in forest management. Co-hosted by Molli Bennett of Alberta Environmental Network and Alberta Talks. ***** For feedback and more information about logging plans, contact Spray Lake Sawmills. The company will be conducting open houses as they plan the logging operation in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Website: https://spraylakesawmills.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spraylakesawmills Learn about the Alberta Forest Act and Forest Management Agreements through CPAWS Forest Steward program: https://cpaws-southernalberta.org/conservation/sustainable-forestry/ Engage with Alberta land conservation efforts – Alberta Wilderness Association - https://albertawilderness.ca/ ***** Calgary Climate Hub Website: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca Twitter: @ClimateHubYYC Volunteer! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteer Become a Member! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membership Donate! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donations ***** Check out ACOC 5.3 featuring Seth Klein & Climate Emergency Unit's 6 Markers of a Climate Emergency. Special guests include CEU + Climate Justice Edmonton's Juan Vargas, CAPE + the Hub's Dr Joe Vipond, the Calgary Alliance For the Common Good & more!  38c45b281a948870755599cf92265241  ***** We're coming to that time of year again, our 3rd annual Hub and Spokes city bike/skate/scooter/whatever tour is Saturday July 22nd. Spaces are limited so RSVP fast & we'll see you on the downtown bike paths. This is a members-only event so become a member TODAY! https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/hub_and_spokes_2023 ***** It's becoming abundantly clear: until we start showing up in numbers you can expect all levels of government to continue failing us on Climate Change. Your next opportunity is this Wednesday at noon. Join us at 350.org's "Canada Is Burning Day Of Action" this June 28th at noon. We deserve better. Details at this link: https://act.350.org/event/canada-burning-doa/25645/ ***** Outdoor lovers oppose clearcut logging plan that would affect hiking trails near Bragg Creek: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bragg-creek-clearcut-2026-1.6877109 Plans to clear-cut popular trail near Bragg Creek prompts tourism and environmental concerns https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/plans-to-clear-cut-popular-trail-near-bragg-creek-prompts-tourism-and-environmental-concerns-1.6424700 ***** Alberta Wilderness Association https://albertawilderness.ca/ Adventures for Wilderness: https://www.adventuresforwilderness.ca/ Twitter @ABWilderness Instagram @albertawildernessassociation Devon Earl twitter: @DevonEarlAWA Don’t Mine McClelland Letter Writing Campaign: https://albertawilderness.ca/dontminemcclelland/send-an-email-dont-mine-mcclelland/ Send a Letter of Concern regarding Alberta’s critically low sage-grouse population: https://albertawilderness.ca/act-now/letter-of-concern-regarding-albertas-critically-low-sage-grouse-population/ ***** Alberta Environmental Network https://www.aenweb.ca/ Alberta Talks https://albertatalks.ca/           Support us on Patreon!

The Climate Lens reacts to the Alberta Provincial Election Debate. Support us on Patreon!

As the Alberta election campaign reaches its midpoint, hot and dry conditions have stoked wildfires in the north. Robert Tremblay unveils the Calgary Climate Hub’s 2023 Provincial Election Platform, and climate advocate Thana Boonlert joins Steve Bentley and Deborah Wong for analysis. Check out the Hub's full 2023 #AlbertaElection Platform here: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/announcing_our_election_climate_platform Sign our petition here: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/ab_election_signup **** Protect Our Winters, Calgary Chapter: https://www.protectourwinters.ca/calgary **** Calgary Climate Hub: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca Become a Member of the Hub: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/membership Donate to the Hub: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/donations Volunteer for the Hub: https://www.calgaryclimatehub.ca/volunteer The Climate Lens Podcast: https://www.podcastics.com/podcast/the-climate-lens/     Support the podcast! Become a patreon supporter and join The Focus Group! https://www.patreon.com/TheClimateLens Support us on Patreon!