Curiouser and curiouser,” said Alice in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as didmany of us who are pondering the Alberta government’s contention that the latest plan to shoot grizzly bears isn’t a hunt. No, in double-speak, it is “protection of life and property from problem wildlife.” According to Todd Loewen, minister of silly stuff, the government […] Read more
Stories by Lorne Fitch
Irrigation study in Alta. comes up dry
One definition of a consultant is someone who looks at your watch and tells you what time it is. The recently released consultant’s report, Adaptation Roadmap for the SSRB: Assessment of Strategic Water Management Projects to Support Economic Development in the South Saskatchewan River Basin, is a mirror reflecting the aspirations of the irrigation lobby. […] Read more
The coal mine project that will not die
In the recent pronouncement from Alberta’s minister of energy that the proposed Grassy Mountain coal mine near Blairmore, Alta., is still an “advanced project,” one might conclude he believes in the living dead. Nothing, it seems, is ever dead. It just waits in a moribund condition for the kiss of life from a government out […] Read more
Southern Alberta running on empty
There needs to be reminders that the frontier aspect of Alberta is over and we need to grow up. Unlimited space and inexhaustible resources are no more. Perhaps last on the list to be recognized is water, especially for southern Alberta. The Alberta government seems incoherently reluctant to make Albertans aware of the real possibility […] Read more
Alta. coal battles keep returning
The persistence of Benga, now renamed Northback, an Australian mining company, is testament to never accepting “no” for an answer. Money has paved the way for an intensive lobbying effort with Alberta politicians and bureaucrats, only exceeded by the effort displayed by the petroleum industry. The Grassy Mountain coal mine proposal in Alberta’s eastern slopes […] Read more
Irrigation expansion not a good idea
Irrigation expansion in the context of a declining supply of water lies on the razor’s edge between optimism and delusion, between audacity and foolishness and between imagination and flimflammery.
Sask. public land needs better access
My travels in Saskatchewan have convinced me that the province is a friendly place, until you want to access public land for nature appreciation. Recent encounters with several militant ranchers in the Great Sand Hills, a massive block of public land including a huge ecological reserve, indicates public land seems to be treated by them […] Read more
Alta. politics have become too smoky
Watching and tending campfires is a contemplative affair, especially when the wood is punky and damp. As smoke billows out I think about the parallel to politics, politicians and policies. Damp, slightly rotten wood produces little flame, or heat, but much smoke. This creates the illusion of light and warmth but holding your hand over […] Read more
Mr. Kenney, stop the name-calling
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, you throw the term eco-terrorists out on a somewhat regular basis; I suppose whenever you are peeved at some concern voiced about the environment. I guess, by whatever interpretation you use for “eco-terrorists”, as a biologist and a person concerned about the environment, I seem to be one. You include in […] Read more
Alberta’s coal policy review is flawed
There’s one sure-fire way to anger Albertans – promise us one thing and then renege on the promise. In the midst of the rage over an extremely ill-considered plan to throw open the Eastern Slopes for coal mining, we were promised an independent process to provide advice to government on the future of coal. From […] Read more
