Fifty years ago, on a moonless night in the Fraser Canyon of British Columbia, I was trudging back to camp. As I crossed a railroad bridge, I heard the wail of a train whistle ricocheting through the canyons behind me. I couldn’t judge the distance between train and bridge, nor how far along the bridge […] Read more
Tag Archives climate change — page 8
Tax on barn heating misses climate purpose
The whole point of carbon pricing is to convince Canadians to change their behaviour and use less fossil fuel. In some instances, this can be effective. People who drive more fuel-efficient vehicles or install more fuel-efficient furnaces will save money by paying less carbon tax. That’s how carbon pricing is supposed to work. But what […] Read more
Grassland payment proposal gains momentum
Canadian Cattle Association says Ottawa appears open to a program that would pay producers to maintain grasslands
BRANDON — The Canadian Cattle Association has been getting a “warm” reception from the federal government as it proposes a new strategy to preserve the country’s grasslands, says vice-president Tyler Fulton. Last fall, the CCA, Ducks Unlimited and the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC)developed an idea called the Grasslands Conservation Initiative. The basic concept is […] Read more
Europe outlines ambitious 2040 climate target
The European Union executive backed away from climate science advisers’ recommendations concerning agriculture
STRASBOURG (Reuters) — The European Commission on Feb. 6 recommended that the European Union slash net greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040. It is an ambitious target that will test political appetite for the region’s fight against climate change ahead of EU elections. While the overall target was within the range recommended by […] Read more
U.S. feuds over climate funds
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — An effort by Republican U.S. lawmakers to reallocate $18 billion in climate-friendly agriculture funding under President Joe Biden’s signature climate law would shift money away from programs that primarily benefit farmers in Republican-leaning states, a Reuters analysis found. The Inflation Reduction Act money, earmarked for U.S. Department of Agriculture-designated “climate-smart” farm practices, […] Read more
Meat and dairy not ‘climate neutral’
Imagine a house is on fire, and someone is pouring gas on it. They then pour a little less gas and want credit for doing so, despite still feeding the fire. Perhaps they claim they are now “fire neutral.” We’d rightly be skeptical of such claims. Yet that is more or less what some influential […] Read more
Feds put enteric methane under the microscope
Enteric methane will be the federal government’s next big target that agricultural producers are expected to aim for. It’s the methane cattle produce when they digest food and is released mainly through respiration. Agriculture Canada made two big announcements recently that brought methane to the forefront of its climate change policy. In December, at the […] Read more
Implants seen as climate solution
The Canadian cattle industry is facing a quandary. With the global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, beef production must increase to meet rising demand. On the other hand, there is greater pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural production. Environment and Climate Change Canada says agriculture contributes about eight percent of […] Read more
War continues on clean energy in Alta.
Last year was a rough one for the many Albertans who care about the impact of global warming on their children’s future. Despite opinion polls showing 75 percent of respondents would like to see more renewable energy projects in the community where they live and 65 percent oppose the seven-month ban on regulatory approvals for […] Read more
Climate change, El Nino make 2023 hottest year on record
BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) — Last year was the planet’s hottest on record by a substantial margin and likely the world’s warmest in the last 100,000 years, said the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Scientists had widely expected the milestone, after climate records were repeatedly broken. Since June, every month has been the world’s hottest […] Read more
