http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:41:02 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Guest Post by Mark Jaccard, professor of sustainable energy at SFU and lead author for energy policy with the Global Energy Assessment. He chaired the BC utilities commission in the 1990s. A shortened version of this article appeared in the Vancouver Sun. BC’s proposed clean energy act has triggered extreme statements ... http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca/2010/06/08/bc%e2%80%99s-clean-energy-act-balancing-government-control-and-independent-regulation/ Canada's oilsands will become the largest source of US crude oil imports in 2010. A report being released by Cambridge Energy Research Associates speculates that the tar sands could supply 20% to 36% of American imports by 2030. “The fact that oil sands by themselves—were they a country—are set to ... http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca/2010/05/19/tarsands-now-number-1-souce-of-u-s-crude-and-just-getting-started/ The fabulous Peter Sinclair has started a Solution of the Month video series to complement his Climate Crocks of the Week debunking the anti-science crowd. This may be the best short video on wind available. Takes on some of the myths and looks at the incredible potential in combining wind ... http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca/2010/05/07/video-wind-solution-of-the-month/ Environmental Defence's Gillian McEachern surveys the damage in Falling Behind: Canada's Lost Clean Energy Jobs: We used the ‘investment gap’, the difference between Canadian and U.S. spending on renewable energy, to estimate the number of new jobs that could have been created if we had actually matched our southern ... http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca/2010/05/04/canadas-66000-lost-clean-energy-jobs/ Nova Scotia Premier Darrel Dexter is promising to quadruple Nova Scotia’s renewable electricity generation in 10 years. The NDP Premier’s pledge is part of the province’s Renewable Electricity Plan, announced today. Nearly 90% of Nova Scotia’s electricity now comes from fossil fuels (mostly coal) and the new plan aims to cut ... http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca/2010/04/23/nova-scotia-we-must-begin-the-process-of-weaning-ourselves-off-coal%e2%80%9d/ Chris Turner reinvents the Grand Tour in this month's Walrus. Follow along as he encounters a new experience: "naked envy" "A great chain of innovation stretching from Scandinavia to the south of Spain, ultimately encompassing all the essential infrastructure of our brightest possible future.... After a century as Western ... http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca/2010/04/14/chris-turner-euroecophile/ The IEA issued its review of the Canadian energy scene this week and made some pointed recommendations. As for the greenhouse gas reductions committed at Copenhagen, Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka politely observed that: “Canada’s record to-date suggests this target will present policymakers across the country with an immense test. It ... http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca/2010/04/14/international-energy-agency-has-some-recommendations-for-canada/ Here's some cosmic symmetry: NASA's James Hansen has been awarded the Sophie Prize which was established by Jostein Gaarder, author of Sophie's World; Hansen is (among many other eminent things) the author of Storms of My Grandchildren; the grandaughter in question is named Sophie, directly inspired by Gaarder's book. Congratulations to ... http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca/2010/04/07/nasas-jim-hansen-wins-sophie-prize/ "Harper gambled that he could break both domestic and international law on climate change and get away with it, and he was right."  Because "a law that the courts will not enforce is meaningless" -- like apparently the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act: Canada’s Supreme Court has refused leave ... http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca/2010/03/25/climate-win-for-harper-in-court/ Donner adds to his argument for an "opt-in" climate policy to get Canada unstuck. Arguments are arguments but take a look at his chart -- gives new meaning to 'sticking out like a sore thumb.' I trust that to many an "optional" climate policy smells fishy, like setting voluntary targets ... http://www.zerocarboncanada.ca/2010/03/25/letting-alberta-lag-2-more-details-and-sore-thumb/