Apr 24 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — ST. ALBERT, Alta. — A fatality inquiry into the shooting death of a Mountie at an Edmonton-area casino heard Wednesday that the killer was wanted on 29 warrants and had drugs in his system. Const. David Wynn, 42, was investigating a stolen truck in the bedroom community of St. Albert when he was killed in 2015. Court heard during the […]
Apr 23 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — Carbon taxes aren't the only way to fight climate change, says federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna. Speaking ahead of an international conservation conference, McKenna said protecting natural areas can go a long way toward slowing the progress and mitigating the impact of global warming. "Nature isn't linked to climate as much as it should be," […]
Apr 23 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — New federal research suggests greenhouse gas emissions from Alberta's oilsands may be significantly higher than industry reports. In a study published Tuesday, Environment Canada scientists say four major oilsands mines are releasing an average of about one-third more carbon dioxide per barrel of oil than they report — a crucial number used for everything from determining national emissions […]
Apr 17 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — EDMONTON — Alberta's incoming premier plans to take on environmental charities that he says are blocking exports of the province's oil, but those groups may be saying "bring it on." In his victory speech Tuesday, Jason Kenney repeated his promise to fight back against Canadian environmental groups that take money from American foundations with what he says […]
Apr 12 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — Between politicians who fog the truth and the ones just in a fog, Chris Ragan wants to fan fresh air into a carbon tax debate that is clouding Alberta's provincial election and drifting into an upcoming federal campaign. "It's pretty clear this issue is warming up politically," said Ragan, head of Canada's Ecofiscal Commission, a non-partisan group of […]
Apr 10 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — EDMONTON — Getting Alberta's economy running on all its fossil-fuel-powered cylinders is at the heart of the province's election campaign. But some of Canada's top energy thinkers — as well as international experts — warn there's no pedal any premier can stomp to make that engine rev like it used to. "No policy of any Alberta government […]
Apr 4 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — A longtime mining geologist and developer has come up with his own solution to Canada's long-running Arctic sovereignty dispute with Denmark. John Robins has filed and been granted a mineral exploration claim under Canadian law to Hans Island — a remote pimple of rock between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that lies exactly on the international border. […]
Apr 4 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — The federal government has proposed accepting British Columbia's rules to cut methane emissions that cause climate change despite an independent report that says the regulations would be weaker than Ottawa's. Some environmental groups fear the same could happen in Alberta and Saskatchewan, which they say would make it harder for Canada to meet its greenhouse gas commitments. […]
Apr 4 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — The federal government has proposed accepting British Columbia's rules to cut methane emissions that cause climate change despite an independent report that says the regulations would be weaker than Ottawa's. Some environmental groups fear the same could happen in Alberta and Saskatchewan, which they say would make it harder for Canada to meet its greenhouse gas commitments. […]
Mar 27 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — Research has uncovered powerful evidence linking shrinking sea ice in the Arctic to snow and rain in central North America. A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature suggests that a long dry period about 8,000 years ago through the centre of the continent was influenced by disappearing sea ice — the same mechanism that many […]
Mar 25 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — The Canadian Press — EDMONTON — The last legal restrictions on Omar Khadr were lifted Monday when an Alberta judge ruled that a war crimes sentence for the former Guantanamo Bay prisoner has expired. "I'm really happy with the decision today," Khadr said outside Edmonton's courthouse. "It's been a while, but I'm happy it's here. Right now I'm just going to […]
Mar 24 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — A global agency that sets rules for the seas is studying the environmental effects of more and more rocket stages that may contain toxic fuel dropping into the world's oceans. The International Maritime Organization's concern comes after Inuit groups expressed anger over Russian launch stages splashing down in Canadian waters hunters depend on for food. It also […]
Mar 17 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — EDMONTON — Researchers and forest managers are turning to artificial intelligence in the hope it can help them predict the risk of catastrophic wildfires as climate change continues to rewrite the rule book. It's been the subject of more than 150 recent academic studies, said Mike Flannigan, director of the Western Partnership for Wildland Fire Science at the […]
Mar 11 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — EDMONTON — An extensive study of caribou herds across British Columbia and Alberta suggests a way to reverse a long and steady decline of the endangered species — kill more wolves and moose and pen pregnant cows. "It's go hard or go home," said Rob Serrouya, a University of Alberta biologist and lead author of the study […]
Mar 6 2019 — Bob Weber, The Canadian Press — A Norwegian company with millions of dollars invested in the Canadian North is weeks away from losing a major contract in the emerging space satellite industry because of a lengthy government delay. Kongsberg Satellite Services owns seven satellite-reading antennas in Inuvik, N.W.T. The community's location on Canada's northwestern tip makes it an ideal spot for downloading data from the ever-growing number of government-owned […]