Since her common-sense quip that most of Canada’s tar sands reserves will have to stay in the ground, Linda McQuaig has been vilified by much of the political establishment and (rightfully) defended by a minority of voices in the media.

Canada’s provincial leaders finalized the Canadian Energy Strategy Friday with a document many onlookers are criticizing as too reliant on traditional carbon-based sources of energy.

In an exclusive interview with DeSmog Canada, former BC Hydro CEO Marc Eliesen says ratepayers will face a “devastating” increase in their electricity bills if the Site C dam is built and emphasizes there is no rush to build new sources of power generation in B.C.

“With Site C, BC Hydro ratepayers will be facing a devastating increase of anywhere between 30 and 40 per cent over the next three years,” Eliesen told DeSmog Canada in his first interview on the subject.

The project is a joint venture that includes the city, landowner Teck and renewable energy non-profit.

VANCOUVER — The builders of British Columbia’s first grid-scale solar power plant in Kimberley named the project SunMine owing in part to its location on a former mine site. But the operation is also finding more sun to mine, exceeding initial expectations for electricity production.

Garth Lenz's 2011 TED talk (17.4 minutes), illustrated by striking photographs of the tar sands and northern boreal forest.

The following is a presentation by Sean Sweeney to the 'Democracy Rising' conference in Athens, Greece on July 18, 2015. Sean Sweeney, PhD, is Coordinator of Trade Unions for Energy Democracy. He recently joined the Murphy Institute at City University of New York to direct its International Program for Labor, Climate and the Environment.

Third memorandum or Grexit: What are the implications for the future of Greece’s energy system?

Full presentation:

BURNABY, BC, July 23, 2015 /CNW/ - The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union is joining First Nations and environmental advocates in opposing the B.C. government's approval of the Site C dam project, the union announced today.

"Site C is the wrong choice for British Columbia. The project is not needed: there are better alternatives," says BCGEU president Stephanie Smith. "Site C will cause massive habitat loss. It violates First Nations' indigenous rights. It removes high-value agricultural lands from production."