What’s that they say about the first casualty of war? You can obviously say the same for Canadian elections.

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.