In the grey —Alberta’s relationship with oil in a changing world

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Image courtesy of The Gateway

This week we are lucky to have co-authors Elizabeth Gierl and Sofia Osborne read their feature article entitled “In the Grey” that was published in the April 2019 edition of the University of Alberta’s student magazine, The Gateway. In the piece, Gierl and Osborne set out to explore climate change, the Global oil market and Alberta’s complex relationships to the industry in the province. They also pose a question glossed over in mainstream discourse regarding Alberta’s oil production – who will even be buying it?

After the authors read their piece, Terra Informer Charlotte Thomasson sat down with them to delve into some of the research that went into the piece as well as to reflect on the current situation for energy production in the province as well as globally.

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Elections and the Environment

Edmonton alberta government, architecture buildings.

Alberta Legislature building. Photo cred: srichardson23

This week on Terra Informa, we talk about the recently released Canada’s Changing Climate Report, which inspired us to revisit an archive about the 2013 flooding in Calgary. We also hear Alice Major recite some poetry from her book Welcome to the Anthropocene, and get a run-down on Alberta’s upcoming 2019 election.

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Revisit: An interview with Tamara Lee about the 2013 Calgary floods

Terra Informer Chris Chang-Yen Phillips speaks with Calgary resident Tamara Lee about resilience and her experience of the Calgary flood in her neighbourhood of Sunnyside.

Alberta Election 2019

With a provincial election on April 16th and advance polling from April 9-13, Terra Informer Sofia Osborne gives us an overview of where to vote, why you should vote, and where the two major parties – NDP and UCP – stand on election issues ranging from child care to the budget, education, healthcare, and one of our most important, environment and the carbon tax. Check out the CBC Vote Compass if you want to know how your values align with the major parties. Don’t forget to register for this years election, as your vote truly does make a difference!

Alice Major poetry

To get you feeling reflective about the environment and your election decision-making priorities, we included some poetry written and read by Edmonton’s first Poet Laureate Alice Major. The works “Red Sky” and “Medias Res” can be found in the collection Welcome to the Anthropocene.

Headlines

The recently leaked Canada’s Changing Climate Report includes the works of 43 federal and university based scientists, and is a two-year mass review of published literature on climate change. The report highlights how Canada is warming faster than predicted, at twice the rate of the global average, and warming is extreme in the northern parts of the country. Higher rainfall is another observation, especially in winter, and increases the risk of flooding across the provinces and territories. While the report is intimidating, it is not a reason to despair as worst-case scenarios can still be avoided if citizens raise their voices and unite to demand change from corporations and governments.

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The Re Re Re Re Return of Terra Misinforma

APRIL FOOLS HAS STRUCK AGAIN. Tune in to Terra Informa as we travel in time.

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What would the world look like if we made drastic changes and prevented climatic warming? How would politics change, stocks, resource market trends? How are people shopping now, what is the latest tech? Take a journey with our reporters as we travel the world and delve into the nitty gritty of 2030.

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Conspiring with Plants

At Terra Informa, we conspire with our houseplants! [Top row, left to right: Andrea Wiebe, Sofia Osborne, Amanda Rooney. Bottom row, left to right: Hannah Cunningham, Shelley Jodoin, Carter Gorzitza]

Maybe you’ve heard of the Anthropocene, but have you heard of the Planthropocene?

After reading an article entitled “How to grow livable worlds: Ten not-so-easy steps“, Terra Informer Amanda Rooney wanted to share the idea of the Planthropocene with listeners! Amanda got to speak with the author of the paper, Natasha Myers, about her relationship with plants, planthropology and how you might reconceptualize your relationship with plants.

Dr. Natasha Myers is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at York University. You can find many of Dr. Myers publications, articles and other resources on her website.

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Headlines Links

The Green New Deal – link 1, link 2

Norway’s Divestment from oil and gas exploration stocks – link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5

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Exploring the Unseen Environment

Terra Informa in CJSR’s Studio A. From the top clockwise: Sofia Osborne, Dylan Hall, Olivia Debourcier, Charlotte Thomasson, Amanda Rooney, with Carter Gorzitza behind the camera!

This week we decided to shake things up on Terra Informa and take a page from one of our favourite podcasts, Radiolab! Specifically, an episode called Breaking Bad News Bears in which they tasked their reporters to pitch and produce a story about either breaking news or bears. So we sent our volunteers out to report on either a breaking news story OR something that fits into the category: the unseen environment

We ended up with stories ranging from ancient organisms (both big and small) to deleted provincial parks and murmurations. We’re pretty sure that our reporters did an amazing job! What do you think?

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Avocado Toast and Environmentalism

Photo Cred: Wendy Wei, Pexels

This week on Terra Informa, we examine the social ways we construct environmentalism, who gets left out of the discussion, and what this means for actually ‘going green’.

When you think of an environmentalist, what kind of person do you imagine? Does gender, race, or income influence this image? Is it all about eating organic avocado toast?

Terra Informer Dylan Hall had the chance to investigate the complex and social ways we understand environmentalism and environmental practices by interviewing Dr. Emily Huddart Kennedy, sociology professor at the University of British Columbia. We hear a snippet of a talk given by Dr. Kennedy in February, at the University of Alberta’s International Week, followed by a deeper investigation and interview with Dylan.

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Climate Strike!

This Friday, March 15, 2019, join the Global Day of Action and march for climate change. Young people in dozens of countries, on every continent, will be striking together to bring attention to the climate crisis and the millions of young people who will suffer the consequences of increased global temperatures, rising seas, and extreme weather.

Here in Edmonton, the Youth Climate Strike will be held at the Alberta Legislature from 12-2pm. You can email yegstudentstrike@gmail.com to add your school to the list.

Download program log here.

It’s Time to Talk About Bugs

White-lined sphinx moth from Wikimedia Commons

Did you know that insects take up the most space on the taxonomic web of life? Did you know that about 75% of flowering plants are pollinated by insects? You might have also heard that insect biodiversity is on the decline. Sadly, what you may have hear is right. In a paper published in the Journal ‘Biological Conservation’, lead authors Francisco Sánchez-Bayo and Kris A.G.Wyckhuys state “almost half of insect species are rapidly declining and a third are being threatened with extinction”.

Can you imagine a world without insects? To some it may sound like a dream come true but insects are integral to the functioning of our world! From the food we eat to the waste we excrete, we have insects to thanks (we would literally be swimming in detritus if not for decomposers!). Tune into this episode where we show these important little creatures some well-deserved attention!

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Checking out bugs with Peter Heule: Q&A with the Royal Alberta Museum’s live animal supervisor

Terra Informer Olivia deBourcier interviewed Peter Heule, a live animals supervisor at the Royal Alberta Museum, about bugs. Originally aired on The Gateway Presents, we’ll hear about butterfly migration, what animal science is all about, how kids understand bugs better than grown ups think, and what a wild world there is left to discover!

The Good News: The Big Bee!

In light of the bad news about insect populations, there is hope! Recently, the world’s BIGGEST BEE, thought extinct for 38 years, has been found alive on the Indonesian islands of the North Moluccas. As long as an adult thumb, with jaws like a stag beetle and four times larger than a honeybee this dinosaur of a bee continues to be threatened, particularly by deforestation for agriculture, but the very fact that it persists suggests that extinction is not inevitable! Hannah Cunningham explains in this ecobabble the ways that we can all help pollinators keep on keeping on!

From planning what you plant, building bee hotels (a simple DIY bee hotel) to reducing your use of pesticides, there are many ways you can make your world more pollinator friendly

Environmentalism and Student Politics

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This week on Terra Informa, we’re talking about all things Sustainability. Listen in to hear what our UAlberta undergraduate SU presidential candidates, Akanksha Bhatnagar and Andre Bourgeois are thinking about the future of sustainability resources on campus, the position they are taking on the environmental issues of today, and a sneak preview of their platform. Then we’ve got you covered with this week’s environmental events. Happy Listening!

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Headlines

B.C. Provincial Budget Fund 1 Billion$ for climate action

The breakdown is as follows: $107 million will incentivize zero-emission vehicles and fund new charging stations. $58 million will go towards increasing energy efficiency of buildings and $18 million will help Indigenous and remote communities move to cleaner energy. Industry, who are responsible for the majority of emissions, will get $168 million in incentives to reduce their greenhouse gases. Another $299 million is allocated for initiatives that have not yet been developed or finalized, allowing new programs to get up and running quickly. $111 million over three years to fight wildfires, including response and prevention, and another $13 million for forest restoration.

There will also be:

A new child tax credit, giving families as much as $3400 dollars a year for children under 18.
Eliminate interest on provincial student loans
Increased support payments to extended family members who care for children when their parents can’t.
A raise $179/month for Foster parents
Increased income and disability assistance rates by $50 a month
And a plan to decrease poverty projected to be released in the Spring

Protecting Water in Ontario’s First ever Green Bill

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Terra Informa

Weekly environmental news on Canadian community radio

In the grey —Alberta’s relationship with oil in a changing world

Elections and the Environment