Before we get to this week’s newsletter, we wanted to share a little update on our Black Friday toque offer: 110 of you have already made the leap to become members of The Narwhal!
Here’s what some of our newest members had to say:
The Narwhal is the first place I tell people to go to when they are looking for quality journalism.
You are like an endangered species that we need to care for because it enhances our lives.
It’s no secret we’re facing an ever-increasing demand for electricity. How do we scratch that itch?
Well, for one, we’re turning to rural and remote communities.
And whether those projects go ahead often relies — at least in part — on community buy-in.
But that’s not always easy.
Prairies reporter Drew Anderson has been speaking to farmers and landowners in rural Alberta who live next to a proposed development to build wind turbines as tall as the Calgary Tower. Some are definitely not buying in.
They have myriad concerns — impacts on the views, risks, whether it’s all worth it and why rural communities bear the burden while urban communities reap the rewards.
“The idea that if urbanites want clean energy, they can build it in their cities was raised often,” Drew says of his trips to Kneehill County, Alta., to meet with concerned residents.
But some landowners also allege they were approached with a deceptive and coercive pitch from representatives of the wind farm: there’s money to be made, your neighbours have all signed up, you’re going to be left behind. The company denies the allegations, but in a province where the rules for renewables are ever changing — and very different from those governing oil and gas wells — landowners are left to sort these things out alone.
And in the case of wind turbines, they have the power to reject them (not so if a company wants to drill an oil and gas well on your land in Alberta).
We think it’s just as important to listen to the voices opposing new projects as it is to listen to those for them — especially when there’s the potential to reach beyond echo chambers.
“Nothing is ever perfect and everyone has a bias,” Drew says. “Ignoring conversations that challenge our assumptions prevents finding the best possible solutions, no matter the situation.”
Speaking of clean electricity, earlier this fall photographer Tim Smith and reporter Julia-Simone Rutgers travelled to northern Manitoba, home to the source of much of the province’s electricity generation. The duo recently published a stunning photo essay from that trip. It’s a bird’s-eye view of the massive hydro-electric dams that feed Manitoba’s ever-growing thirst for power, and the power lines that travel down swaths as wide as 50 highway lanes to get to the province’s urban centres. Go here for a dizzying view.
It all adds up to an up-close look at electricity generation on the Prairies — something us city dwellers (i.e. more than 80 per cent of us) might not see otherwise.
Earlier this year, The Narwhal announced its first art and design fellowship for creatives who are Black, Indigenous or people of colour — our effort to create opportunity in a field not known for its diversity. We’re absolutely thrilled that Kevin Ilango agreed to a three-month stint in our pod. If you’ve been following along, it’s likely you’ve already seen some of the ways Kevin has elevated our journalism with his artistic talent and keen eye for design.
A career in art wasn’t obvious for Kevin, born into an army family. “Yet, from drawing pictures to braiding hair to writing a 250-page profanity-laden fan-follow-up to Pulp Fiction when I was 12, my folks were always encouraging me to be creative,” Kevin says.
Check out our Q&A with Kevin to learn a little more about the winding, global path that brought him to our pod.
This week in The Narwhal
Three MPs set politics aside for a cross-party effort against corporate greenwashing By Carl Meyer
Liberal, NDP and Bloc Québécois joined forces against greenwashing and oil companies don’t like the result. New rules target corporate claims about environmental plans and activities, not just products.
Margaret Atwood tells us which species she finds so annoying she might just kill it By Sharon J. Riley READ MORE
Goats, not glyphosate: critics see alternatives to Coastal GasLink’s herbicide plans By Matt Simmons READ MORE
As commercial herring fishery looms, W̱SÁNEĆ hereditary chiefs try to protect ‘last gasp’ of the fish in Salish Sea By Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood READ MORE
What just happened with Vancouver’s heated debate on natural gas? By Michelle Cyca READ MORE
Ontario’s Bill 212 passed: Highway 413 is in and bike lanes are out. What now? By Emma McIntosh READ MORE
That feeling when you just can’t wait for your Narwhal toque to arrive. Get yours!
Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. When I visited my reserve, Moose Factory,...
Your access to our journalism is free — always. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for investigative reporting on the natural world in Canada you won’t find anywhere else.
Your access to our journalism is free — always. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for investigative reporting on the natural world in Canada you won’t find anywhere else.
With headlines blaring about tariffs, a trade war and a 51st state, it can be easy to feel helpless. Here’s where I see hope: The Narwhal is reporting doggedly on issues surrounding the natural world in Canada that feel so under threat today — including the autonomy and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples. It’s why I’m a member — and why I hope you’ll be one of 400 readers who joins me this April. Sign up now and receive a Narwhal tote bag as a gift of thanks! — Tanya Talaga, journalist, author and recent Narwhal board chair
With headlines blaring about tariffs, a trade war and a 51st state, it can be easy to feel helpless. Here’s where I see hope: The Narwhal is reporting doggedly on issues surrounding the natural world in Canada that feel so under threat today — including the autonomy and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples. It’s why I’m a member — and why I hope you’ll be one of 400 readers who joins me this April. — Tanya Talaga, journalist, author and recent Narwhal board chair
