Getting climate action on the education agenda

May 6, 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press – Last school year, a student of mine posed a question that reverberated through my thoughts long after the class had ended: “So, how are you advocating for climate action as an adult?” It’s the kind of question that I hope many of us are thinking about, but frankly, I think many of us are unsure about how to answer. As adults who care for the well-being of children and the environment on which we are all dependent, it’s crucial that we are able to respond to this question. One place requiring these kinds of action-oriented answers is our education system.

We might be closer to changing course on climate change than we realized

April 25, 2024 – Vox.com – Greenhouse gas emissions might have already peaked. Now they need to fall — fast.

Gas companies tell us mixing gas and hydrogen is a climate solution. New research shows it’s not

April 25, 2024 – National Observer – Plans by Canadian gas utilities to blend hydrogen into their natural gas supplies to purportedly reduce their climate impact will in fact generate more than double the amount of harmful emissions than using natural gas alone, researchers have found.

Province restores funding to environmental groups

April 22, 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press – The Manitoba government announced on Earth Day that it is restoring funding to three environmental non-profit organizations.

Carbon Dioxide Levels Have Passed a New Milestone

Apr. 20, 2024 – New York Times – According to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Monitoring Laboratory earlier this month, last year had the fourth-highest annual rise in global carbon dioxide levels.

Canada faces another grim wildfire season

April 18, 2024 – Counterfire – The wildfires in Canada kept burning all winter, and a new season is set to be catastrophic, as climate feedback loops accelerate disaster, warns John Clarke.

How extreme cold events fit into the global warming model

April 19, 2024 – Earth.com – Global warming is undeniable, yet recent winters have witnessed record-breaking, extreme cold temperatures in unexpected areas. This paradoxical situation has scientists investigating the Warm Arctic-Cold Continent (WACC) phenomenon and its far-reaching impacts.

How agroecology can be part of a ‘just transition’ for Canada’s food system

April 3, 2024 – The Conversation – Problems in Canada’s food system are being felt from field to fork — and they are increasingly hard to swallow.

Manitoba Food Rescue Grocery grows, to save more food and more money for customers

Apr. 6, 2024 – Every pallet of bread, potatoes or beef that arrives at the Food Rescue Grocery in Brandon, Man., keeps good food from going to waste. Even better, the operation has been so successful it has been moved to a bigger location.

The National Interest, Part 1: the Carbon Tax, Inflation & Climate Change Policy in Canada

Apr. 9, 2024 – Dougald Lamont – The math is clear: the carbon tax is not the cause of people’s economic misery. We need real investments that answer the real concerns of Canadians.

Conservatives to challenge PM to hold ‘carbon tax emergency meeting’ with premiers

Apr. 9. 2024 – IPOLITICS AM – With the spring supply cycle now officially underway, the Conservatives are set to devote their first designated opposition day of the season to a motion that puts a new twist on the party’s ongoing call for an end to the federal pricing regime by challenging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “convene a carbon tax emergency meeting with all of Canada’s 14 first ministers.”

What to expect from forest fire season

Apr. 8, 2024 – CTV News Winnipeg – Curtis Hull with Climate Change Connection talks about how this year’s warm, dry winter will affect forest fire season.

Big government, big trouble? Defending the future of Canada’s climate policy

Apr. 7, 2024 – The Conversation – The costs of climate change are piling up, yet almost 70 per cent of Canadians oppose the recent increase in the federal carbon price.

Letter: Blaming carbon tax for inflation in Canada is ludicrous

Apr. 7, 2024 – Saskatoon Star Phoenix – Pierre Poilievre and a number of premiers are campaigning hard to gather votes around the consumer carbon tax. And make no mistake, this is — for the federal Conservative Party particularly — the wedge issue that has found traction and boosted their election chances in 2025.

Time to get serious about energy transition

April 9, 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press – Premier Wab Kinew’s commitment to bring the working class along with his pitch to replace the federal carbon tax and rebate system with robust measures to reduce Manitoba’s dependence on fossil fuels is an idea worth consideration. But significantly reducing our carbon footprint will require new and aggressive decisions well beyond what the government has announced to date. And we have a lot of catching up to do, given the disinterest of the previous Tory administration.

Food Rescue Grocery builds on its success, moves to bigger location in Brandon

Apr. 6, 2024 – CBC News – Food Rescue Grocery builds on its success, moves to bigger location in Brandon. Store has kept over 740,000 pounds of edible food from landfills since opening in 2022: operations manager.

Detached from reality’: researchers say Pathways Alliance misleading public with greenwashing

Apr. 4, 2024 – Canada’s largest oilsands companies are “misleading” the public about their industry’s environmental impact, according to new peer-reviewed research.

We’re heading for uncharted climate territory

Apr. 2, 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press – Gavin Schmidt, the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, wrote last month: “If the anomaly does not stabilize by August, then the world will be in uncharted territory.”

Fossil fuel fouls clean-grid future

March 28, 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press – Despite its reputation as one of Canada’s cleanest electric grids, Manitoba Hydro used more natural gas-fuelled electricity in the last 12 months than it has in a decade.

NDP replaces nine-tenths of Efficiency Manitoba’s Tory-appointed board

Mar. 24, 2024 – Province of Manitoba – The Manitoba government has appointed a new board of directors for Efficiency Manitoba and issued a new mandate letter to the Crown Corporation. New board members include: Curtis Hull, Climate Change Connection, Cindy Choy, Chair of Sustainable Building Manitoba, John (Jack) Winram, Manitoba Environmental Industries Association, Kimberley (Kim) Laycock – dean of University College of the North, Steven Sobering, the City of Dauphin, Chantel Henderson, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Dudley Thompson, Dudley Thompson Consultancy, Duane Nicol, the City of Selkirk, and Stewart Hill, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO).

Canada’s warmest winter on record

March 19, 2024 – National Observer – The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

UN weather agency issues ’red alert’ on climate change after record heat, ice-melt increases in 2023

March 19, 2024 – Associated Press – GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. weather agency is sounding a “red alert” about global warming, citing record-smashing increases last year in greenhouse gases, land and water temperatures and melting of glaciers and sea ice, and is warning that the world’s efforts to reverse the trend have been inadequate.

Fill ’er up. Burn it down

Feb. 9, 2024 – The National Observer – Fuelling our rising horde of gas-guzzlers in Canada is burning down our nation’s climate promises and our kids’ future.

How the mild weather will impact the upcoming forest fire season in Manitoba

Feb. 7, 2024 – Though most Manitobans have been enjoying the mild winter, the warm weather may have some negative impacts in the coming months. According to Curtis Hull with Climate Change Connection Manitoba, the dry weather could have “really serious consequences” in the spring and summer, including increasing the risk of forest fires.

Landfill gas conversion will reduce pollution, make money: city

Feb. 6, 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press – A long-awaited city agreement to convert potent landfill gases into renewable energy, with a goal to raise millions of dollars by selling it off, appears on track to begin in about two years.

Environment groups urge NDP to turn to geothermal heating

Feb. 6, 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press – A coalition of Manitoba environmental groups is calling on the NDP government to launch a new geothermal utility to switch over electrically heated homes to ground-source heat to meet the province’s surging electricity needs.

Why climate action groups are calling for geothermal heating in Manitoba

Feb. 3, 2024 – CTV News – Manitoba’s Climate Action Team (CAT) is calling on Manitoba Hydro to create a geothermal utility as a way to save residents money and reduce electricity demand.

Climate scientists raising concerns over Alberta’s groundwater levels amid Prairie drought

Jan. 22, 2023 – CBC News – About 600,000 Albertans depend on groundwater, and scientists and rural officials say not enough is known about the effects years of drought have had on the unseen flows beneath our feet.

Feasibility study will determine the status of protecting Manitoba’s Seal River Watershed

Jan. 18, 2024 – Global News – The Seal River Watershed is one of the is one of the few large remaining intact watersheds in the world. Spanning thousands of kilometres of land in northern Manitoba, it could soon become protected land.

Kinew opens door to carbon tax talks with Ottawa

Jan. 18, 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press – Premier Wab Kinew is interested in working with Ottawa to examine the federal carbon tax in Manitoba.

Draft plan calls for industry-funded recycling system across province

Jan. 18, 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press – A draft plan now calls for the non-profit, industry-funded organization to take over processing the materials and let municipalities choose if they’d like to continue providing residential recycling collection or shift that responsibility over to the association, as well.

BREAKING: Greenland losing 30m tonnes of ice an hour, study reveals

Jan. 17, 2024 – The Guardian – Total is 20% higher than thought and may have implications for collapse of globally important north Atlantic ocean currents.

Global Emissions Could Peak Sooner Than You Think

Jan. 17, 2024 – Wired.com – Global deployment of solar and wind power, plus a surge in EV sales, means emissions from fossil-fuel-derived energy will finally hit the downward slope.

Scientists explain why the record-shattering 2023 heat has them on edge. Warming may be worsening

Jan. 12, 2024 – Associated Press – The latest calculations from several science agencies showing Earth obliterated global heat records last year may seem scary. But scientists worry that what’s behind those numbers could be even worse.

Competition Bureau launches investigation into Enbridge over deceptive marketing

Jan. 11, 2024 – The National Observer – Enbridge is being investigated by the Competition Bureau for misleading promotional materials in Ontario that claim fossil/natural gas is the cheapest way to heat homes and is “low carbon”.

Manitoba couple embraces green living in province’s sole certified passive home

Jan. 10, 2024 – Global News – Randy Webber and Mavis Lewis-Webber are embracing green living in Manitoba’s sole certified-passive home. The property looks like a regular home about an hour north of Winnipeg but it is rather unique. “The east, west, and south walls are 18 inches thick, and the north walls are 24 inches thick,” said Randy. The home is energy-efficient and uses geothermal energy for temperature control and solar power is used for the rest.

What climate scientists are predicting for the globe in 2024

Jan. 3, 2024 – Washington Post – As a year of surprising global warmth came to a close, a record high annual average temperature was already assured. Now, some scientists are already speculating: 2024 could be even hotter.

Much to think about — electrically

Jan. 3, 2024 – Winnipeg Free Press – Canada’s Environment and Climate Change Minister Stephan Guilbault recently announced that as of 2035, new vehicles sold in Canada will be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) — electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid. He also announced that Canada would be supporting the installation of thousands of new electrical charging stations.

Hannah Ritchie: ‘Doomsday predictions are a dream for climate deniers

Jan. 2, 2024 – The Guardian – The scientist, whose book Not the End of the World offers a data-based analysis of environmental problems and their solutions, on how being informed and engaged can prevent defeatism.

Remote northern Manitoba communities anxiously wait for winter road openings

Jan. 1, 2024 – CBC – Northern Manitobans are nervously eyeing the sky and their thermometers hoping for the right conditions for winter roads to open. Ralph Harper of St. Theresa Point First Nation, Man., is watching the river in his community hoping it will soon turn to ice. The river needs to freeze so the community’s 294-kilometre winter road can connect to Berens River. But, the weather is not co-operating in the Northern Manitoba community. “We depend on the winter road for our supplies, our materials, our food, our gasoline,” Harper said. “We only have a short window.” Typically the road opens around the first week of January and closes around the first week of March. He says that likely will not happen this year.

How companies are using artificial intelligence to tackle global warming

Jan. 1, 2024 – NPR Illinois – All sorts of companies and researchers have embraced artificial intelligence, and that includes people working on climate solutions. Julia Simon from NPR’s Climate Desk is with us to explain how AI is being used to tackle global warming. So, Julia, climate change means more wildfires, and I understand some companies and researchers think AI can help with that.

We Really Can Live Without Fossil Fuels! Curt Hull, Director, Climate Change Connection presentation at Speaking Up October 19th, 2023 at X’Cues in Winnipeg.

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