Does Going Green Put Wildlife in the Red?

BY LORNE FITCH
There is no question we need to transition from fossil fuels to alternate energy sources. It’s hard to find a species in Alberta not affected by climate change. But we shouldn’t be blind to the issues renewable energy solutions can cause to wildlife and their habitats.

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Who Is Minding Alberta’s Fish and Wildlife?

BY LORNE FITCH

The task of allocating fish and wildlife has been hived off to Forestry, Parks and Tourism. The fish culture section (all the hatcheries) has been sent to Agriculture and Irrigation, leaving the species at risk function behind in Environment and Protected Areas.

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Shall We Gather at the River?
Irrigation and the Future of Southern Alberta’s Rivers

BY LORNE FITCH

In the heat dome and severe low flows of 2021, our canoe left smears of colour on several barely submerged boulders of one of Alberta’s prairie rivers. These low water levels had me reflecting on the recent scheme by southern Alberta’s irrigation sector to expand irrigated acreage. I thought of the old hymn, “Shall we Gather at the River.”

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Space: A Frontier No Longer?

BY LORNE FITCH

Outer space may still be a frontier, but the space we call wilderness is getting increasingly crowded. The refrain I hear, from people who remember the Eastern Slopes from a previous era, echoes Yogi Berra’s enigmatic statement that “No one goes there, it’s too crowded.” I know I’m reluctant to visit there now, based on my memories of a place much quieter, with less traffic and fewer people.

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A Dangerous Man with a Dangerous Concept – Brad Stelfox

BY LORNE FITCH

Over time there have been some notably dangerous men and women who have confronted the status quo, toppled conventional thinking, debunked ideologies, and pried off our blinders. Dr. Brad Stelfox is one of these individuals and cumulative effects assessment is the idea he is advancing.

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