An open letter from the Pembina Institute to Canadians
Dear friends,
As you may have noticed, the Harper government and the “Ethical Oil Inc” front group have been working to discredit groups like the Pembina Institute and our work on energy issues by claiming that we are a “foreign-funded,” “radical” organization advocating against the best interests of Canadians.
Leading Thinkers Give Their Views on Sustainability
While Canadian thought leaders view cutting
subsidies to dirty energy as having the most potential for greening the
economy, Americans and Europeans are far more focused on green infrastructure
investment.
This is just one of the findings of The 2010 Global Thought Leader Survey on Sustainability, a groundbreaking survey of more than 5,000 sustainability thought leaders in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. The survey was commissioned by the Pembina Institute from McAllister Opinion Research.
Thought leaders from government, academia, industry, institutions
and non-profit organizations completed the survey, which featured a core set of
sustainability-related questions plus four specialized sections: climate change,
sustainable energy, green economics and oilsands.
Paul Martin (Part 2) Natural Capital and
Environmental Indicators
The 21st Prime Minister of Canada speaks with Pembina's David Dodge
about importance of measuring natural capital: "I do not believe that a
sound environmentalist and a sound economist can differ." Martin says
it's important to develop alternative sources of energy and for Canada
to not only benefit from protecting the environment but from the
"tremendous economic opportunity" as well.
Value of Natural Capital in the Credit River Watershed
The natural capital of the Credit River Watershed near Toronto,
Ontario, provides more than $371 million in ecological services to area
residents every year. This finding is revealed in a new study by Mike
Kennedy of the Pembina Institute and Jeff Wilson of Credit Valley
Conservation.
“Natural capital is like the warehouse of nature.”
Mike Kennedy, co-author of Natural Credit
“Something not factored into modern economics are all of the services
that nature provides us for free, just by its mere existence — things
like clean water, waste processing, climate regulation, pollination and
a host of other services that are essential to human survival.”
Perhaps surprisingly wetlands provide the highest economic values in
services to the residents of the Credit Valley, contributing natural
waste treatment, climate regulation and water supply services worth
millions of dollars. The implication: remove the wetlands, lose the
services.
More...