Public attitudes towards the environment have changed palpably and rapidly; Canada's record as one of the worst environmental performers in the world has taken its toll, and Canadians are telling anyone who will listen that fixing this disgraceful situation is a top concern.

If Premier Stelmach chooses to implement the Royalty Review Panel's full set of recommendations and delivers Albertans’ their fair share, this is what I think my first son might have to say 23 years from now...

Manitoba, Quebec sand B.C. have at least stepped up to the plate with plans. Where is Ontario?

We've all seen the photos: northern Alberta's boreal forest marked by open pit mines, polluting smokestacks and growing tailings lakes. It's what oilsands mining looks like. With this big mess comes a big price tag and it looks like Alberta taxpayers might be left on the hook for the lion's share ($10 to $15 billion) of the cleanup bill, according to a report recently released by the Pembina Institute.

We're told not to lose sleep over oilsands reclamation though. After all, oilsands mine operators are required to clean up the land they disturb. Just in case operators don't follow through with that reclamation, the Government of Alberta collects what amounts to a security deposit to cover reclamation costs.

The problem is, it doesn't look as though the Government of Alberta has been collecting enough money to cover the cleanup - not anywhere near enough money.

In the weeks following the throne speech, both the B.C. budget and the new B.C. Energy Plan showed little of the forward-thinking and innovative approaches that characterized the speech.

The government has announced a number of first steps towards its target for 2020 - to cut BC's emissions by 33 per cent below current levels. But are they enough?

Some politicians worry about protecting "business as usual" in reducing national greenhouse gas emissions, but what Alberta needs is "good growth," not growth that is inherently unsustainable and ignores serious global issues and concerns. Alberta doesn't have to settle for "business as usual." We have a choice in this province: take control of our own destiny and lead, or be dragged into the future by forces beyond our control.

British Columbia's carbon tax holds the potential to inspire a new vision: to transform the economy from the brown, carbon-based solutions of the past to the clean, green sustainable solutions of the future.

It's been more than two months now that oil from BP's blown out Deepwater Horizon rig has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. A man-made disaster of epic proportions, some people are now claiming that it makes Alberta's landlocked oilsands look safe in comparison. In fact, that statement couldn't be further from the truth.

Just as British Columbia passes the first carbon tax in Canada into law, a new poll by McAllister Opinion Research has revealed that more than 70 per cent of Canadians support British Columbia's carbon tax as a "positive step" towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A credible environmental budget must develop a cleaner, more efficient economy, protect Canadians' health, preserve healthy economies, communities and ecosystems in the North, protect species at risk, and reduce wasted tax subsidies.

Judging by the turnover rate alone, it's clear that being Stephen Harper's environment minister isn't easy for anyone. But for the newest recruit, Thornhill MP Peter Kent, the assignment might be even tougher than usual. That's because Minister Kent took the job just as new U.S. regulations are shining a spotlight on our government's inaction on climate change.

Which country possesses the world's largest oil reserves, occupies last place in the international Climate Change Performance Index, and complains most loudly about the Kyoto Protocol? Many followers of international affairs may have no difficulty naming Saudi Arabia.

In this op-ed, Matthew Bramley, director of Pembina's climate change program, explains why Canada's stance on climate change bears surprising resemblances to that of the OPEC giant.

The recent UN climate conference in Bali concluded with governments adopting the "Bali Roadmap". But confidence in the environmental effectiveness of the agreement to be negotiated is undermined by the vagueness of the Roadmap text relating to the U.S. and developing countries.

Canada was once again accused of blocking progress on the crucial question of targets for industrialized countries.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper took a weak climate plan into Canada's election and won himself a stronger minority government - but there's reason to doubt that his proposed greenhouse gas regulations will ever see the light of day.

When Canada's federal government published an update to its regulatory approach for heavy industry this month, environmentalists hoped that this much-criticized proposal had been strengthened. Instead, it offered a mixed bag that probably served to weaken an already feeble approach.

Three consecutive environment ministers under Prime Minister Stephen Harper have failed to implement a single major policy to cut our growing emissions.

Imagine that Canada's Minister of Defence got up one day and announced that all our military decisions will be made jointly with the United States from now on. Canada and the U.S. would use the same tactics and embrace the same goals.

Hard to picture, perhaps. But it's more or less the approach that Environment Minister Jim Prentice laid out in a speech in Toronto last month.