UCP CUTS NOSE TO SPITE FACE

Alberta's squeeze on renewable energy has pushed investment to other provinces

DANIELLE SMITH'S WAR ON RENEWABLES FOR BIG OIL

CBC
Thu, October 24, 2024 

Wind and solar power account for about 30 per cent of electricity production capacity in Alberta. But development of new projects remains stalled, months after the end of a provincial moratorium. (Kyle Bakx/CBC - image credit)


Eight months after the Alberta government lifted its moratorium on the development of new, large wind and solar electricity projects, investment has yet to return as companies choose instead to invest in other provinces.

In Alberta, the wind and solar electricity sector has been weighed down not only by the lasting chill of the moratorium but by further unpredictability caused by the province's restructuring of its electricity system.

"It's just like wave after wave of uncertainty and challenge in the market," said Sol Hutson, general manager of foundation solutions with the solar tracker company Nextracker, speaking onstage earlier this week at the Electricity Transformation Canada conference in Calgary.


"When businesses are faced with those types of uncertainties, they pull back a little bit and they look for other places to invest."

Last year, there were about 1,000 megawatts of new wind farm projects announced in Alberta, compared to just 50 megawatts this year, says Jeff Fuchs, a senior vice-president with Vestas, a global wind turbine manufacturer that operates in all 10 provinces.

Sol Hutson is senior vice-president at the solar tracker company Nextracker.

Sol Hutson, a general manager with Nextracker, says the moratorium has developers slowing the pace of their investments in Alberta. (Paula Duhatschek/CBC)

"There's just no market," said Fuchs, describing the lack of investment in Alberta following the moratorium.

Fuchs, with Vestas, points to Quebec as a province where construction of new wind farms is picking up.

Interest growing coast-to-coast

Earlier this year, the Crown corporation Hydro-Québec announced it would begin constructing and operating wind farms with a target of generating 10,000 megawatts by 2035.

Elsewhere, the Crown utility B.C. Hydro has spent more than a year trying to attract new sources of clean electricity to keep pace with the soaring demand for power.

Ontario is in the midst of the largest procurement of new electricity in its history, which includes a pledge to use Crown land for renewable energy and building nearly 3,000 megawatts of new battery storage projects.

SaskPower has said it plans to add up to 3,000 megawatts of wind and solar to its grid by 2035.

Meanwhile, in Atlantic Canada, new federal legislation could kickstart the development of the offshore wind industry in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Companies that were developing solar and wind projects in Alberta are now investing in other provinces, says Jeremy Thompson, president of Eagle Spirit Business Development.

Companies that were developing projects in Alberta are investing in elsewhere, says Jeremy Thompson, president of Eagle Spirit Business Development. (Kyle Bakx/CBC)

"There seems to be a more openness to get into battery storage and renewable projects," in other provinces, said Jeremy Thompson, president of Eagle Spirit Business Development.

There is so little investment in Alberta that it feels like the moratorium is still in place, says Thompson, who has built partnerships between renewable energy companies and First Nations, including equity ownership agreements.

"Companies are looking at the opportunities elsewhere," he said.

The slowdown is in contrast to just a few years ago, when Alberta led the country in wind and solar investment because of its abundance of sunshine and strong winds, especially in the southern part of the province.

But on Aug. 3, 2023, the province said no new renewable generation applications would be approved while it considered their effects on agriculture, the environment, municipalities and "pristine viewscapes." That pause ended in February and a new series of draft guidelines outlining where and how solar and wind projects could proceed was unveiled.

The sheep and pigs spend the summer at Capital Power's Strathmore Solar facility, located east of Calgary.

The largest solar fields in Canada are located in southern Alberta. (Kyle Bakx/CBC)

The Alberta government points to project approvals to gauge the health of the sector. This year, 20 new renewable power projects have been approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission, it said, up from 12 last year and 19 the year before.

"Investment in renewables is alive and well in our province as we continue to see growth," said Ashley Stevenson, press secretary for the Ministry of Affordability and Utilities.

The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) has since announced the province has also tasked it with designing a new electricity market. Public consultation will begin next week, while the recommended changes are expected to be announced before the end of the year, an AESO spokesperson said in a statement to CBC News.

"Alberta is an interesting place right now because we're looking at a redesign of the energy market and we're also looking at a redesign of transmission policy," said Vittoria Bellissimo, president and CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association.

"Until we get solid rules on what the market will look like and what the transmission policy and cost allocation will look like, it will be very difficult for projects, any kind of energy projects in the electricity space to move forward," said Bellissimo.

THE OTHER ALBERTA;  OIL CITY

Calgary a leader in Canada's luxury real estate market, says Sotheby's

CBC
Wed, October 23, 2024 

This 3,160-square-foot home in Calgary's Lake Bonavista community is listed at $1,950,000 on realtor.ca

(Google Maps - image credit)

Calgary's luxury home market is booming, according to a new report from Sotheby's International Realty Canada.

The luxury real estate company said Calgary solidified its position as a Canadian leader in top-tier real estate in the third quarter of 2024.

In the first six months, more than 89,000 people moved to Alberta — a large percentage from Ontario and British Columbia — which increased housing demand and home prices in Calgary.


Sotheby's said 337 homes sold for more than $1 million in the city from July to August, which is an increase of 31 per cent, year-over-year. One home sold for over $4 million.

In September, 156 properties sold for more than $1 million, an increase of 15 per cent from the same month last year. Two sold for more than $4 million. In the previous September, no homes sold for that much.

Of all the $1 million-plus homes that sold in Calgary in July and August, 83 per cent were single-family homes, 14 per cent were attached homes and the remaining three per cent were condominiums.

This 2470-square foot home in Calgary's Scarboro community is listed for $1,349,900 on realtor.ca

This 2,470-square-foot home in Calgary's Scarboro community is listed for $1,349,900 on realtor.ca. (Google Maps)

Is a million-dollar home in Calgary still a luxury?

Don Kottick, president and CEO of Sotheby's International Realty Canada, told CBC News that Calgary is one of the most affordable major markets in Canada.

He said although the company's report is focused on high-end home sales, the factors that affect luxury properties also affect the entire housing market, to varying degrees.

"The whole market is a spectrum, and as we move along, the spectrum of activity in one area impacts another," Kottick said.

As housing prices rise across Canada, a $1-million home can look very different depending where it is in the country, he said.

"We segment the market into the million-plus, and obviously the million-plus still buys a very nice home in the Calgary and Montreal markets. It doesn't buy as much in the Toronto and Vancouver markets," Kottick said.

It's a sentiment echoed by Calgary real estate broker Jesse Davies, who told CBC News there is no one-size-fits-all answer as to what qualifies as a luxury home in the city.

This 942-square foot home, located in Calgary's Richmond neighbourhood is listed on realtor.ca for $1,049,000.

This 942-square-foot home in Calgary's Richmond neighbourhood is listed on realtor.ca for $1,049,000. (Google Maps)

Davies, team lead of the Jesse Davies Team at Century 21 Bamber Realty, noted luxury is relative to the needs of the person who is looking to buy.

He said factors such as proximity to downtown, green spaces and amenities such as hospitals, schools and public transportation will influence home prices, but certain people don't necessarily desire the things that drive the price of homes upward of $1 million.

"There's obviously certain suburb communities that people actually would prefer to live in than the inner city," Davies said. "Lake communities — obviously your land value is going to be pretty high because everyone kind of wants to be around the lake."

There is a lot of nuance behind the value of a $1-million home that goes beyond its cost, according to Davies.

Some estate communities in the northwest don't have close proximity to downtown, but they're near the University of Calgary, parks and hospitals, which make them desirable in their own way, he said.

"Some people don't need to commute to the downtown, right? They work from home, and it's more important for them to be around a lot of families," he said.

Corinne Poffenroth, senior vice-president of sales at Sotheby's International Realty Canada, told CBC News that $1 million can typically buy very different homes depending on which part of the city they are in.

"It's going to typically buy a little bit more in the suburbs than it would in the inner city in some of the higher end neighbourhoods," Poffenroth said.

She added the value of the land the home is on can affect its price.

"For example, you could see a luxury $1,000,000 townhome out in Aspen or Spring Bank Hill, but that would be attached," Poffenroth said.

"Whereas if you go into the inner city, say Elbow Park, you might get an older bungalow for $1.5 million that is pretty much just land value."

If the property backs onto a green space or a lake, even if the home itself isn't very luxurious looking, it may sell for more than $1 million because of its location, real estate agents said. The same applies for homes on land that is highly sought after by developers.

"If it's an attractive piece of land, say in the inner city, that would definitely be one factor in driving the prices up. But I think it also comes back to the amount of population that is moving to Alberta from other provinces," she said.

 Teenage Walmart Employee Was 'Locked in' Store Oven Before Being Found Dead, Emergency Audio Shows

Adam Carlson, Becca Longmire
Thu, October 24, 2024

Scroll back up to restore default view.


"Oven is on, unsure if the staff are able to turn it off," a dispatcher told other first responders

A teenage Walmart employee who was found dead at her store’s walk-in oven last week was said to be “locked” inside with the power still on, according to audio of emergency officials responding to the tragedy.

The roughly 90-second call, published by The Daily Mail, shows a dispatcher describe the incident as a “technical rescue call” at the Walmart, in Halifax, Canada.



AlamyThe Walmart in Halifax, Canada, where a teenage employee was found dead

“Female is locked in an oven in the bakery, oven is on, unsure if the staff are able to turn it off,” the dispatcher says in the audio.

Another first responder later asks, “The person trapped in the — on their – do we have the powers off for that, does the staff want to turn the power off? … In case we do make contact.”

Soon after, however, another official says that “the person was out of the oven upon arrival” and the matter was being dealt with by regional police.

The victim has not yet been identified by officials. PEOPLE has requested copies of the first responder audio related to the investigation.

Halifax Regional Police have said they were called to the Walmart location on Saturday, Oct. 19, at around 9:30 p.m. local time for a report of a "sudden death."

"A 19-year-old woman employed at the store was found deceased," a Monday, Oct. 21, news release states.

Police added then that investigators were "working closely with Occupational Health and Safety and the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service to determine the cause and manner of death."

In a further update posted on Tuesday, Oct. 22, police said the woman had been "located in a large walk-in oven belonging to the store’s bakery department."

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Authorities said their investigation was still ongoing and that it would be "complex" and involve "several partner agencies."

"An investigation of this nature may take a significant amount of time," police said, urging the public "to be mindful of sharing speculative information on social media."

Constable Martin Cromwell told reporters of the investigation on Monday, according to the CBC: "We just want to encourage the public to be patient with our investigation and be mindful that there is family members and co-workers involved."

Cromwell had no additional information to share when contacted by PEOPLE.

in a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday, Oct. 23, Walmart spokesperson Amanda Moss said, "Our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family."

"Our focus remains on taking care of our associates and making sure they have the support they need," Moss said, adding, "Our store will be closed until further notice."

Search of Manitoba landfill for remains of slain First Nations women on track: Kinew

Brittany Hobson
Wed, October 23, 2024 



WINNIPEG — The effort to find the remains of two slain First Nations women believed to be in a landfill is on track and excavation in the target area is set to start in early December, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday.

"I hope that everybody in the province and across the country sees that Manitoba values and honours Indigenous women," Kinew told reporters as he stood at the Prairie Green Landfill north of Winnipeg.

Kinew also addressed the families of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, who joined him at the site.


"I hope that as you see the progress that's been brought here today that it brings you some measure of healing," the premier said.

Preliminary excavation of a four-metre-deep top layer of material — above the area that searchers will initially focus on — is underway, said a government official.

The area is 10 metres deep, but the province said an assessment has been done to determine the amount of waste that needs to be moved.

A building is also being constructed for searchers, a power line to the building has been installed, road access has been built, and hiring interviews for searchers are in progress.

Forensic experts have been working with RCMP and the chief medical examiner's office to establish a protocol if remains are found.

Police believe the remains of Harris and Myran were sent to the privately run landfill in May 2022. Jeremy Skibicki admitted to killing Harris, Myran and two other Indigenous women and putting their remains in garbage bins.

The remains of Rebecca Contois were found in a garbage bin and in a different landfill. Those of an unidentified woman whom Indigenous grassroots community members have named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, have not been located and police have not said where they are believed to be.

Skibicki was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced earlier this year to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

Several family members and supporters held bundles of tobacco wrapped in red, yellow and brown cloth as they flanked Kinew.

"I think it's important to acknowledge that there is a lot of work that needs to get done. But for our families, we're finally seeing that light at the end of the tunnel," said Cambria Harris, a daughter of Morgan Harris.

She said relatives planned to later lay down the tobacco ties at a healing lodge set up at the landfill — something they do every time they visit.

Betsy Kennedy, acting grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, reiterated the importance of handling the search with the respect, care and diligence the families deserve. It's a sentiment former grand chief Cathy Merrick advocated for before her death last month.

Kinew also honoured Merrick during the event.

"This search of Prairie Green was something that she held very dear ... we dedicate these activities not only to the families that are gathered with us here today, but also to the late grand chief."

Police and the province's former Progressive Conservative government had rejected calls to search the landfill, partly because of asbestos and toxic material and as there's no guarantee the remains will be found.

The Tories took out election campaign ads before last year's vote that promoted their decision to "stand firm" against a search.

Kinew promised there would be a search if the NDP was elected. Earlier this year, the province committed $20 million to the search, matching a federal contribution.

"The search of the Prairie Green landfill was always feasible. It was always possible. It required political will," said Kinew.

The premier said the project has been designed to provide the highest environmental standards and protection for the area and ensure the health and safety of all workers.

"I hope we can bring your loved ones home," Kinew told the families.

"But the most important thing is we're going to try."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Oct. 23, 2024.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press


Work to prepare for Prairie Green landfill search has started, province says

CBC
Wed, October 23, 2024 

Concrete slabs are in place at the Prairie Green landfill for the building where workers will search through materials for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran. (Travis Golby/CBC - image credit)


WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.

The province says it's made significant progress toward the search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations women murdered by a serial killer.

Excavators have begun moving material away from an area of the landfill where the remains of Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26, are believed to be, said Amna Mackin, the provincial assistant deputy minister leading the operation.

An environmental assessment was completed earlier this year to determine the amount of waste that will need to be removed for the search to begin, Mackin said.

Work has also started on the building where the landfill materials will be searched through, and a hydro transmission line and access road to the site have been set up.

Next week, trailers for staff involved in the search are expected to arrive, Mackin said.

The women's remains are believed to have been taken to the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg after Jeremy Skibicki killed them.

Left to right: Morgan Beatrice Harris, Marcedes Myran and Rebecca Contois. Winnipeg police said on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, they have charged Jeremy Skibicki with first-degree murder in the deaths of all three women, as well as a fourth, whom community members have named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, because police do not know her identity.More

Left to right: Morgan Beatrice Harris, Marcedes Myran and Rebecca Contois. Jeremy Skibicki was found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of all three women, as well as a fourth, whom community members named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, because police do not know her identity. (Submitted by Cambria Harris, Donna Bartlett and Darryl Contois)

Skibicki was convicted of first-degree murder on July 11 in the killing of three First Nations women — Harris, 39, Myran, 26, and Rebecca Contois, 24 — as well as an unidentified woman who has been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, by community leaders.

The search, which could continue into early 2026, will involve sifting through garbage removed from a total area of about 100 by 200 metres — or about four football fields — to a maximum depth of about 10 metres, the province previously said.

An aerial view of Prairie Green landfill near Winnipeg in June 2024.

An aerial view shows Prairie Green landfill near Winnipeg in June 2024. (Trevor Brine/CBC)

The provincial and federal governments each committed $20 million earlier this year to help fund the landfill search.

B.C. Green leader spoke with NDP's Eby, but didn't pick up when Conservatives called

Dirk Meissner
Wed, October 23, 2024 at 6:28 p.m. MDT·3 min read



VICTORIA — The leaders of British Columbia's New Democrats and B.C. Conservatives have received the cold shoulder after looking to start minority government talks with the Greens following last weekend's inconclusive election result, party leader Sonia Furstenau said Wednesday.

She said she spoke briefly with NDP Leader David Eby on Wednesday and described the exchange as a "conversation," while a call from B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad went unanswered.

"I didn't recognize the phone number," said Furstenau at a news conference flanked by two Green members elected Saturday, Rob Botterell, in Saanich-North and the Islands, and Jeremy Valeriote, from West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.


The NDP is elected or leading in 46 ridings and the Conservatives in 45 following Saturday's election, both short of the 47 seats required for a majority.

A final count of ballots, which will include mail-in and absentee ballots, starts this weekend at the same time as the recounts for the ridings of Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre, where the NDP leads by fewer than 100 votes.

Elections BC said the final results may not come in until Monday.

"The B.C. Greens have played an important role in the legislature for the past seven years and we will continue to do so in this Parliament and future Parliaments in B.C.," said Furstenau. "Right now in B.C., no party deserves all the power. Based on preliminary results it looks like the people of B.C. have made it clear they lack full confidence in either of the two parties."

She said the starting place for the Greens to support whichever party comes to power in B.C. is her own party's platform.

"For me, our platform prioritizes people's well-being and my motivation has always been guided by the question: how do we best serve?" said Furstenau.

But she said it was too early to discuss Green election platform issues that include continued support for B.C.'s carbon tax, increased voluntary care of people with mental health and addiction issues and no future liquefied natural gas project approvals.

"Meaningful conversations with happen after all the votes are counted," she said.

The Green platform outlined the party's plan to combat climate change, which included favouring a carbon tax, Furstenau said.

Eby and Rustad said they would remove the tax, either in part or completely, if the federal government eliminated the requirement, but the Greens would look to close loopholes in the tax for corporations and increase the rebate sent to households, she said during the campaign.

Furstenau also appeared with former chief coroner Lisa Lapointe during the campaign and accused the other party leaders of indulging in unacceptable "dehumanizing rhetoric" against drug users when they pledged involuntary treatment for those with severe mental health problems and drug addiction.

The Greens also promised community health centres in all 93 ridings.

Furstenau said comments made by some B.C. Conservative candidates who won their ridings are truly disturbing, including racist, dehumanizing, homophobic and conspiratorial statements.

"I have yet to see a satisfactory response from John Rustad around this," she said. "Elected representatives have a serious burden and responsibility to hold themselves to a high standard and to see themselves as representatives for everyone in their communities. It's John Rustad's responsibility now to ensure his caucus understands the seriousness of the burden of being an elected representative."

If the election outcome remains the same, the two elected Green members could hold the balance of power, and Furstenau said her goal until all the votes are counted is to help those candidates get settled into the legislature.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.

Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press

Facts about the B.C. Greens who could be kingmakers in the legislature

Canadian Press Staff
Thu, October 24, 2024



VICTORIA — Two Green Party legislators could hold the balance of power in British Columbia after Saturday's provincial election gave neither the NDP nor the B.C. Conservatives a majority of seats after the initial count.

Both Green members are new to provincial politics, although leader Sonia Furstenau will continue to lead the party after she lost re-election when she switched ridings to Victoria-Beacon Hill.

Here are some facts about the MLA-elects, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell:

Jeremy Valeriote

Riding: Elected in Vancouver-Sea to Sky, which includes the communities of Whistler and Squamish. He is the first provincial Green to win a riding on the B.C. mainland.

Elections past: He lost the 2020 election by 60 votes to Liberal MLA Jordan Sturdy, who did not seek re-election.

Profession: Geological engineer and former councillor in Gibsons from 2014 to 2018.

Pitch to voters: He is opposed to the Woodfibre LNG project, a liquefied natural gas plant being built in the riding. His online biography says "the evidence is clear, whatever the big corporate interests and their politician friends say. It’s a bad idea for Howe Sound, for our climate, and for our kids."

In his own words: During a news conference with Furstenau after the election, Valeriote said he fully supports the party leader.

"I also have the same concerns about some of the statements made by Conservative candidates and support Sonia's assessment and path forward in this," he said

---

Rob Botterell

Riding: Saanich North and the Islands

Elections past: The riding was previously represented by Green MLA Adam Olsen, who announced in June that he would not seek re-election but campaigned heavily for the party ahead of this year's vote.

Profession: Retired lawyer. Botterell has been in private practice for 25 years and previously worked for the B.C. Ministry of Finance developing the provincial freedom of information law.

Pitch to voters: Botterell was an organizer in the fight against the Site C hydroelectric dam. His online biography describes him as dedicating "much of his career to fighting for social and economic equality, better health care, a stable economy and environmental protection for First Nations."

In his own words: In an interview on election night, Botterell said he would rely on Furstenau and Olsen for their experience.

"Certainly, I'll support them in every way I can over the upcoming weeks, making sure that we're all doing what's best for the Green Party and achieving the vision that is a forward-looking vision that really focuses on people, nature and wellness," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024

Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press

GOOD NEWS

Court of Appeal upholds Quebec ruling that invalidated random police stops

Sidhartha Banerjee
Wed, October 23, 2024


MONTREAL — Quebec's Court of Appeal has upheld a landmark 2022 decision that found a law permitting random traffic stops by police led to racial profiling.

The province's high court agreed with a Superior Court ruling that declared inoperative an article of the province's Highway Safety Code that allows police to randomly stop drivers without a reasonable suspicion that an offence has been committed.

The Court of Appeal says in the unanimous decision released Wednesday that the law violates Charter rights, including freedom from arbitrary detention and equality rights.


The legal action was brought by Joseph-Christopher Luamba, a 22-year-old Black Montrealer who said he had been stopped by Quebec police nearly a dozen times without reason, and none of the stops resulted in a ticket.

Superior Court Justice Michel Yergeau wrote in the October 2022 decision that “racial profiling does exist. It is not a laboratory-constructed abstraction … It is a reality that weighs heavily on Black communities. It manifests itself in particular with Black drivers of motor vehicles."

Yergeau said evidence had shown over time that arbitrary power granted to the police to make roadside stops without cause became "for some of them, a vector, even a safe conduit for racial profiling against the Black community."

"The rule of law thus becomes ... a breach through which this sneaky form of racism rushes in," he added.

The Quebec government had appealed the ruling, arguing the ruling deprived police of an important tool. A senior government minister said they were disappointed with the outcome, adding they would take time to go over the 72-page Appeal Court ruling.

"This was obviously not the desired goal," Public Security Minister François Bonnardel said in a statement late Wednesday. "This decision could have a direct impact on the work of police officers to ensure the safety of the population."

Luamba was backed by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in his constitutional challenge of the practice, with a lawyer representing the organization calling it an enormous victory for equality rights.

Lex Gill, one of the lawyers representing the civil rights group, said to her knowledge, it was the first time the courts have invalidated a police power on the basis it contributes to systemic discrimination.

"By unanimously upholding the Superior Court’s landmark judgment, the Court of Appeal has helped chart a new course for equality rights and civil liberties in Canada," Gill said in an emailed statement.

"The judgment confirms that where broad, arbitrary and discretionary police powers create a pretext for discrimination and abuse, they will not survive constitutional scrutiny."

The 2022 decision only affected random stops and not structured police operations such as roadside checkpoints aimed at stopping drunk drivers.

The decision was appealed by the provincial government, and some civil rights groups believe the matter could end up before the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Court of Appeal ruling by a three-judge panel gives the provincial government six months to make the necessary changes to the Highway Safety Code.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

Op-Ed: If the Gulf Stream goes, you can solve the housing crisis by building igloos


By Paul Wallis
October 23, 2024
DIGITAL JOURNAL

President Joe Biden's administration is banning new drilling over 40 percent of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, a region important for polar bears - Copyright POLAR BEARS INTERNATIONAL/AFP/File Steven C. AMSTRUP

The last time the Gulf Stream went on holiday during the Ice Age, North America and northern Europe went under about a mile of ice. What is now Britain became uninhabitable even for Ice Age hunters for a while.

That’s the scenario for 2025 and beyond if the Gulf Stream goes.

Here you’ll find images and thermal mapping of the Gulf Stream collapse. You’ll note that some of these images are quite old. The data isn’t new or even particularly unusual. It’s just gruesome.

The idea that it could happen almost immediately is very new. It’s also a major professional scientific commitment that’s unusual given the state of the human race at the moment.

Climate scientists are typically wary of anything that could be called “alarmist”, with good reason. The most important of those reasons is peer review, not unqualified babble from PR firms. Off-the-wall predictions can get buried and careers destroyed in seconds by peer review. That’s not happening this time.

No less than 44 top scientists are calling for urgent action. In the current political global stupor, that’s asking a lot. It’s also taking a very high profile on a politically contentious issue. Thankless isn’t the word, but they’ve made their statements.

It’s reached the point where even the pessimists are worried. The question of a collapse of the Gulf Stream, which circulates warm water through the Atlantic, isn’t actually new. Now they’re saying it could happen as soon as next year. The Gulf Stream and its wider framework, called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), look pretty grim.

Well, could it happen?

Maybe.

In recent years, the Gulf Stream has been looking more like a scrambled egg driving without a GPS. The thermodynamics of the northern Atlantic Ocean are complex and massive.

This is where warm southerly currents bump into the Arctic currents and the temperature differences cause major clashes seasonally. Hurricanes are the common events around this time of year.

What happens if the Gulf Stream stops isn’t under any sort of debate. The North freezes. Prehistory is unequivocal about that issue. A shutdown of the Gulf Stream is far more drastic and supposedly could last for centuries.

NOTE: There is still an “if and when” to this scenario.

The problem is that it’s looking far more likely. It has happened before. Greenland was ice-free in prehistory and then froze over. This is how.

The theory is that warming and cooling happen alternately and sometimes suddenly. There’s a reverse cycle to any climate cycle. The current situation is hardly encouraging in that regard. It means freezing or boiling at the extremes of temperature ranges.

Polar phenomena can also push the buttons for climate. The jet streams sometimes look more like pretzels than their usual patterns. If you remember the big ice storms of recent years, they’re a major factor. Add to that an “attempted Ice Age” due to the Gulf Stream going on leave, and you can see that extreme weather is not at all out of the ballpark.

Odd as it is for human reality to get any media coverage at all, this is big enough to rattle even the most apathetic media. It seems that even the Saints of Sycophancy pay attention to Ice Ages. Particularly if it could happen almost tomorrow.

Perhaps they’ll even grow vocabularies and spines and walk erect one day. Can’t wait to see the chat shows when that happens.

The bottom line here has nothing to do with selective ignorance, for a change. Anybody who’s ever used a coloring book or a crayon should be able to see the big thermal variations over time.

This is not an academic exercise.

___________________________________________________________

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.

'Serious risk' of vital ocean current collapse by 2100, warn scientists

Olivia Rosane

, Common Dreams
October 25, 2024 

Ocean currents are shown in the North Atlantic. (Image: NOAA)

A group of 44 climate scientists from 15 different countries warn there is a "serious risk" that soaring global temperatures will trigger the "catastrophic" collapse of a crucial system of ocean currents—and possibly sooner than established estimates considered likely.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, moves warm water up from the tropics to the North Atlantic, where it sinks and cools before returning south. It is, as letter signatory and oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf toldThe Guardian, "one of our planet's largest heat transport systems." If it collapsed, it could lower temperatures in some parts of Europe by up to 30°C.

That's why the scientists sent a letter to the Council of Nordic Ministers over the weekend urging them to take action to understand and prevent a potential collapse.

"A string of scientific studies in the past few years suggests that this risk has so far been greatly underestimated," the scientists wrote. "Such an ocean circulation change would have devastating and irreversible impacts especially for Nordic countries, but also for other parts of the world."

In the letter, the scientists detailed some of the potential "catastrophic" impacts of such a collapse, including "major cooling" in northern Europe, extreme weather, and changes that would "potentially threaten the viability of agriculture in northwestern Europe."

One study cited in the letter shows that London could cool by 10°C and Bergen, Norway by 15°C.

"If Britain and Ireland become like northern Norway, (that) has tremendous consequences. Our finding is that this is not a low probability," Peter Ditlevsen, a University of Copenhagen professor who signed the letter, toldReuters. "This is not something you easily adapt to."


Globally, the scientists said, the end of AMOC could cause the ocean to absorb less carbon dioxide, thereby increasing its presence in the atmosphere. It could also further augment sea-level rise along the U.S. Atlantic coast and alter tropical rainfall patterns.

The most recent synthesis report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expressed "medium confidence" that the current would not cease functioning before 2100. Since its publication in March 2023, however, a rash of studies have come out upping the risk.

"Given that the outcome would be catastrophic and impacting the entire world for centuries to come, we believe more needs to be done to minimize this risk."

A Nature Communications study, also published last year, looked at 150 years of temperature data and determined with 95% confidence that AMOC would collapse between 2025 and 2095 if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise as currently predicted.


Another, published in Science Advances in February, concluded that AMOC was currently "on route to tipping."

There are already signs that AMOC has begun to stall over the last six to seven decades, Rahmstorf told The Guardian, such as the cold blob in the North Atlantic that is defying global warming trends. The water in North Atlantic is also becoming less salty due to meltwater from the Greenland ice sheets and increased precipitation due to climate change. Less salty water is lighter and does not sink, interrupting the process that makes AMOC flow.

"It is an amplifying feedback: As AMOC gets weaker, the subpolar oceans gets less salty, and as the oceans gets less salty then AMOC gets weaker," Rahmstorf explained. "At a certain point this becomes a vicious circle which continues by itself until AMOC has died, even if we stop pushing the system with further emissions."


"The big unknown here—the billion-dollar question—is how far away this tipping point is," Rahmstorf said.

The scientists acknowledged that the chance of the AMOC tipping "remains highly uncertain."

They continued:

The purpose of this letter is to draw attention to the fact that only 'medium confidence' in the AMOC not collapsing is not reassuring, and clearly leaves open the possibility of an AMOC collapse during this century. And there is even greater likelihood that a collapse is triggered this century but only fully plays out in the next.

Given the increasing evidence for a higher risk of an AMOC collapse, we believe it is of critical importance that Arctic tipping point risks, in particular the AMOC risk, are taken seriously in governance and policy. Even with a medium likelihood of occurrence, given that the outcome would be catastrophic and impacting the entire world for centuries to come, we believe more needs to be done to minimize this risk.

To respond to this threat, the scientists urged the council—a group that includes Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Åland—to launch a study of the risk posed to these countries by an AMOC collapse and to take measures to counter that risk.

"This could involve leveraging the strong international standing of the Nordic countries to increase pressure for greater urgency and priority in the global effort to reduce emissions as quickly as possible, in order to stay close to the 1.5°C target set by the Paris agreement," they wrote.

Johan Rockström, a letter signatory who leads the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, wrote on social media that global politics, "particularly in [the] Nordic region, can no longer exclude [the] risk of AMOC collapse."


And there is one way that political leaders can stave off such a collapse, as well as other climate tipping points, according to Rahmstorf.

"This is all driven mainly by fossil fuel emissions and also deforestation, so both must be stopped," he told The Guardian. "We must stick to the Paris agreement and limit global heating as close to 1.5°C as possible."

Dangers of Atlantic Ocean current collapse have been ‘greatly underestimated’, scientists warn

Euronews Green
Thu, October 24, 2024


Dangers of Atlantic Ocean current collapse have been ‘greatly underestimated’, scientists warn


Scientists have warned that the dangers of the collapse of a key Atlantic Ocean current that helps regulate the Earth's climate have been "greatly underestimated".

In an open letter published earlier this week, 44 leading climate scientists from 15 countries said that the collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) would have devastating and irreversible impacts. They write that the risks require urgent action from policymakers.

The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report says there is "medium confidence" that the AMOC will not collapse abruptly by 2100. But the group of experts says this is an underestimate.

"The purpose of this letter is to draw attention to the fact that only 'medium confidence' in the AMOC not collapsing is not reassuring, and clearly leaves open the possibility of an AMOC collapse during this century," they write in the open letter.



Even with a medium likelihood of occurrence, given that the outcome would be catastrophic and impacting the entire world for centuries to come, we believe more needs to be done to minimise this risk.

"Even with a medium likelihood of occurrence, given that the outcome would be catastrophic and impacting the entire world for centuries to come, we believe more needs to be done to minimise this risk."

Related

‘Unlimited growth is an illusion’: Scientists urge fossil fuels phase down as Earth at tipping point


COPs are struggling to keep 1.5C alive. Are there better forms of climate diplomacy?

The letter is addressed to the Nordic Council of Ministers, an intergovernmental forum which aims to promote cooperation among the Nordic countries. It urges policymakers to consider the risks posed by an AMOC collapse and put pressure on governments to stay within Paris Agreement targets.
What is the Atlantic Ocean Circulation?

The AMOC is an important system of ocean currents. It transports warm water, carbon and nutrients north via the Atlantic Ocean where the water cools and sinks into the deep.

This helps to distribute energy around the planet, moving heat through the ocean like a conveyor belt and regulating our climate.

Warm water - more salty due to evaporation - flows north on the surface of the ocean keeping Europe milder than it would otherwise be. When this water cools it sinks because its high salinity increases its density. It then flows back to the southern hemisphere along the bottom of the ocean.

But studies of past episodes of dramatic cooling in Europe over the last 100,000 years suggest melting ice sheets could weaken the AMOC due to changes in salinity and temperature.

Fresh water reduces the saltiness - and therefore the density of the water- on the surface of the ocean. This means less of the surface water sinks, potentially slowing the flow of the current.
Are we heading for a catastrophic tipping point?

Some research has suggested that climate change may be slowing the flow of the current. One study from 2023, based on sea surface temperatures, suggested that a complete collapse could happen between 2025 and 2095.

There is huge uncertainty about how, when or even if this ‘tipping point’ could actually happen, however, and modelling the scenario is tricky. Most previous computer simulations that showed a collapse involved adding huge, unrealistic quantities of fresh water all at once.

In February this year, scientists from Utrecht University in the Netherlands used a complex climate model to simulate the collapse of the AMOC and discovered that it could be closer than previously thought.

Related

A La Niña event is likely coming to Europe: What does it mean for weather this winter?


‘No to the reservoirs’: Why are locals against this plan to save the drought-hit Panama Canal?

The Dutch team used a supercomputer to carry out the most sophisticated modelling so far to look for warning signs of this tipping point. They added water gradually, finding that a slow decline could eventually lead to a sudden collapse over less than 100 years.

Previously, the paper published in February said, an AMOC tipping point was only a “theoretical concept” and its authors found that the rate at which the tipping of this vital current occurred in their modelling was "surprising".

Large icebergs near the town of Kulusuk, in eastern Greenland. - Felipe Dana/Copyright 2019 The AP. All rights reserved.

But researchers had to run the simulation for more than 2,000 years to get this result and still added significantly more water than is currently entering the ocean as Greenland’s ice sheet melts.

"The research makes a convincing case that the AMOC is approaching a tipping point based on a robust, physically-based early warning indicator," said University of Exeter climate scientist Tim Lenton, who wasn't involved in the research, at the time.

"What it cannot (and does not) say is how close the tipping point is because it shows that there is insufficient data to make a statistically reliable estimate of that."

Lead author of the study, René van Westen also added that there wasn’t enough data to say anything definitive about a potential future AMOC collapse. More research is needed to work out a timeframe - including models that incorporate increasing levels of carbon dioxide and global warming.

“We can only say that we’re heading towards the tipping point and that AMOC tipping is possible.”



We can only say that we’re heading towards the tipping point and that AMOC tipping is possible.

Some of the changes seen in the model before the collapse do, however, correspond with changes we’ve seen in the Atlantic Ocean in recent decades.

“When the AMOC loses stability, as we know from the available reconstructions, it is more likely that abrupt transitions may develop in the future,” van Westen added.

Related

3,000 risk experts and 20,000 citizens name climate change as number one threat facing the world


As England suffers one of its worst ever harvests ever, what could disappear from shop shelves?

Lenton said that we have to "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" by investing in more research to improve the estimate of how close a tipping point is, assess the potential impacts and work out how we can manage and adapt to those impacts.
What would a collapse of the ocean current mean for Europe?

If the AMOC collapses, previous research has shown the resulting climate impacts would be nearly irreversible in human timescales. It would mean severe global climate repercussions, with Europe bearing the brunt of the consequences.

Some parts of Europe could see temperatures plunge by up to 30C. On average, the model shows London cooling by 10C and Bergen by 15C.

The report’s authors say that “no realistic adaptation measures can deal with such rapid temperature changes”.

Temperatures in the southern hemisphere would rise with wet and dry seasons in the Amazon rainforest flipping.

Van Westen also explained earlier this year that it could mean less rainfall and a sea level rise of up to one metre in coastal areas of Europe.

"The overall picture that AMOC collapse would be catastrophic fits with my own group’s recent work showing that it would likely cause a widespread food and water security crisis," according to Lenton.

Indigenous stewardship holds the key to wildfire prevention in national parks, Jasper hearings told

CBC
Thu, October 24, 2024 


Tensions ran high in Ottawa during a meeting Wednesday afternoon to determine the cause of the Jasper wildfire. (House of Commons - image credit)


Members of Parliament along with industry forestry experts and Indigenous land stewards criticized present and past governments for not doing enough to prevent the wildfires that destroyed 30 per cent of the Jasper townsite in late July.

Witness testimony during a parliamentary hearing Wednesday noted outrage over the lack of integration of Indigenous stewardship practices.

Meetings started in late September to examine the reasons why the Jasper wildfire started this summer. Thousands of residents and tourists were forced to evacuate the area and more than 32,500 hectares of land was burned.


"The intensity and prevalence of fires like these are exacerbated by climate change," said Dane de Souza, a Métis Nation wildfire researcher and firefighter.

"However, their cause is directly tied to the colonial suppression of Indigenous fire stewardship and fire on the land," he said.

De Souza said that Indigenous fire stewardship is a landscape-based science that is the culmination of 20,000 years of knowledge and practice.

An estimated $283 million in property value was wiped out by a devastating wildfire in July. A wildfire-devastated neighbourhood in west Jasper, Alta., Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.

An estimated $283 million in property value was wiped out by a devastating wildfire in July. A wildfire-devastated neighbourhood in west Jasper, Alta., Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press)

"Applying fire to the land has been and is a key component of how we as human beings have influenced our natural environment," de Souza said.

"As species of trees have grown to repopulate the landscapes formed by glacial recession, my ancestors were there every single inch of the way applying fire to the landscape to engineer the ecological conditions necessary to sustain themselves."

Amy Cardinal Christianson is a policy analyst with the Indigenous Leadership Initiative and spoke about ways the federal government could put Indigenous stewardship into practice by creating roles for fire guardians across the country.

"It's such an easy win. It gives people jobs, it gets people out on their territory. It increases the health of people and their landscapes, and it also reduces fire risk," Cardinal Christianson said, also noting that training people locally would lessen the reliance on bringing in international firefighting efforts.

Tracy Friedel is with the Lac Ste. Anne Métis Community Association and is descended from people who stewarded what is known as Jasper National Park now.

"The history of establishing national parks in Canada is complex and controversial, particularly as it concerns the displacement of Indigenous peoples," said Friedel who researches Indigenous education.

"These protected areas are praised for their natural beauty and their commitment to conservation, but their creation inevitably came at the expense of Indigenous peoples, some of whom lived on these lands since time immemorial."

Friedel noted efforts undertaken by the Jasper Indigenous Forum which brings together Indigenous partners and park management to engage in prescribed burns.

"Unfortunately, though, there is a lot to catch up on regarding a century of fire suppression, the impacts of climate change and wishing to meet the expectations of Jasper residents and Canadian and international visitors who desire a certain conception of nature," Friedel said.

"This type of cultural burning links to the idea of fire as medicine and was key to proper management of local ecosystems, something that Indigenous peoples were not given due credit for."

Jim Eglinski, a retired conservative MP for Yellowhead County, also gave testimony on issues surrounding the constraining of Parks Canada employees that were critical of the Liberal government.

"I am aware of one individual, one of the scientists working in the park, being terminated for comments that he made against management," Eglinski said in response to being asked whether he was aware of any Parks Canada employees who have been reprimanded.

"There was a two sides to the park, ecological side and a practical side. And there was controversies within the organization. People were afraid to talk," Eglinski said.

Committee members across the political spectrum each laid blame on another party, citing cuts in funding.

In mid-October Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland spoke publicly about the division this rhetoric caused amid a need for healing.

"The present atmosphere of finger pointing, blaming and both partial and misinformation is, from my perspective, beyond merely an annoying distraction. It delays healing. It introduces fresh wounds and fosters division, precisely at a time when we need recovery and unity."

 

The First Decade of Agency, an Anarchist PR Project

NEVER HEARD OF YA

Oct

21

2024

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From Anarchist Agency

Just over a decade ago, a small group of anarchist media activists started what they defined as an anarchist PR project—Agency was officially launched. As we develop a vision and plans for the next decade, we want to share how Agency came to be, how it has evolved, what we have accomplished, and how we hope to spread anarchist ideas and practices into the future.

The seeds of Agency were planted in 2012, when a few of us helped organize a public and widely-viewed debate between CrimethInc. and journalist-activist Chris Hedges about the tactics of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and specifically perspectives on violence and property destruction in contemporary social movements. Agency emerged from our recognition of the need to facilitate a better understanding of anarchist ideals among the general public.

We spent 2013 building the collective; the following year, Agency was officially launched when our website premiered. Agency was founded on the heels of social movements like Occupy, but the project was also inspired by anarchist practices honed during the Global Justice movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s, which included new decentralized forms of media like the global Independent Media Center network, and high profile direct action campaigns and mass mobilizations that garnered regular international media attention on anarchist organizing. 

Agency took lessons learned from these and other projects, along with our own analysis of the weaknesses and strengths of mainstream media coverage of anarchist theories and practices, to build a resource that offers a better understanding of anarchism and ties it into interconnected issues including war, racism, heterosexism, economic and social injustice, and the rise of neofascism. By inserting anarchist ideas into timely mainstream political discourse through commentaries, a newswire, and other content, Agency seeks to help fellow anarchist organizers and groups make often unheard and misrepresented anarchist perspectives better understood.

Check out our Agency Chronology for articles, interviews, press releases, and other content we’ve created in a readily available archive of 10+ years of anarchist commentary and responses to timely issues.

Black Liberation and Anti-Fascism Shape the Trajectory of Agency

Anarchist movements are often inclined toward fresh and urgent thinking. But ten years ago, the landscape of social movement organizing was lacking new public-facing anarchist projects. Agency was founded at a time of racial upheaval in the US, punctuated by the killings of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, and Eric Garner that helped, however tragically, to propel the Black Lives Matter movement. Black liberation, along with police and prison abolition, became a left political centerpiece in the last decade, and a focus of the struggles around which countless anarchists have organized.

Meanwhile, new Indigenous sovereignty struggles were also taking shape. We saw the labor movement initiate innovative organizing tactics that won substantial victories for the working class. Expert reports warned of the next extinction event: record-breaking heat waves, wildfires, droughts, and floods compelled organizing on a massive and international scale to fight the fossil fuel industry and other contributors to the climate crisis. Entrenched neoliberalism, a seemingly ever-expanding wealth gap, and a housing market that is increasingly out of reach for many Americans also prompted widespread resistance. And the countervailing rise of a new fascism compelled anarchists to refocus on the antifascist struggle that has been part of our DNA for the better part of the last century. In 2020, the US Department of Justice invented a new term, “anarchist jurisdiction,” as a propaganda tool and a means to repress left and radical activists. All of these developments created new challenges but also opened up fresh opportunities for anarchist education and organizing.

We were also seeing dramatic changes in the media itself. An explosion of workplace organizing by journalists has coincided with the industry’s shift away from print and a corresponding dramatic loss of jobs at outlets across the country. Paradoxically, more anarchists have managed to find a voice for themselves within the corporate media or with innovative online outlets over the past decade. And while the rise of corporate social media has often been followed by its co-optation, social media has also created new opportunities for movements seeking to broadcast liberatory narratives.

Agency Amplifies Anarchists in the News and Anarchist Voices

Agency exists in part to study and expose how anarchist movements are covered by corporate news providers so that, as anarchists, we can make better informed choices as to how or whether we want to interact with them. Ever since our website launched, it has been a crucial resource for anarchist theory and practice. Anarchists in the News provides a constantly updated collection of mainstream media articles in which anarchism and anarchists appear. Critical Voices is Agency’s platform for amplifying anarchist commentary on current events originally published elsewhere. These pieces call attention to issues of direct concern to anarchists and contribute to a radical examination of power relations, the state, and capitalism. We also issue press briefs that clarify the anarchist perspective on issues and events that reporters and editors don’t typically regard as having one, such as the spread of the Ebola virus.

News never sleeps, the saying goes, and neither should the anarchist response. Agency Newswire traces both mainstream and alternative media, highlighting pivotal political struggles and social movements over the years, including: resistance to state power in places like Greece, Hong Kong, Rojava, Syria, Ukraine, Russia, and Palestine; Black Lives Matter and the 2020 uprisings across the US, sparked by the police murder of George Floyd; the rise of antifascism and militant responses to white supremacist organizing in Charlottesville, at the Trump inauguration, and in the targeting of anarchists and antifa during the Trump presidency; mobilizations to stop fossil fuel-based projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline, Keystone XL, and Line 3; the Stop Cop City movement at the intersection of radical environmentalism and police abolition; the resurgence of mutual aid networks, especially in addressing the tragic impacts of COVID-19 and the climate crisis; and the hardline responses to attacks on abortion access, like Jane’s Revenge.

Through our original commentary pieces, Agency has aimed to bring a vital anarchist perspective to the discourse around urgent issues that need an anti-state, anti-capitalist analysis but seldom get one. Some of these articles are generated by Agency members, others are solicited and written by other anarchist writers, activists, and journalists. Topics and themes we’ve covered over the years include: an anarchist response to Ebola; the anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; sexual assaults on campus; antifa and the rise of fascism; anarchist perspectives on J20, both in anticipation and in the aftermath of the Trump inauguration; Emma Goldman’s 150th birthday and her continuing influence; the tradition of May Day protests; mutual aid, from an Indigenous anarchist perspective, and dispatches from the front lines; mass surveillance; and social media censorship.

Changing the Public’s Response to Media

Agency also issues press releases on timely and relevant events in the anarchist movement itself. Some of our most recent have focused on the untimely death in 2023 of our comrade Jen Angel, an Agency co-founder, long-time anarchist, and media activist, and her enduring legacy of fighting for transformative justice.Our newsletters are another way we  keep readers and followers updated on our work. You can sign up to receive our newsletter, and view an archive here.

Agency doesn’t just follow and comment on the news, however. We work to change how the public absorbs and responds to the media. In 2019 and 2020, we conducted a series of interviews with radical and anarchist-identified journalists, highlighting their work and sharing their insights. This Agency series, which included interviews with Dan Arel, Shane Burley, Natasha Lennard, and Abby Martin, addressed what it’s like being an explicitly left journalist, issues they’ve faced working in the corporate media, the importance of non-mainstream, left publications, and why engaging with media is important to the advancement of anarchist ideas.

In 2021, we began to explore the visual medium as a way to broadcast anarchist ideas when we partnered with AK Press to produce “What is the State?” an animated video primer based on Eric Laursen’s book, “The Operating System: An Anarchist Theory of the Modern State.” The following year, we launched Finding Agency, a livestream series that kicked off with an interview with Daryle Lamont Jenkins, examining his campaign to expose the new racist neofascism.

We’re dedicated to helping make media activism and anarchist interventions with public discourse a widespread, grassroots practice. In 2023, Agency launched a media grants program for radical writers, artists, and creators in collaboration with the Institute for Anarchist Studies which, following the tragic loss of Agency co-founder Jen Angel, became the Jen Angel Anarchist Media Grant to honor her legacy. The program helps fuel the types of projects that Jen created throughout her life: projects that make anarchist ideas accessible and reflect the spirit of do-it-yourself action. The core tenets of anarchism that underscored Jen’s life and work—autonomy, mutual aid, voluntary association, direct action—are all amplified by the independent media projects we fund through our anarchist media grants.

Working with Activists and Organizers to Build Skills to Advance Anarchist Movements

Agency also works directly with left activists and anarchist organizers to help them hone their media and messaging skills. By coaching and training members of the anarchist community to develop effective press releases, talking points, and other content, and by training them in managing relationships with mainstream journalists, we hope to enable the next generation of anarchists to gain greater control of the media narrative.

Most recently, Agency has supported activists in the #StopCopCity movement in developing their media skills to oppose police militarization and preserve the Weelaunee Forest from destruction. Agency has been working to build the media skills of defendants charged with domestic terrorism and RICO (Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), with the aim of seizing media narratives to help fight their charges.

That doesn’t mean we avoid working  with mainstream journalists. Agency is instrumental in educating reporters and writers from mainstream, corporate outlets on anarchist issues and connecting them to the best subject matter experts to interview and cover. When an anarchist voice is needed, we make ourselves available to be interviewed for stories in print and online, on podcasts, on TV/video, and through other media formats.

Who is Agency and Where are We Going?

The members of Agency bring a diverse skill set to this work from their different backgrounds and political histories. We are activists, organizers, educators, writers, public relations workers, communications strategists, graphic designers, web designers, documentary filmmakers, and video journalists. Demystifying anarchism, making it visible to a broader public, and clarifying inaccuracies consistently perpetuated in the mainstream media are the common goals that bring all of us together.

The devastating loss of our comrade Jen Angel brings a sad close to our first decade, but it has also enabled us to share her legacy and build a grant program in her name, as a way to support cutting-edge and DIY media projects similar to those that played such a big role in her life and work. The opportunity to bring Jen’s legacy into the future has inspired us to continue our commitment to making anarchism more visible and powerful. By furthering our collaborations with fellow anarchists, troublemakers, and radical journalists, we strive to find new ways to support the fight against capitalism and the state and promote alternative visions of a more just world through media work and development of resources within our community to do so.

We’ll see you in the streets and in the headlines!

From Anarchist Agency

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Check out our Agency Chronology for articles, interviews, press releases, and other content we’ve created in a readily available archive of 10+ years of anarchist commentary and responses to timely issues.