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Articles by John McGrath

John McGrath is an intinerant student and sometimes reporter currently living in Toronto, Canada. He mainly writes about Canadian and International Politics from an energy and climate perspective

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  • Why it hasn’t gotten anywhere

    For two generations now, various governments and corporations have been trying to build a pipeline to bring natural gas from the Mackenzie River delta north of the Arctic Circle, south to consumers in the Canadian provinces, and potentially to the American Midwest as well.

    It hasn't gotten anywhere for a variety of reasons.

  • Funny stuff

    As the environment becomes a more potent political issue here in Canada, the denialists are coming out of the woodwork. Funny-man Linwood Barclay, in the Toronto Star, has a pair of columns this week about Al Gore's carbon-spewing ways and the importance of a second opinion, respectively.

    Gore waits for the lights to change. Then, when he gets his walk signal, he proceeds across Park, strolling past dozens of idling cars and taxis and trucks that have been brought to a halt. How many tonnes of greenhouse gas were spilled into the atmosphere, just so Al Gore could cross the street?

  • Expressing energy consumption

    A while back, I mentioned this idea of expressing energy consumption in "cubic miles of oil." I was not impressed. I feel better now that Engineer-Poet has expressed (far more intelligently) his own dissatisfaction:

  • Skills shortage in Alberta

    From the unfolding saga of "how Canada can suck ever more oil from the ground" we get this little news item:

    Canada and Mexico should accelerate efforts to import temporary Mexican energy workers to alleviate the skills shortage in Alberta and other provinces as oil sands development ramps up, top North American CEOs will recommend today.