JEmphatically

She/her grandma, journalist, photographer, worrier, playlist-maker, environmentalist, introvert. Former tar sands PR, public servant and political organizer. Stop the genocide.
Signal JodyMacPherson.64

Profile pic of me, black-framed glasses, light brown hair, graying rapidly!

Header photo is of a robotic dragon belching out fire with a Hudsons Bay store sign reflected in the background.

Born: 319.65 ppm

About me: https://bluedotliving.com/the-shift-from-public-relations-for-fossil-fuels-to-environmental-reporter/

Settler - Scottish/Irish: Mohkinstsis, Treaty 7 [#landback](https://mstdn.ca/tags/landback )
My Substack newsletter: https://jodymacpherson.substack.com

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Last Notes

2026-10-27 19:01:45 UTC

❗Federal subsidies to the tune of $500 million for AI ❗
The federal Liberal government has added another $500 million to support the expansion of AI adoption in businesses across the Prairie provinces. It's part of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy bringing total federal funding for the initiative to $700 million.
If that isn't taxpayer dollars subsidizing job losses, copyright theft, and further expansion of energy and water intensive AI data centres...I don't know what is...
Not to mention this is likely benefiting the surveillance economy, war profiteering, etc.
https://www.canada.ca/en/prairies-economic-development/news/2026/10/government-of-canada-expands-support-for-artificial-intelligence-adoption-and-commercialization-in-the-prairie-provinces.html
#ableg #cdnpoli #artificialIntelligence #AiDataCentres

2026-10-17 15:54:13 UTC

Democracy Watch did an analysis of the Alberta referendum and here are 12 ways co-founder Duff Conacher said Monday's vote is undemocratic and unfair.
🚨 too many questions
🚨 questions drafted by partisans
🚨 misleading claims the vote is binding
🚨 courts should've reviewed legality first
🚨 public money spent to sway voters
🚨 political parties not covered by 3rd party rules
🚨 fundraising rules favour wealthy interests
🚨 one person, one vote rule violated by donation rules
🚨 disclosure loophole allows collusion
🚨 incorrect interpretation of advertising rules
🚨 no effective measures for foreign interference, mis/disinformation
🚨 no legitimate mandate with low turnout, not voting = no
See my newsletter post for more, including links to the detailed analysis.
https://jodymacpherson.substack.com/p/analysis-a-dozen-more-reasons-to?r=b0efu&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
#ableg #abpoli #abpoli #abreferendum

2026-09-18 17:33:52 UTC

Behind every "AI gone rogue" or "AI breaks out" or "AI hacks into" headline is someone - a real human - who is not being held accountable for their terrible work performance because we've anthropomorphised a technology.
Media needs to get this story straight as soon as possible.
#artificialIntelligence #media

2026-09-11 15:30:32 UTC

Well, this is a blockbuster of a document leak.
So, the goal is more revenue for government coffers and too bad that Albertans will have to empty their wallets. Huh.
Great work by The Narwhal bringing this to light!
https://thenarwhal.ca/alberta-ai-data-centre-takeover-cabinet-doc/
#ableg #cdnpoli #AIdatacentres

2026-09-08 03:14:39 UTC

NOT AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT:
Unnamed homebuilder takes Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on a tour of a typical working class kitchen.
He explained how food is so expensive, most can't afford to eat at restaurants and are lucky to be able to fill a fridge with food at today's grocery prices.
Carney was taken aback to discover many families did not have a private chef. Smith was silent, trying to process the reality of the lives of every day people who don't have a vacation home in Panama and have to cook their own meals.
"Well, this explains why it took us so long to sell our restaurant on official government social media," she said, appearing distraught.
After the tour, the two politicians left to immediately draft another MOU agreement, this time to never interfere with each other's kitchens, private chefs or restaurants.
Mission accomplished yet again.
Photo supplied by the Government of Alberta, but they do not endorse this unofficial statement.
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/117/233/165/884/596/937/original/a46bcc81ba3a2135.jpg

2026-08-14 02:04:23 UTC

I've got a breaking news story and I am shocked to report that everyone replied to my emails this time!
O'Leary's Wonder Valley project loses big in the courts today.
Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation wins big.
It turns out transparency is important for Court of King's Bench Justices. They get annoyed as much as we do when information is redacted.
https://www.theenergymix.com/oleary-loses-first-nation-wins-in-bid-for-judicial-review-of-data-centre-water-permits/
#ableg #cdnpoli #WonderValleyAlberta #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #Indigenous #DutytoConsult #Justice

2026-07-27 21:58:38 UTC

My 81-year-old mom, who's a widow and has no current photo ID was rejected today when we tried to get her a photo ID card. She's been living in Alberta since 1978 and has no current passport.
She had her birth certificate but because she changed her last name when she got married in 1964, they could not issue her an ID card without her marriage certificate.
We did not know where she may have stashed her marriage certificate since she moved into a senior's residence three years ago and had to downsize a lot of her things.
These new rules are going to disenfranchise a lot of people hoping to vote in the referendum. We need to get the word out. If you are contacting another province for birth or marriage certificates, that will take time.
Luckily for my mom, after searching through an old trunk with multiple albums and brown envelopes, we found the original marriage certificate. We'll be back at the registry in a couple of weeks to try and get that ID card.
This UCP government is pure evil.
#ableg #cdnpoli

2026-07-21 22:54:43 UTC

There’s a vacuum of accurate information around AI data centres, and misinformation/disinformation is filling that void…to the detriment of local communities and governments.
Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission said it was an existential threat to democracy.
“What we’re seeing across all democracies, in Canada and across the world, is a high level of distrust in government, a high level of distrust in journalism and in public institutions.”
But the federal government is lagging behind other countries in both creating regulations and funding solutions.
Read my newest article for The Energy Mix.
https://www.theenergymix.com/as-data-centres-multiply-government-silence-leaves-communities-exposed-to-misinformation/
#AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #ableg #cdnpoli #democracy #journalism

2026-07-10 14:37:24 UTC

While everyone is focused on Meta’s AI data centre, Alberta is planning to allocate an additional 1.6 GW from the grid to data centres…temporarily. And the regulator admitted in a publicly available engagement session with industry that it’s going to raise everyone’s costs for electricity.
Facebook needs 1GW of power as soon as possible…AESO is freeing up 1.6GW to data centres that have plans to build their own generation…Just sayin’.
Electricity bills for everyone will likely go up, demand for natural gas will raise prices, and experts are warning about the impacts of large load data centres on the grid.
Read more in my latest for The Energy Mix.
https://www.theenergymix.com/temporary-grid-power-for-data-centres-will-raise-electricity-bills-alberta-regulator-admits/
#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli #Facebook #electricitygrid #AIdatacentres #AIDataCenters

2026-06-25 16:06:46 UTC

There is no regulator for data centres. There are no laws or rules around the “heat island effect.” So, who is protecting us from these harms?
“The data centre won’t be introducing a single novel disturbance into intact boreal forest. rather it will be layering an enormous new thermal, acoustic, air-emissions, and water demand on top of an environment already fragmented by resource extraction—across territory in which the Cree Nation exercises Treaty and harvesting rights.”
These are what is known as “cumulative effects" something that is typically considered in an environmental impact assessment. The Alberta government has already exempted the project from that assessment.
Find out which questions I asked of government officials (and O’Leary) that they did not want to answer.
https://open.substack.com/pub/jodymacpherson/p/olearys-data-centre-will-be-one-of
#AIDataCentres #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #drought #environment #AIDataCenters #WonderValleyAlberta

2026-06-22 15:41:40 UTC

"...we cannot possibly accept that a police force like the one in Thunder Bay, wrestling with the darkest parts of its identity, should be able to rewrite the rule book to prevent journalists from covering its actions."
"It’s this simple: If Chief Fleury can get away with blackballing a journalist for award-winning work exposing violations of public trust, future violations of public trust will not be exposed."
#cdnpoli #democracy #journalists #ethics #ontpoli #ThunderBay #freepress
https://ricochet.media/media/thunder-bay-police-retaliate-against-award-winning-journalist/?utm_source=Ricochet+Media&utm_campaign=cdbf910947-may6_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-ed24150470-436711002

2026-06-20 00:17:55 UTC

A town of less than 10,000 just rallied more than 680 people who now have standing in the application for a 1.4 GW data centre and thermal power plant across the street - literally - from their homes.
Olds is really showing up. This is going to be an expensive application for the company involved, but if you look at their public notification and consultation program, or lack thereof, I don’t think anyone will be surprised that it has come to this.
My latest update has just been posted!
https://www.theenergymix.com/application-delayed-as-680-local-residents-gain-standing-on-olds-alberta-data-centre-proposal/
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #AIdataCentres #AIdataCenters #artificialIntelligence #alberta #saveolds

2026-06-07 19:51:29 UTC

According to architecture and design firm Gensler, Wonder Valley Alberta is “designed to capture and sequester 100% of carbon from on-site natural gas power generation,” and “the project dramatically reduces operational emissions at an unprecedented scale.”
That’s quite the claim!??
There’s no carbon capture mentioned in the Wonder Valley project description filed with the Alberta government. Even the marketing materials do not claim to have CCS.
“Carbon-capture-ready power generation” sounds a lot like...#greenwashing
https://www.olearydigital.ai
https://www.gensler.com/projects/wonder-valley-data-centre-park
#AIDataCentres #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #drought #environment #AIDataCenters #WonderValleyAlberta

2026-06-06 14:08:18 UTC

Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation is calling for a federal environmental impact assessment on Kevin O’Leary’s Wonder Valley project after a study suggests the 9 GW data centre and power plant could release massive amounts of heat in an area already struggling with drought.
The scientist who did the study called the new class of hyperscale AI data centres “Gigascale AI Smelters, smelting data and material strip-mined from people and planet.”
The report was released just as the first Wonder Valley open house was held near Grande Prairie and dozens of people showed up with questions and concerns.
The project was announced in December of 2024 but has been stalled since then. Now, it appears to be moving forward, despite concerns of local First Nations.
Read more about this AI mega-project that's the size of 130 West Edmonton Malls in my breaking news story for The Energy Mix.
https://www.theenergymix.com/breaking-olearys-data-centre-will-be-one-of-earths-largest-heat-sources-physicist-warns/
#AIDataCentres #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #drought #environment #AIDataCenters #WonderValleyAlberta

2026-06-04 21:01:46 UTC

Utah is a case study in how NOT to announce and build a hyperscale data centre.
Opposition is so significant that lawmakers who once supported the project are backtracking, with one politician even demanding Kevin O’Leary scale the project back by 75%.
Here’s an updated summary of what’s been going on in Utah, with some updates on Alberta’s Wonder Valley project ahead of an open house planned for this evening in a small hamlet near Grande Prairie.
The MD of Greenview still won’t answer my questions. O’Leary’s proxy in Alberta also did not answer my questions…and oh yeah, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner is officially now investigating whether the Premier’s office fulfilled its duties with my Access to Information request.
💣 🐚
Read my latest! Keeping secrets about massive projects just never goes well.
https://www.theenergymix.com/olearys-ai-data-centre-projects-face-backlash-on-both-sides-of-the-border/
#AIDataCentres #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #Utah #Stratos #AIDataCenters #WonderValleyAlberta

2026-05-28 18:40:14 UTC

Unless you are Nvidia, the answer is NO.
And companies going public?
"Viewed through this lens, the IPO of these AI companies is probably nothing more than a major transfer of investment risk from the current owners to retail investors, pension funds and others who are willing to buy the hype." (Joachim Klement, Investment Strategist, Financial Times)
https://isaiprofitable.com

2026-05-28 14:43:22 UTC

There are some excellent researchers/writers out there looking into Kevin O'Leary and Wonder Valley and I so appreciate them!
https://blundervalley.ca/blog/the-wonder-valley-files-pt-1/
#wondervalleyAlberta #WonderValleyUtah #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #AIDataCentres

2026-05-07 22:45:07 UTC

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"In analyzing both public and proprietary data about data centers as a whole, as well as the specific needs of AI, the researchers came to a clear conclusion. Data centers in the US used somewhere around 200 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, roughly what it takes to power Thailand for a year."
"AI-specific servers in these data centers are estimated to have used between 53 and 76 terawatt-hours of electricity. On the high end, this is enough to power more than 7.2 million US homes for a year."
"We heard from several other researchers who say that their ability to understand the emissions and energy demands of AI are hampered by the fact that AI is not yet treated as its own sector.
"The US Energy Information Administration, for example, makes projections and measurements for manufacturing, mining, construction, and agriculture, but detailed data about AI is simply nonexistent."
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/
#AIdatacentres #AIDataCenters #technology #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #fossilfuels #climate

2026-05-07 22:43:12 UTC

My story for The Mix was delayed to next week, so in the meantime, I’ll share some things I learned from the excellent folks at the Green Web Foundation to set the stage:
“The precious few numbers that we have may shed a tiny sliver of light on where we stand right now, but all bets are off in the coming years. Generative AI tools are getting practically shoved down our throats and it’s getting harder and harder to opt out, or to make informed choices when it comes to energy and climate.”
/more

2026-04-28 16:23:53 UTC

Here's some interesting/alarming research out of British Columbia.
(The AI-generated images are of course inappropriate. especially the Indigenous campfire - WTH were they thinking?)
But worth a read-through.
#media #democracy #ethics
https://mcallister-research-core-briefings-2026.com

2026-04-10 23:19:42 UTC

Some good news to take you into your weekend - the Alberta Court of King's Bench in Alberta has already issued an interim stay on the separatist case!
This very quick decision - the arguments just wrapped up this week - disallows the petitions from being certified or referred to the Minister of Justice until the Court renders its decision.
So many thanks to Orlagh O'Kelly and the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation for taking the lead on this case.
#ableg #cdnpoli #Indigenous

2026-03-28 22:28:09 UTC

Extra info about yesterday's late breaking update to the ‘mafia style’ allegations levelled at the AER, and more from Duff Conacher’s fight for a stronger democracy in Canada.
Spilling the tea…in my new Substack post.
#ableg #cdnpoli #ethics #democracy
https://open.substack.com/pub/jodymacpherson/p/breaking-alberta-regulator-shuts?r=b0efu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

2026-03-27 22:24:07 UTC

BREAKING NEWS: The AER declares no need for a conflict of interest investigation…because this kind of thing with Yager is pretty normal for our board and it’s up to each individual to behave ethically?
I don’t know. Tell me what you think this all means.
#ableg #cdnpoli #democracy #ethics #conflictofinterest
https://www.theenergymix.com/alberta-landowner-alleges-mafia-style-meeting-demands-as-energy-regulators-ethics-investigation-stalls/

2026-03-26 15:02:33 UTC

Argentina, Israel and the US voted against. Straight up evil.
Canada abstained. Cowardice.
“Before Wednesday’s vote, Mahama lamented the continuing erasure of Black history in the US through increasing censorship of teaching the “truth of slavery, segregation and racism” in schools.”
“These policies are becoming a template for other governments and some private institutions,” he said at an event at the UN headquarters. “At the very least, they are slowly normalising the erasure.”
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/mar/25/un-votes-slave-trade-gravest-crime-against-humanity-reparatory-justice
#cdnpoli #racism #history #truth #reparations

2026-03-24 16:03:06 UTC

The Board Chair of Alberta’s Energy Regulator (AEC) has been personally involved in trying to arrange a meeting to discuss an ethics complaint against AEC board director David Yager, a special advisor to Premier Danielle Smith.
It has not been going well.
From banning particular lawyers, refusing a virtual meeting, and disallowing a written record of the in-person meeting, the process is on hold. The AER denies there was an off-the-record demand, but doesn’t deny it rejected a virtual meeting.
Ecojustice just wants the regulator to follow the AER's written policy and procedure for dealing with complaints.
#ableg #cdnpoli #energy #regulation #ethics #conflictofinterest
https://www.theenergymix.com/alberta-landowner-alleges-mafia-style-meeting-demands-as-energy-regulators-ethics-investigation-stalls/

2026-02-28 18:50:45 UTC

I prefer Davos Carney over Epic Fury Carney.

2026-02-26 17:07:35 UTC

AI data centres are absolutely throwing a climate-devastating lifeline to the fossil fuel industry.
In Alberta - they're not even trying to hide it.
AI data centres and methane gas are BFF's.

2026-02-02 19:23:18 UTC

Here we have Kevin O'Leary defending ICE and verbally attacking/cutting off a Black woman who is calling out the (well documented) White supremacy of the Trump administration.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388435830112
#ableg #cdnpoli #elbowsup #wondervalleyAlberta

2026-01-03 18:19:55 UTC

The most disturbing thing about today's news conference was the absolutely breathless account of the military action delivered by General Caine. He seemed to delight in the excitement of potentially breaking both US and international law. That is terrifying.
There was a lot disturbing about the spectacle. But the generals of the past always tried to publicly downplay their enjoyment of any military action, and show restraint.

2025-12-29 17:58:17 UTC

To understand Wonder Valley, you need to know about the dream to repurpose a Cold War missile launch site as a data centre.
Why did one county in North Dakota sell the site to a cryptocurrency mining company named Bitzero backed by Kevin O’Leary and then refuse to answer questions about it?
The COO of Wonder Valley is also the former interim CEO of Bitzero. Read my latest post that could serve as a prequel to the origin story of Wonder Valley.
#ableg #cdnpoli #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #WonderValleyAlberta
https://open.substack.com/pub/jodymacpherson/p/wonder-valley-watch-unnoticed-and?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

2025-12-20 04:00:34 UTC

RE: https://social.vivaldi.net/@SnowyCA/115749111701870271
Now the MOST critical piece of Canada's climate policy...so let's just open it up for comment while most people are away on vacation or taking time off to spend with family, etc.
Opened on December 19, 2025 and will close to new input on January 30, 2026.
SMH. Are they hoping this flies under the radar?
#cdnpoli #CanPoli #ableg #abpoli
Share widely please!
#note1cjg…6rml

2025-12-15 23:57:23 UTC

My first ever fundraising video. Only took me about 5000 takes. 😂
If you are able to support The Energy Mix, we'd really appreciate it.
Support independent, not-for-profit media!
https://youtu.be/K_3dd9MBjuI?si=HVq24wyCXMRwM8bK

2025-12-15 18:54:17 UTC

When the Pathways Alliance funded Hub news is casting doubt on both the pipeline and its own carbon capture project...post MOU. WTH are we even doing here?
"For all the engineering clarity around capture and storage, some of the most important pieces of Pathways remain unresolved."
#cdnpoli #ableg #climate #ClimateChange #CanPoli
https://thehub.ca/2025/12/15/what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-the-worlds-largest-carbon-capture-proposal/

2025-12-12 20:07:23 UTC

Watching Canadian media coverage of this latest batch of Epstein images. Having male TV hosts, interviewing male pundits about the "political" aspects of this is just so depressing.
They are giving advice in real time as to how to "manage the scandal," as if that is the biggest concern.
Not a word about the impacts on women and those with any amount of empathy who have to witness this outrage unfolding every single day and no justice being seriously pursued for the victims.
If you are going to cover this criminal sex trafficking ring, at least make an attempt to treat it like a CRIME, not a PR problem.

2025-12-09 16:57:01 UTC

File this under the opposite of digital sovereignty.
There is no way in hell that Microsoft would cross Trump. We’re supposed to actually believe they would fight for us if asked to withdraw from Canada, or worse, if we were being invaded?
Did Evan Solomon, or anyone in the federal cabinet, read the American National Security Strategy or are we just ignoring that?
#cdnpoli #abpoli #ableg
Gift link: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/2bddbcc2e5ce5f5fc719f2c290bf4102d11315b53c4ad19ee6d30f5c8711f230/IHILFFU4UBGK5NGYZGYUZZXUWY/

2025-12-04 23:47:29 UTC

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Funny you should mention that, the Justice Minister claimed that this was nothing unusual and compared it to how businesses can't be allowed to copy other business names. Clearly, this is not comparable.

2025-12-04 23:33:14 UTC

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The following words will be banned from the names of any new parties in the province:
❌ advantage
❌communist
❌conservative
❌democratic
❌green
❌independence  
❌liberal
❌pro-life
❌reform
❌republican
❌solidarity
❌wildrose
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli

2025-12-04 23:25:01 UTC

It's definitely now a thing for governments to name bills (or at least characterize them) as the exact opposite of what they are.
Case in point, the "Restoring confidence in democratic processes" announcement today by Alberta.
💣
#ableg #cdnpoli #abpoli #democracy
https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=9534830A1321C-A841-52BE-3E2C7FABE4B32EB2

2025-12-04 18:09:18 UTC

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And is Navigator involved yet? I've seen their Principal on LinkedIn "liking" posts by Liberal MP Corey Hogan defending the government's strategy.

2025-12-03 05:30:02 UTC

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Great questions. You're not alone in wondering about these things...I think there are many people discussing how and why this has been allowed to happen. Carney's sudden rise to the PMO did not give voters enough time to get to know him beforehand. And now, there are major concerns with his approach. He's definitely not unifying Canadians, just the opposite.

2025-12-03 04:50:02 UTC

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It is disgraceful to say you will consult with or work in partnership with Indigenous rights holders on the one hand, while ignoring their concerns, not even doing an impact assessment.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/chief-in-alberta-teams-up-with-environmental-groups-to-try-and-stop-carbon-capture-project/

2025-12-03 04:47:37 UTC

Everyone seems to be ignoring the fact that most First Nations oppose the Pathways CCS project.
The awkward video that's out there on social media of the PM taking very few questions while there were Chiefs still lined up to ask questions shows Chief Kelsey Jacko shouting because his microphone was cut off.
Jacko is from Cold Lake First Nations, who opposes the project. You may recall that the project was exempted from an environmental impact assessment by the federal government.
The frustration is palpable.
#climate #ableg #cdnpoli #Indigenous #water #carboncapture
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/afn-assembly-major-projects-9.6999182

2025-11-28 04:22:38 UTC

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Thanks! Why do people always give in to bullying and think it will stop there? It always continues, and Smith now knows it will work again in the future.

2025-11-28 04:04:30 UTC

Some people are just crushing on Carney so hard they can't accept he's just not that good at politics.
He's thinking like a central banker where messy things like people's feelings about nature, coastlines, and -- oh yeah, destroying our chances of surviving climate change -- are just abstract concepts.
More important to him is not being like Trudeau, appearing unequivocally pro-business, and getting feted by elites at the Chamber because subsidizing corporations with 10s of billions of taxpayer dollars is somehow heroic.
He's totally clued out about how his actions may have bolstered Smith’s flailing government's fortunes, and interfered in the efforts of so many Albertans trying to change the province for the better.

2025-11-28 02:23:52 UTC

Spent the afternoon writing this story with Mitchell Beer of The Energy Mix! It's really a shared byline but we couldn't fit both of us due to Wordpress constraints.
What a wild day it was in political news.
Smith scored seven of her nine demands. She could barely contain her glee in the news conference.
Carney hightailed it out of there so fast he didn't even join her at the news conference.
He went directly to speak to the Chamber of Commerce where Deborah Yedlin (Chamber CEO) compared this agreement to the moon landing.
I kid you not.
#ableg #cdnpoli #climate
https://www.theenergymix.com/guilbeault-resigns-as-smith-declares-crushing-victory/

2025-11-27 17:22:37 UTC

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If he doesn't, I will lose a lot of respect for the guy.

2025-11-27 17:16:17 UTC

The Liberals are making a big mistake today. The hubris is astounding.

2025-11-26 03:06:05 UTC

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All of the members' statements include some variation of the following:
-"I'm a good MLA, this is not fair."
-"This is a left-wing conspiracy."
-"The legislation wasn't intended for me."
😢

2025-11-26 03:02:41 UTC

Another five MLA's have recall campaigns kicking off today. That's 14 now.
Alberta is RE-Calling.
# of signatures needed below:
⏳ Glenn Van Dijken - 12,719 (Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock)
⏳ Jackie Lovely - 12,391 (Camrose)
⏳ Nathan Neudorf - 13, 207 (Lethbridge-East)
⏳ Jason Stephan - 14,508 (Red Deer South)
⏳ Searle Turton - 15189 (Spruce Grove-Stony Plain)
I mean, what did they think would happen when they made recall easier? SMH
#ableg #cdnpoli
https://www.elections.ab.ca/recall-initiative/recall/current-recall-petitions/

2025-11-19 05:27:31 UTC

Alberta moves to violate people's rights, using a loophole in the Canadian constitution...for the second time in a matter of weeks.
Danielle Smith says the courts should do better otherwise, "they're going to see more legislatures take the action that we did."
Also, she defends the move with a bizarre statement about "protecting kids rights to have babies." Seems like right wing pronatalism bunk - why is it okay for the state to be deciding for individuals that this is the most important thing?
#ableg #cdnpoli #TransRightsAreHumanRights
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-government-notwithstanding-clause-bills-9.6983786

2025-11-16 22:33:00 UTC

#SilentSunday
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/115/561/735/520/367/365/original/e067acc537612301.jpg

2025-11-03 15:33:08 UTC

He's literally talking about blocking the sun.
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/115/486/465/937/718/904/original/ad3da4bbafcfc451.png

2025-10-30 17:07:59 UTC

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Wonder if there was some kind of quid pro quo...

2025-10-30 16:43:26 UTC

Kevin O’Leary promised he would raise $2B for a huge job-creating AI data centre in northern Alberta. By the end of the next quarter. That was in March.
Nate Glubish wrote in a local paper in his riding that Wonder Valley was pretty much a done deal. That was a year ago.
And Danielle Smith has declared Alberta will be an AI superpower. Let’s look at where all that stands in my latest post for the The Energy Mix!
#AIdatacentres #ableg #cdnpoli
https://www.theenergymix.com/70b-wonder-valley-project-still-a-mirage-as-olearys-ai-dream-stalls-in-alberta/

2025-10-25 19:29:33 UTC

Amazon chose not to include all the ways its data centres use water because it didn’t want to negatively impact its reputation.
Amazon as a whole (including data centres) consumed 105bn gallons of water in total in 2021, as much as 958,000 US households, which would supply a city bigger than San Francisco. Those numbers are likely higher now.
At the same time, the company debuted a new ad campaign in November 2022 called “Water Positive,” (which is still running) with a promise to “return more water than it uses” by 2030. The company argues it should receive credits for water “offsets” or other projects that provide benefits elsewhere (think carbon credits).
The company continues to keep its current overall water consumption confidential.
#aidatacenters #aidatacentres #water
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/25/amazon-datacentres-water-use-disclosure

2025-10-22 15:29:00 UTC

Lost, but not forgotten. Don’t confuse my ability to get lost, with my determination to find out what is going on with the Wonder Valley project.
The “largest AI compute data centre park on earth” is planned to withdraw large amounts of water from the Smoky River and I travelled north to meet the river and visit the site.
I stopped at a place familiar to Indigenous people for time immemorial, and where settlers have been crossing the river for more than a century.
Also, note to O’Leary Ventures: In Canada, our spelling is “centre” not “center.”
I’ve got a new post in my newsletter about my visit to #WonderValley.
#AIdatacentres
https://open.substack.com/pub/jodymacpherson/p/touching-grass-visiting-a-river-and

2025-10-21 22:14:19 UTC

If it seems like déjà vu…it probably is.
“Just as petrochemical plants created ‘sacrifice zones’ of poisoned air, contaminated water, and abandoned communities, data centres are now layering a new wave of extraction on top of that history.”
Read my summary of this detailed new report drawing a parallel between “Cancer Alley” in the US South and how Big Tech companies are siting their AI data centres in the same areas.
#environmentalracism #AIdatacenters #AIdatacentres
https://www.theenergymix.com/big-techs-ai-expansion-revives-legacy-of-environmental-racism-report-warns/

2025-10-09 21:10:45 UTC

You know, I was involved in the creation of the Suncor Energy Foundation, and what is happening now on Rich Kruger's watch is a real shame.
Lawyers threatening charities on behalf of corporations making record profits, pulling out of multi-year commitments without warning, a total lack of respectful communication...this is not leadership. It's really irresponsible behaviour.
Am I surprised? Not really. Fossil fuel companies are taking off their masks and exposing who they really are.
#ableg #cdnpoli #FossilFuels #charities
https://www.theenergymix.com/communities-can-crumble-charities-warn-in-open-letter-recalling-suncors-decision-to-slash-donations/

2025-10-09 16:27:14 UTC

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The author of the strategy, David Yager, has been lobbying for the government to take it easy on the fossil fuel industry for years. Then, he was paid almost $300k by Danielle Smith to put his opinions into a mature asset strategy that has secretly been approved by cabinet (they won't confirm).
This is what Yager wrote in 2021:
“Albertans must permit the government to move past the “polluter pay” mantra and deal with the issues as they exist today. When legacy Crown mineral licenses were purchased, developers did not envision a time when the reclamation process would be as expensive and challenging as it has become today. Or that there would a broad and growing public sentiment to put them out of business. Oil and gas producers and the province are partners in Alberta’s hydrocarbon prosperity, not opponents.”
http://archive.today/afGUf
#ableg #abpoli #lobbyists

2025-10-09 16:17:48 UTC

The naming of a “mature asset” strategy (instead of a clean-up strategy) for the Alberta government is classic PR spin - a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
It takes an accounting concept and uses it to suggest the government is somehow responsible for ensuring profits for the fossil fuel industry.
And many Albertans are seeing through it.
My latest story for The Energy Mix.
#ableg #cdnpoli #polluterpay #fossilfuels #climate #environment
https://www.theenergymix.com/alberta-orphan-well-strategy-faces-pushback-from-residents-municipalities-experts/

2025-10-05 04:01:30 UTC

Tech companies’ use of Pfas gas at facilities may mean datacenters’ climate impact is worse than previously thought.
“The US and China are racing to see who can destroy the environment most quickly,” said Lenny Siegel, a member of Chips Communities United, a group working with industry and administration officials to try to implement environmental safeguards. “If we had a sensible approach to these things then someone would have to present some answers before they develop and use these systems.”
#AIdatacenters #AIdatacentres #cdnpoli #ableg #foreverchemicals
#pollution #environment
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/04/pfas-pollution-data-centers-ai

2025-09-28 17:56:25 UTC

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Who is the Western Canada Data Centre Alliance? Here's a screen capture from their website, which claims they are about "transparency" and "maximizing benefits to the region." Just not available to share any information from this Alberta roadmap conference with media.
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/115/283/202/766/805/383/original/9f8e9fae95cda174.png

2025-09-27 23:04:17 UTC

Another conference - this time on Alberta's data centre roadmap - happening next week on Tuesday, doesn't allow media to attend and even if we pay the full registration, they want to pre-approve the content (of course, that's a non-starter). The lack of transparency is alarming.
I wonder what these industry conferences are hiding?
#ableg #cdnpoli #AIdatacentres
https://www.datacentreassociation.ca/events

2025-09-25 15:20:00 UTC

Does the CEO of the Alberta Energy Regulator have the legal authority to overrule his own hearing commissioners? Two environmental groups in Alberta don’t think so and they want the provincial court of appeal to hear their case.
“...Morgan appointed himself the de facto judge, jury, and executioner in regulating resource development in Alberta,” they say and argue the separation of powers between the governing and regulatory process are in jeopardy.
Read my latest report for The Energy Mix.
#ableg #cdnpoli #coal #climate #regulatory #environment
https://www.theenergymix.com/alberta-regulator-faces-court-challenge-over-cancelled-coal-mine-hearing/

2025-09-16 15:54:15 UTC

Breaking news from my colleague, Chris Bonasia at The Energy Mix!
And the former Trans Mountain CEO is now running Canada's major projects office. 🤔
#ableg #cdnpoli #climate
https://www.theenergymix.com/breaking-report-calls-trans-mountain-a-red-flag-for-future-subsidies-after-price-rises-584/

2025-09-13 23:14:19 UTC

“I think that explains the problem with America in a single sentence. We only care about now—the president has an attention span of three minutes, and corporate executives can’t see past the next quarter. Whereas the Chinese are clearly thinking many decades into the future, which they plan to own.”
Bill McKibben’s latest Substack post
https://open.substack.com/pub/billmckibben/p/a-tale-of-two-countries?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
#climate #cdnpoli #ableg

2025-09-12 12:42:41 UTC

Making stuff up to support government policy direction used to be called "fraud."
#nlpoli #cdnpoli #ableg #aislop
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/education-accord-nl-sources-dont-exist-1.7631364

2025-09-07 14:27:04 UTC

And now, a public service announcement: If you have tips on who’s behind oil and gas companies in Canada that aren’t paying their bills, please contact Prairies reporter Drew Anderson over email at drew@thenarwhal.ca or securely over Signal at @Danderson.78.
#ableg #fossilfuels #orphanwells
https://thenarwhal.ca/alberta-oilpatch-delinquent-companies/

2025-08-26 17:19:06 UTC

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In an update on this SaskCoal (er, I mean SaskPower) story...Saskatchewan is budgeting close to a billion dollars on coal, because affordability is not even a consideration?
Also, they don't want to import gas from Alberta due to "energy security" concerns?
Canada's goals for emissions are slipping away rapidly. There's not even a single mention of renewables in this story.
#cdnpoli #climate #coal #climatechange
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/2bddbcc2e5ce5f5fc719f2c290bf4102d11315b53c4ad19ee6d30f5c8711f230/DXDW7H4QJZF4JEST3IFJCNTETY/

2025-08-18 23:12:38 UTC

I've got a new story coming out tomorrow about the US power grid and demands from AI data centres. There are some important lessons for Canada on what is required to get out ahead of unreasonable power grabs.
It requires a rethink of who gets approvals and how data centres can do their part to avoid causing higher electricity prices for consumers.
Also, my writing on AI data centre greenwashing in Alberta is about to kick into high gear soon.
Stay tuned!

2025-08-17 04:03:41 UTC

"This is a warning. Alberta is not immune to the sickness devouring our neighbours to the south. It is the sickness of authoritarian capitalism, cloaked in patriotism, funded by billionaires and sold as common sense. It tells us that the rich are 'job creators' instead of modern-day feudal lords. It convinces us that we should slash the social safety net so that those who need it most are punished for being born poor, disabled or unlucky."
https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/canada-beware-alberta-is-the-canary-in-the-coal-mine?tbref=hp
#ableg #cdnpoli

2025-08-16 16:28:50 UTC

It was just brought to my attention that the pre-order for vaccines for Influenza and Covid is set up with Salesforce, a cloud-based software "focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, e-commerce, analytics, artificial intelligence" etc.
This is now money being spent on a tracking and payment system for public health care that should be free. Not integrated with the MyHealth portal, from what I can see so far.
We are being set up to pay extra for healthcare services that should be free. Healthcare that always was free in the past. Who voted for this?
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #covid

2025-08-14 16:05:05 UTC

The Saskatchewan government is hoping to delay and dismiss a case brought by a group of three Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents who say extending coal past Canada’s 2030 deadline is illegal.
The judge in the case is considering whether she should take on the case while the province gets busy with plans to refurbish plants, increasing the amount of coal they burn for electricity.
And Environment and Climate Change Canada replied to my questions with a mild threat.
Read my NEW story for The Energy Mix out now!
https://www.theenergymix.com/court-weighs-case-against-saskatchewans-plan-to-extend-coal-power/
#coal #cdnpoli #saskpoli #climatechange #environment #emissions #electricity

2025-07-25 18:10:20 UTC

Notice anything about this report from Ground News on the coverage of the David Yager conflict of interest story?
No coverage from Postmedia outlets in Alberta. Nothing whatsoever on their news sites about Yager when I search. This is how I know this story MUST be reported far and wide.
#ableg #cdnpoli #Postmedia #media #orphanwells #PolluterPayFederation
https://ground.news/article/alberta-landowner-files-conflict-of-interest-complaint-against-danielle-smith-appointee
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/114/915/178/776/069/955/original/9ac1d91eb7bc8526.png

2025-07-16 17:50:13 UTC

"Renewable natural gas" is just biogas rebranded. 🙄
I was just on the Enbridge website where they are raving about it. False solutions and greenwashing everywhere.
"RNG is not as low-carbon as the industry claims and its local air and water impacts are concentrated in vulnerable communities. Even if it were low-carbon and equitable, there simply isn’t enough of it to substitute for more than a small fraction of natural gas. And even if it were low-carbon, equitable, and abundant, it still wouldn’t be an excuse to expand natural gas infrastructure or slow electrification."
#ableg #cdnpoli #ClimateChange
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/2/14/21131109/california-natural-gas-renewable-socalgas

2025-07-09 00:53:36 UTC

As a straight, white male with no real qualifications for his job as Minister of Municipal Affairs, Dan Williams is worried that people who are...not straight, white males...might get some opportunities to work in jobs they are totally qualified for.
We can't have that, nope.
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli
https://www.westernwheel.ca/beyond-local/keep-away-from-wokeness-and-dei-new-minister-warns-municipalities-10917280

2025-07-05 20:56:10 UTC

Suncor bulldozes through a probable nesting ground for a threatened species and AER fines them…$5,000. Suncor blames a cyberattack.
Suncor’s net earnings for Q1 2025 were $1.6 billion.
Another super villain level badge earned.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/suncor-bank-swallows-fine-1.7576307
#bigoil #fossilfuels #speciesatrisk

2025-06-24 16:18:20 UTC

I've just made a donation to World Central Kitchen. You can too: https://donate.wck.org/give/417669/#!/donation/checkout
They've now been able to return to Gaza to provide food to starving Palestinians.
🎁
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/world/middleeast/world-central-kitchen-gaza-restarts-meals.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RE8.94PC.qoH5taTMGZ-y&smid=url-share

2025-06-16 20:49:23 UTC

Another photo I took at the #G7 protest yesterday in #Calgary.
#G7Summit #yyc #Protests #police #streetphotography #Palestine #fascism
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/114/694/953/956/489/493/original/920de170f0ab66af.jpeg

2025-06-10 18:19:57 UTC

Fossil fuel companies and wealthy oil executives who have been losing public support for years, have turned to Christian nationalists and other far right organizations to help them.
Vivian Taylor, a climate policy expert who co-authored the analysis, said the fossil fuel industry has a real interest in funding panic over transgender people: It distracts the public from “the very real and ongoing risks that climate change creates.”
#cdnpoli #ableg #climate
https://atmos.earth/fossil-fuel-billionaires-are-bankrolling-the-anti-trans-movement/

2025-06-08 17:54:34 UTC

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Or a practice run for a more widespread deployment.

2025-06-08 16:15:39 UTC

These guys are looking pretty foolish in LA.
For those of us who remember the 1992 LA Riots, this is NOTHING like that. At that time, the army was called in by the state after three days of escalating violence.
Most people agree that the LA police chief caused the escalation by their actions.
This morning in LA they were launching tear gas at a small group of people, some of them in shorts and sandals for just yelling at them and getting too close to the entrance.
https://www.youtube.com/live/KDnSphPbaUU?si=1_4vHQeT-2ORkiYQ
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/114/648/607/831/296/879/original/91d8a049e2d9b38b.png

2025-06-06 15:23:49 UTC

We appear to be using the crisis in the US as an excuse to set back reconciliation by decades, exploit resources without protecting nature, and double down on a “decarbonized oil” fever dream that will kill more people and devastate the planet.
“The First Nations have put up with a great deal but they will not put up with the destruction of their traditional lands. Leaders from the First Nations are advising Canadians to get ready for Idle No More 2.0.”
#cdnpoli
https://open.substack.com/pub/charlieangus/p/resistance-indigenous-style?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

2025-06-05 15:56:37 UTC

When asked why the orphan fund levy only increased from 2024 by 7% in 2025 when the number of wells increased by 125%, the AER provided a link to a web page with no numbers beyond 2023. And then stopped responding to my emails.
The AER has the authority by legislation to decide the levy, but the AER confirmed that the final decision was made by the Alberta government.
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #PolluterPays #endfossilfuels #ClimateChange
https://www.theenergymix.com/albertas-orphan-well-levy-is-unlawful-insufficient-coalition-contends/

2025-06-04 21:32:22 UTC

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Mic drop. So true.

2025-06-04 15:20:50 UTC

Bluesky is a dead zone for engagement. I post almost all of the same content there as I do here and get no reactions.
I don't know how they've got that algorithm set up. Maybe I'm doing something wrong...
Ironically, I posted there asking if anyone had any advice and got one other soul who reposted my question and otherwise...nothing.

2025-05-31 18:30:01 UTC

Smith's letter seems desperate and dishonest.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/alberta-premier-pens-letter-to-chiefs-appealing-for-support-of-alberta-sovereignty/

2025-05-19 16:30:46 UTC

David Climenhaga’s latest opinion piece in The Tyee really nails it.
Danielle Smith has broken up an integrated health service and there are now FOUR CABINET MINISTERS assigned to the health portfolio. Makes zero sense.
Climenhaga calls them “the four horsepersons of the health-care apocalypse.”
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #healthcare
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/05/19/Smith-Giant-Cabinet-Sign-Desperation/

2025-05-06 16:17:52 UTC

Whenever I interview people about Alberta's regulatory framework for cleaning up aging oil and gas wells and related infrastructure, the same reference keeps coming up - "foxes in hen houses."
Hiring an oil services executive (and stacking the consultation with 70% industry representation) to come up with the government's strategy doesn't help. The resulting report mirrors efforts by companies in the US to avoid taking full responsibility.
https://www.theenergymix.com/alberta-follows-familiar-playbook-to-help-fossils-sidestep-well-cleanup-obligations/
#cdnpoli #ableg #fossilfuels

2025-04-29 14:16:50 UTC

Waking up to a new day. Here's what climate and energy leaders were saying as they watched the election results come in last night.
Read our full coverage at The Energy Mix!
#elxn45 #CanadaElection2025 #Canada #climate #energy #EnergyTransition
https://www.theenergymix.com/canada-election-results/

2025-04-20 15:44:08 UTC

I’m sorry, but when are we going to start treating carbon pollution like the existential threat it is?
In just three years, from 2000 to 2002, the world lost over 1,600 gigatonnes of water from its soils – more than the mass of Greenland’s ice loss over a much longer period.
#climatechange
https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/earths-rotation-soil-moisture

2025-04-19 18:54:17 UTC

Fox News coverage of the #Handsoff protest in Houston.
https://www.youtube.com/live/3F2cXXL-ddk?si=kLwMVK1Z7Nw4ve__

2025-04-19 18:30:37 UTC

The New York Post has a livestream of the protests...from Washington DC.
#handsoff
https://www.youtube.com/live/lU6-JNKpjy8?si=mB79WRHxw4-lDfVL

2025-04-19 17:54:36 UTC

Live from the Washington monument - ABC 7 News
Crowd chants "Due Process." This is pretty significant recognition of what is at stake.
#handsoff
https://www.youtube.com/live/hBluiWTsKwQ?si=MVCsZQvhRdUpccW-

2025-04-19 16:59:01 UTC

Coverage of the NYC protest. People are packing the route right now.
#50501 #handsoff #fightfacism
https://www.youtube.com/live/CH8caIIl-50?si=SEVzaZiZS6XmbqPO

2025-04-13 04:10:31 UTC

This Andrew Scheer self-own is epic.
#cdnpoli #CanadaElection2025
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/114/328/676/610/873/994/original/ab7ed58ad52c8e4c.png

2025-04-09 16:10:30 UTC

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Yes, it's almost like a big training session for volunteers and ambassadors. Not newsworthy and definitely not an indicator of much of anything.

2025-04-09 15:58:34 UTC

I really dislike the sports fan approach to politics.
Rallies are like sports events and the people who show up are fans looking for confirmation of a choice they've already made.
The focus is cheering on your team on instead of getting out there and convincing the undecided people that you have the best policies.

2025-04-05 16:47:12 UTC

There's good video of the #handsoff protests at PBS.
https://www.youtube.com/live/xAMH6Tis7Ck?si=4s9qGqb-c-cW17Yw

2025-04-04 03:40:05 UTC

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That sounds suspicious!