Public Benefit Journalism

In collaboration with Canada's National Observer, Ricochet Media and other media outlets, I–SEA is pleased to feature quality investigative journalism projects in areas of public interest, with specific emphasis on Indigenous issues and impacts of climate change, youth climate action and Canada's clean energy technologies.

YOUTH CLIMATE ACTION
Featured
From sugarcane paper to shoreline cleanups: How one teen built a climate movement
From sugarcane paper to shoreline cleanups: How one teen built a climate movement

Alexandra Chow encourages students to collaborate, so they increase their impact on the climate crisis. This 18-year-old from Vancouver was a 2024 winner of The I-SEA Youth Climate Activism Award for bringing together high school students from seven Vancouver schools.

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Using social media to explain the climate crisis
Using social media to explain the climate crisis

Karishma Porwal uses her influence with millions of TikTok and Instagram users to link their day-to-day concerns to the climate crisis.

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Helping farmers access cheaper power with solar panels
Helping farmers access cheaper power with solar panels

Sonia Vinogradova is helping small farmers gain more energy independence. This 25-year-old woman from Montreal and her business partner, Joe Workentin, broke new ground, persuading regulators to allow solar panels on the BeetBox Co-op Farm’s barn.

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YOUTH   CLIMATE  ACTION

CLIMATE SOLUTIONS

CLIMATE  SOLUTIONS

Featured
Canadian philanthropists pledge record $405 M for climate solutions
Canadian philanthropists pledge record $405 M for climate solutions

Nine families and foundations have pledged $405 million for climate solutions over the next decade, marking the largest philanthropic contribution to fight climate change in Canadian history.

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Does the decision to lift Newfoundland’s cod moratorium adequately consider climate change?
Does the decision to lift Newfoundland’s cod moratorium adequately consider climate change?

Does the decision to lift Newfoundland’s cod moratorium adequately consider climate change?

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Bridging the gap between renters and retrofits: report
Bridging the gap between renters and retrofits: report

The experiences of renters in B.C. and disadvantages they experience are detailed in a report released this week by Ecotrust Canada. The report draws from interviews with renters, housing providers, tenant organizations, and poverty reduction organizations…

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ZERO CARBON

ZERO CARBON

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Jasper and the great sadness
Jasper and the great sadness

The sadness for Jasper is twinned with foreboding. Fires will keep getting worse until we eliminate climate pollution. The laws of physics are unmoved by the excuses of lobbyists and lawmakers.

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Zooming off to jail for climate activism
Zooming off to jail for climate activism

Sentences for environmental activists set a new record for non-violent protest in the U.K, surpassing the three-year sentence given to another Just Stop Oil protestor who scaled the Queen Elizabeth II bridge over the Thames estuary.

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SUSTAINABLE CITIES
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Canada’s cities lack the authority they need to quit natural gas, but it’s an important step in lowering urban carbon footprints
Canada’s cities lack the authority they need to quit natural gas, but it’s an important step in lowering urban carbon footprints

Like many foodies, Jodie Johnson likes to cook with cast-iron cookware on her gas stove — the open flame gets her pans from a little bit warm to piping hot in a matter of seconds.

However, her stove’s environmental impact hasn’t sat well with her for years. Johnson, who lives in a circa-1920s home in Vancouver, has slowly been swapping her polluting appliances for cleaner alternatives

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Canadian climate expert ‘foolishly optimistic’ about the future of sustainable cities
Canadian climate expert ‘foolishly optimistic’ about the future of sustainable cities

Yuill Herbert is an emission reduction adviser to some of Canada’s largest cities, but he does most of his work from Tatamagouche — a tiny village on the eastern edge of Nova Scotia.

Despite his love of country life, Herbert sees potential and beauty in cities and puts his energy into ensuring they are well-designed and adapted for a changing climate.

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SUSTAINABLE  CITIES

CANADA'S PLASTICS PROBLEM

CANADA’S   PLASTICS  PROBLEM

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Toxic chemicals ‘a big, big problem,’ chemists warn, as countries try to strike plastic pollution deal
Toxic chemicals ‘a big, big problem,’ chemists warn, as countries try to strike plastic pollution deal

When Zhanyun Wang was a kid, his mother told him to avoid the sweet-smelling gases that sometimes drifted across his neighbourhood near Shanghai from nearby plastic factories. Anything that smelled "really nice," the now-researcher at the University of Zurich explained, was "probably very toxic."

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Alberta joins fray against federal plastic rules
Alberta joins fray against federal plastic rules

Alberta has sided with a coalition of major plastic producers suing to stop the federal government’s efforts to reduce plastic pollution.

In a Wednesday letter, Alberta's attorney general told the Federal Court of Canada that the province would intervene in an industry-led lawsuit against the federal government’s 2021 decision to list plastics as "toxic" under Canada's environmental laws.

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FIRST NATIONS FORWARD

FIRST  NATIONS  FORWARD

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Sharing the fine art of cleaning herring
Sharing the fine art of cleaning herring

Sharing traditional skills and knowledge was part of the menu at the recent Island Indigenous Food Gathering near Port Alberni.

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Indigenous food gathering nourishes culture and climate resiliency
Indigenous food gathering nourishes culture and climate resiliency

First Nations from across Vancouver Island are gathering this week to celebrate and strengthen traditional food sovereignty and deepen Indigenous communities' response to climate change and other emergencies.

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COP 26

SPECIAL   REPORTS  FROM  COP 26

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Looking forward on climate, the case for hope amid the heartbreak
Looking forward on climate, the case for hope amid the heartbreak

Grief is natural when contemplating a future where carbon emissions are not curtailed, but people should never lose hope.

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B.C. is not on track to meet climate goals: civil society groups
B.C. is not on track to meet climate goals: civil society groups

A campaign mounted by several B.C. climate and civil society groups is calling on the provincial government to set more ambitious climate targets and enact policies to reach them.

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DEMOCRACY & INTEGRITY

DEMOCRACY AND INTEGRITY:  Education on Climate Change

Featured
Have federal political parties abused data?
Have federal political parties abused data?

Canada's competition watchdog is looking into a complaint about the data-harvesting practices of the main federal political parties.

In its complaint to the commissioner of competition, the Centre for Digital Rights flagged what it calls the large-scale misuse of big data and targeted digital advertising of the Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic parties.

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The abuse Catherine McKenna receives on Twitter exploded the day the carbon tax started
The abuse Catherine McKenna receives on Twitter exploded the day the carbon tax started

Three days after the election, a blown-up photo of Catherine McKenna on the front window of her campaign office was defaced with a vulgar four-letter slur painted in deep red letters.

The Ottawa Centre MP, who served as environment minister for the last four years, was speechless in her reaction to seeing “c--t” written over her face, but wasn’t surprised.

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TOXINS IN CANADA

TOXINS   IN  CANADA

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Did you know baby poo is loaded with microplastics?
Did you know baby poo is loaded with microplastics?

Whenever a plastic bag or bottle degrades, it breaks into ever smaller pieces that work their way into nooks in the environment.

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Farm documentary was part of pesticide PR strategy
Farm documentary was part of pesticide PR strategy

The documentary opens onto beautiful blue skies, fields of wheat and a house on a farm in Saskatchewan, as country music plays in the background.

The Englots, a family growing wheat, soybeans and canola, discuss their day over morning coffee. Loretta, the mom will tend to her horse and the dogs, while dad Norman and son Luc will scout the field to check for weeds.

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CANADA'S CLEAN ECONOMY

CANADA’S  CLEAN  ECONOMY and Green Stimulus

Featured
Canada needs a massive battery
Canada needs a massive battery

The federal government is developing Clean Energy Regulations (CER) to help move the electrical grid to net-zero emissions. The regulations, among other measures, will encourage adding more renewable energy to the grid, which will eventually replace coal and natural gas electricity generation in Canada.

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Green bonds are going from 'niche' to 'mainstream': Can Canada catch up?
Green bonds are going from 'niche' to 'mainstream': Can Canada catch up?

These days, as the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan decides where to invest its billions, every move it makes is green-tested by future investors — environmental crusaders like Aliya Hirji.

At 16, Hirji, is younger than most organizers in her youth-led climate change advocacy group, Fridays for Future Toronto. She studies the financial markets and their intersection with climate change.

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