August 2007

A New Spin

Gone are the days when you could punch a hole in the prairie and up would gush oil pure enough to put in your tank. Today’s oil companies pump lower-grade mixtures of oil, water and sludge >

Flashback - Ever Green?

We checked in on some Emerald Award winners from the past 10 years to see if they’re still fighting the good fight. Here’s what we found >

Ecological Exemplars

The 2007 Emerald Award winners show how Albertan organizations and individuals are making a difference >

Business Not as Usual

When Michael Kalmanovitch started Earth’s General Store in 1991, he was doomed to fail. He had $167 in his bank account and no one gave a damn about the environment >

On the Waterfront

A public-private partnership quenches an oil refinery’s thirst for water >

The Emerald Awards 2006

When Andrew Stiles jumped up on stage to accept this year’s Emerald Award in the Individual Commitment category, he recited a line from the Canadian national anthem: “God keep our land glorious and free.” Those words have never carried more weight than they do today >

Greenwashed

More and more buildings are being built to meet LEED standards but are they really helping the environment? >

The Green & the Brown

A visual portrait of some of Alberta’s environmental assets and liabilities >

Emission Impossible

Finally, Alberta’s big emitters have guidelines – and deadlines – to cut their CO2 output. We asked them: what are they going to do now? >

What on Earth

A century ago, Canada marketed itself to British immigrants as “The Last Best West.”  >

Trickle-down Economics

Alberta’s oilsands, the world’s largest engineering project, may be getting rave reviews in the corridors of Ottawa and Washington, D.C., as a secure source of oil for the continent >

Trashopolis

On a mid-May afternoon, the wind gusts over Beaver County, bending treetops and skimming dust from gravel roads. Despite the sunshine, a killjoy chill in the air threatens the unusually warm and eager spring >

The Green Gold Standard

BACK In the 1980s when Tom Sutherland was a bright-eyed university student, a group of professors were teaching pupils that buildings should work with the environment rather than against it >

The Colour of Money

Investors are putting their money behind green companies, but as in any hot sector, it’s buyer beware >

Take Only Pictures

Despite having no hospitality experience, Madeleine and Alan Ernst took their love for the mountains and turned it into a new career and a new life when they opened Aurum Lodge in 2000 >

Mindset Over Matter

An exceptionally well-rounded industrial designer would be one of the best CEOs in the world.” >

Lean and Green

When Community Natural Foods renovated its packaging centre this year, the Calgary retailer replaced its old water heating system with a solar package that has cut energy bills and reduced its impact on the environment >

Business vs. the Environment

If the great question of the day is how to reconcile business and environmental concerns, Roger Smith may come close to embodying some practical answers >

August 2007