Ben Liadsky's blog

Today is my last day at Sierra Club Canada and so this will be my final blog post.  I’ve never been big on goodbyes so I will keep it short.

I began my time here at SCC as an intern and was honoured to be able to stay on for a few more months as the Campaign Coordinator.  Over this period I was fortunate enough to be involved in a number of campaigns ranging from turtles to climate change.  I’ve enjoyed the challenge and learning experience and will take these lessons learned with me into the future.... Read more »

This past Saturday, myself and approximately 30-35 other Ottawa residents went for a walk through an area known as the South March Highlands to bear witness and to learn about an area that will soon be dug up in order to build yet another road as well as 3,200 suburban homes (video to come).  

The walk was part of an ongoing campaign of ours.

By all accounts, this area is one of unique beauty to the Ottawa region.  It is home to wetlands and forests, and endangered and threatened species such as the Blanding's Turtle and Golden-winged Warbler, and even a few bears.  It is used by recreational mountain bikers and hikers as well as bird watchers.

In fact, on the walking tour we were even fortunate enough to see a red tail hawk circling in the sky above.  ... Read more »

I've always found it strange that people can so quickly dismiss environmental concerns.  I've been shocked and appalled when the governments we elect choose to do likewise.

I grew up in a city and I still live in a city.  In fact, there's a good chance I will always live in a city - more and more of us are living in them after all.  Yet, for all my time in a city, I've continually been amazed to find people who know nothing of the city they live in and have no desire to learn or to explore. 
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Here in Ottawa, at the national office, we primarily deal with national/federal issues.  Our chapters deal with regional/provincial issues and our local groups obviously deal with local issues.

Nonetheless, sitting around the office one staff meeting day, a  local Ottawa population of Blanding's Turtle made it into the conversation.  This species of turtle is a very distinctive, fairly large turtle with a yellow belly and can live to be 75 years old.  They are also listed as a threatened species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and as an endangered species by the 2007 Ontario Endangered Species Act.

These turtles call a pristine piece of wetland home, which is located just a short drive from Parliament Hill and is one of the few remaining large swaths of green space in Ottawa.... Read more »

We've been chatting the past couple days, here in the office, over an interesting full page ad...err...news article...err..."special information feature on climate change" that has appeared in the Ottawa Citizen (and the National Post, Calgary Herald, Montreal Gazette, Vancouver Sun, and possibly others) the past couple of weekends. 

Indeed, it is quite unclear what this thing is.  It looks like a regular newspaper article, has nice pictures, is seemingly well-written, and would appear to be written by a legitimate journalist.  Yet, something isn't quite right.

The full title reads "New Energy Future: The Energy Challenge and Environmental Responsibility."  So far so good.  I'm intrigued really - until the next line that is: "A six-week Canwest special information feature on climate change, in partnership with Shell Canada."  ... Read more »