"Only about half of the data centre decision-makers surveyed said they were holding public forums or investing in local initiatives, while recent national polling shows that only 33% of developers are addressing grid reliability, and only 29% are responding to water consumption concerns." /more

"Disinformation minimizes the seriousness of the situation. It systematically redirects our indignation to the wrong targets. It reverses the solutions and the culprits." -Karel Mayrand, in this week's Weekender. @karelmayrand.bsky.social energymixweekender.substack.com/p/it-looks-l...

It Looks Like an AI Image. But the Photos of Beachgoers Watching a Wildfire Are Real.

Wildfire images from Europe and closer by show that the climate emergency is now. But misinformation abounds as powerful interests try to redirect attention, discredit climate solutions.

energymixweekender.substack.com

Getting lotssss of questions about Democracy Watch case. Even on Facebook! As a nerd of judicial review and lover of the rule of law, it’s music to my ears. We owe a depth of gratitude to Democracy Watch, @pauldalyesq.bsky.social and Duff Connacher. 🙏 Some key excerpts (1)

Data centres are coming for the Alberta grid…and a proposed new bridging program will give them an easy way in. Story updated with full answers from AESO, and more commentary from the Pembina Institute. /more

Update: Photographer Trisha Brownlee was released July 27 from a Warren County, NJ, jail after six-plus weeks in detention. She had been arrested on a weapons-related charge June 11 while interviewing two sources who were monitoring immigration agents.

Photojournalist arrested mid-interview, incarcerated since June

Trisha Brownlee, an independent photographer, was arrested by state police on June 11, 2026, while interviewing two men who were …

pressfreedomtracker.us

“Hot people hate AI” - Photos from the Anti-AI protest in Calgary at the end of June. open.substack.com/pub/jodymacp... #protest #streetphotography #photography #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #ableg #cdnpoli #artificialIntelligence

Protest featured Pokémon, LLM's explained, and a call to 'expropriate Nvidia'

Photo essay: Anti-AI protest at Calgary City Hall, part of a nationwide day of protest against data centres

open.substack.com

Despite Carney’s statements that ties to the US are “weaknesses," Danielle Smith is focused on “strengthening our trading partnership with the United States, selling more energy in all directions. And that's what we've been working towards for the last number of years.” youtu.be/gwOKugzeD9Q?...

Smith: "You Don't go Into a Constructive Negotiation Promising to Punch Someone in the Nose"

YouTube video by cpac

youtu.be

We need your 🫵 help speaking up for safe streets and municipal autonomy! 1. Add your voice to our postcard campaign 🌅 2. Send the Minister and your local representatives an email using the provided template ✉️ This simple action helps keep our communities safe 💪 #yegbike

Read my recent story about the Olds data centre/power plant controversy, if you haven’t already, and get caught up on some new developments… /more

Bold choice by Rebel's TPA... Going with the AI deepfakes? Right after a law was introduced banning them? Including EA sets them on the wrong side of the law. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

In the latest instalment of Hidden Wonder Valley, Jody MacPherson explores how as hyperscale #datacentres move into more and more small, #ruralcommunities in the absence of adequate legislative and policy frameworks, communities are becoming increasingly exposed to #misinformation.

As Data Centres Multiply, Government Silence Leaves Communities Exposed to Misinformation

As experts warn that misinformation and disinformation are existential threats to Canadian democracy, communities watching hyperscale data centres move into their neighbourhoods say they are being sto...

theenergymix.com

There’s a vacuum of accurate information around AI data centres, and misinformation/disinformation is filling that void…to the detriment of local communities. My newest for The Mix! www.theenergymix.com/as-data-cent... #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #ableg #cdnpoli #democracy #journalism

As Data Centres Multiply, Government Silence Leaves Communities Exposed to Misinformation

As experts warn that misinformation and disinformation are existential threats to Canadian democracy, communities watching hyperscale data centres move into their neighbourhoods say they are being sto...

theenergymix.com

CBC's recent Alberta @ Noon call-in show about data centres was overwhelmingly negative callers. youtu.be/F3X71XLg_Bo?...

Are you OK with an AI data centre in your community? We take your calls

YouTube video by CBC News Alberta

youtu.be

Ontario jails are using an AI tool that claims to predict prisoners’ behaviour. And it’s disproportionately placing Black prisoners in maximum security. An investigation by @desmondcole.bsky.social reveals the province knew the tool would discriminate against Black people—and used it anyway.

Black prisoners are assigned harsher living conditions in Ontario jails—thanks to AI ⋆ The Breach

Ontario jails are using a program that claims it can predict prisoners’ behaviour, disproportionately putting Black prisoners in higher-security facilities

breachmedia.ca

Kevin O’Leary explains the role of AI in war - “compliance by tenderization.” “Every data centre built going forward in the US is going to have to give up at least 20% of its capacity to the US govt to protect the future of the US citizen and allied countries.” youtube.com/shorts/BbGOX... #Canada

How the power of AI will force Iran to comply #shorts

YouTube video by Kevin O'Leary

youtube.com

A fire starting 10 km from town could threaten the community in less than 12 hours if driven toward town by the wind, leaving little time to evacuate. "Fires starting just 5 km away could force an immediate evacuation, with some simulations suggesting not everyone would be able to get out safely."

François-Nicolas Robinne@fnrobinne.bsky.social · 3w ago

New #research says #Banff may be 'hard pressed' to fully evacuate under certain 'blow-up' #wildfire conditions www.rmoutlook.com/banff/new-re...

Something’s gravely wrong with how Elections Alberta torpedoed Corb Lund’s Water Not Coal citizen initiative petition #abpoli rabble.ca/politics/can...

Something’s gravely wrong with how Elections Alberta torpedoed Corb Lund’s Water Not Coal citizen initiative petition

Combined with ongoing UCP electoral jiggery-pokery, this is turning into a genuine crisis of democratic legitimacy.

rabble.ca

“Fuck your fascist pancakes!” Smith got called out hard at today’s pancake breakfast for putting AI ahead of Albertans and appearing on a separatist podcast. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

One of my articles for The Energy Mix makes a cameo appearance in this excellent video by The Breach! Also features an interview with Mairin Loewen of the Urban Climate Leadership Project, an Energy Mix contributor. youtu.be/kp_R1vja1bg?... #ableg #abpoli #AIDataCentres #climate #democracy

Inside the country-wide fight against AI data centres

YouTube video by The Breach

youtu.be

Survey says...they're not listening!

The Energy Mix@theenergymix.com · 3w ago

Community opposition blocked or delayed US$64 billion of #datacentre projects in the United States in less than a year, yet community concerns do not make the top-four list of considerations for data centre proponents when they pick a location.

ICYMI, we're hosting an online, open-line discussion to hear what you think a “good investment” would be for $43.7 billion of taxpayer funds. The responses have already started coming in! Here is just a bit of what we're hearing. Join the conversation! #cdnpoli #pipeline

#betterideas #43billion #pipeline

We are crowdsourcing ideas for the $43B (!!) Carney and Hodgson want to use to build a bitumen pipeline requiring a major expansion of the tar sands that the tar sands companies have not even committed to…oh, it’s that bad. Send us your ideas. Please. energymixweekender.substack.com/p/ottawa-say...

Ottawa Says the West Coast Pipeline is a 'Good Investment for Taxpayers'. Discuss.

Big news! We're hosting an online, open-line discussion over the summer to hear what *you* would see as a “good investment” of $43.7 billion for Canadian taxpayers. Time to get creative.

energymixweekender.substack.com

Communities are speaking loud and clear about their concerns with AI data centres, but the proponents don’t appear to be listening. Read my latest roundup of what researchers are discovering about data centres. www.theenergymix.com/community-pu... #electricitygrid #AIDataCenters #climate #water

Community Pushback Blocks $64B in U.S. Data Centre Development

Community opposition blocked or delayed US$64 billion of data centre projects in the United States in less than a year, yet community concerns do not make the top-four list of considerations for data ...

theenergymix.com

So, to summarize 1. Carney is doing a Trump style taking of credit for what is, in fact, not good news. 2. Temporary service jobs up, manufacturing jobs down.

Although the focus is on Meta’s AI data centre, the bigger story might be that Alberta is planning to allocate an additional 1.6 GW from the grid to data centres…temporarily. And the regulator admitted that it’s going to raise everyone’s costs for electricity. /more

Happening tonight at 6 p.m. A screening of the first of four films in a series about ordinary people standing up to the fossil fuel industry and fighting for the future of their communities. The screening is free and the first film deals with Cancer Alley in the U.S. thirdact.org/events/virtu...

Ron Wiebe, MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti is travelling (with two other MLA's, to Salt Lake City, Utah to discuss defence and "securing long-term energy and supply chain resilience" with state legislators. Will they compare notes on the twin Wonder Valleys? www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?...

We were promised a private sector pipeline. Now our tax dollars are paying for a crude oil pipeline and tarsands companies have to DOUBLE production to feed it. And there's still no firm commitment to carbon capture. I thought the two were dependent? #cdnpoli substack.com/@energymixwe...

Trust. Broken.

Carney seals the pipeline deal, and his energy minister touts a $43-billion taxpayer bailout as a good investment. Would you buy a used “energy superpower” strategy from these guys?

substack.com

While recording this episode Dave Gray-Donald was in his sweltering studio in Toronto and I was in Calgary under a thunderstorm warning, with funnel clouds spotted. Thank you Green Majority Radio for inviting me on the show! www.greenmajority.ca/the-podcast/...

Planes, Weather, Water & Data Smelting Centres (1025) — Green Majority Radio

We talk about a Toronto airport, new climate data, local resistance, nuclear, energy efficiency, drinking water, and Bill S-2. Dave Gray-Donald interviews Jody MacPherson, reporter and researcher at t...

greenmajority.ca