Stephen Legault

@jemphatically.bsky.social I wonder if you might like to connect sometime for a chat about AI data centres, energy transition and Alberta's war on renewable energy? I'm easiest to reach at stephen@environmentaldefence.ca.

Canada has handed Teck, one of Canada's worst polluters, $400M to exploit critical mineral production. While not opposed in principle, I am concerned critical mineral mining is still mining and has massive impacts. Where's the strategy to protect nature? northdeltareporter.com/2026/07/07/t...

Lawsuit seeks emergency protection for endangered Piping plovers at Wasaga beach ecojustice.ca/news/lawsuit... #cdnpoli

A pipeline is a tube you pour oil into and get fires, floods, heatwaves and drought out the other end. #pipelines #crudeoil #climatechange #energytransition

What is Premier Smith's motivation for such heavy-handed, anti-industry, anti-investment policies? ATCO is also one of Canada's largest commercial and residential gas providers, so it doesn't make sense that the Premier is deaf to their concerns. What's the story here? www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

The only referendum I’m interested in right now is one that asks me who I want as my MLA and government. I’ll take a crack at the coal vote too….

Apparently, the GOAs Alberta’s Calling campaign was a crank call.

The thing that everybody else already knew is now reflected in a new name: www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

If premier Smith wants to scapegoat someone for her rotten management of the Alberta economy she should look in the mirror.

Aliens, interesting. Now, Epstein files please.

I'm very pleased to present New Frontiers, an energy transition guide for Alberta. This first-of-its-kind document maps out how Canada's most oil-dependent province can end its reliance on crude oil royalties. environmentaldefence.ca/report/new-f... #energytransition

"Despite years of efforts to lessen its dependence on oil and revenue, including through a provincial fund to invest oil and gas royalties, Alberta’s economic fortunes still rise and fall on crude prices." We keep putting eggs in this flaming basket of nightmares. financialpost.com/commodities/...

The 1st new oil sands operation in 8 years is now online, extracting 45,000 barrels per day. Over the course of the year, that means about 1.1 million tonnes CO₂e/year. Add that to Alberta's 260 mega tonnes and the trend line continues to move in the wrong direction. energynow.com/2026/01/rare...

You know what word I can't spell, and until recently didn't really have to? Venezuela. I have a new personal goal.

An interesting read by the venerable David Suzuki on the relationship between oil wealth, climate, and global conflict: rabble.ca/environment/...

Common-sense conservatives like Sonja Savage, former UCP Minister of Energy, are warning that the economics of a new pipeline don't work, and that Venezuela heavy crude will eat Alberta's lunch (and the money we need to buy it): albertapolitics.ca/2026/01/vene...

Iran has just announced that unless ICE stops shooting US citizens it will intervene militarily.

Wait a second, I thought this Venezuela thing was about drugs. Boy, do I feel silly.

aje.io/8x6n7d this is a very useful explainer on the geopolitics behind Venezuela’s oil economy.

This issue isn't refinery capacity, it's the available market. Building a refinery in Alberta would take a decade and cost billions, all while the world slowly but surely evolves away from oil and toward renewables. energynow.ca/2026/01/eby-... #bcpoli #davideby #energytransition

The biggest threat to Canadian foreign oil and gas producers isn't the military action in Venezuela; it's the transition happening worldwide from petroleum to renewable energy. Canada and Alberta have their heads in the oil sands; ignoring this shift will spell disaster for our economies.

I have been saying this for some time to students seeking career advice: the energy sector is one of the most exciting places to work with a huge transformation taking place right now. Electrification is a game changer and means a redesign of our energy system as we know it.

Supply and demand still applies to global oil markets. There is more supply, and will be even more if Venezuela rejoins the export biz, and there is less demand, as China, South Korea, much of Europe and large parts of Africa embrace the energy transition. energynow.ca/2026/01/fore...

It's possible that the world will look at what has happened in Venezuela and conclude that the acceleration of the current energy transition is the only way to ensure a livable planet, national sovereignty, and a functioning socio-economic society.

US oil giants have noted that had Trump consulted them about Venezuela, they would have warned him that the cost to reestablish that country's oil sector would be tens of billions, and take a decade. Imagine the gall of a CEO who expects to be consulted about an illegal military operation.

Oil tycoons hear the word "chaos" and think, How can I make money from this clearly illegal action? The next thing they think is, Can I use this international embarrassment to press my case to build another unnecessary pipeline? www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Pro-oil commentators are currently lining up to argue that the U.S. attack on Venezuela and the possible future production of tar sands look-alike heavy crude mean that Canada should diversify its exports...Does that make sense? Read EDC's entire statement: environmentaldefence.ca/2026/01/05/s...

The US relationship with Venezuela oil production started in the 1920's and by the 1970's Venezuela was a major supplier to the US. Alberta increasingly filled that void in the 1980s, and now 97% of our exports go to the USA. What happens now?

According to one source (discoveryalert.com.au/canada-energ...) the success of the Canada-Alberta pipeline deal, with access to Asian markets, requires completion of the pipeline and Carbon Capture infrastructure by 2030. Four years from now. The last pipeline expansion took twelve years. Good luck.

But to do so, we'll need a much more dramatic effort to adapt to #climatedisruption and #disaster. Will 2026 be the year we breakthrough, or breakdown? www.cbc.ca/news/science... #climateaciton #climateresilience #abpoli #canpoli #enviromentaldefence

One thing is for certain; the world is struggling forward with an energy transition, regardless of what the robber barons in the oil industry or government's do to stop it: www.cbc.ca/news/science.... #climateaction #energytransition #environmentaldefence

Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz resigns, reports the CBC and Calgary Herald. Thank you for your service, Minister, through I would have preferred had you focused on protecting the environment rather than subbing in as Minister of Energy, promoting carbon intense energy at every turn.

Something I'll be watching in 2026: if the promised British Columbia/Alberta legislated plan to restore nearly one gigawatt of transfer capacity on their 500 kV AC intertie. The numbers mean less than hoped for execution of a plan to kickstart the western leg of a national electricity system.

To put things in perspective, 10.7 gigawatts - which Alberta cancelled when it placed a moratorium and restrictions on renewable energy - could power 7x the homes in the province. AB wiped more than $4 billion in annual revenue from its books (if the power had been sold on the wholesale market).

"Alberta lost 10.7 gigawatts of clean energy capacity in the two years after the province slapped a moratorium on renewable energy, enough to meet 109% of its average power demand and 89% of its peak demand," reports The Energy Mix. So much for a free and prosperous society.

I've been saving this for a cold hard day in December, and today was the day, and boy was it worth the wait. My favourite lines were the ones that created the deepest groans. Well done Mr. Leader, you've proven that tragedy is the best source of comedy. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVfw...

It's essential to understand the scale of the carbon emissions addiction that Canada's oil and gas sector has, and what a "solution" like the carbon capture project proposed by Mantel Capture Inc. will make: at 60,000 tonnes (if it worked) it would reduce emissions by .03%. surl.li/gvxwdo

How’s this for a cord change: I just went from listening to Neil Diamond to Allen Jackson. Nothing in between. A real live quantum leap.

From today’s federal methane reduction regulations: the government says, the regulations are "expected to result in fewer premature deaths, reduce symptoms among asthmatics and prevent crop losses due to ozone damage." So some premature deaths are still acceptable…

People who care about climate change are “dreaming nostalgically about the past.” - Minister Hodgson Gotcha. That explains a lot.

I’m looking forward to today’s budget the way someone might anticipate a lengthy, painful and intrusive dental procedure. Not at all. Fully expecting PM Carney to throw climate under the (diesel) bus.

Maybe Americans should have vited 2:1 agaisnt him. Dont tell me something like this wasnt obviously going to happen.https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/30/trump-east-wing-ballroom-poll-00629724

As we watch Hurricane Melissa churn towards Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti, we are witnessing the physical manifestation of our inability to prioritize survival over power, wealth, and crass over consumption.

environmentaldefence.ca/2025/10/24/t...

When Danielle Smith is happy with a meeting with the PM, I get very nervous.

Here are a few thoughts on the #energytransition in #Alberta: environmentaldefence.ca/2025/08/29/e.... We need to start having the tough conversation about how Alberta is going to pay the bills when the world transitions away from oil and gas. Its happening, so we'd better get cracking.

If Canada pursues LNG exports to Germany and the EU. In that case, it will only suppress the price of LNG further as the anticipated glut of the carbon-intensive product collides with stagnating consumer demand. Canada: always trying to sell yesterday's energy. www.theenergymix.com/breaking-can...

Trans Mountain CEO: We don't need a new pipeline www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Red states sending National Guard troops to DC feels a little bit like an invasion and occupation.

Over the last 25 years, Alberta taxpayers have paid nearly $150 million in rent to landowners for delinquent, insolvent, and under-managed oil and gas companies, according to the Narwal. thenarwhal.ca/alberta-oil-.... I wonder how many solar and wind projects the GOA has bailed out?