Canada
A team of Canadian MBA students has won $1 million to alleviate urban hunger with insect-based foods, reports Mary Jander.
Future Cities
City transit authorities are fighting back against a notorious non-practicing entity, or patent troll.
Future Cities
A high-rise residential building boom has transformed the skylines of Vancouver and Toronto over the past two decades. But despite the evident rise in the popularity of urban living, Canada's suburbs and exurbs continue to dominate growth trends.
The Vancouver Sun
John Upton notes some startling changes among Gulf oil refineries - the ones that had been clamoring for the Keystone XL pipeline to be built in order to access Canada's oil sands. It's been two years - and the oil is flowing - with or without it.
Grist
Canadian oil is headed to two California oil refineries thanks to the collaboration of Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific railroads. Valero Energy's Benicia and Wilmington refineries are improving rail facilities in preparation for the deliveries.
RailwayAge
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec was the site of a train derailment that cost dozens of lives and destroyed 10 blocks of its downtown. Now residents and town leaders are working to heal from that tragic event with plans for the future.
The Globe and Mail
While protected bike lanes have yet to be recognized by AASHTO, they are en route to being recognized by US DOT, writes Green Lane Project's Michael Andersen. With federal guidance, transportation engineers may be more willing to build cycle tracks.
Green Lane Project
The federal government's controversial decision to scrap Canada's long-form census in 2011 and replace it with a voluntary household survey is coming home to roost, as cities across the country dismiss its skewed results.
The Ottawa Citizen
In a scene reminiscent of the Denzel Washington movie "Unstoppable", but without the heroic ending, an unmanned, 72-car oil train traveled 7 miles to Lac-Mégantic, pop. 6,000, where it derailed, setting off a fireball downtown. 5 fatalities so far.
The New York Times
Writing in Foreign Policy, The Tyee's prolific environmental writer, Andrew Nikiforuk, blasts Canada for becoming a "rogue, reckless petrostate" due to its economic dependence on exporting oil. He holds Prime Minister Stephen Harper responsible.
Foreign Policy
As Toronto's condo building boom has transformed the city, it's also helped to transform Canada's housing market. There are warning signs, however, that a surplus of housing in the city threatens to destabilize Canada's entire economy.
CBC News
Kinder Morgan's proposed $2 billion 'Freedom Pipeline' to transport West Texas oil to California refineries has been rejected - not by a governmental entity as occurred with the Northern Gateway, but by oil refineries opting to ship by rail instead.
The Wall Street Journal
The rejection may ultimately doom the $6 billion pipeline to transport Alberta's oil sands crude west through British Columbia for export. Final word is reserved for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but many say an overturn would be highly unusual.
CBC News
The mayors of Canada's 22 largest municipalities are pushing the federal government to extend a subsidy program used to assist 600,000 low-income households that is due to expire next year.
The Globe and Mail
With little fanfare, a rental housing crisis has gripped Canada. 42 per cent of young adults live with their parents and hundreds of thousands are on affordable housing waiting lists. It's time for Ottawa to step in, argues Denise Balkissoon.
The Globe and Mail
Just as the power industry turned toward lower priced natural gas and away from dirtier coal, there are signs that trucks and trains are looking to lower priced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to replace diesel-powered vehicles, but there are challenges.
The New York Times - Energy & Environment
The NewsHour's Judy Woodruff asks pointed questions to Anthony Swift, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Andy Black, president of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, about the latest spill involving oil sands crude. The two agree on little.
PBS NewsHour
In Canada, more people live in suburban high-rise apartment buildings than any other housing type. Doug Saunders looks at the country's belated recognition for its "elevator suburban" identity.
The Globe and Mail
With booming shale oil production in North Dakota and Texas and possibly Canada's vast oil sands, there is talk of energy independence as the U.S. reduces its oil imports. But why not be less dependent on oil - domestic or imported?
The New York Times - Sunday Review
A major reason given by Keystone XL pipeline supporters is that the Canadian oil it will deliver to Gulf refineries will help make the U.S. 'energy independent', yet data shows that those refineries are now exporting 60% of the gasoline they produce.
The Wall Street Journal
