Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
Journalist | Vancouver |
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About Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
Marc Fawcett-Atkinson is a reporter and writer covering food systems, climate, disinformation, and plastics and the environment for Canada’s National Observer.
His ongoing investigations of the plastic industry in Canada won him a Webster Award's nomination in environmental reporting in 2021. He was also a nominee for a Canadian Association of Journalists's award for his reporting on disinformation.
Marc has previously written for High Country News, the Literary Review of Canada, and other publications on topics exploring relationships between people and their social and physical environments.
He holds an M.A. in journalism from the University of British Columbia and a B.A. in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic.
Extended nightmarish drought strains British Columbia water systems
A nearly year-long drought that lasted through the winter and brought both record heat and unprecedentedly low snow levels have left the province under drought conditions from the Lower Mainland to northern B.C., straining the vital resource for communities and farmers alike.
Sour gas next door: B.C. couple asked the courts for protection but lost
A northern B.C. couple was unsuccessful in their bid to protect themselves, their three children and over a dozen animals from the noxious gases poised to be emitted by a natural gas well adjacent to their home. But while their effort to halt operations at the well failed in court, observers say the case highlights potentially fatal problems in provincial rules regulating gas wells.
The blaze in Jasper fueled a wider disinformation firestorm
As wildfires scorch ever-larger parts of Canada and force thousands to evacuate, they are fueling the spread of right-wing disinformation and climate conspiracy theories.
Vancouver ditches gas ban for new buildings
In a dramatic Tuesday council meeting, four ABC party councillors voted to approve an amendment that reverses city rules from 2020 prohibiting new buildings from using natural gas for heating and hot water.
Youth use fire to stop fire
Cultural burning is the use of controlled fire to generate new growth and prevent large, destructive wildfires. Long used by Indigenous people throughout what is now B.C. and other parts of Canada, the practice was criminalized in 1874. However, as Canada suffers record-breaking wildfires, a growing number of Indigenous people and advocates are calling for those restrictions to be removed.
"The number of complaints is a cause for concern"
A trove of monthly odour complaints to a Metro Vancouver hotline reveal over 200 grievances were filed with the municipal government between August 2022 and November 2023. The documents obtained by Canada's National Observer through an access to information request show about 50 people filed complaints, with one person filing 53 between December 2022 and June 2023.
Feds look to limit farmers' ancient practice of saving seed
The federal government wants to restrict farmers' ability to save seeds and other reproductive plant materials like tree grafts for some crops – and is asking farmers to comment on the changes during the height of the growing season.
As wildfires worsen, wild salmon take a hit
Salmon have long adapted to wildfires by spawning in parts of rivers untouched by the fires. But the extreme wildfires engulfing B.C. and western North America are leaving fewer islands of habitat intact, making it impossible for the fish to lay their eggs. Now, wild salmon are facing a growing threat from larger fires, and fisheries experts warn more needs to be done to save them.
B.C. government blasted for 'ultimate hypocrisy' over PFAS and sewage sludge
The B.C. government’s lawsuit over the health impact of so-called “forever chemicals” is now shining a questionable light on the province’s effort to also overturn one of Canada’s only bans on toxic sewage sludge applied to fields and forests.
Plan to wean B.C. off fossil fuels avoids vital question: How?
A new provincial plan charting how B.C. can replace fossil fuels with electricity and low-carbon power offers too few details, observers say.