Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
Journalist | Vancouver |
English
French
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.
Migrant farm workers unionize for first time in decades
A group of migrant agricultural workers employed in Abbotsford, B.C. have become the first in Canada to unionize in nearly two decades.
Email shows 'irresponsible attitude' by senior official to pesticide rules, say observers
An email from a high-level official in Canada's pesticide regulatory agency is raising eyebrows for what observers say it reveals about the agency’s pro-pesticide bias.
B.C. sues over 'forever chemicals' in a Canadian first
On Friday, the province's attorney-general, Niki Sharma, announced the government has filed a civil suit against five major PFAS producers, including chemical giants 3M and DuPont.
Canada's push against greenwashing is working
Efforts to stop companies from spreading misinformation in Canada about their impact on the climate and environment appear to be taking hold.
Restaurants a flashpoint in push to phase out gas
Restaurateurs have entered the fray in a heated disinformation fight against efforts by some B.C. governments to phase out the use of natural gas in buildings – even though restaurants are exempted from the rules.
Montreal first Canadian city to ban golf course pesticides
The city has banned the use of 32 highly toxic pesticides on golf courses due to the risk they pose to human health and the environment, including several considered safe by Canada's pesticide regulator. The ban extends to glyphosate, a controversial and widely-used herbicide that is neurotoxic, disrupts the endocrine system and can cause cancer.
How wildfires expose Canada's climate disinformation problem
Right-wing influencers and websites – including many that attacked pandemic-era public health measures – leveraged last year’s record-breaking wildfires to spread climate disinformation, researchers say.
A ghost pipeline rears up in northern B.C.
After nearly a decade without progress, the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Project appears set to begin construction this summer after the B.C. energy regulator created a legal loophole to allow the project to proceed.
Vancouver leads effort to restrict gas water heaters
The city has become the first in B.C. to phase out the use of gas-powered water heaters in homes in a move that will roughly halve the amount of harmful emissions the heaters generate by 2035. In a Tuesday announcement, the city said that replacement water heaters in homes and duplexes must meet strict efficiency requirements starting next year.
Senate report pulls feds down to earth on food security
Only 7.2 per cent of Canada's land mass is arable, with high-quality soils that can support produce even rarer still. So why haven't governments taken steps to protect those lands?