Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
Journalist | Vancouver |
English
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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.
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?
More toxic food coming to your table
Pesticides made from a class of cancer-causing toxic chemicals that never degrade are being used on Canadian crops despite global concerns about their impact on humans and the environment.
Regulator ruled against LNG ads, leak reveals
Ad Standards, the industry organization that regulates advertisements in Canada, ruled against one of the country's largest pro-fossil fuel advocacy groups for spreading disinformation about the harmful climate impacts of liquified natural gas (LNG), according to a confidential decision.
Northern food is expensive. Is climate change to blame?
Canada's primary subsidy for food prices in the North, Nutrition North, is failing to make food affordable there — and climate change is exacerbating the problem, says Nunavut's sole MP.
Critics want ‘mature’ discussion about pesticide
Following revelations that the country's agriculture department downplayed warnings about glyphosate, advocates argue that the country must have a tough talk about reducing use of the controversial chemical.
‘To say nothing is not public service’: former Agriculture Canada official raised red flags on pesticide
A former official in Canada's agriculture ministry accused the federal pesticide regulator of failing to assess the health risks posed by the controversial chemical glyphosate, a key ingredient of Roundup, months before leaving the ministry.
Feds’ review of ‘dangerous’ pesticides is overdue, say experts
Canada's pesticide regulator is years behind on a cumulative assessment of health risks posed by a group of pesticides linked to autism, hyperactivity and reduced intelligence scores in children.
Hot air and hyperbole? New player joins B.C.’s gas wars
For months, Canada's natural gas utilities have mustered lobbying efforts and funded online misinformation campaigns to fight efforts by municipalities to phase out the climate-warming fuel. And now they have a new ally with deep ties to the province's NDP to push the pro-gas message in the province's lefty media.
Canada’s agriculture ministry gets failing grade on climate
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is lagging in the fight against climate change because it does not have a plan to reduce the sector's greenhouse gas emissions, the federal environment commissioner has found.