Michael Dudley

<p>Corporations have long been able to use regulatory instruments and the courts to override community interests to gain access to resources or to site noxious land uses. Now communities are fighting back.</p>

<p>Sprawling Calgary, Alberta, may have the biggest ecological footprint of any city in Canada -- and no municipal recycling program -- but will soon supply 75% of its energy needs through wind power.</p>

<p>In India, plans to build the world's largest statue and an accompanying complex dedicated to the Buddha are causing an uproar over concerns that poor farmers will be displaced from their lands.</p>

<p>A new study shows that Victoria B.C. leads Canadian cities in terms of sustainable transportation initiatives. But, overall, Canadian cities are not performing as well as they could be.</p>

<p>Years of job losses, the expense of paying for services formerly offered by the Provincial government, and an over-reliance on property tax revenue have left Canada's largest city with a huge deficit.</p>