(April 24/07) Former US vice-president Al Gore, speaking in Calgary last night, was told by Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach to clean up his own backyard before preaching to Albertans.

Gore spoke to a sold-out crowd about his award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, and argued that global warming "is being spurred by the use of carbon-based fuels such as oil and coal, is the biggest threat facing the world". He suggested Alberta's oil sands are using far too much natural gas in processing northern Alberta's bitumen, further adding to greenhouse emissions.

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said the province is "merely feeding Americans' insatiable demand for energy, so perhaps Gore should look closer to home". Stelmach, who attended the $159-a-ticket show,…

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 Your weekly update of the Calgary Market Prices

Calgary Real Estate Stats: Apr 01 - Apr 17/07

 

Calgary Real Estate Stats

Single Family 2007 2006 Average Selling Price $457,624 $374,323 Median Selling Price $419,000 $342,000 New Listings 2,118 1,437 Sales 1,368 1,342 Sales to New Listing Ratio 65% 93% Sales to Active Listing Ratio 40% … Read Full Post

 

(March 31, 2007) Shell Canada has been in the news recently as their parent company, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, has attempted to buy controlling interest in the Canadian division. Royal Dutch and its affiliates now own 740,294,180 common shares of Shell Canada or approximately 89.6% of the outstanding common shares of Shell Canada.

What's more interesting is a rumour that hit the streets of Calgary this past Friday: Royal Dutch Shell intends to move Shell Canada's head office out of Calgary once the share buyout is complete, possibly to Saskatchewan (Saskatoon?).

Considering that Shell Canada currently occupies 2 or 3 dozen floors of "A class" space in downtown Calgary, and that similar space is now leasing for north of $40 per square foot, this…

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 Your weekly update of the Calgary Real Estate Stats

Calgary Real Estate Stats for Feb 01 thru Feb 27/07

 

Calgary Real Estate Stats

Single Family 2007 2006 Average Selling Price $435,626 $342,547 Median Selling Price $399,000 $308,200 New Listings 2,569 2,261 Sales 2,187 2,050 Sales to New Listing Ratio 85% 91% Sales to Active Listing Ratio … Read Full Post

 

 Your weekly update of the Calgary Real Estate Stats

Calgary Real Estate Stats for Feb 01 thru Feb 20/07

 

Calgary Real Estate Stats

Single Family 2007 2006 Average Selling Price $433,402 $338,232 Median Selling Price $397,000 $305,600 New Listings 1,837 1,670 Sales 1,664 1,513 Sales to New Listing Ratio 91% 91% Sales to Active Listing Ratio … Read Full Post

 

 Your weekly update of the Calgary MLS® Sales Stats

Calgary MLS® Market Stats for Feb 01 thru Feb 06/07

 

Calgary Market Stats

Single Family 2007 2006 Average Selling Price $422,197 $344,806 Median Selling Price $395,000 $311,000 New Listings 597 490 Sales 494 440 Sales to New Listing Ratio 83% 90% Sales to Active Listing Ratio 19% … Read Full Post

(February 08, 2007): The Australian engineering company WorleyParsons announced today they've agreed to buy Calgary based Colt Companies (Colt Engineering) for A$1.13-Billion ($1.3-Billion Cdn).

Colt, with offices in Toronto, Sarnia, Calgary, Edmonton and Anchorage, Alaska, is the largest private engineering firm in Canada, and has oilsands heavyweights such as Suncor, Syncrude, Shell & PetroCanada as clients.

The move gives WorleyParson a significant presence in the Alberta oilsands, which are estimated to contain 98% of Canada's 179 Billion barrels of reserves. Analysts estimate the industry will invest C$125 billion in the oilsands over the next 10 years should current projects proceed.

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(February 03, 2007): Seismologists from the Pacific Geoscience Centre in Sidney, B.C., have warned there is an increased probability of a major earthquake hitting B.C.'s south coast during the next week.

Geophysicists are tracking a series of tremors that started in Puget Sound along the U.S. West Coast three days ago and are working their way up Vancouver Island. The background seismic activity, which can be detected by sensitive equipment installed up the coast by U.S. and Canadian governments, was recorded through southern Vancouver Island Thursday, said seismologist Garry Rogers.

The tremors are caused by a rip or tear in the bottom plate of the Cascadia subduction zone. This zone is the region where the denser oceanic plate subducts or plunges…

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