Andy Rowell

A huge orange tidal wave swept through the Albertan political landscape yesterday, re-writing the history books and ripping up the decades-old political order.

If you ask communities on the frontline of the fracking industry in the US what their greatest concern is about the controversial technology, often the reply is the threat to their drinking water.

If they knew him at all, the world knew Oronto Douglas as the former attorney for the writer, playwright and Ogoni human rights activist Ken Saro Wiwa.

There has been increasing speculation over the last twenty-four hours that the oil price might start to rally upwards.

To coincide with this year’s Earth Day, a group of globally recognised scientists and economists have issued a statement calling for three quarters of the world’s remaining reserves of fossil fuels to remain buried.

As the Albertan election heats up, the worsening economy – in large part caused by the plunge in oil prices – is taking centre stage in the province’s election campaign which comes to a head in early May.