Palm oil gets used in plenty of consumer goods and processed foods, as a result the demand for palm oil increases every year. The problem with using palm oil is that most sources of the plant are from unsustainable farming practices. Indeed, the cultivation of palm oil greatly contributes to
Continue readingAuthor: Adam Clare
Things Are Good: How One Billionaire Plans to Help Save the Planet
The Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss has decided to not be idly rich and watch the environment fall apart around him. He’s decided that over the next decade he will personally donate $1 billion USD to help save the planet. He will support local conservation movements, indigenous groups, and help expand
Continue readingThings Are Good: Rent Strikes Gaining Popularity
Last year a community in Toronto launched a rent strike and won! This initiative to ensure affordable housing (and not being verbally abused by landowners) worked for the involved residents; and similar actions are working in the USA too. Last week in California a ballot initiative for rent control failed,
Continue readingThings Are Good: Things You can do Right Now to Fight Climate Change
With so many reports coming out recently stating that the future of the planet will be decided in the next decade it can feel overwhelming to even try saving the planet. Thankfully there are things you can do right now to save the world from ecological collapse. You can be
Continue readingThings Are Good: Even More Evidence Minimum Wage Increases are Good
The Ontario government recently decided to ensure inequality continues to grow by not raising minimum wage, which is obviously a bad thing. The rationale by the anti-worker Conservative party was that paying people more will ruin the economy. They couldn’t be more wrong. Seattle went through the same debate years
Continue readingThings Are Good: It’s Time to Argue for Better Modes of Transit
The video above The Guardian explores the costs of subsidizing cars in cities and looks at alternatives to car-focussed design. In the UK Nottingham raised the price of parking to reflect the actual land costs. They then took that increased revenue to spend it on public transportation, which is a
Continue readingThings Are Good: Swag Bags are a Drag
Professional conferences which suffer from being described as boring try to appeal to people using consumerism in the form of a “swag bag”. A swag bag handed out to conference attendees usually contains useless gizmos like stress balls to appeal to a basic human tendency: acquiring stuff. Going to one
Continue readingThings Are Good: These CEOs Want Basic Income
Ontario Premier Doug Ford was elected earlier this year and already started implementing his plan to increase inequality in the province. Obviously, this is a bad a plan. One of the things Ford cancelled thus far was the basic income pilot program which was praised around the world, and before
Continue readingThings Are Good: Let’s Teach Kids Loneliness Techniques
Despite the fact that we are more connected than ever loneliness is still a problem in our society. Indeed, it’s such a problem that people are self-reporting that they are lonelier today than decades ago. What can we do about it? We can teach people how to better deal with
Continue readingThings Are Good: Investing in Walkable Communities Saves Cities Money
Having multiple forms of transportation improves how people navigate the world. When people are provided with mobility options they will more likely leave behind a car. It turns out that not only is that good for people it’s also good for the finances of cities. If you’re sick of high
Continue readingThings Are Good: Europe Bans Single Use Plastics
Plastics last a long time before breaking down, which makes them a major problem for the natural environment. This year we’ve seen a big push to ban “single use” plastics due to the environmental damage they bring. Plastic bag bans have been implemented in reasonable places and now the European
Continue readingThings Are Good: Produce Action on Slowing Climate Change
With the pace of climate change continuing unabated you might feel like there is nothing you can do about it. There is actually a lot you can do to save the future from climate change induced by corporate greed. The easiest thing to do is just to stop buying things
Continue readingThings Are Good: Our Collective Memory Lasts Thousands of Years
When European explorers made first contact with peoples around the world both cultures changed. Unfortunately for those being contacted they were changed by a lot of diseases and exploitation (sadly the exploitation continues to this day). Europeans also ignored the long history of the peoples they met and devalued their
Continue readingThings Are Good: Oysters Are Saving New York’s Waters
There are many fans of oysters who eat them for their failure; however, I’m a fan of oysters because of what they eat. Back in 2011 we looked at the idea of using oysters to clean waters while harbouring other species – with the bonus impact that the oysters then
Continue readingThings Are Good: These Companies Convert Waste to Profits
Both the food and clothing industry produce tons of waste, waste which has traditionally been dumped into landfills. One company is taking food waste and mixing it with special bacteria to breakdown the food faster to create entirely new products. Another company is sourcing fabrics to create clothing, therefore diverting
Continue readingThings Are Good: Weed is Legal in Canada
Canadians can get high on their own supply thanks to marijuana legalization in the country, which starts today. The motivation for making marijuana illegal in Canada is arguably based on classism and racism. Indeed, the entire war on drugs has destroyed so many lives and it’s time for us to
Continue readingThings Are Good: Create Good Thought Loops for Critical Thinking
How we engage the world around literally shapes how our brains work; therefore changing how we interact with reality can alter how we think. As humans we create pathways in our brains both physically and mentally which gives us our heuristic approach to the world around us. We can alter
Continue readingThings Are Good: Have Problem? Sleep on it
When confronting a problem, or looking for creative inspiration, people get told “to sleep on it”. This turns out to be useful advice not just because it’s based on years of smart people saying that, but also because modern neuroscience research is proving it to be true. We can benefit
Continue readingThings Are Good: Low Income Housing Doesn’t Negatively Impact High Income Housing
The graph above shows that the introduction of low income housing into a neighbourhood does not negatively impact the value of other homes. Real estate agents perpetuate a myth that social (or public) housing destroys local housing prices. Clearly this myth is based on no reality. If you’re a homeowner
Continue readingThings Are Good: Don’t Disregard Kierkegaard’s Advice on Busyness
The popular way of thinking is that your work life needs to always be busy. We all know at least one person who is always busy and looking productive. You might be one of those individuals who pride themselves on always working. Let’s rethink that. A long dead Danish philosopher,
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