Hurricane Earl strikes Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia, in 2010. (Andrew Vaughan/CP) David Suzuki Foundation supporters who live in Western Canada often have eyes riveted on Ottawa to see what the federal government’s next move will be when it comes to environmental issues. So we sometimes too easily overlook Canadians in
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The Common Sense Canadian: Typhoon Haiyan tragedy shows urgency of Warsaw climate summit
As people in the Philippines struggle with the devastation and death from the worst storm to hit land in recorded history – Typhoon Haiyan – world leaders are meeting in Warsaw, Poland, to discuss the climate crisis. “What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: David Suzuki on right wing media’s War on Science
Sun Media’s Ezra Levant attacks David Suzuki on his Fox News-style show, The Source From government scientists to First Nations citizens and environmentalists, pretty much everyone working to protect the air, water, land and diversity of plants and animals that keep us alive and healthy has felt the sting of
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Monarch Butterflies in free-fall: How you can help
What weighs less than a paperclip, tastes terrible and can travel thousands of kilometres without a map? Hint: this delicate critter is tawny-orange with black veins and white spots and has been mysteriously absent from Canada this summer. It’s the monarch butterfly. Each year, eastern populations of these amazing frequent
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Despite Fukushima radiation, scientists say West Coast fish is safe
Following Japan’s devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami, fear spread about risks of leaked radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant – for the health of those living in or near Fukushima or involved in cleanup efforts, and for the planet and the potential impacts on our complex marine food
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: IPCC report shows action on climate change is critical
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change just released the first of four chapters of its Fifth Assessment Report. It shows scientists are more certain now than in 2007 when the Fourth Assessment was released that humans are largely responsible for global warming – mainly by burning fossil fuels and cutting
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Attacks on climate change science hinder solutions
photo: Dan Crosbie Starting in late September, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release its Fifth Assessment Report in three chapters and a summary. Not to be outdone, contrarians have unleashed a barrage of attacks designed to discredit the science before it’s released. Expect more to come. Many news
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Tahltan’s Sacred Headwaters defence has deep roots
The Sacred Headwaters (photo: Carr Clifton/ILCP) Few places on our planet have been unaffected by humans. Satellite images taken from hundreds of kilometres above Earth reveal a world irrevocably changed by our land use over just the past few decades. From Arctic tundra to primeval rainforest to arid desert, our
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Suzuki: Incinerating trash is a waste of resources
A German waste-to-energy plant, built in 2005 Many urban areas have built or are considering building waste-incineration facilities to generate energy. At first glance, it seems like a win-win. You get rid of “garbage” and acquire a new energy source with fuel that’s almost free. But it’s a problematic solution,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: David Suzuki on Chemtrails
Photos like this one appear all over the Internet, presented as evidence of “chemtrails” Conspiracies fuel climate change denial and belief in chemtrails I recently wrote about geoengineering as a strategy to deal with climate change and carbon dioxide emissions. That drew comments from people who confuse this scientific process
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