Mark Jaccard, recently appointed Chair and CEO of the BC Utilities Commission, argued in 20017 for Site C, when BC could have stopped the project and saved about $15 billion. Jaccard said that supporters of other renewables did not account for dispatchability, which he claimed was a key obstacle to
Continue readingAuthor: Norman Farrell
Blogging regularly since April 2009 on public affairs with focus on BC politics, journalism, the environment and ethical matters in the public arena.
IN-SIGHTS: Newspapers more about wielding influence than earning profits
People outside the United Kingdom should pay attention to opinion pieces by The Guardian’s Jane Martinson. The article that caught my attention today was ‘Why own a newspaper in 2023? Ask the very rich men trying to buy the Telegraph.’ This desire says a lot more about power than profit.
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Canada is one of the world’s leaders
Canada a world leader? Sometimes that headline is good news. This time it is not…
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: COVID-19 death toll: 7 million, 18 million, 27 million or 33 million?
The Economist, a 180-year-old newspaper published in Britain, has been tracking deaths from COVID-19. They examine fatalities reported by official sources, but also look for how many people have actually died because of the covid-19 pandemic. A lot depends on how “because” is defined…
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Boundless, scalable, clean energy
Decarbonization is a catchword used by the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries. But each of those groups cannot eliminate inherent dangers. Unless we develop safe, carbon-free energy sources, we cannot sustain current standards of living. And, perhaps we cannot sustain human life in the long-term. But, as billions of
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: The difficult path to a green economy
Since 1990, Canada’s emissions have decreased by a modest 3.1 tonnes per person. However, when we look at the distribution of emissions, we find that the bottom 90% reduced their emissions by almost 5 tonnes per person, while the top 1% increased their emissions by 34 tonnes per person.
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Media should serve the governed, not the governors
I began following the Washington Post decades ago, when journalists often held the feet of politicians to the fire. Today, that is less likely since many media owners today rank among the world’s wealthiest people. In general, they oppose changes to the status quo that do not provide personal benefits.
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: A foundation of political and corporate lies
In 2017, construction of Site C could have been halted without wasting more than $10 billion. But influential promoters of the megaproject — including Marc Jaccard, the newly appointed head of the “independent” regulator of BC Hydro — were misinforming citizens about the viability of alternatives…
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: It’s not the carbon tax
A few in the BC Legislature, and the Official Opposition in Canada’s Parliament, want us to believe that carbon taxes must go to improve the country. They’re wrong, MP Alistair MacGregor has it right…
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: BC’s money pit is no comedy
Economist Erik Andersen emails an informal newsletter offering opinions, sometimes about how organizations and individuals use political influence to extract wealth from the public. He gave an example that was bad by itself but set the stage for secret private power contracts worth more than $60 billion despite expansion of
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Record temperatures and record dangers require strong actions
In September, California issued a lawsuit charging numerous oil companies and the American Petroleum Institute for intentionally spreading misinformation and delaying action on climate. The lawsuit details behavior by companies to protect their business interests regardless of the damage caused. This is not the first such lawsuit, but may be the most important…
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Deregulation dangers
For years, BC Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon demanded “red tape” reductions. Under Premier Gordon Campbell, Falcon spent more than two and one-half years as Minister of State for Deregulation. His effort were joined by right-wing business interests such as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business…
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: October smile
The following item was found on the internet. Unlikely any of it is true, but it is amusing…
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Spending $130 billion in BC to accelerate oil & gas production
Around $130 billion dollars will be spent in British Columbia to increase consumption of oil and gas. NDP and BCUP politicians make empty promises about dealing with climate change, but at the same time welcome photo ops at large scale fossil fuel projects. Conservatives cling to unscientific ideas that climate
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Wildfire warnings ignored by government
I began to distrust the province’s wildfire statistics after noticing the reported size of the Donnie Creek fire, the province’s largest ever, was not altered from mid-July to mid-September. Yet throughout this time, BC Wildfire Service stated that Donnie Creek was burning out of control. Now at the end of
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Comparing BC Hydro June 2023 to BC Hydro June 2007.
BC Hydro recently released its first quarter results for the fiscal year ending March 2024. The report covered three months in 2023: April, May and June. It is worth looking at the changes at British Columbia’s public utility since June 2007.
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Organized hate groups on our streets
Gonzaga University is often recognized for basketball, but the 135-year-old Spokane institution is also known for academic initiatives. One is the Journal of Hate Studies, an annual peer-reviewed publication by Gonzaga’s Center for the Study of Hate. Fomenting prejudice or hostility against others is worth attention today after organized hate groups
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Wildfires — deadly for some, unhealthy for hundreds of millions
Stanford research reveals the rapidly growing influence of wildfire smoke on air quality trends across much of North America. Wildfire smoke in recent years has slowed or reversed progress toward cleaner air. Tens of millions of people suffer degraded health, thousands die…
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Western Canada’s plans for fossil fuel expansion are the second largest in the world
2023 is the worst ever year for areas burned by wildfires in British Columbia, Alberta and the entire nation of Canada. For years before 2023, despite huge sums invested by the public to improve firefighting responses, areas burned were trending upward. So what is the response by Canada’s federal and
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Strategic misrepresentation, aka as lying
Bent Flyvbjerg of Oxford University is the most cited scholar in the world in megaproject management. One of his studies included this: “Underestimation cannot be explained by error and is best explained by strategic misrepresentation, that is, lying. The policy implications are clear: legislators, administrators, investors, media representatives, and members
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