This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Andrea Reimer examines the power dynamics at play in government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the limits of formal political power where it isn’t paired with knowledge and networks. And the Globe and Mail’s editorial board rightly questions the dubious math
Continue readingTag: climate change
Accidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Marieke Walsh reports on the new modeling from the Public Health Agency of Canada which shows how COVID’s variants will foreseeably result in massive numbers of cases if we don’t act to clamp down on viral spread. Andrew Nikiforuk highlights how the emergence
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Damian Carrington reports on Antonio Gutierres’ needed message that we can’t afford to keep waging war on our natural environment. And Bruce Campbell examines how Norway is far exceeding Canada’s track record when it comes to climate change policy. – Molly Taft
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Jonah Brunet points out the wide variety of definitions of the term “lockdown” in response to COVID-19 – with imprecision in the meaning of basic terms being used to drive anti-social complaints about even the most minimal public health measures. And Nisreen Alwan
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – As we lay the groundwork for a COVID recovery and energy transition, Heather Scoffield comments on the importance of making sure resources go where they’re needed (rather than serving only to further distance the richest from the rest of us). And Yves Engler
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Minister Savage on Coal Policy
What did we learn from Energy minister Savage’s press conference announcing the so-called reversal of the government’s unbelievably bone-headed decision to cancel the 1976 Coal Policy? Well, Ms Savage has some good speech writers. The “thank you for your passion” and “we made a mistake” bits were nice touches,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Steven Lewis examines how Canada can and should learn from Australia’s success in controlling the coronavirus, while Robert Danich writes that conservative governments need to learn that they have responsibility for social health and well-being rather than pointing the finger at individuals.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Caroline Chen discusses why opening restaurants and other indoor venues which involve prolonged contact is the worst possible choice if one wants to contain the spread of COVID-19. – Michal Rozworski argues that we shouldn’t see the relief efforts needed in the wake
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Conflating capitalism and global warming is a mistake
Many on the left insist that dealing with global warming necessitates dealing with capitalism. Because the latter causes the former, they say, it is the root of the problem. Replacing capitalism is therefor an integral part of the solution. With all due respect, I suggest this approach is a bad
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Kenney’s “Dead Letter” Coal Policy
Dead letter: something that has lost its force or authority without being formally abolished – Merriam Webster On Feb 3, 2021 Jason Kenney said he rescinded Lougheed’s coal policy which blocked open-pit mining on the eastern slopes and the Rockies because it was “a dead letter.” He said the eastern
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – The Globe and Mail’s editorial board laments the choice of far too many provincial governments to sacrifice tens of thousands of lives rather than treating a pandemic with the seriousness and focus it deserves. Philip Pizzo, David Spiegel and Michelle Mello examine how
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: Leftists should abandon the term “Anthropocene” in discussing the climate crisis
With the facts in front of us — with even further evidence that corporations overwhelmingly produce the majority of our global greenhouse gas emissions — it’s clear that responsibility for the effects of climate change is not universal like the Anthropocene narrative claims. The post Leftists should abandon the term
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Gabrielle Drolet discusses how essential workers have been left to bear the physical and emotional burdens of workplaces designed to prioritize the interests of bosses and customers first. And Bruce Western and Jake Rosenfeld study (PDF) the effect unions have in pushing
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Kenney’s Coal Facts and Myths
The Economist considered a number of cover illustrations for its Making Coal History edition before settling on a lump of coal on display under a bell jar like an artifact in a museum. While The Economist was chronicling the demise of coal the Kenney government was busy cancelling Lougheed’s Coal
Continue readingThings Are Good: America Finally Acting on Climate Change
After years of neglect, and at times overt destruction, of the environment by the federal government in the USA is finally doing something about climate change. It’s acknowledged by scientist and average people that the greatest threat to humanity is climate change. Arguably the States have been the greatest contributors
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Kenney’s (Bombastic) Response to Biden Cancelling KXL’s Permit
On January 20 when the rest of the world was congratulating President Biden on his inauguration, Jason Kenney was attacking Biden’s character and threatening trade wars because Biden revoked Trump’s executive order approving KXL. Not satisfied that he’d made his point, Kenney appeared on Fox TV and other media outlets
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Jim Brumby writes about the multiple growing disruptions to economic health and security which could be addressed by a wealth tax. – Kim Siever highlights how the oil industry continues to scam Alberta while pretending that its interest is that of the province
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Albertans support net-zero by 2050, but …
A recent survey by Janet Brown Opinion Research, commissioned by the Pembina Institute, showed some encouraging attitudes of Albertans toward climate change. For example, two-thirds of those surveyed support the goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Albertans are not impressed by their government’s fight-back strategy in defending Alberta’s
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Another Albertan’s reaction to President Biden’s climate announcements
When I read about U.S. President Biden’s first steps down the climate change path he intends to follow, I was delighted, primarily because of his stated intention to rejoin the Paris climate agreement. That alone will give us all some hope that humanity may yet deal with the global warming
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On climate pollution
Martin Olzynski’s submission this week has called plenty of attention to the Kenney UCP’s funding of climate denialism through an inquiry attacking environmentalism. But let’s note that the response to Olzynski’s observations only makes the inquiry look all the worse. Here’s the excuse from the inquiry’s spokesman: Boras suggested to
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