This and that for your Sunday reading. – Seth Borenstein writes that we shouldn’t treat constant wildfires as an exceptional event since we can expect them to be the norm for decades to come. The Straits Times reports that the wildfires are both a consequence and cause of climate disaster,
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IN-SIGHTS: The new abnormal
Areas burned by wildfires in British Columbia have been steadily increasing, and with months remaining in fire season, this year’s destruction by fire is already more than double the average of the ten preceding years.
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Masterful greenwashing?
Turns out that people are like governments that promise to moderate climate risks, but only take actions that are not too painful. I guess that proves cartoonist Walt Kelly was correct 50 some years ago when he wrote for Earth Day 1970, “We have met the enemy and he is
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Richard Murphy points out the stark contrast between the UK Cons’ attempt to pretend that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, and the tens of thousands of excess deaths still resulting from it. Mary Van Beusekom discusses a new study showing that Ontario’s infection levels
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Jessica Wildfire writes about the desperation to return to some past normal (stoked of course by the people who profit from it) which is leading far too many to take obviously reckless risks with their health in the midst of a pandemic.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Michael Marshall discusses the growing body of knowledge about the persistence of long COVID – with people still suffering symptoms after a year tending to suffer from it as a chronic condition thereafter, and no effective treatment available once long COVID sets in.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Henrietta Cook reports on new data as to the number of people dying in hospitals as a result of the spread of COVID-19, while Adam Rowe reports on the CDC’s recognition that COVID’s human toll is paired with serious economic damage. And
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Teaching in the Face of a Bleak Future
I can’t imagine teaching right now. This post is a mishmash of thought around teaching at such a momentous time in history. Well, momentous for us. I’ve only been retired a year, but the world has gotten so much worse in that time with climate change hitting some serious tipping
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – John Dearing, Gregory Cooper and Simon Willcock discuss the doom loop which is seeing worse-than-predicted effects of the climate breakdown resulting in vicious cycles of ecosystem collapse. J. Besl writes about new research showing that coastal flooding may be faster and more severe
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A “Reset” to Alberta-Ottawa Relations (Chortle)
When Danielle Smith and her team met with federal ministers Jonathan Wilkinson and Dominic LeBlanc to discuss energy and climate change measures, there was some talk that Smith may be open to a “reset” of the Alberta-Ottawa relationship. Unfortunately, some of her cabinet ministers missed the memo. Danielle Smith and
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: It’s all the Scientists’ Fault!
We’re at the stage in climate change news that it’s time to blame scientists for not telling anyone about it before now. Headline from The Hill: “Catch-22: Scientific communication failures linked to faster-rising seas” “Scientists failed for decades to communicate the coming risks of rapid sea-level rise to policymakers and
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Climate finance
According to analysis by Oxfam published in 2023, wealthy Group of Seven (G7) countries owe low- and middle-income countries $13.3 trillion in unpaid aid and funding for climate action.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Steve Turton writes about the dangers of global temperatures which were far exceeding recorded highs even before the start of an El Nino cycle. And Denise Chow reports on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s warning that a spike in ocean temperature will likely linger
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Why people aren’t motivated to address climate change
If we choose to enrich our lives in the present at the cost of the quality of life of future generations, that is a choice of values that we rarely like to make explicitly. We have to be willing to look in the mirror and say that we are willing
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner discuss how even crucial advances like vaccines are under threat due to the ruthlessly persistent anti-science message being used to excuse continuing disregard for human health. And Jonathan Watts reports on new research showing that we’re reaching dangerous climate
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Disaster city
“Canada is increasingly a riskier place to live, work and insure,” said Craig Stewart, Vice-President, Climate Change and Federal Issues, Insurance Bureau of Canada. The bureau’s stats back up Mr. Stewart’s words. Canada’s top 10 highest insurance loss years all occurred since 2011 with the exception of 1998, the year
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: BC’s climate policy inspiration
British Columbia’s government searched the world for options before settling on a climate plan acceptable to the province’s oil and gas industry. A creative solution was found in a report by Australian satirical news source The Shovel. The original article is reproduced here.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Mitchell Beer writes about the Canada Energy Regulator’s recognition that the future will involve far less fossil fuel use than the oil industry and its spokespuppets want us to believe. And Marc Fawcett-Atkinson discusses how biomethane is just another distraction intended to turn
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Nippon.com discusses a new survey indicating that a large majority of people in Japan continue to mask regularly to protect their own health and that of others. But Richard Woodbury reports that Nova Scotia (like other Canadian jurisdictions) is seeing significant unexplained excess mortality
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Climate destruction
The Donnie Creek wildfire, having now scorched more than 1.3 million acres, is burning in one of the world’s biggest gas deposits. The Narwhal reporter Sarah Cox believes this raises questions about potential dangers to human health. And, of course, we cannot forget the wood pellet industry is converting BC
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