It seems that every month we’re confronted with another study pointing out that climate change is happening faster and worse than projected. This constant news cycle can make people tone it out and ignore the defining issue of our day. Thankfully, we also get tons of suggestions to stop climate
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Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff: CBC Picks Up Attack On Environment
Dismayed to see the “foreign funding” conspiracy theory gaining traction in Canada’s #oilsands discussion again. For perspective, I’ve pulled a few great articles from @Garossino written way back in 2012: https://t.co/uUilaclpfv #cdnpoli 1/ — Martyn Schmoll (@martynschmoll) January 21, 2019 Wow, feels a bit surreal to see such a hackneyed
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: 10 Year Challenge
I posted this challenge on social media recently. This is what we do to be sociable: play online games and forward memes. Discussing the world and screaming into the void to try to shift this tragic path is such a loser thing to do. It’s a balance to stay just
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: We Still Have Agency Around Climate Change
There’s one seed left. The Agenda talked with Michael Mann and a few others in the field about “Burnout and Despair: Studying the Climate” Mann focused on the many ways we can reduce our carbon footprint, and said, “Every bit of fossil fuels that we don’t burn . . makes the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Skunk In The Stinky FP
The FP published a ridiculous op-ed by Brad Wall. business.financialpost .com/opinion/ brad-wall-canada-could-impact-emissions-were-ottawa-not-so-obsessed-with-carbon-taxes “So, in Paris we were — without intention — a few prairie skunks at this low-carbon garden party.” His intention was to stink. Wall has remained a skunk throughout his public life. Remember a decade ago when he
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Damian Carrington reports on new research showing that it’s possible to stop climate change in its tracks – but only by beginning to phase out fossil fuel infrastructure immediately. And Ryan Cooper comments on the problems in responding to an immediate crisis with
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Accepting, Avoiding, and Talking About Collapse
Our best hope for survival is ‘too drastic‘. “The climate system is not stopping you [hitting the Paris talks target], global society is stopping you.” That’s why the Alberta Premier gets away with saying the right thing here, but does the exact opposite in practice. $23M spent badmouthing BC environmentalists
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Why Protest?
This will be the shortest post ever! Here’s my argument delineated in premises and a conclusion (P=premise, SC=sub-conclusion, C=conclusion): P1. Human beings are wired for immediate, or short-term, survival, not long term survival. (Or, as Plato said, we are weak at the skill of measurement.) That’s why we do many
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Fridays for Future
I went to the first #fridaysforfuture protest in our area with my youngest, yesterday, outside my MP’s office. The idea is the brainchild of Greta Thunberg who wants all students to strike every Friday until the political system focuses on slowing down climate change so we can avoid hitting that
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: So, Anything New To Report?
Well, the world becomes harder to understand. Despite my many years on this earth, the irrationality of humans is still the thing that most perplexes me. Despite the fact that it is much later than we like to think, we are still partying like it is the 1950’s. And payment
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Trudeau Dodges and Weaves in Regina
Glad to join PM @JustinTrudeau at a Town Hall meeting with over a thousand participants at the @UofRegina tonight.// Je suis heureux de me joindre au PM Trudeau à une assemblée publique avec plus de 1000 participants à l'Université de Regina ce soir. pic.twitter.com/7JRuqMKx2Y — Ralph Goodale (@RalphGoodale) January 11,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Roderick Benns points out the disruptive effect of the cancellation of Ontario’s basic income trial – signalling the importance of being able to plan on a stable source of income. And Jessica Chin reports on an anticipated wave of renovictions to push tenants
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Energy Conservation in the Home: I’ll Show You Mine…
I know this is just one tiny piece of the puzzle, but there IS an effective way to get people to reduce their energy usage in their homes: publicize how much their neighbours use. A recent study found that if people think they’re neighbours care about the environment, and if
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Henry Bewicke charts the worst offenders when it comes to per-capita carbon pollution – with the U.S. and Canada sharing an ignominious place at the top of the list. And the Star’s editorial board points out that we shouldn’t trust politicians who claim
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Paul Krugman examines the economics of a higher tax rate on extreme high-income individuals: Diamond, in work with Emmanuel Saez — one of our leading experts on inequality — estimated the optimal top tax rate to be 73 percent. Some put it
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: On Capitalism’s Limitations
Every year, when we get to the part of my philosophy course where we read some Marx & Engels, and I ask for criticisms of the reading, like I do with every other political philosopher we read, instead of thinking and devising astute observations, there’s always a few who are
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: What Fools These Mortals Be!
We humans are a strange species. Despite access to almost unlimited information and data, far too many prefer to notice only what is front of them at the present moment, simply reacting rather than anticipating and planning. Probably the best illustration of this is the fact that the majority of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Evening Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ annual report on CEO pay shows that executives are again being handed hundreds as much money as their employees – and that there’s also a gender gap even at the executive level. – The Economic Policy Institute
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: On Arguing Facts
It never ceases to amaze me how often I’ll be writing or thinking about something, and then the perfect articles drop in my lap. It might help that I’ve been scrolling through social media endlessly on my days off! In my prior post, I discussed the need for teachers to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Glen Pearson discusses the glaring gap between what citizens actually value, and what gets done by the governments they elect through distorted political systems: This past weekend, I wrote a column for the London Free Press, in which I stated the following:
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