It was a normal summer day. It was the height of the tourist season. Bed and breakfasts, restaurants, and retail stores were were swollen with visitors. Kayaks, canoes, rafts and tubes filled the Slocan River as swimmers cooled themselves at public and private beaches along the river. Others were in
Continue readingTag: Common Sense Journalism
The Common Sense Canadian home page: Problem-solving psychology
Writer Ray Grigg urges Canadian government to action in problem-solving current and future environmental challenges. Grigg writes, “The psychological dynamics of problem solving are well known. When a problem is identified and assessed, and when a corrective strategy is formulated and activated, then people begin to feel better. Hope replaces
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Scientists work to solve mystery of dying bees
Bees are endlessly intriguing, and incredibly useful to us – and not just for honey and wax. If bees disappeared, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to grow much of what we eat. Bees pollinate crops ranging from apples to zucchini. Blueberries and almonds are almost entirely dependent on
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: With Justin Trudeau, Canada now has two Conservative parties
With so many Canadians eagerly awaiting the end of the anti-democratic, unaccountable Harper regime, some seem to be inclined to support any alternative that may stand a chance for replacing the Cons in 2015, after the next federal election. But maybe we should take a pause to think this through
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Clark & Redford: What their cozy relationship means for BC pipelines
Premier, I’m a simple man who by nature asks simple questions. You and Alberta premier Redford have evidently agreed that there will be a pipeline from her province through ours to the sea and that BC will make some money out of this deal. 1. Is this the end for
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: GMO whistleblower: Canadian federal scientist speaks out
An interview with a whistle-blower doesn’t happen every day. I spoke with Dr. Thierry Vrain, a former soil biologist and genetic scientist who for 35 years worked for Agriculture Canada, and was the designated spokesperson to assure the public of the safety of GMO crops. He retired ten years ago,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Global Warning
By superimposing a big red “N” over the black “m” in “Global Warming”, the editors of a feature article on greenhouse gas emissions in NewScientist magazine (Nov. 17/12) altered the title to “Global WarNing”. This simple change of a single letter summarizes the sobering prospects of climate change induced by
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Canada’s embarassing green jobs record
Why is Canada missing out on tens of thousands of green jobs and tens of billions of dollars in economic development? Clean tech is among the globe’s fastest growing and highest job-creating sectors, yet while countries like China, the US and Germany are reaping hundreds of thousands of new jobs
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Appalachia-North? 18 new coal mine proposals for Comox Valley
The Comox Valley citizens’ group that recently sent a proposed coal mine application back to the drawing board has discovered a staggering 18 new coal mine applications throughout the region. The new applications were filed with the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas by Feisa Resources Canada and Golden
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: ‘Salmon Farming Kills’ campaign ruled defamation on appeal
The BC Court of Appeal came down today in favour of Norwegian-owned aquaculture giant Mainstream-Cermaq in the matter of a controversial campaign targeting the industry. British activist Don Staniford, who devised the “Salmon Farming Kills” slogan and series of graphics and web postings – modeled on cigarette packages and containing
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Liberals set BC Hydro on path to privatization
It’s rather like a pregnancy – you can only keep it a secret for so long. Thus it is with BC Hydro’s bankruptcy. We recently learned that BC Hydro spends 50% of its power purchases on power bought, on a take-or-pay basis, from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) yet only gets
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Norwegian salmon virus discovered in BC
On July 11, independent salmon biologist Alexandra Morton co-published evidence in the Virology Journal of the first occurrences of a Norwegian salmon virus beyond that country’s waters, where it has been connected to deadly diseases that have wrought havoc on aquaculture operations there. The study found instances of piscine reovirus
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: The Evolution of Denial
The shortcoming of denial is that it tends to be indiscriminate — so we deny things we should confront. Denial is also a much better coping strategy for an individual than for a species. The denial mechanism which once affected only local people in local places could potentially affect life
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Rail, pipeline and climate disasters are symptoms of fossil fuel addiction
Sadly, industry proponents quickly exploited the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster to argue for expanding pipelines. It’s true that rail accidents can be more devastating to human life than pipeline accidents – although when it comes to oil, pipeline breaks usually spill greater quantities and cause more environmental damage than train derailments.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: The Ministry of Natural Gas: British Columbians will pay high price for LNG
By electing a party whose principal economic platform is the development of British Columbia’s natural gas resources, BC voters have decided to tempt disaster. The province’s premier, apparently oblivious to the portentous warnings of climate science, has created a new ministry specifically tasked with the responsibility of developing at least
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Liberals deliberately trashing BC Hydro, WAC Bennett’s legacy
BC Hydro was created out of the fertile mind of WAC Bennett when, in 1961, his government bought out The BC Electric Railway Company. The purpose of this gigantic move was to provide secure and cheap hydro power for both citizens and industry. It succeeded – grandly. During the time
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Changes on way to BC private power policy? Energy minster offers interesting answers
BC Liberal Energy Minister Bill Bennett came on CBC’s Early Edition Monday to answer some of the mounting questions regarding BC Hydro’s financial troubles and his party’s energy policies. Suffice it to say, he fell well short of coming clean – and yet, the exchange yielded a few very interesting
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: State of World’s Birds Bleak but not Hopeless
We can’t live without birds. Beyond being fascinating and beautiful, they play a crucial role in keeping the world habitable for all life, including people. They disperse seeds, pollinate plants, control insects, provide food and are indicators of the overall health of ecosystems. “The status of the world’s birds is
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Video: How Liberal Govt is Bankrupting BC Hydro, Province
On the eve of Premier Christy Clark’s by-election in Kelowna – home of the late premier and BC Hydro founder, WAC Bennett – Damien Gillis exposes the Liberal party’s true economic track record, including the $100 Billion in secret taxpayer liabilities they’ve hidden from the public. Foremost among these debts
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: EnCana takes over Funding of Govt Study into Fracking Water Contamination
What promised to be a ground-breaking report into the effects of natural gas hydraulic fracturing on groundwater has devolved into a classic case of the fox in charge of the hen house. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s hotly anticipated study into links between fracking and water contamination in Wyoming has
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