Fraking is really bad for all of us, it’s the process of using water to force dirty oil out of the ground. This practice destabilizes the ground causing earthquakes and the end result is more wasteful oil ultimately being consumed, which in turn, produces waste that gets released into the
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Things Are Good: Toronto’s Food Waste Powers its Garbage Trucks
Toronto’s garbage trucks are being fuelled by the very thing they are picking up on their routes. The trucks pick up food waste (in a separate bin from recycling and trash) and transport them to a holding facility where the food further decomposes. Since 2015, Toronto has been working to
Continue readingThings Are Good: Solar and Wind Outgrow Subsidies
Renewable energy systems used to need subsidies to be competitive with the even more subsidized fossil fuel energy systems. Today, despite the fact that globally USD$5.2 trillion was spent on fossil fuel subsidies in one year, non-subsidized solar and wind are cheaper than fossil fuels. This is really impressive given
Continue readingThings Are Good: Solar Panels Help Crops Grow
Solar energy is the future and it keeps getting better. Not only are renewables cheaper than destructive gas and coal energy they also have other positive effects. Recently it’s been discovered that solar fields can be used as a really good place to grow crops. This is counterintuitive as the
Continue readingThings Are Good: Wind Power is Now Cheaper than Gas
Renewable energy just kept getting cheaper and cheaper despite ongoing subsides for the oil and gas industries. This is really good to see as people who only care about short term economic energy decisions will have to start to advocate for renewable energy. The decrease in cost for renewable wind
Continue readingIn-Sights: Canada – TrumpLand north?
July 30, Stephen Colbert interviewed Jacob Soboroff and Katy Tur, presenters of American Swamp, a four-part docuseries on MSNBC about government corruption. They talk about politics in the USA but Canadians ought not to feel superior or complacent because our governments are constructed of the same timber. “Because, if they
Continue readingThings Are Good: It’s OK to Not Wash Your Clothes
Want to save the planet? Reduce how often you wash your clothes, you don’t need to wash your shirt that you wore for only one day. This is something you can start doing today to help make a better tomorrow. When it comes to your wardrobe overall you can alter
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Electrification and Climate I: Scale of the Challenge
Many elements have to come together if Canada is to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. There is now a technical consensus that “electrification” – the replacement of fossil fuels with electricity as an energy source – is a necessary condition for decarbonization, and that electrification will require that
Continue readingThings Are Good: Digital Circuit Breakers can Transform Sustainable Electricity
An often overlooked aspect of sustainable energy is the seemingly simple switching of electricity. Physical switches slow down the ability of repairs on power systems and can even hinder the installation of renewable energy sources. A lot of renewable energy systems (solar, wind, tidal, etc.) fluctuate greatly in the power
Continue readingThings Are Good: The State of Energy in Africa
A panel at Collision Conference today looked at the state of the energy grid in Africa. The panellists are involved in bringing sustainable energy solutions to the continent in various ways. The artist Akon has founded Akoin to help people better deal with currency complications throughout the continent. The profits
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ontario Electricity VII – Committee Testimony
The PC Government in Ontario has introduced Bill 87 which would eliminate the rate-based borrowing to subsidize electricity prices and replace it with Government borrowing. Last week’s Provincial Budget estimates that the required borrowing to subsidize electricity prices for 2018/19 was $2.8 billion. It is likely to exceed $3 billion
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The 2019 Provincial Election: What it will be about and what it should be about
Last week Ms Soapbox had the pleasure of appearing on a panel with economist Trevor Tombe and naturalist Kevin Van Tighem to discuss our perspectives on the upcoming provincial election. The event was moderated by Shelley Youngblut and presented by Alberta Views magazine and Wordfest. We focused on two questions:
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Income Inequality and Redistribution in Venezuela
I had been waiting for last month’s publication of the book “Confronting Inequality” before preparing my annual update on income inequality and redistribution in Canada. I am glad I did because the book presents new and exciting empirical findings that shed light on the age-old equity/growth debate (more on that
Continue readingThings Are Good: We can Stop Climate Change Just by Ending Fossil Fuel Usage
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
Continue readingIn-Sights: Site C, undo, redo or make do?
Wasting money on destructive energy projects makes zero sense when there are better alternatives. British Columbia is spending billions on Site C. It could suspend the project today and have less harmful and cheaper sources of clean power operational by the time new sources of power are needed.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Roger Eatwell writes that the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment can be traced back largely to the sense that elite-dominated governments have failed to take care of citizens generally, while David Leonhardt likewise notes that inequality can all too easily lead to easily-exploitable resentment.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Energy Fund Backed by Bill Gates Only Invests in Carbon Reduction
On of the richest people on the planet is sick of climate change and has launched a venture capital firm to slow down global warming. Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) funds companies that can make a marked reduction on annual carbon output while also being profitable. Using capitalism to undo what
Continue readingThings Are Good: Clean Energy Growing in Popularity
Anyone looking at the energy industry instantly notices the growth of clean energy relative to non-renewable sources. Clean energy is getting so popular that nations which you might not think of embracing renewable energy are investing quite a lot into the field. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) recently highlighted
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ontario Electricity Sector VI – Meet the new boss…
The provincial election of June ended 15 years of Liberal electricity policy in Ontario. Anger over high electricity prices continued to be an election issue, contributing to the Liberals loss of power and official party status (reduced from 55 to 7 seats). The PCs have formed Government with 76 seats,
Continue readingIn-Sights: Bright and breezy days go dark
The province now won’t admit that solar power potential is huge and economical. If they did, voters would wonder why BC Hydro is borrowing $11 billion, destroying valuable farmlands and breaking promises made to indigenous people, just to reward political friends. If BC had a Press Gallery or an Official Opposition
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