No one has taught Canadians more about nature and science generally than Dr. David Suzuki. He has now announced that, after 44 years at the helm, he is retiring from his chief educational instrument, the CBC program The Nature of Things. Suzuki has a strong academic background, obtaining a PhD
Continue readingTag: environment
Things Are Good: NASA Starts Spotting Super Methane Emitters
Natural gas, AKA methane, is really bad for the planet, and since it occurs some places “naturally” we need to find these new sources to stop them emitting. A classic example of “natural” methane production is a garbage dump in which the organic compounds mix together and release natural gas,
Continue readingThings Are Good: Only a Small Number of People Need to Change to Avert Climate Destruction
You’re not the problem! The problem is the 1%. Our global carbon footprint has risen dramatically since 1990, but only a few people are to blame for the worst of it. The wealthy have been increasing their carbon output without regard for anybody on the planet (or future generations). Reducing
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Hussein Kadhem Al-Hakeim et al. examine the relationship between oxygen deprivation and severe long COVID symptoms. Crawford Kilian makes the case for an inquiry to show where our pandemic response has gone wrong, while recognizing that the people responsible for those very decisions
Continue readingThings Are Good: Leaf Blowers Getting Blown Away
Leave your leaves alone! Leaf blowers, like lawn mowers, are counterproductive to a productive piece of land. If you want a better, healthier, garden next year then you should let leaves lie over winter instead of blowing them away (the same is true for lawns, but you probably don’t have
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Earth has lost four-fifths of fresh water and 70% of wildlife populations in 50 years
Wildlife population numbers have plummeted by 69 percent on average since 1970, according to the 2022 Living Planet Report. Photo from Pixabay. The 2022 Living Planet report is out and it does not bring good news. Since 1970, the scientists find that the population of fresh water species has plunged
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Alvin Chang charts some of the grim realities of long COVID which is being allowed to disable people with little to no restraint. And Frances Stead Sellers discusses how COVID-19 can undo a decade of work toward individual health and fitness. – The
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus examines how long COVID is producing disastrous social and economic effects. Helena Perez Valle interviews Deepti Gurdasani about the lessons we should be learning both to address the continued spread of COVID-19 and to prepare for future
Continue readingThings Are Good: Farm Fields of Solar Produce Bonuses
In the UK the average person wants to get off fossil fuels, but the Conservatives in power want the opposite. Obviously this is not good, and it gets worse: the new PM Liz Truss wants to ban solar panels on farms, Conservatives clearly don’t understand how the world works. The
Continue readingThings Are Good: Flooding a Slovakian Forest to Improve it
The good folks at Mossy Earth are flooding a forest in Slovakia, and it’s to protect the environment. You might think that flooding a forest would be a bad thing since we need forests to store carbon and clean the air; however, wetlands are far better at storing carbon than
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Time to hit the oil companies up for some clean-up money?
The oil companies are rolling in it. According to the Pembina Institute their free cash flow will add up to $153-billion this year, the highest level of profits they have ever seen. And what are they doing with all this ready cash? Well, they aren’t investing it in new tar
Continue readingThings Are Good: Exposing the Political Manipulation by Oil & Gas Companies in Canada
The Canadian tar sands contribute little to Canada’s economy yet it’s environmental destruction is known internationally. Despite this, the Canadian commitment to killing the planet by exploiting the tar sands is offensive and has held back green policies. Why does this happen? SHARE has looked into how oil and gas
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Emily Henderson discusses new research showing the harm COVID-19 does to the central nervous system. And Stuart Layt reports on a new study suggesting that it damages the DNA in people’s hearts (rather than merely causing inflammation as an ordinary flu virus would).
Continue readingThings Are Good: Patagonia Billionaire Donates Company to Fighting Climate Change
The family who owned the Patagonia clothing company recently gave the company to a new trust which will take all the profits and dedicate it to fighting climate change. Meaning that the $3 billion company will now spend the $100 million in profits it generates annually on good things. The
Continue readingThings Are Good: To Avoid Pests in the Summer Stop Mowing Your Lawn
Lawns are great for pests and horrible for the environment. Yards with clover and less need for mowing favour friendly insect species and help the environment. The situation is clear and the solution is obvious: stop mowing your lawn. You don’t need to take my word for it, you can
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Pratyush Dayal reports on the COVID outbreak which has infected every single resident of a Regina care home. And Dan Scheuerman reports on the effect the drug poisoning crisis is having on people’s health generally by further straining already-limited health care resources.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Table has published a primer on long COVID (and the need for associated supports) just in time to be abolished for interfering with the Ford PCs’ message that everything is fine. Sri Taylor reports on a massive jump in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Megan Ogilvie and Kenyon Wallace interview public health experts about the steps they’re taking to stay safe as students return to school and another COVID wave crests. Dilshad Burman points out the increased risks to workers when isolation periods are eliminated, while Megan
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Jasmine Kerrissy and Judith Stepan-Noris examine the state of the U.S. labour movement for Labour Day. And Gil McGowan points out the many basic freedoms which are lacking for Canadian workers and their unions. – Alex Himelfarb writes about the politics of
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada’s home energy retrofit funding woefully inadequate
Suburbs in Toronto. Photo by Jan Buchholtz. Retrofitting existing buildings is one of the only tools for mitigating climate change that virtually everyone can agree on. There are large numbers of poorly insulated buildings using fossil fuels for water and space heating. Abandoning those buildings would be a colossal waste,
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