I’m speaking out in defence of nature and democracy #BLACKOUTSPEAKOUT Bill C-38 is not democratic; it’s an attempt to hide legislation changes that most Canadians would not agree with. Write your MP, even if they are Conservative and are not allowed to listen to you, and let them know you’re
Continue readingTag: environment
Impolitical: #BlackOutSpeakOut
Please visit BlackOutSpeakOut in support of today’s national action.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: BlackOutSpeakOut
No new posts in this space tomorrow for the BlackOutSpeakOut protest.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – May 7, 2012
Monday, May 7 saw another day largely dominated by debate on the Cons’ omnibus budget bill. The Big Issue Plenty of MPs rightly focused on the Cons’ move to combine so many disparate types of legislation into a single behemoth of a bill. Don Davies remembered his first instruction as
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Sunday reading. – It’s undoubtedly an embarrassment for John Baird to have leapt at a thoroughly implausible bit of anti-UN spin. But I’d think there’s more reason for hope than concern in the long run: if a year into their majority mandate the Cons are still
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Welcome to Alberta
“Alberta’s expansive wilderness boasts some of the most spectacular scenery and authentic outdoor experiences you can imagine… “With its vast blue skies, magnificent Canadian Rockies, rolling fields of wheat, boreal forests and the Canadian Badlands, there is something for every visitor…” Photos from Business Insider: The Canadian Oil Sand Mines
Continue readingsomecanuckchick dot com: It’s the tar sands, stupid!
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; Act II, Scene ii, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare The Athabasca tar sands have always been, are now, and will always be known as… the Athabasca tar sands. Why? Because the tar
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Tar-sands
There are people who insist on calling the monstrous mega-project in northern Alberta the “oilsands”. I insist on the historically used “tarsands” since I try to reject all rebranding efforts (especially for projects that are so detrimental to life). Yes, it’s technically, chemically incorrect to call it tar sands. Even
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Since the Cons don’t seem to have much else in their quiver at the moment, I’m sure they’ll keep trying to pretend that it’s monstrous of Thomas Mulcair to suggest that all industries (including those in Alberta) pay the cost of their real
Continue reading350 or bust: Why I’m Speaking Out In Defence Of Two Core Canadian Values, Nature & Democracy
On Monday, I will be joining the BlackOutSpeakOut campaign, and joining a committed group of organizations representing millions of Canadians who are darkening our websites in protest against the efforts of the Harper government to silence our voices. The BlackOutSpeakOut website describes this action this way: Right now, Parliament is
Continue readingCanadian Trends: This presentation is essential reading in understanding what is to come
(If some of the slides are blank either zoom in one level or fullscreen the presentation) The End Game
Continue reading350 or bust: In The Forecast: More Extreme – and Expensive – Weather Events
Montreal Quebec was hit by a short but fierce rainstorm on Tuesday, doing millions of dollars worth of damage to homes and businesses. The Montreal Gazette reported: Montreal firefighters answered more than 900 calls during Tuesday afternoon’s cloudburst that dumped as much as 70 mms. of rain on this city
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Toxic Sludge is Good Enough for You
I don’t actually doubt Joe Oliver’s sincerity in claiming that as far as he’s concerned, people will soon be able to drink from tar-sands tailing ponds. But I do suspect that mostly has to do with the Cons’ pathetic idea of water safety, rather than any reasonable belief that Canadians
Continue readingThings Are Good: Oil is Too Expensive for Wasteful Use
Looks like those “crazy environmentalists” were right all along: the cost of oil has gotten so high that companies are looking for alternatives. When it comes to companies that rely on petroleum-based products they’ve noticed that their profits are dwindling because the cost of oil has gone up, so the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Thomas Walkom criticizes the Cons’ war on labour at the federal level – though John Ivison notes that the Cons’ habit of interfering in every federal labour dispute looks to help the NDP all the more. And Pat Atkinson worries that the Sask
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Harald Bauder comments on the Cons’ continued efforts to provoke a race to the bottom when it comes to wages: (B)oth the planned EI reforms and the temporary foreign workers program are part of a wider strategy of lowering the bar on
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Stunning Disruptors
Asbestos was a miracle mineral, preventing fires in places we didn’t wan to burn. Then people started dying from it. “Antibacterial” soap was lauded by people as the solution to ordinary old soap, and our dirty, dirty world. And couches were catching on fire as potatoes sat on them watching
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: May 3, 2012
Thursday, May 3 saw yet another debate over the Cons’ use of time allocation – this time respecting the omnibus budget bill which features so many radical changes that demand serious discussion. And not surprisingly, the opposition parties raised plenty of entirely valid concerns, while the Cons obfuscated and ran
Continue readingDrive-by Planet: Marine pollution program cut by feds
News that the Conservatives have scrapped a vital marine pollution program is just one more indicator of how Harper’s Conservative government is failing Canadians on the environment front. Times Colonist: The entire DFO contaminants program nationally and regionally — including two research scientists, a chemist and four technicians at the
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