Last week the Feds unveiled the Sustainable Jobs Act, Danielle Smith responded in her typical word-salad fashion and the press lauded her for standing her ground. Against what? The Feds said… Natural Resources Minister, Johnathan Wilkinson, says the Act is about creating and protecting jobs as we shift to a
Continue readingTag: environment
IN-SIGHTS: Shareholder value built on destruction
A whistle blows and another train rumbles through White Rock, headed toward the Roberts Bank coal export dock. This one is carrying thermal coal from Montana, bound for a massive power plant, perhaps in Korea. As the train rolls through Delta, black clouds of coal dust billow from the open
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Climate Conspiracy
Journalist and activist George Monbiot wrote on why we can’t actually explain the problems with certain arguments anymore: Conspiracy fictions have succeeded, as Steve Bannon hoped, in “flooding the zone with shit”. It is almost impossible now to have a rational conversation about the real sources of oppression, destruction and injustice, as
Continue readingThings Are Good: Accurately Capturing the Social Cost of Carbon
When policy makers think about climate change they sometimes take into consideration the whole impact of carbon regulation and reduction. The commonly held myth is that reducing carbon emissions will negatively impact the economy, now we have better numbers to help people no longer fall into believing that myth. Indeed,
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Dangerous actors — corporate and political
Progressive punishment is not enough to regulate behaviour when an offender has extraordinary wealth. To a corporation like Teck Resources Ltd. — market capitalization $29 billion — inconsequential fines are minor costs of doing business. A $1 million penalty imposed on Teck corresponds to a fine of $11 levied on
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Politicization of the Beast
Welcome to “Life in a Conservative Province” also known as “they say the wackiest things.” “They” being conservative premiers who say idiotic things when asked: how do you reconcile your government’s policies with the impact of climate change on the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires? Before we get into
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: We’re Reaping What We’ve Sown
There’s tons of news about all the smoke – so much about the smoke. But I’m finding very little information about the actual fires. We know that firefighters are coming to help from the states and from South Africa, which is fantastic, but where are the videos of planes water
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Umair Haque discusses the absurdity (and manufactured idiocy) that results in us continuing with extractive business as usual as we enter a palpable age of extinction. And Richard Eskow writes about the reasons why billionaires can’t tolerate the prospect that most people
Continue readingThings Are Good: Oil is a Source of Wildfires
The wildfires burning from coast to coast in Canada have Canadians worried about their livelihood, neighbours, and the planet itself. Finding good news in fires is tough, but in the context of the climate crisis knowledge about to fight fire is good news. The best way to stop wildfires is
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A Word of Advice…
We’re still trying to make sense of this election. There’s no question Rachel Notley’s NDP made phenomenal gains against the UCP. They pulled in 776,000 votes (157,000 more than they received in 2019) and gained 39 seats (15 more than they had in 2019), but it still wasn’t
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Beth Mole reports on research showing that U.S. children suffered a spike in brain abscesses after COVID protections were removed – and that the levels continue to be elevated long after everybody has been told not to bother doing anything to avoid the
Continue readingThings Are Good: No Mow May No Mo’?
Maybe, maybe not. It’s the end of May and hopefully you haven’t been mowing. The No Mow May campaign encourages people with lawns to let them grow during the month of May to let insects and other critters thrive. This makes sense, and if you have a lawn then you
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Martin Sandhu writes about the development of degrowth as a viable economic organizing principle. And Kevin Drum offers a reminder that the growth we’ve been trained to demand has been entirely funneled into corporate coffers for over four decades, rather than creating
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Fires? What Fires?
It’s funny. Also sad, because it’s so believable. thebeaverton.com/2023/05/ucp-promises-to-build-giant-gas-powered-fans-to-clear-alberta-skies/ Smoke over Calgary and Regina. pic.twitter.com/a0lFKFh3Vs — John Klein (@JohnKleinRegina) May 22, 2023
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: The Need to Grow
When I taught civics and we discussed Canada’s immigration policy, that we typically take in about 250,000 newcomers each year, but over 600,000 apply, many students would suggest we need to take them all. They’d prefer an open door policy that maybe only stops the criminally-minded from entry. My follow
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Antoine Flahault et al. offer a reminder that we can’t afford to be complacent about an ongoing COVID pandemic which continues to cause serious and sustained harm on a mass basis. And in case we needed another reminder of the aftereffects of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Fiona Harvey reports on the World Meteorological Organization’s warnings that we’re more likely than not to breach 1.5 degrees of global warming over the next five years. And Alex Wigglesworth reports on new research concluding that 40% of the land burned by wildfires
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Karl Nerenberg writes about the Parkland Institute’s research showing how privatization has undermined Alberta’s health care system. And Mitchell Thompson warns that the UCP has a similar plan to turn what’s already a housing crisis into a profit extraction extravaganza at the
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: 1.5° in the Next Five Years
I’ve been to many marches and protests for the environment. Most recently, the call to action was around changing policies enough to cut GHGs in half by 2030 in order to keep us under 1.5°C by 2100. Now we’re predicted to hit that marker in the next five years!! The
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Omar Mosleh discusses the growing damage being caused by repeated wildfires in Canada, while David Wallace-Wells writes that there’s no escape from the air pollution being spread across the continent. And Don Pittis points out how public accounts which don’t assess the
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