Up to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic waste enter the world’s oceans every year, partly due to litter and inadequate waste management. Plastic particles sit in sieves ready for sorting. Photo by Malin Jacob. ROUGHLY 9.1 MILLION tonnes of plastic waste will head from land to sea this year alone in
Continue readingTag: Global Affairs
the reeves report: U.S. energy called on to help West handle Russia
America should rethink overhauling energy export policy in favour of ‘drill, baby, drill’ simply to flex muscle against Russia over Crimean play. Can boosting U.S. energy exports help declaw the prowling Russian bear? In the weeks following President Vladimir Putin’s military expansion into Ukraine’s Crimean region, manipulating U.S. energy sources
Continue readingthe reeves report: Europe looks to coal to reduce electricity prices
One year after The Economist signalled an ”unwelcomed coal renaissance”, Bloomberg News reported Jan. 6 that Europe’s lust for lower energy prices was reviving lignite mining for coal-fired generation in a big way. Lignite, a low-quality form of coal that contains less units of energy and greater volumes of carbon than
Continue readingthe reeves report: Ontario to roll out Green Bonds in 2014
GO workers wait ahead of announcement from Ontario government about green bonds (Oct. 30, 2013) Ontario made a small splash in the financial world at the end of October when Premier Kathleen Wynne and two top cabinet ministers announced the province was set to become the first Canadian jurisdiction to
Continue readingthe reeves report: SOPA delayed, but Canada’s Copyright Modernization Act carries on
Sums It Up Quite Nicely. | Image from The Guardian.co.uk 18 U.S. Senators have withdrawn their support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) due to an overwhelmingly negative online reaction, including a Google petition that garnered over 4.5M signatures and the Wikipedia-led blackout of over 7,000 popular websites. Here
Continue readingthe reeves report: Saving Solar Power in Germany
German Solar Park. For most of the past winter, Germany’s 1.1 million solar power systems that crisscross the country have sat relatively idle. Overcast skies and a relative lack of sunshine has meant the powerful solar-generating system has produced little energy, forcing Germany to import electricity from nuclear power plants
Continue readingthe reeves report: Globe columnist John Ibbitson talks politics and how the West has won
Globe columnist and author John Ibbitson. A standing room only crowd assembled last night at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto to hear Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson speak on the current state of Canadian political affairs. Ibbitson’s talk, it would seem, was convened to inform the assembled crowd of
Continue readingthe reeves report: Ontario should brace for cuts ahead of March 2012 budget
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan. Matt Gurney in the National Post lays it on a little thick when he calls the Ontario Liberals – and Premier Dalton McGuinty and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan in particular – “financially illiterate” for their recent announcement that the province will
Continue readingthe reeves report: Occupy protests must find a way to politicize while dodging rubber bullets
UC Davis campus police pepper spraying protesters. A second wave of evictions and police violence is being unleashed upon Occupy protesters across North America, and the resiliency of the movement will be determined in the coming days as protesters must find a way to work around court injunctions and police
Continue readingthe reeves report: Biggest concern with Rick Perry’s debate gaffe? Not his poor memory…
Rick Perry and Ron Paul at the CNBC GOP debate in Detroit, MI. It seems that the biggest take away from the GOP presidential candidate debate last week was that the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, forgot which third government agency he wanted to cut once in office. What is
Continue readingthe reeves report: Canada rejigs how 254,000 immigrants are selected annually
A new type of immigrant is quickly taking advantage of the Canadian immigration system, and Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney wants to make it even easier for them to settle permanently in Canada. The Canadian Experience Class program is granting fast track access to immigrants who have already spent time in Canada, are familiar with … Continue reading »
the reeves report: United Nations close to finalizing a ban on Western e-waste exports
At a recent United Nations environmental conference in Cartagena, Colombia, attended by over 170 represented countries, 50 nations have ratified an amendment to the 1989 Basel Convention which will restrict the export of electronic waste to the developing world. Only 17 nations needed to ratify the amendment in order to see it introduced, but the … Continue reading »
the reeves report: UK ‘Green Deal’ set for launch next Autumn
The Energy Act 2011 was granted royal assent in the United Kingdom on October 18, a move that will pave the way for the Green Deal to come into effect within the year. Under the plan, households will be encouraged to install energy- and cost-saving efficiencies to their homes without having to bear the full … Continue reading »
the reeves report: New study indicates global warming could cost Canada billions
A new study from the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) is arguing that the effects of a warming world may cost Canada upwards of $5B by 2020, and will increase dramatically afterwards. The economic toll could rise anywhere between $21B and $43B annually by the 2050s. Paying the Price: The … Continue reading »
the reeves report: The Onion takes aim at dysfunctional US Congress
Earlier this afternoon, The Onion, a satirical news organization, tweeted “BREAKING: Witnesses reporting screams and gunfire heard inside Capitol building.” The initial reaction from The Onion’s followers was trepidation, at best. The Onion is known as a satirical source of “news” that most know to take with a grain of salt. But what if they … Continue reading »
the reeves report: Feel Safer Post-9/11? Feel $92B Safer?
Earlier this week, the non-partisan (but left-leaning) Rideau Institute released a report on Canada’s defence spending since 9/11 entitled The Cost of 9/11 and the Creation of a National Security Establishment. It was written by economist David Macdonald, and it calculated that $92B ($69B adjusted for inflation) has been spent on ‘security’ in various forms … Continue reading »
the reeves report: DNA evidence enough to cause concern over invasive Asian Carp
This past week, a multi-agency fishing expedition got underway looking for Asian Carp west of Lake Michigan in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. After catching a 19-pound Asian Carp (which is actually an umbrella term for up to nine difference species of carp introduced to North America from Asia) in Lake Calumet in Chicago … Continue reading »
the reeves report: Anti-abortion group does something insane, surprises no one
The American anti-abortion group Repent America has taken their fight against abortion to a whole new and zany level. No longer content to only picket clinics and harass women, they have decided to target Stericycle, the company that provides, among other things, abortion waste disposal services. It seems as though up until a few months ago … Continue reading »
the reeves report: ‘With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility’: Bloomberg gives fight to Big Coal
Not content to have merely taken on the gun lobby, the tobacco industry, and the anti-gay marriage crowd, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has set his sights on picking a fight with Big Coal. Bloomberg, who also happens to be the 10th wealthiest person in America right now with an estimated personal fortune of … Continue reading »
the reeves report: Thinking about the universe in a post-shuttle world
Coming fast on the heels of Canada’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and the official handing over control from Canadian to US armed forces is another milestone ending in Canadian – actually, world – history: the closing of the space shuttle program. Canada has played a significant role in outer space for a country of our small … Continue reading »