Not governed by reasonable people
Given the ultimate consequences, reasonable people should be applying the precautionary principle on climate and environmental matters. I suppose that means our governments are not populated by reasonable people.
Norman Farrell
Solar geoengineering, yes or no?
Responding to a mention of climate scientist Michael Mann (U of Pennsylvania), reader Tim Smith linked to an article by independent researcher Robert Chris and Hugh Hunt (Cambridge). It is…
Staggering. Unnerving. Mind-boggling. Absolutely gobsmackingly bananas.
I spent time recently listening to and reading Chris Turner, a Calgary based journalist and author of numerous books. Turner has become a climate change optimist. In contrast, I lean…
Strategic misrepresentation (AKA lying)
So, who has been responsible for strategic misrepresentation that has damaged BC Hydro? Responsible Ministers and MLAs are driven by love of megaprojects, but they may also have experienced the…
A captured government
An excerpt from a newsletter published by a international non-governmental organization is worth attention. Toronto Star reports the Danielle Smith convoy that travelled to the 28th United Nations Climate Change…
BC ignoring public sector accounting standards
Auditor General Michael Pickup submitted a report to the BC Legislature titled Summary Financial Statements Audit: Supporting the Role of MLAs. It is to assist understanding of the province’s annual…
Hidden fossil fuel subsidies
More than a year and a half ago, the BC Government promised to end fossil fuel subsidies. But the second quarter report just issued estimates that royalty credits and infrastructure…
Empty promises and unmet pledges
The 28th United Nations Climate Change conference begins this week in a middle east petrostate. UAE hired a team of lobbyists to “inoculate” COP28 and Sultan al-Jaber from “any potential…
The most dangerous expansion of fossil fuel in the world
In November 2023, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkeley, along with more than 60 congressional colleagues, asked the U.S. Department of Energy to reconsider liquified natural gas (LNG) policies because those…
Climate crisis failure
According to IEA, Canada’s per capita emissions of methane are almost three time the global average, more than half from the energy sector. Methane releases in Canada are likely worse…
Emissions gap is really an emissions canyon
Progress in dealing with climate change is too slow to meet stated climate goals. The world is on course to see global temperatures rise as much as 2.9°C above preindustrial…
Inadequate penalties are licenses to pollute
Glacier Media’s climate and environmental reporter Stefan Labbé has a disturbing report about heavy metals and other pollutants in waters moving from Canadian coal mines to the USA. The item…
Responsibility for the climate endgame
Evidence is overwhelming that human activities contribute to climate change. Food, water, housing, civil infrastructure and essential services are impacted. Health and long-term survival of living forms are threatened. Continued…
Sick society
Ultra-wealthy elites…Political corruption…Vast inequality… These problems aren’t new — in the late 1800s they dominated the country during America’s first Gilded Age. We overcame these abuses back then, and we…
Bonhoeffer on stupidity
Much has been written about Bonhoeffer and many English translations of his works are available. One that caught my eye was on stupidity. It seems appropriate to review with a…
Warnings issued and ignored years ago
Had they paid attention to science years ago, political and industrial leaders would have known the world was heading for a crisis. Climate change is widely recognized as an existential…
If we have the will, energy solutions are within reach
Methods of creating or capturing energy near demand points are gaining prominence and threatening the disruption of today’s giant utilities. A paper from Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology suggests millions…
Deader than a doornail
According to the godfather of climate science, the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, is “deader than a doornail.”
Can we believe anything we are told about BC Hydro?
BC Hydro’s own numbers provide evidence that increased demand by domestic consumers over 20 years was less than one-third of that predicted and was double covered by the utility’s purchases…
Earth cannot satisfy human greed
Revenues of Chevron Corporation in 2022 were one-third of a trillion Canadian dollars and the company’s comprehensive income was C$50 billion. Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth’s 2022 compensation was C$32…