Everything is not broken
In the House of Commons, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre told Canadians: “Everything is broken.” Canada is imperfect, but it is far from broken.
Norman Farrell
Megaproject madness
Professor Bent Flyvbjerg, Executive Chairman and co-founder of Oxford Global Projects has written about proponents getting large undertakings approved by using “strategic misrepresentation” when they conjure up budgets. Strategic misrepresentation…
Green New Deal: “A socialist plot to take away your ice cream.”
By consensus, climate scientists believe that future restorative actions will be futile if policies followed today are insufficient. In our daily lives, we routinely limit or reduce potential harms. However,…
Minimum wage increases, job destroyers or job creators?
AAccording to MIT Economics Professor Daron Acemoglu, a bountiful supply of good jobs is the best way to generate shared prosperity and also to cultivate civic and political participation from…
Occupational hearing loss
We dined recently at an “upscale casual” restaurant in Port Coquitlam. The service and the food were fine, but I was troubled by the noise level. My iPhone decibel meter…
A $40 billion oil subsidy
If I told my spouse that I had decided to buy a car for $30,000, then I returned home with one priced at $150,000, she would bar me from the…
News unfit to print (or broadcast)
Many citizens shape their opinions by paying attention to corporate media. What if those news providers are unreliable?
Rip ‘n’ Read, 2024 style
There are many good journalists working in corporate media today. But, lack of resources stifles their work. At times, news people simply accept press releases as accurate and report the…
Manufactured ignorance
Many readers of IN-SIGHTS examine public issues with great care and email private comments to me along with links to worthwhile material. What follows comes from a paper sent to…
Douglas, Lewis, Broadbent, and Layton spinning in their graves?
This item, contributed by a reader, comments upon BC Hydro now offering a ten to fifteen billion dollar commitment to private power producers. This continues Gordon Campbell’s aim of twenty…
Economic inequality by design
For as long as I can remember, we’ve been told that putting more wealth in the hands of the already wealthy will benefit everyone through greater economic growth, more jobs,…
Tell the dam truth
Tell The Dam Truth (TTDT) is a California based non-profit with initial funding from outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia. TTDT’s aim is to protect and restore free-flowing rivers by educating people…
Wisdom is timeless
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice for 23 years from 1916. He was nominated by Woodrow Wilson but the President’s choice was hotly contested. Writing for the…
The abuse of entrusted power for private gain
Corruption erodes trust, weakens democracy, hampers economic development and further exacerbates inequality, poverty, social division and the environmental crisis. Exposing corruption and holding the corrupt to account can only happen…
33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles
The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law develops legal techniques to fight climate change, trains law students and lawyers in their use, and provides the public with up-to-date resources on…
Day tripping
A one-day return trip from the lower mainland to Victoria had us leaving North Vancouver about 5:30 am. That put us in the Tsawwassen terminal early enough to confirm our…
Ocean life destruction in BC
Fish biologist Stan Proboszcz of Watershed Watch Salmon Society published an article about the killing of more than 800,000 wild fish in 2022 by open-net salmon farms. According to federal…
Ending fossil fuels benefits all
Many people in Canada are employed in fossil fuel industries. Were production of carbon-laden, climate damaging products to decline or end, many towns would be disrupted. However, quality of life…
Identifying methane emissions accurately
Dr. Volts, writer and researcher David Roberts, provides climate change information that is useful and understandable. His March 22 contribution is What’s the deal with these methane satellites? Roberts interviewed…
Happiness is… (2024 edition)
Overall, Canada ranks 15th in the World Happiness Report, although it is first among nations with populations of more than 30 million. However, when the happiness of citizens under age…