Misdirected energy policies
In 2018, BC Hydro began discouraging the production of solar power in British Columbia. Customers with solar panels had been allowed a two-way connection to the grid. When they fed…
Norman Farrell
Street art
As 2024 dawns, warmongers, arms dealers, and defenders of genocide show us the depths of human malice. But looking elsewhere, we find street art displaying the heights of human tenderness…
Dr Gabor Mate – belated respects due
In the 1960s, Gabor Mate was a brave young man standing up to bullies and stating unpopular ideas. Now Dr. Mate, he is still a man of conscience not afraid…
You couldn’t stop solar if you wanted to stop solar
Worldwide solar energy capacity has been growing rapidly. In 2022, it was 150 times higher than in 2006 and more than double the level of 2018 when BC Hydro moved…
Seven moral principles
Professor Robert Reich describes meeting with students to discuss tragic events in Gaza and Israel. It was a mixed group, some Jewish, some Palestinian, and some with other backgrounds. They…
Not all sides are equal
Writing in The Economist, former New York Times editor James Bennet commented about the state of his profession. He thinks today’s mainstream media too often fails to provide open and…
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.
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…