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…
Norman Farrell
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…
Super cheap electricity
Seattle based writer David Roberts reports on energy matters. Recently Roberts explored the variability of renewable energy. Opponents of wind and solar power rely on this subject to raise objections.…
Constructive anarchism
Yale political scientist and anthropologist James C. Scott, author of the whimsical 2013 book Two Cheers for Anarchism, suggested pursuit of justice demands occasional insubordination and disregard for rules. He…
Gifts from the oven
Published five years ago at my idled website Notable Discoveries. With a few updates, it is here for a change of pace after too much negative news. Long ago mother…
Changed expectations
After BC voters told Christy Clark to find a more suitable occupation, I planned to transition from blathering about politics to writing about travel and dining. I opened a site…
Canada lags on renewable energy
In Canada, more than $100 billion is now being spent to expand fossil fuel production. Meanwhile, other nations are working to mitigate climate change and enable long-term human survival. For…
Public utility money pit
Today, charts about BC Hydro showing information that ought to alarm citizens of British Columbia. It will not of course, because corporate media does not bother to report meaningful data…