Learning politics
A British television series broadcast in the 1980s may explain public administration better than any political science journal or textbook. This video clip from Yes Prime Minister could be about…
Norman Farrell
Self-interest transcends public interest
In 2016, a future NDP Cabinet Minister told me that cancelling Site C was unlikely. The person said, “Would you be prepared to eliminate 3,000 jobs?” In retrospect, I conclude…
Burn now, pay later
Large parts of Canadian climate change policies seem written by fossil fuel lobbyists inspired by the fake architecture of movie production. The aim of GHG emission reduction strategies is to…
The world’s climate plan: make targets, miss targets, repeat, die
Millions of people have been affected by extraordinary weather events in 2022. The effects of climate change are compounding, but political leaders and industrialists use misinformation and outright lies to…
COVID-19 — panic, then neglect and harm
BC Government’s COVID panic began in March 2020, but was turning to neglect in the following year. It can be argued that neglect shifted to overtly harmful management of the…
Troubling information from recent public disclosures
BC’s Auditor General says the 2022 surplus would be $6.5 billion higher if government followed Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards. The surplus would have been $8 billion had government also…
Pessimism seems appropriate
Instead of following the science that states clearly that fossil fuel production must decrease, Canadian governments are using our money to increase the output coal, oil, and gas. I will…
“The make it or break it year”
Earth is showing us the need for immediate action. Politicians and business leaders are ignoring these messages; citizens who want future generations to survive, should not…
Politics is harder than it looks
Instead of giving up power to climate activists, NDP leaders are more likely to drive them out of the party. There remains a chance Anjali Appadurai will not be allowed…
Economics of delusion
Ethnographer, writer, photographer, filmmaker, and native of British Columbia, Wade Davis speaks…
Screwed!
It may be too late to save the billions of dollars that will flow to private power producers because corrupt practices are not easily resolved in court. But it is…
Deficits of knowledge and attention, by design
Moderation of climate change must be today’s priority. Governments that refuse to act ignore their duty to protect and safeguard the lives of citizens.
Straight talk about lame talk
New owners took over The Georgia Straight two years ago. That quickly led to changes that are not reader-friendly. However, their website still offers useful commentary and is particularly worth…
Tweet of the day
Natural, holistic, hypoallergenic and the profit margin is enormous. So, if we can…
BC is good at climate action failure
Peter McCartney wrote about government and industry turning northeast British Columbia into a sacrifice zone: If this destruction were happening in the Lower Mainland or the Capital Regional District, it…
Corporate pollution and destruction licensed by government
In May 2016, British Columbia’s Auditor General Carol Bellringer released An Audit of Compliance and Enforcement of the Mining Sector. It was a scathing but underreported report quickly forgotten by…
The Carbon Footprint of Transportation
As concern about climate change has grown, individuals are becoming increasingly conscious of their impact on the environment…
Change is our collective responsibility
Many people proceed in life as if no material changes are needed for humans to survive beyond the 21st century. But David Attenborough was correct when about ten years ago,…
Quixotic quest bound to fail
A group of naive people believe that John Horgan’s departure will result in an open contest by which party members will elect a leader. But BC’s New Democratic Party is…
Happiness is…
The first World Happiness Report was presented in 2012. This week the 2022 report was published. Perhaps surprisingly, in most nations, average life evaluations have remained “remarkably resilient during COVID-19.”…