Taxes buy civilization
Neoliberalism has brought us extreme concentrations of wealth and power and a society governed by and for the rich. The Guardian reports America’s three wealthiest billionaires—Bezos, Gates and Buffett—have as…
Norman Farrell
Denying the existential threat
Much of climate change denial is driven by money. The world’s ten largest fossil fuel companies are collectively worth trillions and their managers are not going away quietly. For years,…
Canada – TrumpLand north?
July 30, Stephen Colbert interviewed Jacob Soboroff and Katy Tur, presenters of American Swamp, a four-part docuseries on MSNBC about government corruption. They talk about politics in the USA but…
Sacrificing the future
Norway made a choice to take a material share of oil and gas revenues and distribute the value of its non-renewable resources to citizens over multiple generations. Alberta, British Columbia…
Dangerous acts of self deception
Optimists assert that the benefits from technological innovation will be able to outpace the negative effects of climate change. This view of climate change may be a dangerous act of…
Reward the wealthy, fail the needy
In 2011, Canada’s austerity driven federal government suspended, delayed or cancelled numerous Environment Canada programs, including the Action Plan on Clean Water. Stephen Harper’s administration made the choice even though…
Rhetoric subjugated reason
In British Columbia, the energy ministry is staffed by regulators who don’t believe in regulation. That is a BC Liberal philosophy sustained by NDP timidity because the Horgan Government is…
Generational sellout
Green Party leader Andrew Weaver spoke to the BC Legislature March 26, 2019. He reported a former insider’s views of why BC natural gas royalty revenues have declined. These were…
Wacky world of minimum wages
Increasing income of the working poor ensures that extra dollars are spent in local communities on things like food, clothing, medical and dental care, and housing. According to a University…
Empires expand, until they disintegrate
BC Hydro’s 2019 annual report shows the quantity of electricity sold to residential, commercial and industrial customers in BC is still flat. The value of 2019 sales is increased by…
“We are profoundly ignorant about what is going on”
I question why we allow fracking while there are significant knowledge gaps about safety. Authorities will not approve anyone to command flight controls of a loaded aircraft without certainty that…
New Era of Truthfulness at BC Hydro?
In BC Hydro’s most recent annual report, the company promised “one of the largest expansions of electrical infrastructure in British Columbia’s history.” To gain approval for massive spending, BC Hydro…
They won; we lost
Financial elites have waged a decades-long campaign of self-interest against Canadians. They won; we lost. The most important front has been action to control mass media and reduce the influence…
Privatizing public wealth
In July 2018, newly installed Premier Doug Ford announced that noted ex-con and former BC Premier Gordon Campbell would lead an “independent” inquiry into Ontario’s past spending and accounting practices.…
Natural gas revenues: going, going, almost gone
In 2008, British Columbia gained $3.2 billion from sale of petroleum and natural gas rights. If the second half of 2019 matches the first, revenue from right offerings for the…
North Vancouver District Policy Proposal
THAT staff is directed to prepare a policy that will require members of Council to declare before voting on any development proposal, campaign contributions knowingly received from the applicant, or…
For the times they are a-changin’
Today, British Columbia is far richer than fifty years ago but that wealth is distributed much differently. As a result, despair is widespread, homelessness grows, thousands die each year from…
Liberal rebrand: Hypocrisy ‘R’ Us
For years, BC Liberals relied on millions of dollars contributed by a relative handful of wealthy donors, many based outside the province. Along with developers hungry to acquire public lands…
Loyalty matters
Trust, communication and cooperation are vital elements in a workplace, particularly when staff is small, financial stakes high, and tasks important. But, what happens when trust is broken and wrongdoing…
Grand scale giveaway
Why the NDP has decided to fight teachers and not the gas industry is a mystery to me. The volume of BC natural gas production has increased substantially in the…