Rafe: We Continue to go Backwards at an Unsustainable Rate
Not only have humans learned no lessons, we continue to go backwards at an unsustainable rate. The past week has been especially hard for this old guy to handle. The…
Common Sense Journalism
Big-picture Thinking Needed to Protect Nature
Few places on Earth have been untouched by humans, according to a study in the journal Science. Satellite images taken from hundreds of kilometres above the planet reveal a world…
Big-picture Thinking Needed to Protect Nature
Few places on Earth have been untouched by humans, according to a study in the journal Science. Satellite images taken from hundreds of kilometres above the planet reveal a world…
Harper Government Takes Muzzling Scientists to New Extreme
The strictures on what scientists can publicly say or publish, put in place by the Prime Minister’s office, have been tightening in recent years. In 2011 scientists protested and collectively…
Rafe: Christy Clark Must Resign
This unholy bloody business called “ethnicgate” started and stayed in Premier Clark’s office. The cabinet minister, John Yap, who ran up on his own sword, lied while doing so saying…
Premier’s Calculations for Pipelines, Fish Farms, Site C Dam Don’t Add Up
Rafe questions BC Premier Christy Clark and her party’s economic basis for supporting projects like a new pipeline and refinery proposal for Kitimat, open net pen salmon farms and Site…
New Film, Cutting-Edge Research Probe Salmon Virus Mystery
The mystery of BC’s disappearing wild salmon is back on the radar this week, with the release of a new documentary and launch of a groundbreaking research partnership to study…
Cautious Optimism: World Leaders Ready to Tackle Climate Change?
The world’s largest and most influential political and economic forces are showing signs that they might be ready to actively combat climate change. Presently the signs are only words. But…
Rafe: Premier Must Have Known About Ethnic Voter Plot
Dear Premier Clark, you knew about the ethnic voter issue from the beginning. You had to. With a program this size – in the hands of your senior adviser; with…
History’s Repeating Patterns: Ronald Wright on ‘Progress’, Collapse
Why do civilizations tend to “collapse” soon after reaching their peak? Because they continue to expand until they overreach the maximum exploitation of resources that their environment can tolerate. Then…
Under the Radar: Howe Sound Gravel Mine an Environmental Catastrophe
Howe Sound is a world-class area. It’s taken a hell of a beating since my Dad, Mom and I fished it back when if you didn’t get a fish you…
Rafe on Christy Clark’s Implosion, Spying on Fracking Opponents
I know “I told you sos” are not popular but I have to say it: I told you so. Clark had been a mediocre cabinet minister at best. She chose…
‘Heartwood’ Explores Clash Between Different Visions for Future of Forestry
“Cortes is not just a bunch of crazy tree-huggers…We want to log our lands. We want a community forest,” one of the subjects of the forthcoming documentary film Heartwood tells…
Fractured Land Subject Caleb Behn in Vancouver to Discuss Indigenous Law, Resources
Caleb Behn, a young, Indigenous law student from northeast BC and the subject of the forthcoming documentary film Fractured Land, will be at the Vancouver Public Library this Thursday evening…
LNG ‘Prosperity’ Will Always be Just Around the Corner for BC
Exports of natural gas, in liquefied form (LNG), to Asian markets are scarcely a slam dunk proposition. Ms. Clark has promised a “Prosperity” fund, starting in two years, which will…
Wild Forests
Real forests are wild. The forests of human contrivance are tree farms, plantations, monocultures, timber supply areas. Such clusters of trees may superficially appear to be real forests, but they…
Keystone XL: Massive Civil Disobedience is Next
For many people, climate change is the sine qua non issue of the 21st Century – no matter what else we might do, if we don’t get this one right,…
BC’s Fiscal Mess: Hydro, LNG Numbers Don’t Add Up
The Oil and Has lobby has made it clear that unless government agrees to give 30% capital cost allowances – meaning they want a 30% subsidy on the money spent…
Does Malaysian LNG Mega-Project for BC Coast Need Environmenal Assessment?
Should Malaysian energy giant Petronas’ $11 Billion proposed Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Prince Rupert on BC’s north coast undergo a federal environmental assessment? The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency…
Audio: Damien Gillis Talks Private River Power, Fracking, LNG, BC Election
The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis and Vancouver Co-op Radio’s Imtiaz Popat discuss a range of topics relating to water and energy in advance of BC’s provincial election, scheduled for…