Mining Magnate calls for end of growth economy
Ross Beaty Read this surprising Sept. 22 Vancouver Sun guest op-ed from one of Canada’s top mining tycoons, Ross Beaty, arguing for the end of growth and a new focus…
Economics
BC LNG: The Real Story – exclusive series, presentations all this week
British Columbians have been hearing a lot of glowing rhetoric from their political leaders about the economic promise of building a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. We’ve heard that…
Pennsylvania’s fracking boom goes bust
Fracking operation in southwestern Pennsylvania (photo: Mark Schmerling) Read this Sept. 12 story from Philly.com describing how Pennsylvania’s fracking boom is going bust. Meanwhile, The Common Sense Canadian reported recently…
Know your branches of economics
This comic does in one cartoon what the first chapter of Debt, the First 5000 Years does (pretty well) in one chapter. Alltop is a macro-humor generator.
No flood insurance without better maps, factoring in climate change
Calgary’s flooded Bow River on June 22 OTTAWA – Insurance executives say homeowners will never have access to comprehensive flood insurance in Canada unless there are new maps of flood-prone…
Climate Change is the ultimate ‘Moral Hazard’
Former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan Moral Hazard, Part 1: The Cost of Risk and Reward One of the factors compromising our prospects for a stable and secure environmental…
Got PTSD?
September 12, 2013 PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is thankfully becoming less stigmatized due to increased awareness, but like most mental health issues, there stigma that prevents open discussion about…
Massive power bill increases due to Liberals’ failed IPP scheme
BC Energy Minister Bill Bennett (photo: CP) I told you so! My colleague Damien Gillis told you so! Independent economist Erik Andersen told you so! The Campbell/Clark government has taken…
‘Massive’ rate increase coming for BC Hydro customers, leaked documents show
Read this Sept. 11 story from The Vancouver Sun, confirming what The Common Sense Canadian has been predicting for years: massive rate hikes for BC Hydro customers due to the…
With all this Oil and ‘Energy Security’, where’s the Money?
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, discussing trade on a visit to China (Sean Kilpatrick/CP) Ask yourself this: why, if Canada has the third largest proven oil reserves in the world, is…
Untangling the Temporary Foreign Worker Knot
Banks as predators? Surely, no! Temporary foreign workers have become a lightning-rod topic in Canadian labour in recent months with the high-profile news of the Royal Bank of Canada replacing…
Why does BC Hydro get their demand forecasts so wrong?
BC Hydro’s $8 Billion proposed Site C Dam – artist’s rendering Energy Minister Bill Bennett has invited citizens to review and presumably submit thoughts about the recently released BC Hydro…
Fraser Institute rakes in foreign funding
Read this Aug. 30 story from The Vancouver Observer on the $4.3 million in foreign funding accepted since 2000 by BC’s right-wing think tank, The Fraser Institute. Unlike environmental groups,…
Chemical Weapons in Syria? Merely a Pretext [Iran, Shhh.]
” It’s the Economy, Stupid.” If you think you know why Syria is happening , you’re probably missing a number of the elements at play. Don’t expect western governments or…
Wheels coming off Liberal energy policy as contracts cancelled
BC Energy Minister Bill Bennett Folks, the wheels are coming off the BC Government’s 2002 Energy policy, which forbade BC Hydro from creating new power (Site C Dam being exempted).…
You Aren’t Sufficiently Critical of the #Media
You need to trust the media less. Almost a year ago, and before the last US presidential election, Gallup determined that there has been a stunning decline in citizens’ mistrust…
The ecology of wealth
Saudi Prince Alwaleed with his wife, Princess Amira al-Taweel (AFP/Getty) What is a man to do with a “main palace” of 420 rooms, a customized Boeing 747 jumbo jet for…
Fukushima Keeps Staying The Worst
It’s always been /worse/. And it just keeps staying tragically the same. It’s remained a global crisis with hemispheric deadly consequences. Japan could still wind up largely uninhabitable (if it…
Wake Up America
From a study that reveals increased risk of death for young coffee drinkers who have 4 cups a day or more, to a man who woke up America to the…
Renewable Energy Predictions Way Off
They were vastly underestimated. .@theturner And yet @SaskPower as recently as 2013 was highlighting a #solarpower study from 2000 to guide their grid planning. #skpoli— John Klein (@JohnKleinRegina) August 14,…