Teck Halts Work on Tarsands Proposal
Canada is waking up to the reality of the climate crisis, those ringing the alarms includes a diverse group from the Wet’suwet’en Nation to Greenpeace. Now a large fossil fuel…
energy
Hopeful change?
Today, Premier Horgan gave Energy Minister Michelle Mungall a new job, replacing her with Bruce Ralston. I am encouraged, anticipating (perhaps naively) that leadership of the department responsible for BC…
Countries can Greatly Reduce Carbon Emissions by Improving Transmission
In order to avert climate catastrophe we’re going to have to make boring changes to our built infrastructure. Politicians find it hard to argue for these sorts of enhancements because…
Closing Coal Plants Saves Lives
Everyone already knows that burning coal for energy is absolutely horrible for the planet and were still learning just how bad coal power plants really are. The positive news is…
Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Heather Scoffield writes that a genuine commitment to fighting climate change could resolve multiple major issues facing Canada – while delay serves only…
Electric Power from Rivers Meeting Oceans
Renewable energy comes in many forms with new innovative approaches being discovered very so often. A more recent approach to carbon neutral renewable energy can be found where two bodies…
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Will Hutton discusses how the U.S.’ monopolistic economic system threatens anybody who becomes subject to its whims. And Eric Levitz points out how…
Scotland Banned Fraking, Rest of UK to Follow
Fraking is really bad for all of us, it’s the process of using water to force dirty oil out of the ground. This practice destabilizes the ground causing earthquakes and…
Toronto’s Food Waste Powers its Garbage Trucks
Toronto’s garbage trucks are being fuelled by the very thing they are picking up on their routes. The trucks pick up food waste (in a separate bin from recycling and…
Solar and Wind Outgrow Subsidies
Renewable energy systems used to need subsidies to be competitive with the even more subsidized fossil fuel energy systems. Today, despite the fact that globally USD$5.2 trillion was spent on…
Solar Panels Help Crops Grow
Solar energy is the future and it keeps getting better. Not only are renewables cheaper than destructive gas and coal energy they also have other positive effects. Recently it’s been…
Wind Power is Now Cheaper than Gas
Renewable energy just kept getting cheaper and cheaper despite ongoing subsides for the oil and gas industries. This is really good to see as people who only care about short…
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…
It’s OK to Not Wash Your Clothes
Want to save the planet? Reduce how often you wash your clothes, you don’t need to wash your shirt that you wore for only one day. This is something you…
Electrification and Climate I: Scale of the Challenge
Many elements have to come together if Canada is to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. There is now a technical consensus that “electrification” – the replacement of fossil…
Digital Circuit Breakers can Transform Sustainable Electricity
An often overlooked aspect of sustainable energy is the seemingly simple switching of electricity. Physical switches slow down the ability of repairs on power systems and can even hinder the…
The State of Energy in Africa
A panel at Collision Conference today looked at the state of the energy grid in Africa. The panellists are involved in bringing sustainable energy solutions to the continent in various…
Ontario Electricity VII – Committee Testimony
The PC Government in Ontario has introduced Bill 87 which would eliminate the rate-based borrowing to subsidize electricity prices and replace it with Government borrowing. Last week’s Provincial Budget estimates…
The 2019 Provincial Election: What it will be about and what it should be about
Last week Ms Soapbox had the pleasure of appearing on a panel with economist Trevor Tombe and naturalist Kevin Van Tighem to discuss our perspectives on the upcoming provincial election.…
Income Inequality and Redistribution in Venezuela
I had been waiting for last month’s publication of the book “Confronting Inequality” before preparing my annual update on income inequality and redistribution in Canada. I am glad I did…