Harper plays Mulcair … at our expense
If Stephen Harper is anything, he is a shrewd politician—always strategizing. He illustrated this yesterday starting off the new session of Parliament by accusing the NDP of supporting a carbon…
environment (the)
Call for international solidarity with Canadian scientists
As the federal government’s assault on science encounters increased resistance from Canadian scientists, the international community increasingly takes notice. In a recent column in The Guardian, science writer Alice Bell…
Scientists warn, politicians ignore
The Global Network of Science Academies, representing 105 science academies around the world, issued a press release last week highlighting what they referred to as “two of the most profound…
If it ain’t one damn thing …
That China’s waterways are badly polluted, is common knowledge. Less well recognized is the increasing pollution of its land. Zhou Jianmin, director of the China Soil Association, reports that, “More…
Northern Gateway and ghosts of the Exxon Valdez
I have been reading Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power by Steve Coll, and was captivated by the prologue, which reviewed the Exxon Valdez tragedy. As I read the story,…
Wildlife flourishes in human dead zones
We all know what the big problem with planet Earth is—people. Homo sapiens. The most destructive of species. Ever since we walked out of Africa 70,000 years ago, we have…
Slowing Harper’s rush to environmental ruin
The federal government, it appears, is in a hurry. We cannot exploit the tar sands fast enough and bad guys are getting in the way. In an open letter to…
Calendar note: Sunday, May 22 is the International Day for Biological Diversity
Recognizing that the Earth's biological resources are essential to humanity's economic and social welfare, yet species and ecosystems are threatened as never before, the United Nations established The Convention on…
Pembina Institute evaluates party posltions on the environment
For a capsule look at the various parties' environmental platforms from the perspective of an environmental research group focusing on energy, the Pembina Institute offers the following: Bloc Québécois: The…
Bolivia calls on Pachamama to enshrine Nature’s rights in law
According to ancient Andean spirituality, the fertility goddess Pachamama is at the centre of all life. Pachamama has inspired the Bolivian government to pass legislation, entitled the Law of Mother…
Homo sapiens and the sixth great extinction
What kind of creature are we, we Homo sapiens? According to a recent study by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, we may be among the half dozen most…
Republicans wage war on the environment (with a little help from the Democrats)
If anyone still believes we are going to save ourselves from environmental catastrophe, the U.S. Congress is doing its best to disabuse us of our optimism. It has mounted a…