Gwen and I raised three adult children in North Vancouver. Each lives in this community, as do our seven grandchildren. Before retirement, I worked in accounting and small business management. Since 2009, I have published commentary about public issues at IN-SIGHTS.CA.
Carol Linnitt, co-founder of The Narwhal sent an email to people on the organization’s mailing list. I hope everyone reading this will respond to her plea for financial assistance for their lawsuit against the RCMP about the egregious treatment of Amber Bracken. She was arrested and kept in jail for days for doing nothing more than her job as a journalist…
Writing for The Atlantic magazine, journalist David Brooks comments: There’s a question that’s been bugging me for nearly a decade. How is it that half of America looks at Donald Trump and […]
American company Quaise Energy is developing a new way to access the largest untapped energy source available. It will use established production methods of the fossil fuel industry, but the technology employed is new. Quaise intends to use beams of energy to vaporize bore holes through rocks and access deep geothermal heat.
The video embedded here is not the least bit critical of its subjects. There is no discussion of wealth building through tax benefits, strategies that eliminate competition, or the use of political influence to advance economic interests. The following families are mentioned…
Markham Hislop and Professor Mark Jacobson dive into the rarely discussed fact that the electric economy is significantly more efficient than the fossil fuel economy, and therefore, less energy is required to power it.
Regarding Hydro boss Mr Clark’s odd and unsubstantiated assertions that geothermal is just “too expensive”? Says who? Where? In what scientific context? Enhanced geothermal systems: An underground tech surfaces as a serious […]
People of this world have many problems. Not least among them is climate change. Environmental activist David Suzuki discussed his pessimism about the future. Dr. Suzuki thinks we have now lost the fight against climate change. An image here explains the loss.
The concept of collective policy-making has existed for a long time, but democracy, which allows most adults to vote, has a relatively short history…
Always articulate and thoughtful reader Lew Edwardson left a comment on the IN-SIGHTS article THE HEAT BENEATH OUR FEET. I think it needs to be amplified. Drought in northeast BC continues to be a problem. If the situation of FY 2024 continues, Site C will produce about 3,350 GWh, not the promised 5,100. These numbers suggest the dam’s capital cost for each MWh of electricity produced would fall between $142 and $215. Of course, the utility incurs operating and overhead costs as well. Those would be around $30 per MWh. At the midpoint between those numbers, BC Hydro would be paying over 20 cents per KWh for Site C electricity, far more than the utility is willing to admit.
After writing about geothermal energy, I made a remark on Facebook regarding a Western Canadian company having to go to Bavaria to launch its first commercial clean energy project. I said that was because European policies are not dictated by oil and hydropower interests. That led to a response by Glen Clark, Chair of BC Hydro…
Introduced in July 2008, British Columbia’s Carbon Tax cost BC taxpayers $24 billion before it was eliminated at the end of fiscal year 2024-2025. People in BC were encouraged to lower their carbon emissions, but the government provided subsidies worth billions of dollars to encourage increased fossil fuel consumption. That program was successful since the volume of natural gas produced in BC almost tripled after the carbon tax was imposed.
Months ago, I wrote Geothermal — clean, non-destructive renewable energy. It was about Calgary-based Eavor and the company’s use of unique drilling technology to realize geothermal energy. I have followed Eavor’s activities and noted recent developments, particularly in the Bavarian town of Geretsried…
After being focused on personal issues for a while, I will resume publishing a few pieces each week. Thank you to the people who have continued to support IN-SIGHTS. Please check here regularly.
Our world has had no shortage of bad news and bad actors in recent times. Two hours spent with Cirque du Soleil remind us that humans are also capable of incredible artistry that brings joy to people of all ages.
Minutes after I placed a link on Facebook to the IN-SIGHTS article Road to Dictatorship, the post was removed. Facebook labelled it spam, which is typically defined as irrelevant or inappropriate advertising and messages sent on the internet. The article had no advertising. Instead, it linked to Trump’s White House, The Atlantic magazine, a prestigious research institute at a Swedish university, and a legal resource centre….
According to a democracy research project based at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg, 27 countries have transitioned from democracies to autocracies since 2005. Nations controlled by strongmen now outnumber those where citizens exercise control through elected representatives. Democracy is disappearing in the USA and is threatened in Canada…
Stewart Hicks is Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He described how a simple connecting device for roof trusses helped revolutionize the home-building industry. It led to changes that worked well for the construction trades but had broad, less obvious effects. Not all have been positive.
I wonder. Do politicians lie because they think Canadians are collectively stupid, or do they lie because we are?
The global battery market is now valued at around C$220 billion. That number is expected to be near half a trillion dollars in five years. Even that estimate may be conservative. Very conservative. China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Company (CATL), the world’s largest battery maker, recently made an astonishing announcement. One was that its new Shenxing sodium-ion battery could add 520 kilometres of driving range in just five minutes of charging time. The total range is said to be 800 km…
I recently referred to Pierre Poilievre saying that he told Alberta Conservative Danielle Smith to, “Be ready, when I win, we need your help.” Canadians had better be ready for what that may mean…
Let's ask an expert.. Consider The House of EL’s analysis of “thought” as it functions among the AI and business…
If anything could keep sleep-deprived President Trump busy threatening new tariffs it is likely to be Europe’s decision to remove…
Hi Norm, I think you might find this book review, from the New York Review of Books, interesting. I think…
What’s so hilarious about twenty-first century geopolitics? The irrepressible analytical wit of Sarah Paine! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwDGrLRJhQI
Thanks for this article Norm. The BC Greens are breaking new ground this election by promising to introduce a wealth…