Before retirement, I worked in accounting and small business management. I have published commentary about public issues at IN-SIGHTS.CA since 2009.
Premier David Eby and Ministers of British Columbia spent much time in August 18 news conferences. They talked about dealing with wildfires and assisting the tens of thousands of people affected by the province’s hottest ever time for burning. Politicians spent little time talking about factors that contributed to the current State of Emergency…
The UK’s Royal Meteorological Society wrote about the deadly heatwave that affected western North America in 2021. An underlying message was to prepare for more disasters like the destruction of Lytton, BC. This might happen even if governments get truly serious about climate change, an unlikely scenario even as death and destruction mounts.
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Substance use disorder (SUD) affects human’ brains and behaviors, leading to uncontrolled use of substances. Symptoms can be moderate to severe. For individuals, this might involve drugs or alcohol. For industrialized societies, it certainly involves fossil fuels.
Hollow promises by politicians are worthless. Thermal coal continues to be exported from British Columbia and capacity to handle this dirty fossil fuel has been significantly increased. The vast majority of coal reserves must stay in the ground.
Ethics and morality have little to do with today’s self-serving radicals who falsely label themselves conservative. In too many cases, politicians promising responsible management of taxpayers’ assets have shunned prudent exercise of power. They tolerate extensive damage to the planet so that financial rewards can flow to corporate cronies and financial supporters.
University of Manchester’s Dr. Kevin Anderson is a visiting researcher in the Department of Earth Sciences at Sweden’s Uppsala University. Anderson warns that continuing on our current path will result in a catastrophic outcome due to climate change. He cautions against believing the political rhetoric about progress and says the concept of NET-ZERO really means NOT-ZERO. He believes the commonly used expression is cover for an unacceptable plan to kick the can down the road.
Over the years, clean renewable power costs have decreased steadily and efficiencies have improved. The British Columbia government and the main public utility offer few incentives for creation of energy near to points of consumption. Green electricity must displace fossil fuels but the NDP allows BC Hydro to maintain its near monopoly while it discourages local cooperatives seeking to create power for self-consumption. Provincial decision makers cling to business models rooted in the 1960s.
A pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH) facility moves water into a high-level reservoir during times of low demand, and then generates electricity by releasing water during times of high demand. Most storage occurs at night and most electricity is generated during the day. PSH is a proven method of energy storage with competitive round-trip efficiency and long life spans.
New York Times science writer David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth, issues a weekly newsletter for subscribers. The August 2 edition is a powerful and disturbing look at the future.
Powerful people are willing to destroy us to enrich themselves. Governments are willing accomplices. Canada Energy Regulator says western Canadian fossil gas production hit an all-time high in November 2022, a year that included at least eight of the top ten producing months since January 2000. There are no plans to limit production. Instead, governments and industry plan major increases in fossil gas output.
Despite false claims by organizations paid to promote false claims, clean renewable energy must replace fossil fuels. The only question is when. The inevitable is assured by crucial environmental, social and economic benefits…
— Climate change denial is based on prioritizing consumerism and wealth accumulation over human health and survival.
— Climate change indifference is based on false hope, inattention, or ignorance.
— Climate change concern is based on altruism and science.
I looked at the writings of Vaughn Palmer, a person considered by many to be the Dean of the BC Press Gallery. The province’s production of fossil fuels is accelerating, and wildfires — with months to go in fire season — have consumed 450 percent of the average of the preceding 15 years, but Palmer is writing about any issue other than climate change. Not one of Palmer’s last 30 columns touches on the existential emergency.
As of July 30, BC Wildfire Service is calling 2023 the worst year for land damaged by fire. In fact, with months to go in fire season, 15 percent more land has burned than in 2018, the second worst year BC has recorded. Three hundred and fifty-seven wildfires are burning on July 30, 188 of them out-of-control.
BC Hydro is preparing a call for power and expects to award new contracts to independent power producers in 2025. The 500 MW Revelstoke 6 is deferred again, even though it could produce electricity for about $1.2 million per MW of capacity, which would be less than one-tenth the cost per megawatt of Site C capacity. While BC Hydro has been buying private power, it has been exporting public power at market rates. If we value private power purchases at the same value the utility has realized from trade sales, the losses form 2010 to 2022 amount to $6.4 billion ($7.5 billion in 2022 dollars).
Governments responsible for regulation of fossil fuels are also promoters of its production and consumption. British Columbia has committed billions of dollars to encourage liquified fossil gas and has extended subsidies by way of royalty credits worth over $15 billion in today’s dollars. Government’s commitment to growing the fossil fuel industry is in direct conflict with its role as protector of the public and the environment using fair and neutral regulation of a dangerous industry. Measuring escaped emissions of methane would make it impossible to meet political promises of emissions reductions for the oil and gas industry. So, it is not a priority.
Times might be tough for many in British Columbia, but executives managing public pension funds are doing okay. Even better than okay. The British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCi) looks after public pension funds. It is the most rewarding place to work in BC’s public sector. Most rewarded is CEO Gordon Fyfe. According to the 2023 Annual Report, he scored a single-year raise of $947,146. That was better than his measly $510,589 raise in the previous year.
A Conference of the Parties (COP) is held regularly to assess the effects of the measures taken by Parties and the progress made in dealing with climate change. Dubai, most populated city of the world’s seventh largest oil producer, will host COP27 in December 2023. Leaders of the top five oil producers — USA, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, Iraq — are already planning to speak at COP37.
Most Canadian politicians are blithe to climate science. The federal government is building or assisting construction of fossil fuel pipelines worth $45 billion. In the last few days, BC Premier David Eby joined Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at a Vancouver conference promoting production and consumption of fossil gas.
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I hope Canada hurries up no tolerance based rules. I also hope this country has at least a clue of…