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.
Porky Pies: Cockney slang for Lies. New York Times is willing to broadcast this about the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. I doubt they’ve done likewise for American Presidents, particularly the recent one who had even less regard for truth than Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson.
Methane, which the BC government has supported with billions of dollars in subsidies and tax relief, is a risk to public health. Methane emissions escaping from northeast BC gas fields are a topic that industry and government officials hesitate to acknowledge. Captured methane could be the basis of profitable fishfood manufacturing in a region where employment is now overly dependent on a fossil fuel industry that climate science says must decline immediately…
As repugnant as protesting blockaders are, there is a connection between their behaviour and the lies and broken promises political operatives think unimportant.
In this piece, I argue that political disdain for science endangers our lives. Evidence allows the inference that BC health policies known to be inadequate were followed to facilitate public gatherings, to continue spending on favoured megaprojects and to avoid spending on safer schools and public buildings. Not content with elevating short term dangers in the current pandemic, the BC government is a de facto climate change denier, elevating risks that threaten long term survival of humanity…
English writer Lewis Carroll penned the title words for Alice in 1865. Carroll, born Charles Dodgson, was also an Oxford trained mathematician. Were he a 21st century resident of British Columbia, Carroll might be using that phrase about BC Hydro deals with SNC-Lavalin…
As vehicles move from internal combustion engines to electric, some presume this will cause massive new demands for electricity. That assumption is encouraged by utilities and vested interests enriched by massive spending to build unneeded capacity. Of course, the global oil industry has its own reasons for promoting the idea that electrification of transportation will be disruptive. As vehicles move from internal combustion engines to electric, some presume this will cause massive new demands for electricity. That assumption is encouraged by utilities and vested interests enriched by massive spending to build unneeded capacity. Of course, the global oil industry has its own reasons for promoting the idea that electrification of transportation will be disruptive. So do automotive retailers that are financially reliant on services needed for internal combustion engines…
Humans need stable energy supplies that do not harm the Earth and an underutilized source lies beneath our feet. Geothermal is clean, limitless, predictable, and almost carbon free. But geothermal has no multi-trillion-dollar industry promoting it, nor support from Canadian politicians conditioned to follow established paths. Mostly that means subsidizing fossil fuels…
Events unfolding in Ottawa revive memories of January 2021 when Trump followers tried to subvert the democracy America has practiced for generations. Urged on by Republicans, hateful mobs repudiated civil behaviour and rejected the rule of law. Now, encouraged by Conservatives, similar protesters have taken centre stage in Canada.
English journalist George Monbiot published a Twitter thread on January 28 that resonates powerfully with me. The contents are reproduced…
With unprecedented sea level rise forecast as a result of climate change, the Dutch government is racing against the clock to figure out how to keep one of the world’s richest countries from disappearing into the North Sea. As soon as this gets known, as soon as the shit hits the fan, there won’t be any investments anymore and local economies will collapse…
BC Civil Liberties Association is successful in their Federal Court action against the RCMP and the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP…
Kantar Public, part of an international consulting company, advises on public policy, services and communications. Analysts examined attitudes toward taking climate actions, What they found might be paraphrased as, “We know things need to change but mostly, it’s someone else’s job.”
The BC NDP government taxes fossil fuels severely to discourage consumption by citizens. That is an appropriate policy choice but the same government turns around and offers huge public subsidies to producers with the aim of increasing production and leading politicians pretend that is free of environmental harm since the fuels will be burned in places other than British Columbia.
Many people think of Canada as one of the more socially advanced countries of the world. That is only partly true.
When I think about infinite growth on a finite planet, overpopulation, inequality, climate breakdown, and the ever-present risk of nuclear annihilation, I recall my science teacher son’s reminder, “Earth will survive; humankind may not.” Certainty is growing that global catastrophes will quicken damage to human well-being, endangering — potentially destroying — modern civilization. But this third rock from the Sun will continue spinning even after humans make it unliveable…
The rich oil and gas industry is willing to damage the Earth and put natural life at risk, if its activity puts money in corporate accounts. Captured governments cooperate with oversight that is non-existent or ineffective, and by extending subsidies worth hundreds of billions of dollars to encourage greater fossil fuel production…
Fifteen months ago, writer, researcher and climate activist Seth Klein asked Fortis to stop asking people to undo their good work…
People professing to be former BC NDP supporters say they stopped financial contributions and/or resigned after disagreeing with policies imposed by party leaders. I trust many of these statements are true but wondered if financial reports filed with Elections BC offer evidence of growing NDP donor reluctance…
Calling bioenergy “carbon-neutral” suggests that emissions are instantaneously offset, when in reality it can take trees decades to absorb all the carbon emitted by burning wood, say critics…
Despite massive disruption to the entire province, John Horgan’s government has made no change to its policies of promoting fossil fuels with lax regulation and multi-billion dollar industry supports. It continues to employ climate change deniers in senior positions. British Columbia remains North America’s leading coal exporter. The BC NDP has admitted no failures in its current strategies. Instead of substantive policy changes to protect the ecosystem. It seems to believe the only actions needed are saturation advertising campaigns that play fast and loose with the truth.
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…