Starting as a young adult, I paid regular attention to the brilliant Len Norris and other cartoonists featured in newspapers and magazines. Ten years ago, Ian Holliday wrote an article for The Tyee that gave examples of work by BC artist Adrian Raeside. The article described the value of editorial cartoons, but Raeside admitted to being part of an endangered species. The extinction process has not slowed in recent years…
I write often about climate change and tend toward pessimism about humankind’s efforts to avoid disaster. But there are good stories that show progress. Will they be enough? Only if we have the will to go against powerful vested interests and implement 21st century technologies…
I spend much time on the internet reading reliable sources. (Well, mostly reliable.) My subscription list for mainstream media is lengthy, although I consciously avoid Postmedia. While the company employs some excellent […]
Sometimes, we become focused on things that matter to us, but matter little or nothing to others. I might be accused of that when I write at IN-SIGHTS. But I haven’t yet reached the point where I’m analyzing ravioli and hiring a lawyer.
A 1953 speech by W.E.B. Du Bois discussed the fundamental injustices and shortcomings of the American economy. It includes one of his most famous quotes:
It must dishearten nuclear proponents when wind energy is shown to be a low-cost, quickly installed source of electricity.
Owners of social media platforms profit from tidal waves of hate and disinformation. Boy, do they profit. According to Forbes, Facebook’s Zuckerberg is worth C$230 billion, while co-founders Saverin and Moskovitz share C$50 billion. Twitter’s Elon Musk is said to be worth C$275 billion, while Google founders Page and Brin hold $320 billion between them. That’s almost a trillion dollars in the hands of six greedy men.
The people of British Columbia will soon pay $3 billion a year in carbon tax. Yet actions of governments, fossil fuel producers, financiers, and people holding extreme wealth ensure that climate change is dealt with more by words and empty promises than by meaningful actions.
In the 2024 Throne Speech, the government of David Eby claimed that “greenhouse gas emissions are down 5 per cent from six years ago.” The claim is simply untrue. It is made by ignoring vast sources of emissions.
If you are a climate change denier, better miss this BBC report. If you are not, feel sad for future generations…
Star columnist Armine Yalnizyan wrote about the tapeworm economy that emerges when governments finance private corporations to deliver services to the public. She says it “like introducing a parasite that slowly robs the body of nutrients and destroys its organs.”
Regular IN-SIGHTS reader Ken Holowanky wrote a letter to the Times Colonist in response to a diatribe by Gwyn Morgan, a man called “Shale Gas Baron” in The Tyee’s headline for a 2011 article by Andrew Nikiforuk. With the letter writer’s permission, I will repeat it. But first, a little about Gwyn Morgan…
In late January, Manitoba Hydro CEO Jay Grewal said the utility would need new sources of electricity within five or six years. She reiterated a plan to meet new demand by contracting with private electricity producers. Shortly after, the Manitoba government fired Jay Grewal.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reported that wind and solar accounted for 71 percent of U.S. electric-power capacity additions in 2022. 8.5 GW of wind power capacity was added for investments totalling C$16 billion. By comparison, Site C will cost at least C$16 billion and provide 1.1 GW of power capacity. However, the budget for the project near Fort St. John has not been updated for three years…
While walking through a North Vancouver grocery store owned by Jim Pattison, one of Canada’s richest billionaires, I was astounded by price changes imposed in the last few years. To get to […]
Across Canada in 2023, wildfires burned 18.5 million hectares (45.7 million acres). That is eight times the 25-year average reported by Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. But fire and resulting air pollution are only part of the problems presented by climate change…
Private capital manager Axium Infrastructure Inc. now owns a large part of the Edwards Sanborn power facility. The company is familiar to those following private power companies that supply BC Hydro. With Manulife in 2018, Axium acquired 90% of Forrest Kerr, Volcano Creek, and McLymont Creek power generating facilities developed by AltaGas in northeast British Columbia.
February 8, 2024 news item: BCE slashes 9% of workforce, puts blame at the feet of regulators and policymakers. The cuts affect about 4,800 jobs and follow the elimination of 1,300 jobs last June…
The NDP’s Selina Robinson situation has been a subject of much debate in recent days. It began when the Coquitlam-Maillardville MLA and Advanced Education Minister made controversial statements in a late-January forum hosted by B’nai Brith.,,
Repeated here is something I wrote about BC Hydro in early 2017 for The Common Sense Canadian, an online journal covering Canada’s economy and environment. The site was co-founded by Damien Gillis and the late Rafe Mair and ran for a decade. It remains a worthwhile archive of several thousand stories. A few statements are revised to reflect current information.
No reason to get nervous. It's only speculation, an estimate, a rumour. I’m sure there are many recovery plans, incredible…
Is there an Iron Law of Panic? MAGA patriots and NRA enthusiasts will just love this! https://www.rawstory.com/karoline-leavitts-stunning-admission-on-trump-war-plans-sends-shockwaves-unbelievable/ White House Press Secretary…
Miracle how Mr Trump elevates the masses and saves money https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9-LJc9ywrMc?feature=share Trump’s actual rank at Wharton... not as advetized https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g7VXobnxaH0?feature=share…
Et Tu Vladdie? Is Russia providing military intel to Iran? Intel that could harm Americans? Are Trump and Putin just…
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Only the top thinkers, the best people money can buy are in on this, you say? And it's No Risk?…