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Category Archives: Environment
Not just another drought: The American West moves from dry to bone dry
Not just another drought: The American West moves from dry to bone dry The American West is having a drought. So, what else is new? And, that’s just the point. The American West has been in an extended drought since 2000, so far the second worst in the last 1200 years. Here is the key […]
The idea of ‘green growth’ is flawed. We must find ways of using and wasting less energy
The idea of ‘green growth’ is flawed. We must find ways of using and wasting less energy As countries explore ways of decarbonising their economies, the mantra of “green growth” risks trapping us in a spiral of failures. Green growth is an oxymoron. Growth requires more material extraction, which in turn requires more energy. The fundamental […]
Reindigenizing the Anthropocene
Reindigenizing the Anthropocene This essay is a response to “Redefining the Anthropocene,” by Erik Molvar, which was published on Counterpunch on May 13, 2021. I recommend that it be read first. First let me first stress that I am not calling out Molvar personally or even specifically here. As a staunch opponent of livestock grazing […]
Early humans used fire to permanently change the landscape tens of thousands of years ago in Stone Age Africa
Early humans used fire to permanently change the landscape tens of thousands of years ago in Stone Age Africa Fields of rust-colored soil, spindly cassava, small farms and villages dot the landscape. Dust and smoke blur the mountains visible beyond massive Lake Malawi. Here in tropical Africa, you can’t escape the signs of human presence. […]
US Experts to Trudeau: Your Nuclear Dream May Turn Nightmare
US Experts to Trudeau: Your Nuclear Dream May Turn Nightmare Rethink backing the Moltex reactor, urge nine non-proliferation heavyweights. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC. His government is backing a new generation of reactors US experts now warn could fuel nuclear weapons proliferation. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick, the Canadian […]
Change BC Fracking or Expect Damaging Earthquakes: Report
Change BC Fracking or Expect Damaging Earthquakes: Report The new warning comes from a former senior scientist with the province’s oil and gas commission. ‘Induced earthquakes don’t have an upper limit,’ posing risk to communities nearby, concludes a hydrologist. This fracking site is outside of Fort St. John, BC. Photo by Jeremy Sean Williams, Wilderness Committee. Since […]
Jason Kenney’s Favourite Researcher Just Gave Him a Headache
Jason Kenney’s Favourite Researcher Just Gave Him a Headache What does the UCP do now that Vivian Krause says she never said Canadian enviro groups were being used by US oil interests? Premier Jason Kenney based his ‘Public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns’ on the theory the province was being targeted to benefit US interests. Photo […]
Pentagon report: collapse within 20 years from climate change
Pentagon report: collapse within 20 years from climate change Preface. The report that the article by Ahmed below is based on is: Brosig, M., et al. 2019. Implications of climate change for the U.S. Army. United States Army War College. It was written in 2019, before covid-19 and so quite prescient: The two most prominent […]
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XVI
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XVI Knossos, Greece (1993) Photo by author Another quick thought on our impending energy cliff situation and comment on an article suggesting overconsumption is our greatest threat and that we can be happy without it. * * * The threats humanity faces are never simple and always multifaceted and intertwined. Overconsumption […]
No new oil, gas or coal development if world is to reach net zero by 2050, says world energy body
No new oil, gas or coal development if world is to reach net zero by 2050, says world energy body Governments must close gap between net zero rhetoric and reality, says International Energy Agency head The UK is licensing new oil and gas fields in the North Sea. Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images Exploitation and development of […]
The Pandemic Speaks
The Pandemic Speaks Are you finally ready to listen to me now? If so, here are my 10 timeless truths. The angel of death striking a door during the plague of ancient Rome. Engraving by J.G. Levasseur after J. Delaunay. Image via Wellcome Collection, Creative Commons. Audi, vide, tace. I have been trying to engage you […]
My closing presentation to the Jersey Climate Conversation.
My closing presentation to the Jersey Climate Conversation. It was a huge honour recently to be asked to be a speaker at the Jersey’s Climate Conversation, the island’s Citizens’ Assembly. I was asked to be their final presenter before they went off to deliberate their decisions. I was asked to give them a boost and a sense […]
Runaway Money and Overconsumption, or… the Story of Monetary Mischief in Madagascar (Episode 42 of Crazy Town)
Runaway Money and Overconsumption, or… the Story of Monetary Mischief in Madagascar (Episode 42 of Crazy Town) Way back when money consisted of iron pieces, if you wanted to buy a horse or some spices to season your horse meat, you practically had to carry an olympic weightlifting set with you. Early bankers figured out […]
Fixing overfishing
Fixing overfishing As with many other aspects of government policy, overfishing and other fishing-related environmental issues are a real problem, but it’s not clear that government intervention is the solution. Over three billion people around the world rely on fish as their primary source of protein. About 12% of the world relies on fisheries in some […]
