Canadians are being led by the Pied Piper of pollution, Pierre Poilievre, away from the carbon tax. Whether it is indeed the Conservative leader with his “axe the tax” slogan and focus on cost-of-living concerns may be debatable, but Canadians’ support for the tax is flagging, down 11 points since
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Views from the Beltline: COP28 and the great transition
Maybe it took an oilman to do it. When Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber of the United Arab Emirates was appointed President of the UN Climate Change 2023 Conference (COP28), environmentalists threw up their hands in despair. Al Jaber was also head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. And the
Continue readingClaiming Joy & Healing Amidst the Climate Emergency : Cultivating Quantum Consciousness in the Climate Emergency
How would embracing quantum thinking change the way we think about ourselves, the way we think about others, what we put out into the world? And what would that mean in the context of the Climate Emergency? How would that change our response to what we’re bombarded with on the
Continue readingClaiming Joy & Healing Amidst the Climate Emergency : Cultivating Mindfulness While The Climate Emergency Clock is Ticking
This past June I had the good fortune to spend five days on a family kayaking trip in Pacific Rim National Park, off the west coast of Vancouver Island. It was amazing to spend time in this part of the world, with its important indigenous history and stunning beauty. While
Continue reading350 or bust: Climate of Joy: Why Climate of Joy?
At the same time that there’s these extremes going on in the planetary level, we have new science that’s telling us that this physical world that we can see and experience with our five senses, isn’t all there is.
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Do kids have to sue for a sustainable future?
Much publicity was generated recently by a court case in Montana (Held v. State of Montana). A nonprofit called Our Children’s Trust, acting on behalf of 16 young Montanans, sued the state claiming young people have a constitutional right to a healthful environment and the state must consider potential climate
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Oil industry disappoints (but doesn’t surprise)
Once upon a time I toiled in the oil patch and it was good to me. I worked for Shell Canada and the royal pectin paid well, provided excellent benefits and training, and offered ample opportunities for advancement. I made lifelong friends and was proud to be helping folks heat
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The planet is literally in hot water
According to the dictionary, getting yourself in hot water means getting yourself into trouble for which you risk punishment. Well, we are heating up the water that covers most of our planet and we will most certainly be punished. I refer of course to the oceans. Our heating of the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Alberta pauses the future
Alberta is Canada’s leader in renewables projects and investments. Of the new solar and wind generation capacity added in Canada in 2022, 75 percent was in this province. This, it seems, is too much too fast for the provincial government. The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) has paused approvals of new
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Alberta sacrifices agriculture for oil
There is panic on the prairies. The greatest fear of farmers and ranchers alike is stalking the land—drought. Drought has always been a part of prairie life, of course, but droughts today are different from those of history. Today they are increasingly fuelled by global warming and will get nothing
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Disaster city
“Canada is increasingly a riskier place to live, work and insure,” said Craig Stewart, Vice-President, Climate Change and Federal Issues, Insurance Bureau of Canada. The bureau’s stats back up Mr. Stewart’s words. Canada’s top 10 highest insurance loss years all occurred since 2011 with the exception of 1998, the year
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Canada smokes New York
Good neighbours share. But what Canada is sharing these days with its good neighbour to the south is not appreciated. I refer to the dense plumes of smoke from our manifold wildfires which are darkening skies and smothering cities across the continent, in our country and theirs. On Tuesday, New
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: About reparations
Last Tuesday, the air quality in Calgary hit a level in the range hazardous to human health. According to meteorologist Jaclyn Whittal, Alberta had the “worst air quality in the entire world.” The villain of course was smoke from the wildfires raging across the province. And who were the villains
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Global warming—news old and new
I got up this morning in semi-darkness even though the sun had risen at 5:45 a.m. and the forecast was for sunny and warm. I looked out my window and couldn’t see farther than a couple of blocks. Looked as foggy as old London town. But of course it wasn’t
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The IPCC and the Alberta perspective
On March 20 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the final instalment of its Sixth Assessment Report. The report resulted from the work of 234 scientists on the physical science, 270 scientists on impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities, and 278 scientists on mitigation. This is the bible on climate change. It isn’t
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The IPCC and the Alberta perspective
On March 20 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the final instalment of its Sixth Assessment Report. The report resulted from the work of 234 scientists on the physical science, 270 scientists on impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities, and 278 scientists on mitigation. This is the bible on climate change. It isn’t
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: ExxonMobil—good science and bad behaviour
Back in the dim past, society entered into a great debate about the health effects of cigarette smoking, a noxious habit I practiced myself for many years. There were always those who found the practice objectionable, some for reasons of hygiene (it was a dirty habit) and some for reasons
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Say it’s so, Joe
“By a wide margin, this legislation will be the greatest pro-climate legislation that has ever been passed by Congress.” — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Everyone, except possibly Schumer, was bowled over when Joe Manchin, Democratic senator from West Virginia, agreed to a substantial green bill after demurring for
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Will Aussie go green?
Australia shares with Canada and the United States the dubious distinction of being one of the top three per-capita greenhouse gas producers among the industrial countries. The dirty three. Like its brothers it has learned little from experiencing the results of its behaviour. Australia’s 2019-20 bushfire season was the worst
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Greenhouse gasses ain’t no joke
When Premier Kenney went down to the U.S. earlier this month to peddle even more of our major greenhouse gas-producing product, I was at a loss for words. The global warming threat looms ever more menacingly, threatening a cascade of catastrophes, yet here is a leading politician doing his best
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