Last Monday, Nissan announced that it is partnering with NEC to make entirely electric, zero-emission vehicles. Reading between the lines and among the web pages, it is clear to me that if we are not very clear with policy-makers, we will be as stuck to big business as we ever were, zero emissions notwithstanding. Here’s […]
environment
Tattletales have more fun
I wasn’t much of a snitch as a kid, even though my older brother tormented me. It was a pact, a point of honour not to tattle. So perhaps my enjoyment of telling on the bad guys now is a release from the strictures of childhood. Or perhaps they are just so much worse than […]
Spring Greening
It must be spring. It’s not so much the extended sunlight, the warmer weather, or even the greening grass that’s brought the new season to my attention, as it is the talk of cleaning. I’ve even been invited a spring cleaning party. Rather, a series of parties: a group of women are all banding together, […]
Oh, for a non-stupid socialist party!
In preparation for the Alberta election on Monday, New Democrat canvassers have phoned me twice. I have spoken to three of them, all of them well-intentioned and well-spoken and all delivering messages of alarming stupidity. The first fellow asked me if Brian Mason (ND leader) could count on my vote. “Sure,” I say, “If you […]
Crapulous Calgary
For over a month the trunk of my car has been crammed full of mixed plastics. I have scoured the city’s recycling depots for one that accepts mixed plastics, to no avail. It’s a touch ironic: my attempts to reduce my environmental impact include driving all over the city, polluting. In Victoria, I enjoyed curbside […]
Alberta starts to clean up its act
As much as we say we want them, alternate energy projects tend to generate more mixed feelings than they do kilowatt-hours. The newly approved Montana-Alberta Tie-Line is a case in point, at least for me. On the one hand, the 22 landowners who oppose the project deserve to have their concerns addressed. They are rightfully […]
Stop the snivelling, Mr. Harper
Crisis is the time when you hope your elected leaders buck up and do the right thing, bravely and without complaint. It’s when you look for a little inspiration, a little “we can do it” attitude. That is, I have read, the type of leadership that Winston Churchill supplied in Britain’s struggle against Germany. He […]
Sainthood and other half-measures
Why don’t Canadians demand outcomes? Why do we settle for mere progress when nothing short of full realization of the outcome will do? There are some evils that will always be with us, like crime and natural catastrophe. We will always have to address earthquakes and tornados, the tomfoolery of knuckleheads, and occasional desperate acts […]
Live Earth makes me green
By Sandeep ChauhanNow that the afterglow has subsided, maybe it’s time to talk about Live Earth. I know I’m a sour kinda guy — more likely to rain on parades than join in — but really: what the hell was the point of that? The Live Earth website seems kinda . . . vague. Here’s […]
Still gobsmacked by the G8
So for the past three weeks I have been walking around in a bit of a daze wondering where the hell we go from here. I am old enough to remember the hippies working themselves into hysterics about how the rise of multinational corporations would eventually erode the power of government. That day came and […]
