As vaccines become available and we emerge from COVID-19s shadow, we must hang onto insights we’ve gained. We can all appreciate that consistent investments in science and applied research made the rapid response to this crisis possible. The pandemic highlights the need to rely on effective health, government and related organizations to mobilize a response ... Read More »
Faulty economic thinking makes destroying nature profitable Everything we need to survive – food, water, air, shelter – comes from nature, of which we are a part. Fuelled by the sun’s energy, this planet is amazing in its ability to replenish and recycle the basic elements of life. Now people are outpacing Earth’s ability to ... Read More »
The Sunshine Coast Friends of Forage Fish volunteer group would like to remind the public – especially all those gardeners – that herring spawn season is upon us, and herring are one of the many important forage fish species. What are forage fish, you ask? Forage fish are abundant, schooling fishes, and include herring, anchovies, ... Read More »
That anyone today could deny the overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence for human-caused climate disruption is shocking. You don’t even need a science background to see its worsening effects occurring worldwide, from record high temperatures to increasing extreme weather events and wildfires. For a government – especially one in Canada – to spend taxpayer money on ... Read More »
Another year, another record. Even with a global seven percent drop in fossil fuel burning during the pandemic, 2020 tied 2016 for the hottest year recorded, making the past decade the warmest. The previous record in 2016 was set during an El Niño event, which contributed somewhat to rising temperatures, meaning last year was likely ... Read More »
As was demonstrated in the US last week, many who are motivated by fear and ignorance are feeling emboldened – and desperate. It’s not just in the United States. Irrational, authoritarian, anti-science rhetoric and action has been heating up from Brazil to India to Hungary, and is fully entrenched in places like Russia and China. ... Read More »
The following is adapted from “The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature,” a book I wrote with Amanda McConnell in 1997 and updated in 2007. It seems as relevant today as when we wrote it. I hope you enjoy it and that the year ahead brings new ways of seeing and thinking about the ... Read More »
When you pause to reflect on what’s truly essential and meaningful for you to thrive, what comes to mind? Is it about having more? Or having better? Is it about all the buying or the genuine caring? Is it about over-consuming or connecting and sharing? Is it about loving stuff and status or simply loving? ... Read More »
This is our last column for 2020. What a year it’s been! As if things weren’t bad enough on the environmental front, the world was hit with a devastating pandemic. A common thread through it all is the dangerous politicization, and often outright dismissal, of science. Those who reject and protest the simple steps needed ... Read More »
As an older male, I’m in the population facing the highest risk from COVID-19, but my reflections on this pandemic go beyond my own life and death. Difficult as it is now, this pandemic will subside, and we’ll be able to think about how to move forward. This is a challenge for all people. I’ve ... Read More »
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