In Canada, we’re quick to favourably compare ourselves to our southern neighbours. COVID-19 caseloads may be at an all-time high here, but the US situation is even more dire. Canada hasn’t managed to curb carbon emissions, but the US abandoned emission reduction targets when it pulled out of the Paris Agreement. We may take comfort ... Read More »
The second wave of COVID-19 is hitting hard. Over the next few months, governments will remain focused on addressing the largest public health emergency in recent memory. But to avoid past mistakes and seize this unique opportunity to build a more resilient, sustainable world, it’s also time to lay the groundwork for a green and ... Read More »
Recently I’ve been thinking about what a low-carbon life might look like. We would drive and fly less and mostly cycle, walk and ride transit. We’d eat less meat and more plant-based foods. We’d heat our energy-efficient homes with electricity or geothermal and get power from the wind and sun. It might also be a ... Read More »
What we refer to as “plastic” hasn’t been around for long. But its usefulness has caused production to skyrocket – from about two million tonnes in 1950 to almost 400 million tonnes a year now. It’s a problem. Although much of it can be recycled, most isn’t. That’s led many local and national governments worldwide ... Read More »
The virus spreading COVID-19 worldwide jumped from non-human animals to people – as have most new diseases, from AIDS to SARS to Ebola. We’ve seen the devastation a tiny, mysterious, rapidly spreading virus can wreak on people in a globalized system. This pandemic could be a trial run for how we respond to the almost-inevitable ... Read More »
One caribou herd in Jasper National Park is gone. The two remaining are on the brink. Regrettably, the story is not particularly new; almost every caribou herd in Canada has been assessed as being at risk of extinction, and too little is being done to save them. Last year in BC, two caribou herds – ... Read More »
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us have been living in a landscape defined by unknowns. Dealing with the unknown is not something our modern society is used to or comfortable with. Over the centuries, we’ve whittled away at the things that once surprised us. We can now check the weather multiple times before we ... Read More »
In its throne speech, the federal government committed to exceed Canada’s 2030 climate targets. The need for ambitious targets and a plan to meet them couldn’t be more urgent. The UNs annual “Emissions Gap Report 2019” found Earth is headed toward 3.2 C warming based on current and estimated emissions trends – a scenario one ... Read More »
During their miraculous but perilous journey from inland spawning grounds, down rivers, out to sea and back again years later, Pacific wild salmon often must pass open-net coastal salmon farms. Here they swim through waters that can harbour parasitic sea lice and harmful viruses and bacteria. In its 2012 report, the Cohen Commission of Inquiry ... Read More »
For many, the pandemic has renewed our innate appreciation for and connection to nature. People have taken to growing food on windowsills and in backyard and community gardens. We’re cultivating yeasts to bake bread and getting outside more to walk, run, swim and cycle. In the face of uncertainty, nature brings solace and sustenance. In ... Read More »
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