Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Sean Boynton reports on new research showing that the deadline 2021 heat dome was significantly exacerbated by the climate crisis. And William Boos discusses modeling showing a strong likelihood that we'll see another record-breaking summer for heat and humidity in the tropics. 

- Meanwhile, Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood notes that even as the Cons shriek about even the slightest policy aimed at alleviating the climate breakdown, the Libs' budget is pushing action down the road (and in some cases even reducing previously-planned funding over the next few years). 

- Amanda Chu and Jamie Smyth report on the predictable role of Exxon and other fossil fuel conglomerates in trying to stall progress on a global plastics treaty. And Craig Hodge, Christina Seidel & Natasha Tucker discuss the need to take a full life-cycle view in managing plastic pollution. 

- Luke Savage takes note of the push to boycott the Loblaws empire, while lamenting the futility of trying to withhold business from an oligopoly. 

- Finally, Martin Lukacs discusses how Pierre Poilievre is parroting big pharma's talking points in seeking to prevent Canadians from having access to needed medications. Luke LeBrun reports on Poilievre's latest meet-and-greet with Diagolon extremists and other rebranded arms of the Flu Trux Klan. And Steve Buist makes a valiant if futile appeal for Poilievre to stop trafficking in cynical fearmogering and general madness. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Primed cat. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Robin McKie warns that the next pandemic is likely to develop from a flu virus, while Augie Ray offers a reminder that we're still seeing waves of COVID-19 sweep through the population. And Alexander Quon and Zak Vescera report on warnings of the exponential spread of COVID which the Sask Party chose to deny and minimize with catastrophic results. 

- Samantha Harrington reports on new data showing that the death toll from the climate crisis is at least in the tens of thousands of people per year - and likely much higher. Jamey Keaten reports on the International Labour Organization's plea to recognize and counter the risks to workers from extreme heat and other environmental dangers. And Tim Palmer laments the lack of progress in developing high-resolution climate models to allow us both to better plan for climate changes, and to attribute responsibility. 

- Leah Borts-Kuperman exposes North Bay's collusion with a plastics manufacturer to squelch any discussion about "forever chemicals" in drinking water. 

- Luke LeBrun points out that Pierre Poilievre has a fan and kindred spirit in conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. 

- Finally, David Macdonald highlights how the capital gains tax tweaks which have the corporate lobby streaming about supposed harm to the middle class in fact have no effect on anybody below the wealthiest  0.13 per cent of Canadians. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- The Climate Change Performance Update's latest update shows Canada tumbling to the bottom of the world's development countries in climate performance - even as right-wing petropoliticians demand that we make matters worse. Justin Ling discusses how we've ended up with that painful gap between any reasonable response to the climate crisis and what's seen as politically possible, while Colin Bruce Anthes makes the case for a sharp shift toward direct government intervention as a carbon tax put in place to appease free-market zealots faces imminent execution at the hands of Canada's corporate party. And Bill McKibben rightly opines that the business sector's antipathy toward protecting our living environment can only be seen as suicidal. 

- Meanwhile, Aliénor Rougeot and Anna McIntosh note that beyond their feeble climate policy, the Libs have also failed to address water pollution from the tar sands. And Rachel Uda reports on new research showing that the microplastics shed by the oil industry's backup plan to continue production can produce increased risks of heart attacks and stroke beyond their other harmful environmental effects. 

- George Monbiot laments the reality that we've allowed our politics and societies to be dominated by bullies. And John Harris discusses how a new political movement rooted in nature is beginning to build up strength in the UK. 

- Rosa Marchitelli and Jenn Blair report on the poisoning of multiple teenaged Co-op employees with carbon monoxide - and the Sask Party government's choice not to hold the employer responsible for repeatedly exposing young workers to severe risks.  

- Finally, Jason Markusoff discusses the UCP's plans to subject all university research in Alberta to alt-right ideological screening. 

Musical interlude

Iva Olo - Remnants

 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Emily Eaton, Andrew Stevens and Sean Tucker discuss how the corporate fossil fuel sector is blocking workers from pursuing sustainable jobs as part of a just transition. And Kate Yoder writes that there's an entirely plausible basis to hold big oil accountable for climate homicide. 

- Darrin Qualman writes that governments should focus on actual carbon emission reductions rather than treating agricultural "offsets" as a meaningful response to the climate crisis. And Julia-Simone Rutgers reports on Manitoba farmers who are taking wetland preservation into their own hands. 

- Dorothy Woodend reviews Food Inc. 2 - and concludes that the only problem with an updated look at the horrors of corporate food production is the apparent need to shoehorn in notes of optimism which seem wholly unwarranted. And Bill Marler discusses the gob-smacking revelation that children are suffering from lead poisoning due to a supplier's decision to add lead to cinnamon to increase the weight of its product. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses the dangers of the concentration of wealth and power in corporations which are too big to care about actual competition. And Doc Burford offers a thorough review and critique of the anti-social management philosophy which is taken as gospel among our current corporate class. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Maanvi Singh reports on the corporate purchase of water rights in Arizona which signals the diversion of the necessities of life to the highest bidder once greed and mismanagement have undermined their availability. 

- Drew Anderson writes about the similar water crisis facing Alberta (and the rest of the prairie provinces who rely on the water which originates there). Michael Franklin reports on the new awareness of sulfolane contamination, as a chemical whose primary purpose is to "sweeten" fossil fuel operations risks making water resources unusable. And Margaret McGregor, Ulrike Meyer, Amira Aker and Élyse Caron-Beaudoin discuss the public health harms caused by fracking. 

- Jim Handy rightly argues that our current state of climate negligence will appear absolutely inexplicable from a historical perspective. But John Woodside reports on the swarm of dirty energy lobbyists who pushed to prioritize extraction and short-term returns over people's well-being in advance of the federal budget alone. And Fatima Syed reports on the Ford PCs' decision to make homeowners subsidize a continued flow of profits for Enbridge in the name of housing affordability. 

- Meanwhile, John Clarke discusses how we won't make any progress in making housing more available without making an effort to decommodify it. And Patrick Rail reports on Equifax' latest data showing that half of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque as corporate profiteers extract every possible nickel from consumers. 

- Finally, Trevor Tombe highlights why higher taxes on capital gains make sense even based on pure economic theory - which of course won't stop the Cons and the anti-tax brigade from pretending that preferential treatment for the wealthy few is somehow an issue of affordability for the general public. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jenna Wenkoff discusses how "ethical oil" is purely a (risible) marketing concept rather than any meaningful description of actual fossil fuel operations, while Chris Russell discusses how the tar sands' environmental disinformation is even worse than people assume. Ian Urquhart writes that the UCP's fervent ideological aversion to clean energy is resulting in it blocking viable development. And Jeremy Appel reveals the details of Danielle Smith's publicly-funded trip to undermine any climate progress in Dubai. 

- Bob Weber reports on the release of documents showing how the UCP conspired to push open-pit coal mining in the Rocky Mountains without any public scrutiny. And Gregory Beatty discusses how Scott Moe is bent on further endangering Saskatchewan's already-precarious water supply by planning to suck up massive amounts for industrial and irrigation use while undermining the natural wetlands which help protect water quality. 

- Meanwhile, Nature offers a warning that fossil fuel lobbyists are undermining any effort at developing a treaty to account for the dangers of plastics pollution. 

- Adele Peters discusses how thoughtful lawmaking can make a massive difference, as Oregon's right-to-repair law is forcing Apple and other manufacturers to start making part replacement an option rather than pushing people to discard their products and buy new. 

- Finally, Bob McDonald interviews Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly about the latest studies showing COVID-19's long-term impacts on the brain. And Nhung Trinh et al. find that a large set of data from Norway supports the effectiveness of vaccines in reducing the prevalence and severity of long COVID.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Centrepiece cat.

 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Emilia Belliveau makes the case for the fossil fuel sector to start paying for the harm it causes through carbon pollution, rather than being subsidized to lock us into dirty energy for decades to come. And Glenn Scherer reports on Johan Rockström's work to have planetary boundaries treated as the viral security issues that they are - though as Natasha Walter notes, the powers that be are more interested in using the power of the state to silence anybody who dares to mention the climate crisis. 

- Max Fawcett writes that many Albertans stand to pay the price for Danielle Smith's choice to focus primarily on stopping absolutely anything the federal government does, rather than allowing for anybody to work toward the well-being of citizens. 

- Jim Stanford discusses the drain on productivity in the gig economy where workers are regularly paid nothing to do nothing. 

- Finally, Andre Picard points out the absurdity of trying to blame a myriad of social woes (most with far more obvious policy-related sources) on the single issue of drug decriminalization. And Kenyon Wallace reports on an immense death toll among young Canadians as one of the harms caused by both drug toxicity and unpredictability of dosages where people are forced to seek out illicit supplies.