Wednesday Evening Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Nicole Lyn Pesce examines the growing evidence that people with even minor cases of COVID-19 may face neurological symptoms lasting for months. And Lauren Pelley writes about the need to start thinking about how to deal with a full winter of the coronavirus - though I'd argue we need to go further and start planning for the anticipated multi-year period of distancing and protective measures.

- Joseph Magnet discusses the inevitability of COVID-19 outbreaks in schools. John Michael McGrath writes that parents aren't expecting miracles, but have every right to demand effort, competence and compassion from the governments who have children's health and safety in their hands. Alex Soloducha reports on the rightful calls of Saskatchewan parents to have the province ensure an effective plan for any return to school rather than foisting blame (but no resources) on school boards. Amina Zafar surveys some doctors as to how best to check viral spread in schools, while the Alberta Federation of Labour recommends a workplace health and safety approach to minimize the prospects of a Cargill-style calamity.

- Jessica Yun examines why share prices are staying at all-time-high levels in the course of a pandemic which has severely reduced economic activity - with attacks on workers and wages looming large in the equation. And Don Pittis discusses the reality that assets available for fire-sale prices only further enrich the people who have spare wealth to acquire them.

- David Roberts writes about new research showing that the effects of air pollution are so severe as to make a transition to clean energy a clear economic benefit even if we ignore the climate crisis.

- But that makes it particularly depressing that Canada is handing out massive fossil fuel subsidies even compared to our international counterparts, rather than planning for any meaningful move toward renewables. And that goes doubly for Alberta's plan which is based on trying to extract temporary wealth from a greenhouse gas emissions path which will lead to an inevitable climate disaster.

- Finally, David Climenhaga warns us not to be taken in by promises of small nuclear reactors which serve only as a delay tactic rather than a viable part of the transition.