Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Glen Hendrix wonders whether any talk about impending civilizational collapse may miss the point that we've already largely lost any ethic of care deserving of the name. And Joshua Hill examines how Greta Thunberg's climate advocacy led inexorably to her challenging the colonial and capitalist structures underlying the fossil fuel industry - and in turn to her being systematically silenced by corporate media. 

- Geoffrey Diehl discusses how we've allowed our minds to be poisoned both metaphorically by corporate propaganda, and literally by microplastics and other industrial byproducts. Karen Raubenheimer comments on an expert review of the many sources and effects of microplastics which cries out for immediate action to stop their spread. And Tom Sanzillo, Suzanne Mattei and Abhishek Sinha argue that a cap on plastic production makes sense as one way to manage and ultimately rein in plastic pollution.

- Mike de Souza and Carl Meyer report that it's only after nine years in office - and with a tenuous hold on power - that the Libs are even presenting a first draft of regulations governing carbon pollution from the oil sector. And de Souza also reports on the Libs' funneling of tens of millions of dollars to McKinsey to push through the Trans Mountain pipeline for the benefit of its fossil fuel clients. 

- The Canadian Press reports that the summer of 2024 saw Canada set yet another record for insured losses from extreme weather. And Anand Ram and Benjamin Shingler discuss new research showing that a wildfire can create heat islands for years afterward - particularly in the coniferous monocultures which are being substituted for natural forest development. 

- Finally, Jen St. Denis offers a look at the white nationalism and deep-seated bigotry within the BC Cons as the business class seeks to install them in power. And Rumneek Johal and Andrew MacLeod each point out the conspiracy theories John Rustad has spread while taking over as the face of British Columbia's right wing.