Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Nils Gilman discusses how a transition to a clean and sustainable economy will require a fundamental change in existing power dynamics - meaning that any attempt to accomodate entrenched fossil interests is futire. 

- Dan Kraker reports on Minnesota's approval of a large-scale battery system which will enable the clean energy transition. Mitchell Beer talks to Seth Klein about the potential for a Youth Climate Corps to fill gaps in service and employment opportunities for young workers. And Nick Logan points out the potential of balcony-based solar power - but also notes that Canada has placed needless barriers in its way. 

- But Murad Hemmadi reports on the UCP's regressive plans to push for massive data centre development coupled with incentives to use dirty fossil gas as a primary power source. Wendi Thomas discusses how Elon Musk's plan for AI servers depends on a corporate push to shred environmental regulations and endanger the lives of people already facing health risks from highly polluted neighbourhoods. And Bryan McMahon highlights why the apparent corporatist plan of assuming an all-powerful AI which can solve all of our problems (shared by the Trump regime and Carney government alike along with their tech industry buddies) is likely doomed to failure. 

- Finally, Barry Saxifrage charts the realities of Canada's wildfire crisis, while Michelle Gamage offers some reminders about smoke protection as the 2025 wildfire season looks to extend into the fall. And Alex Boyd discusses how the anti-social mindset stoked to end public health protections against COVID-19 is now being converted into violent hostility toward basic fire safety. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Gillian Steward asks how many communities need to be destroyed for the UCP and other climate denialists to start even pretending to care - though I'm not optimistic there's any level of real-world destruction that would dislodge a well-funded and deeply-ingrained culture of fossil fuel zealotry. Doug Cuthand writes that Canada's increase in wildfire activity is one of the many harms caused by climate change. And Erin Martin-Jones discusses how the same phenomenon has been observed around the globe, while Brian Owens points out the increase in "fire clouds" as a particularly severe form of fire activity.

- The University of Amsterdam examines how scientists are responding to the climate breakdown, and finds that the people who know the consequences of carbon pollution best are doing far more to try to avert it. And The University of the Basque Country finds that the oil industry's fraud on the public isn't limited to denying its longstanding knowledge of the climate crisis, but includes suppressing research into damage to biodiversity.

- Michelle Gamage offers a reminder that the COVID pandemic remains an ongoing crisis - even if British Columbia has joined other jurisdictions in treating it as less than an emergency. And Craig Brierly discusses new research showing that COVID-19 vaccines have helped people to avoid heart attacks and strokes.

- Cory Doctorow rightly questions why we allow the finance sector to loot the productive economy.

- Finally, Sarah Krichel discusses how Mark Zuckerberg's selective ban on Canadian news (allowing the right-wing pseudo-news echo chamber to reverberate while suppressing any journalism with standards of accuracy) is poisoning the flow of public information.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Julia Simone-Rutgers highlights how extreme heat (which is only getting worse) already looms as a major cause of death and disruption in Canada. Alison Snyder discusses how the climate breakdown is contributing to the spread of wildfires, while Li Zhou points out how wildfires are exacerbating the housing crisis as people are driven from their homes. And Mark Gongloff discusses how the inability to insure against climate disaster stands to chip away at housing values.

-  Meanwhile, Maanvi Singh reports on new research showing that the drying out of saltwater lakes may result in yet another unaccounted-for carbon bomb.

- Nili Kaplan-Myrth offers a reminder that we should be taking care of each other in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. And Cynthia Porter et al. confirm that basic precautionary steps like getting children vaccinated can significantly reduce the effects of COVID-19, while Bobo Wing-Yee Mok et al. find that the consequences of letting supposedly mild strains run rampant may include increased cardiac dysfunction among other dangers.

- The Daily Hive discusses how corporate greedflation is behind increasing consumer prices. And Dean Baker notes that the explanation for lower restaurant patronage seems to be based largely on extreme price-gouging - even if NPR's reporting insists on blaming other nebulous causes rather than identifying the connection.

- Finally, Cory Doctorow points out that the more we accept obviously-exploitative practices aimed at perceived out-groups, the more likely we are to see the same normalized and applied to everybody.

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Simon Lee, Hayley Fowler and Paul Davies discuss how the climate breakdown has undercut the basis for existing models and assumptions about the type of extreme weather we'll face. And Kiley Price writes about the connection between the climate crisis and worsening wildfires. But Tim Bousquet points out that decision-makers are reacting by shrugging their shoulders and continuing to spew carbon pollution, while  Susan Riley asks how long we'll keep barging ahead with climate denial as our core operating principle. 

- David Zipper discusses how car-free neighbourhoods avoid the noise pollution (and other health hazards) which we accept as a given within a car-based culture, while also pointing out that the U.S. is funding massive highway expansions based on the laughable assumption that inducing more care use will somehow reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

- George Monbiot highlights the numerous environmental and social benefits of a wealth tax, while asking who will back Brazil's push to implement one on an international scale. And Aaron Boley and Samantha Lawler note that the level of entitlement of the billionaire class has reached the point of endangering anybody on the surface of the Earth with uncontrolled falling space debris. 

- Philippa Roxby examines the connection between ultra-processed foods and poor health, while also noting the difficulty in demonstrating direct cause and effect. And Carl Bergstrom and C. Brandon Ogbunu write that social media is the junk food of information ingestion. 

- Finally, Jon Milton calls out the scam of "working-class conservatism" which uses the language of class politics as a means to further enrich and empower those who already have the most. Geoff Leo exposes the small- and large-C conservative connections of the shadowy group trying to take over Regina's city council. And David Climenhaga reports that Take Back Alberta is descending into the morass of criminality and internal bickering that represents the usual end point for a combination grift and right-wing ideological project. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Crawford Kilian writes about the profound and numerous forms of loss arising from the wildfires which leveled much of Jasper, while Marc Fawcett-Atkinson points out the typical firestorm of disinformation which immediately followed from the anti-reality right. Edward Struzik discusses the need for a more general strategy to deal with wildfires and other climate calamities, while Jen St.-Denis reports on the federal government's plan to launch satellites aimed at detecting and tracking fires. And Liny Lamberink reports on a study showing that the fallout from last year's fires near Yellowknife include the release of hundreds of tons of arsenic.

- Gloria Dickie reports on Antonio Guterres' renewed call for climate action in response to yet another peak in extreme heat. Darius Snieckus discusses Canada's place on the list of petrostates dooming any hope of reaching the world's Paris commitments through constant fossil fuel expansion. And Marco Chown Oved notes that Canada is falling behind international peers in renewable energy development, while Paul Rogers writes that climate change is one of the areas where a new Labour government may lead the UK to be a more constructive actor. 

- James Dinneen reports on the collapse of forests as carbon sinks as the climate breakdown both limits carbon absorption and results in increased emissions. Vincent Gauci discusses new research showing that tree bark absorbs methane - making natural forests all the more important in trying to save a habitable planet. And David Stanway reports on a new study showing how climate change is affecting rainfall patterns. 

- Finally, Martin Lukacs writes about the reality that decades of soaring corporate profits in Canada have been pocketed by the wealthy few rather than being invested in workers or business development. 

Sunday Morning Links

Assorted content for your long weekend reading.

- Max Fawcett laments that anti-vaxxers and science denialists have managed to control public policy choices in the midst of a pandemic with many more public health threats looming. And Jessica Wildfire writes about the collective amnesia that's served to eliminate attention to an ongoing threat - while noting that the same steps which still serve as important personal precautions also offer a needed reminder.

- The Star Tribune's editorial board notes that regular air quality warnings are an important alarm signaling the need to rein in the climate crisis. And Drew Anderson and Matt Simmons write that western Canada is once again the site of some of the most severe and widespread wildfires.

- Linda McQuaig calls out Canadian governments for subsidizing both dirty energy and short-sighted shareholder service as much of the country burns. And Ellen Ormesher and Rebecca Jean report on documents showing how the oil industry pays off the establishment media to secure social license to keep polluting.

- Accountable.us points out that the housing sector is just one more area where the affordability crisis can by traced directly to corporate profiteering.

- Finally, Sarah MacMillan reports on a Shoppers Drug Mart owner's attempt to replace paid staff with volunteers in order further goose its profits.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Amy Westervelt and Kyle Pope call out five of the most insidious fossil fuel propaganda messages. Fiona Harvey reports on Todd Stern's rightful observation that the continued pushing of fossil fuels in the name of "grownup" decision-making in fact represents a catastrophic failure of leadership. And Johannes Stangl points out that a concerted focus on removing the lowest-value carbon pollution could slash emissions by 20% with minimal economic impact. 

- Meanwhile, in case anybody wanted to pretend that the carbon-fueled status quo was somehow defensible as a means of improving the lot of developing countries, Andrea Shalai reports on the World Bank's warning that inequality between the richest and poorest countries is worsening as development stagnates at the lower end of the spectrum. 

- Jimmy Thomson discusses how Yellowknife, Fort McMurray and other communities hit with calamitous wildfires are bracing for their next emergencies. Crawford Kilian writes about the RCMP's concealed recognition of the stormy future in store for Canada. And Eric Shragge and Jason Prince write that municipalities could be the engines to tackle the most important crises we face - though of course right-wing provincial governments are doing everything in their power to prevent anybody else from filling their own leadership vacuums.  

- Finally, Andre Mayer writes that one of the main obstacles to housing affordability is the choice to financialize real estate. And John Dorman points out that nobody is well served by a situation in which some people feel obliged to stay in larger houses than they need for want of practical alternatives, while others are unable to find houses of exactly that size for their families. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Amy Goodman interviews Peter Kalmus about the need to start treating the climate breakdown as an emergency, while Joelle Gergis points out that the extreme destruction from catastrophic climate-caused events in the summer of 2023 represents just a taste of what we can expect for decades to come. And James MacCarthy et al. discuss their new findings showing that wildfires are getting worse, while Ryan Allen and Stephanie Cleland offer some advice as to how to avoid the worst effects of wildfire smoke. 

- Colin Woodard examines how life expectancy follows distinct geographic patterns in the U.S. - with location by region serving as a more significant factor in life expectancy than income, education, race or other indicators. 

- Emily Fagan discusses warnings from experts about the growing humanitarian crisis of homelessness in Canada. And Jeremy Simes reports on the Saskatchewan Party's contribution to the problem as it allows needed social housing to deteriorate and sit vacant. 

- Brendan Kennedy points out how glaring loopholes allowed the Ford government to keep its meetings with lobbyists off of any registry as it plotted the giveaway of environmentally sensitive public land to rapacious developers. 

- Finally, Scott Martin writes about the coordinated attacks by right-wing provincial governments against trans children. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- The Honest Sorceror points out the obvious unsustainability of exponential growth in resource extraction when the mass of inanimate man-made objects already exceeds that of life on Earth. And Andy Thanatogenos discusses how to live with the knowledge that we're on a doomed trajectory, while Ajit Niranjan reports on research showing that anger is the emotion most likely to spur action to try to avert an ecological breakdown. 

- Jane Braxton Little writes that many communities which may consider themselves immune from urban wildfires are in fact at substantial risk due to flammable vegetation and the prospect of "flash drought". And Whizy Kim and Kenny Torrella point out how the effect of extreme heat on workers looks to be one of the major workplace health and safety issues for decades to come.

- Cailinn Klingbeil writes about the UCP's assault on post-secondary education in Alberta. And Adam Hunter reports on the effort by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to protect trans and gender-diverse Saskatchewan students from mandatory outing and systemic discrimination at the hands of the bigoted Moe government. 

- Finally, Helen Branswell discusses how COVID-19 has continued to surge in more frequent and severe waves than normal seasonal illnesses - no matter how determined governments have been to say it's now part of that grouping to justify a lack of mitigation. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Arianna Johnson reports on new research showing how COVID-19 can continue to affect organ function long after the lungs have healed. Philip Finkelstein calls out the lack of any effective response to the widespread and continuing risk of long COVID. Erin Prater examines what we can expect as new variants create another wave this fall. And Tania Bubela, Kimberlyn McGrail and Sharmistha Mishra argue that Canada needs a national inquiry into our COVID response. 

- Fiona Harvey reports on warnings from the UN's desertification conference that global food supplies are at risk even before we reach 1.5 degrees of warming. And Cabin Radio reports on the Northwest Territories' evacuations due to wildfires, while Maanvi Singh, Andrew Witherspoon and Bryony Moore document the devastation of Maui. 

- Robson Fletcher discusses how Alberta (like Saskatchewan) is an extreme outlier in insisting on continuing to use fossil fuel-generated power out of fealty to the oil and gas sector when there are cleaner and more affordable options available. And David Climenhaga points out that the result is nothing but embarrassment on the world stage. 

- David Moscrop writes that the Ontario Auditor General's report on the Greenbelt giveaway proves that the Ford PCs are corrupt - and it's worth noting that Doug Ford's response refusing to review or reverse the handout to donors and cronies only shows that his primary goal is to ensure the spoils of that corruption outlast any investigation or protest. 

- Finally, Shannon Proudfoot points out Pierre Poilievre's laughable attempt at class tourism. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Seth Borenstein writes that we shouldn't treat constant wildfires as an exceptional event since we can expect them to be the norm for decades to come. The Straits Times reports that the wildfires are both a consequence and cause of climate disaster, as they're spewing higher amounts of carbon pollution than ever recorded. And Matthew Rosza writes that there's no end in sight to either the fires, or the smoke they're spreading across the continent.

- Meanwhile, Andreas Sieber points out that it's readily possible to finance a just transition by charging fossil fuel magnates a fraction of the costs they're imposing on the planet. But Jody MacPherson discusses how Danielle Smith's UCP continues to want to exacerbate the damage of carbon pollution - and avoid any move to a cleaner or more sustainable economy - for as long as possible. 

- Pete Evans reports on the findings of Canada's Competition Bureau that the grocery industry is indeed made up of a small number of corporations with inordinate power to fix prices and extract profits - however obvious that already seemed to everybody whose paycheque doesn't depend on pretending otherwise.

- Finally, Rupert Neate reports on the warning from Patriotic Millionaires UK to uber-wealthy people at an investment conference that their extraction of riches is destabilizing society at large - though I wouldn't hold out much hope the result will be anything other than an increase in the amount of money spent trying to distance the rich from the rest of us.

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Richard Murphy points out the stark contrast between the UK Cons' attempt to pretend that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, and the tens of thousands of excess deaths still resulting from it. Mary Van Beusekom discusses a new study showing that Ontario's infection levels were likely 19 times higher than reported at the peak of the Omicron wave. And Kai Kupferschmidt interviews new WHO chief scientist Jeremy Farrar about the multiple global public health challenges which demand action (even if governments prefer to ignore and minimize them). 

- Alex Himelfarb warns against prematurely declaring the death of neoliberalism when it still serves as the default ideology underlying our society despite its unpopularity. And Brooke Kruger reports on the Saskatoon Food Bank's observation that people are increasingly reliant on it to ensure a source of food (even as Scott Moe continues to pretend that everyone's doing just fine). 

- Niels-Jakob Hansen, Frederik Toscani and Jing Zhou discuss how corporate profiteering is the main driver of ongoing inflation in Europe. And Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello report on the flood of corporate lobbying as businesses look to take over health care services in Ontario. 

- Robin McKie discusses Bill McGuire's conclusion that we're past the point of averting some level of climate breakdown - though it's still vital to do what we can to reverse the damage. And Moran Cerf, Sandra Matz and Malcolm MacIver find that people who participate in prediction markets (and thus have a reason to pay close attention to climate issues) are more concerned about the climate. But Carbon Brief reports on the Climate Change Committee's recognition that the UK government is falling ever further behind its climate commitments, while Reuters reports on CDP's research showing the same to be predictably true for fossil fuel giants. And Taylor Noakes offers a reminder that hydrogen fuels and carbon capture and storage serve more as delay tactics for carbon polluters than as remotely useful solutions. 

- Finally, Kelly Kimball discusses how existing wildfire models are being overtaken by the reality of far more severe fires. And news.com.au reports on the immense tracts of tropical forest being lost both to fire and to deforestation.  

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Michael Marshall discusses the growing body of knowledge about the persistence of long COVID - with people still suffering symptoms after a year tending to suffer from it as a chronic condition thereafter, and no effective treatment available once long COVID sets in. And the UN points out new research indicating that 36 million people in Europe alone may have experienced long COVID, while Erin Durkin writes about the choice of New York (and many other jurisdictions) to effectively abandon the patients suffering from it.  

- Jing-Xin Li et al. find that a nasal vaccine is both safe and effective to boost COVID immunity. And Richa Naidu reports on the potential for air sanitizing spray to offer some defence against airborne pathogens - though as others have pointed out, that shouldn't be taken as an excuse for failing to work on improved ventilation and other air safety improvements. 

- Fabio Falchi and Salvador Bara study how light pollution has been continually worsening over the past dozen years.

- Jillian Ambrose reports on the Energy Institute's analysis showing that carbon pollution from fossil fuels continues to rise. Emily Wilmsen discusses the reality that even if we achieve a "net zero" emissions target, we'd still see temperatures continue to rise for a decade or more due to the damage already done to our planet. 

- Stefan Labbé reports on the grim reality that Canada has already experienced its worst year for wildfires in recorded history before the normal wildfire season even begins, while Drew Anderson examines the multiple causes of the fires. And Natasha White and Zahra Hirji report on the damage the fires have done to one British Columbia carbon offset project, wiping out what's supposed to be work to reverse the damage from carbon emissions and replacing it with further harm. 

- Clive Thompson notes that subsidizing e-bikes has proven to be a popular and effective way to rein in at least one source of greenhouse gas emissions. And Gaurab Basu and Jonathan Jay point out that "greening" efforts for cities also have the benefit of helping to remediate existing inequalities. 

- Finally, John Michael McGrath offers best wishes to Olivia Chow in winning Toronto's mayoralty - but also a warning that she may be pushed off a glass cliff due to the wreckage left behind by JOhn Tory and his Con co-conspirators. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Eyal Press writes about the problems with the U.S.' health care system which forces medical workers to subordinate the health of their patients to the demands of corporate investors. And Andre Picard points out that the largest problems with Canada's health care system come from the areas where it's the least universal and most profit-oriented. 

- The Economist discusses the extreme wildfires which have already torn through massive swaths of Canada before we even reach summer. And Mitchell Thompson offers a reminder that in addition to insisting on spewing the carbon pollution that's driving a climate breakdown, right-wing governments have also systematically destroyed the firefighting response needed to try to limit the damage. 

- Meanwhile, Sam Meredith reports on Europe's recognition that it faces a water crisis - which sadly places it far ahead of Canada in at least attempting to plan ahead rather than merely reacting to disasters as they occur. 

- Andrew MacLeod writes about the significance of global shipping as a driver of climate change - which is particularly important in light of the perpetual push by the dirty energy industry to ship oil and gas offshore and move carbon emissions off of Canada's balance sheet. 

- Emily Chung and Alice Hopton report on the reality that environmentally-friendly housing is often more affordable - as long as it's being built and operated by groups focused on meeting needs rather than banking profits. 

- Finally, Roy E. Bahat, Thomas A. Kochan, and Liba Wenig Rubenstein make the case for employers to start working with organized labour rather than seeking to undermine it at every opportunity. And Zachary Carter discusses Isabella Weber's compelling argument that controls on corporate profiteering are a needed answer to exploitative inflation. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Andre Picard highlights how the response to COVID-19 has been complicated - if rendered all the more important - by the recognition that people can expect to be reinfected if exposed to it. Lena Sun, Dan Keating and Joel Achenbach discuss how the U.S. has now seen over half of its population infected, while Paul Campos writes about the jarring increases in mortality rates that have wiped out 70 years of health progress among younger adults. 

- Seth Borenstein reports on the UN's research showing that there are all the more disasters to come due to a climate on the brink of breakdown. And Colleen Slevin and Deepa Bharath report on climate activist Wynn Bruce's self-immolation - which while less eagerly reported than similar actions in the face of government repression reflects an equally justified depth of concern about the consequences of accepting the status quo. 

- Meanwhile, AUPE points out that the UCP's reaction to the increased prevalence and risk of wildfires has been to slash its firefighting budget and assume without evidence that it can count on a shorter wildfire season. 

- John Anderson offers a helpful reminder of the subsidies still being shoveled toward the fossil fuel industry which is using public money to cook our planet while systematically enriching the least scrupulous people alive. And John Paul Tasker reports on Environment Minister Jerry DeMarco's warning that the Libs' emission reduction promises are based on wishcasting, rather than realistic plans to actually cut emissions and ensure a just transition for workers. 

- Finally, Paris Marx writes that Elon Musk's Twitter takeover shows how our current platforms for conversation are little more than billionaires' playthings, while Joshua Potash reminds us of Musk's selective interest in free speech which includes arbitrary action against labour and environmental voices as well as anybody who points out even the most glaring of flaws in his own self-promotion. Max Fawcett makes the case for increased regulation of the social media sites that currently dominate the flow of information, while Edward Ongweso Jr. and Ben Burgis each argue that we should instead be setting up open and publicly-administered alternatives. 

New column day

Here, on how a misguided war against "red tape" contributed to the deaths of dozens in the Grenfell Tower fire - and how we're at risk of becoming casualties as well.

For further reading...
- Details about the UK's obsession with red tape can be found in archives including the home page and housing and construction page.
- The Telegraph offers a summary of the Grenfell Tower fire. Robert Booth and Calla Wahlquist report on the safety concerns which had been brushed off for five years, while Samuel Osborne highlighted how two women who attempted to call attention to fire safety were threatened with legal action before becoming victims of the blaze. Sarah Knapton and Hayley Dixon set out some of the failures which led to the Grenfell tragedy, while Knapton also reports on the cheaper, fireproof cladding which contributed to the deaths of dozens. The Huffington Post offers eyewitness accounts of the fire, including the desperate attempts of residents to save their children while being unable to escape themselves. And Ann Pettifor discusses the role of deficit hysteria (another hallmark of regressive government) in causing the tragedy.
- Ontario's Red Tape Challenge site is here, while its express reference to the UK's precedent is here (h/t to Joshua Mandryk). And Nora Loreto discussed the dangers of the Wynne government's anti-regulatory stunt here.
- Finally, a list of the Saskatchewan Party's attacks on regulation (in the guise of both red tape and "modernizing") is here, while "Red Tape Awareness Week" continues to be a regular feature of the Saskatchewan Party's governing PR apparatus. And the statute requiring ongoing reporting on the latter front is here.