Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Alan Rusbridger highlights the glaring gap between the devastating extreme weather events caused by a climate breakdown in progress, and the complete lack of a meaningful response by the powers that be. Samuel Oakford, John Muyskens, Sarah Cahlan and Joyce Sohyun Lee discuss how the U.S.' existing flood maps fail to account for the more severe weather that's becoming commonplace. And Patrick Greenfield writes about the growing recognition by scientists that the Earth's natural carbon sinks are becoming less effective in a drier and warmer environment caused by greenhouse gas emissions. 

- Meanwhile, Matthew Zeitlin discusses Daron Acemoglu's observation that any transition away from carbon pollution will require a combination of large investment in clean technology, and restrictions on the continued use of dirty energy. 

- Kevin Scott discusses how the benefits of a guaranteed income include allowing people released from incarceration to overcome the traps which would otherwise deprive them of freedom and dignity. 

- Finally, Paul Willcocks points out how John Rustad is anything but a serious person (even though he's an entirely serious threat to take power in British Columbia). And Luke LeBrun traces how a group of anti-science cranks and conspiracy theorists became the political wing of B.C.'s corporate class. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Benji Jones writes that the long-predicted mass death of coral reefs due to climate change is coming to pass even as the climate breakdown continues to escalate. Adam Bailey highlights the obscene amounts of money still being thrown at fossil fuels - and the opportunity cost of spending to lock ourselves into dirty energy rather than building a clean future. And Kevin Jiang asks why Canadian governments are ignoring readily-available plans to make indoor air healthy for children. 

- Matteo Cimellaro reports on the work being done by Indigenous leaders to call out the use of the Arctic region as a dumping ground for plastic waste and other dangerous substances. And Maria Paula Rubiano discusses new research showing that exposure to chemicals in plastics results in an increased risk of cancer (among other dangers to health). 

- Ed Zitron writes about the deliberate process which resulted in Google undermining the usefulness of its search engine in order to extract value from users and advertisers alike. And Stephen Moore is nostalgic for the sense of curiosity and excitement which has been ground down by the corporate takeover of online activity.  

- Luke LeBrun talks to economists about the typical false debate playing out over fair taxation - as overwrought Con attacks on feeble Lib plans ignore the reality that there's room to ensure the rich contribute far more to the sources of their wealth.  

- Finally, Arno Kopecky discusses how Pierre Poilievre is bent on seeing the next election fought over a false portrayal of carbon pricing - to the exclusion of any issues which could actually improve people's lives to any meaningful extent. And Christopher Holcroft writes about the risks of normalizing Poilievre's contempt for truth and democracy. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg examines why seemingly healthy macroeconomic indicators - and even  positive personal expectations - haven't translated into public satisfaction with political economic leaders. But Dougald Lamont is setting out how our economic system has been torqued at the behest of corporate robber barons to exploit and extract wealth from everybody else for the benefit of the uber-rich. 

- As a particularly appalling example of the prioritization of corporate assumptions over human needs, Kumar Sambhav, Tapasya and Divij Joshi report on India's use of AI which simply presumes people to be dead in order to cut off their pension benefits. And Cory Doctorow discusses how tech giants are seeking to lock people into mandatory compliance with preferred business models to serve their own profitability at the expense of value to users. 

- Benjamin Shingler reports on new research showing that the dirty oil sector is polluting Alberta up to 60 times more than it reports. Sam Markert examines how plastics manufacturers have exploited massive loopholes in "extended producer responsibility" policies to dump waste where it's least regulated. And Judith Weis points out how textiles are an increasing source of microplastic pollution. 

- Jeff Berardelli offers a reminder that 2023 was by far the hottest year on record. Marshall Brain writes about the dangers of unfounded climate optimism when our current trajectory has us headed for disaster (and some of the most powerful forces on the planet are determined to make matters worse). And Eve Thomas discusses the IEA's recognition of the need for structural changes to try to limit the harm of a climate breakdown. 

- Luke LeBrun reports that the latest attack on the rule of law in Canada by the Cons' convoy buddies involves an attempt to coerce police into arresting political leaders. 

- Finally, David Climenhaga reports on Danielle Smith's choice to roll out the red carpet for Tucker Carlson rather than having any interest in responding to a shooting and firebombing in Edmonton. And Scott Dippel reports on the UCP's admonition that municipalities list any agreements in place with the federal government - signaling that the UCP isn't merely unwilling to bother providing housing or other vital services to Alberta's residents, but is determined to ferret out and block any attempt by other levels of government to do so. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jon Henley reports on new research showing that adopting right-wing policies does nothing to help left-of-centre parties win votes (while producing disastrous effects in shifting the spectrum of political options). 

- Laura Weiss discusses why U.S. Democrats need to acknowledge and present a plan to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic rather than buying into denialism. Eric Topol calls out the decision-makers who are living in a fantasy world rather than responding to an immediate and important crisis. And Lindsay Clark highlights how the limited information now being made available shows that many countries are on the precipice of another devastating COVID wave. 

- Joy Buolamwini writes about the need for regulation to protect biometric privacy - and the dangers that either insufficient or corporate-friendly rules will leave citizens vulnerable. And David Moscrop points out the need to dismantle Canada's telecom oligopoly which had left consumers in provinces without Crown-sector alternatives to face deteriorating services and soaring prices. 

- Moscrop also writes about the continued concentration of wealth and erosion of standards of living for Canadian workers - together with the need for a policy response to end the new gilded age.

- Finally, the Eurasia Group's grim set of top risks for 2024 starts with the danger of a sharp U.S. slide away from democratic governance. And lest anybody think the spread of reality-averse politics stops at the border, Luke LeBrun exposes how the Cons are actively helping to shape and propagate outlandish conspiracy theories. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon reports on the less-than-surprising revelation from New Brunswick's departing chief medical officer of health that political preferences were a major factor in COVID-19 decision-making. And Liz highlights how the rich, powerful and well-connected are still insisting on COVID precautions to avoid the ongoing risks that have been deemed acceptable for the plebes. 

- Steve Hanley examines the competing theories as to whether global warming is linear or exponential - though it's worth noting we're far from averting catastrophic climate breakdown on either account. Jody MacPherson points out how Danielle Smith has decided that clean energy is among the types of business she doesn't want to see growing in Alberta, while Jenna Wenkoff rightly challenges the propaganda that there's anything ethical about its oil and gas sector. 

- Meanwhile, Jonathan Levy discusses how the gas industry has been working from the tobacco playbook for half a century to avoid any awareness or action based on the known health risks of gas stoves. 

- Pete Evans notes that central banks are beginning to acknowledge the role of corporate profiteering in inflated prices - though they've stopped short of allocating the costs of inflation control accordingly. And Cory Doctorow examines how Amazon and other tech giants are using their immense power to raise the cost of living for people who use their products. 

- Finally, Luke LeBrun traces the connections between "parental rights" conspiracy theorists and right-wing groups seeking to impose shadow governments. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Derek Lynch writes about the need to recognize that humanity isn't separate from the living environment it needs to survive. Eric Ralls points out how the climate breakdown and dwindling biodiversity are part of the same crisis. And Katie Surma highlights how climate change is driving conflict and human rights abuses around the globe. 

- Kathering Cheng reports on the effects of extreme wildfires on Canadian forests - including the destruction of the seeds and soil needed to allow for regrowth. And Zhi Li, Matthew England and Sjoerd Groeskamp study the distribution of heat absorption in the oceans, finding a trend of accelerating warming.  

- Steve Hanley reports on a new study suggesting that a shift to solar power has already reached an irreversible tipping point. But that isn't stopping Danielle Smith from declaring that Alberta will remain in denial about the existence of clean energy as long as she has any say in the matter, nor the fossil fuel sector from trying to silence anybody who dares to promote responsible resource management.  

- Joan Westerberg offers up a thorough look at what's wrong with the tech world in 2023. And Cory Doctorow discusses how the capital class has sought to divide creative workers from the rest of the working class in order to facilitate their continued exploitation. 

- Finally, Luke LeBrun exposes how the Con-supported conspiracy theorist convoy lied its way into a permanent base of operations. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Sigal Samuel discusses the potential to better target investments toward well-being - though it seems odd to criticize measures of health as a standard alongside GDP. And Cory Doctorow writes about Deb Chachra's observation that we should view infrastructure as a form of mutual aid.

- Carl Meyer reports on Suncor CEO Rich Kruger's dissembling and evasion in response to questioning about his company's plans to increase carbon pollution for decades to come. Markham Hislop highlights how the regular release of toxic chemicals into drinking water for the tar sands should be treated as an intolerable regulatory failure rather than merely a PR issue for the oil industry. And Shari Narine reports on the Assembly of First Nations' message that Indigenous involvement is vital to the development of climate change solutions. 

- Douglas Main points out the glaring gap between the promise of recycling plastics, and the reality that plastic pollution is overwhelming our natural environment. And andrea bennett interviews Taras Grescoe about the need to work with natural ecosystems to secure our food supply, rather than presuming that industrialized monocultures controlled by greedy rentiers are our only option.

- Finally, Luke LeBrun exposes how the Cons invited violent extremists and conspiracy theorists into Parliament as "VIP" guests. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Chris Hedges interviews Matt Kennard about the hostile corporate takeover of democracy. And Adam King highlights how Canada's oil industry is profiteering at public expense while using the harm done by their own greed to promote the right-wing politicians in their pocket. 

- Jennifer Henderson reports on Nova Scotia's decision to remove maps showing the locations of glyphosate spraying in order to prevent the public from responding to known risks where the result might be some accountability for the polluters involved. And Tim Bousquet notes that Nova Scotia's supposed plan for housing is based entirely on funneling federal money to private developers. 

- Nina Lakhani reports on new research showing how the largest carbon offset schemes do nothing to actually limit carbon pollution. And in stark contrast, Allyson Chiu points out that one of the incidental benefits of remote work is a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions - meaning that the effects of forcing people back into the office in the midst of a pandemic are as harmful for the environment as for public health. 

- Stanford University examines how the ecological damage from the anthropocene age isn't limited to particular species, but includes the elimination of entire branches of the tree of life. 

- Finally, Luke LeBrun offers an important look at the bigotry behind the "one million march for children" being pushed by the alt-right in Canada. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Chris Stanford responds to the alt-right's demonization of liveable communities by pointing out what a 15-minute city actually means. And Monika Korzun and Farzaneh Barak discuss how to ensure more equitable and sustainable access to food. 

- Tyler Buchana points out the long history of train derailments around East Palestine prior to last month's catastrophic chemical spill and fire - as well as the pleas for safety measures which were dismissed in order to cater to corporate owners. And Cory Doctorow discusses how corporate recycling programs can be found on the plausibility scale between greenwashing and outright fraud. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk calls out the use of plastic words to gloss over the government infrastructure devoted to promoting oil and gas - a point which is all the more clear when petrostates are deliberately leaving anybody outside of the fossil fuel sector from "energy" advising. 

- Ian Bailey reports on the Calgary Petroleum Club's belated and mealy-mouthed expression of regret for providing a venue to Christine Anderson and her convoy reunion. And Luke LeBrun highlights a few details from the Emergency Act inquiry which have otherwise been largely overlooked - including how #FluTruxKlan drivers were handed cash-stuffed envelopes from as-yet-undisclosed sources as they occupied Ottawa.

- Finally, Charles Rusnell follows up on Calgary's funneling of money to a con man to deliver quack PTSD services - and the ensuing "investigation" which seems to have been little more than a coverup even after the swindle has become public knowledge.