Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Sonal Gupta reports on the detection of massive methane releases from the Kitimat LNG facility which aren't included in normal monitoring or reporting. But Marin Scotten writes that the fossil gas industry is trying to issue propaganda to schools to push students to see continued pollution as inevitable. 

- Guillaume Calline discusses new opinion research showing that European electric vehicle owners are avoiding the anxiety from oil price shocks which has afflicted most ICE vehicle drivers. Nick Carey and Divya Rajagopal point out that Canada is ideally positioned to develop a manufacturing industry for Chinese EVs which can be exported to the U.S. once it's governed by a regime which is less hostile to clean transportation.  

- That said, Ajit Niranjan highlights a new analysis showing how vehicles of multiple types are expanding and creating avoidable hazards for everybody else on the road. And Jack Fitzgerald discusses the similar effect of increasing vehicle heights in the U.S. 

- Finally, Rebecca Solnit rightly points out the through line between the systematic abuse of women by Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein and the Tate brothers. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Daisy Dunne examines the takeaways from the Santa Marta energy transition conference, which offered needed hope that it's possible to cooperate at a global level without dirty energy interests obstructing against any progress. And Daniela Gabor and Benjamin Braun write about the need for a transition to happen through careful planning rather than unmanaged shocks. 

- Curtis Williams and Helen Clark report that even in the midst of a fuel shock Woodside and other producers can't find viable markets for fossil gas. And Irina Slay points out how Asia is rapidly reducing its reliance on gas imports. 

- But Alex Cool-Fergus discusses Don Gillmor's observations on the degree to which Canada has been propagandized into equating the oil industry with the national interest in the face of all evidence to the contrary. Jon Auger highlights the pernicious role of low oil royalties in ensuring that Alberta remains dependent on oil extraction rather than being able to fund its own transition. And Abrahm Lustgarten exposes how oil tycoons are trying to influence U.S. judges to accept climate denialism as fact. 

- Naema Ahmed and Sarah Kaplan report on new research showing that the "more CO2 is good for plants!" spin of fossil fuel sycophants is false, as increase carbon dioxide instead results in the production of less nutritious food. 

- Finally, Ellen Cushing points out that emotional surveillance of individuals by employers and other powerful actors is one of the most worrisome outcomes of the proliferation of AI. Ben Beveridge highlights how the Sask Party's use of public resources to enrich Bell through a new data centre represents a prime example of how not to govern in the public interest. Arwa Mahdawi notes that beyond state-sanctioned abuses, the proliferation of police surveillance is also enabling law enforcement officials to use data or personal benefit. And Sam Freedman weighs in on the certainty that prediction markets will allow people to manipulate public events for the benefit of bettors. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Robert Reich talks about the glaring gap between the wealthy elite who are being catered to by the U.S.' economy and the many who are being left behind - and how even businesses are beginning to notice people can't afford to spend the money they count on to make profits:

- Cara Ence Morse and Eric Lau examine how the wealthiest few are distorting American elections, while Dean Baker discusses their cultivation of other conflict (including between generations) to avoid answering for their own class warfare. And Josh Bivens writes that requiring the ultrarich to pay their fair share is a necessary first step in getting back to some semblance of democracy. 

- Meghan Bartels charts the course of carbon pollution and global warming since the signing of the Paris agreement. Jackie Flynn Mogensen and Henry Carnell ponder whether it's possible to achieve global progress in the climate fight when the U.S. and other petrostates are marshaling every available resource to maximize the damage, while Gabriela Calugay-Casuga points out that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is continuing to short the future of humanity by pouring money into dirty investments. And Max Fawcett rightly calls bullshit on any spin about treating fossil gas exports to developing countries as compatible with responsible energy policy, while Jessica Clogg writes that the only product on offer in the Carney/Smith back-of-a-napkin pipeline deal is snake oil. 

- David Roberts interviews Georgia Lagoudas about the obvious room for improvement in indoor air quality practices. And Jenna Banfield reports on a push from dozens of Senators to ban sports betting advertising. 

- Finally, Markham Hislop discusses Danielle Smith's wholescale adoption of exclusionary and corrupt MAGA politics. And Sean Speer offers a warning about the dangers of accepting state-imposed conservative culture. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Simone Zhenting Mao discusses how inequality and concentration of wealth are at the root of Canada's economic stagnation. And Robert P. Beschel Jr. highlights how the Trump regime's slashing of government funding is only making the U.S.' public finances worse as it eliminates resources from revenue collection as well as the prevention of and response to predictable disasters. 

- Jonathan Last rightly notes that the only emergency in U.S. national security is Trump's war on his own population based on false pretenses. And Nina Jankowicz offers some advice for those who haven't yet figured out that there's nothing to be gained by capitulating to Trump's threats.

- Bruce Campbell writes that Mark Carney's constant undermining of already-weak climate policy is utterly contrary to his one-time claim to understanding the climate crisis. Zoya Teirstein notes that the Trump regime's obsession with extracting and burning more fossil fuels - which Carney appears to have adopted as his own - runs contrary to the global shift toward more affordable and cleaner renewable energy. Malcolm Moore and Jamie Smyth's report on the futility of pushing fossil gas exports includes some rare but needed acknowledgment that pouring resources into fossil fuel production tends to increase demand. And Gregor Semieniuk et al. study some of the options available to ensure purveyors of dirty energy don't do substantially more damage while leaving the public to clean up their messes. 

- The Lancet offers a warning that the alt-right's threats to public health and safety include its attacks on diversity and inclusion. 

- Finally, the University of Cambridge is studying the observable effects of severe COVID-19 - including long-term damage to the brain stem. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Tom Engelhardt notes that Donald Trump's approach to the world at large has turned into one of seeking to exercise arbitrary power abroad as well as at home, while Anna Merlan writes about the danger of the U.S.' descent into authoritarianism proving contagious. And Thomas Geoghegan discusses how states can use their collective resources to set up a functional country even as the Trump regime looks to foment civil war. 

- Meanwhile, Francis Wilkinson wonders whether Canada in particular can survive the Trump regime. And Charles Rusnell highlights how Danielle Smith and the UCP have copy-and-pasted Trump's anti-immigrant bigotry into Alberta. 

- Janetta McKenzie discusses how Mark Carney's insistence on pushing fossil gas (and spending billions of public dollars to move it) is absolutely contrary to any meaningful climate policy. And Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello report on new documents showing that the dirty power preferred by Doug Ford is torpedoing Ontario's prospects of living up to its climate commitments - even as Jillian Ambrose reports on the rise of renewable energy ahead of coal power as a global energy souce, while Julian Spector reports on Australia's clear path toward 100% renewables. 

- Finally, Inayat Singh points out that this year's fall heat wave can readily be traced to an overheated Pacific Ocean. And Luca Ittimani reports on new research showing that the cost of extreme weather in Australia has tripled in the past few decades. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Trevor Jackson's review of Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's Abundance cautions against treating deregulation as anything but a cover for increased corporate control, while Bruce Campbell warns of the dangers of the Libs' anti-regulatory posture. Jared Walker and Silas Xuereb point out that Mark Carney's cuts to public services are being chosen over collecting tens of billions of dollars in money being shifted to tax havens.  And Don Curren questions James Galbraith and Jing Chen's attempt to paint entropy as an economic goal to be pursued when it both spurs inequality and rewards Trump-style agents of chaos. 

- Jim Stanford discusses the importance of targeted industrial policy to build an economy that's both less dependent on the U.S., and sustainable past the impending fossil fuel cliff. And Jason Hickel points out how democratic control over production is essential to a transition to solve the climate crisis. 

- Daniel Otis reports on new research showing the disproportionate climate damage done by fossil fuel and industrial corporations. Euronews Green reports on a study showing how even modest changes are threatening Mediterranean ecosystems. Amanda Follett Hosgood and Zoe Yunker discuss a call from scientists to stop fossil gas expansion (even as Carney is determine to barge ahead with it). Daniel Melser, Antonia Settle and Franscesca Perugia point out that the insurance industry has far more detailed information about climate risks than the general public (and is drastically changing its actions as a result). And Kerrie Holloway notes that people already facing displacement from conflict stand to be among the most affected by climate disasters. 

- Finally, Jamelle Bouie writes that the primary culture war being fought by the Trump regime is the U.S. Civil War, as white supremacists seek to undermine the principle that members of outgroups are people entitled to human rights or participation in public life. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Emily Atkin writes about the importance of continuing to highlight the dangers of climate change even if - and indeed because - our political class refuses to fully engage with it. And Nature weighs in on the folly of planning to overshoot our planetary limits and trying to pull back only after the fact, while Discover points out that "deep warming" will continue to undermine habitability even if we're later able to zero out carbon emissions. 

- Arielle Samuelson discusses how Hurricane Milton became far more severe as a result of a warmed Gulf of Mexico. And Victoria Gill and Helen Briggs report on a jarring 73% drop in global wildlife populations over just the last half-century. 

- Michael Bachelard reports on the absolute fiction of Australia's largest source of carbon offsets. George Monbiot warns that UK Labour's plan to pour tens of billions of dollars into carbon capture and storage (while pleading poverty when it comes to anything that could actually help people) will inevitably turn into a similar fiasco in the making. And Jody MacPherson reports on a plea from Alberta's municipalities for the UCP to stop handing out money to oil companies while simultaneously relieving them of any responsibility for the costs of environmental degradation and cleanup. 

- Chris Hedges interviews Monbiot about the history and impact of neoliberalism as a means of undermining democracy:

- Ken Shirriff examines the continued concentration of wealth in the U.S., while Darren Major reports on the similar escalation of inequality in Canada. And David Olive discusses how workplace abuse is the norm in a society which treats workers as disposable commodities rather than people deserving of consideration and respect.

- Finally, Dale Smith calls out Danielle Smith's pitiful attempt to treat systemic denial and dehumanization of trans youth as being for their own good. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Amy Goodman calls out the media's failure to connect the devastation of Hurricane Helene with the global warming which is exacerbating extreme weather, while Jessica Corbett talks to experts who recognize that it would serve as a blaring wakeup call if the powers that be were at all willing to let such a thing be heard. And Andrew Dessler and Kiara Alfonseca each discuss the grim reality that one of the cities hardest hit by Helene is Asheville, NC - which was previously theorized to be one of the safest cities in the face of a climate breakdown. 

- Meanwhile Keira Wright, Bernadette Toh and Charlotte Hughes-Morgan write about the impact extreme weather will have in pushing up the price of food. 

- Carl Meyer reports that fossil fuel executives are predictably demanding that Canada do nothing whatsoever to limit carbon pollution from the oil and gas sector. And Julia Conley reports on yet another example of oil-sector price fixing which has ensured that consumers pay through the nose no matter what climate policies are or aren't in place.  

- Jeremy Corbyn discusses how corporations focused on nothing but concentrating their own wealth and power have become the dominant governing entities around the globe. And Jamie Mann reports on new data from the Tax Justice Network on the world's most notorious tax havens - with UK territories continuing to rank among the worst offenders in allowing for corporate tax evasion. 

- Finally, Adam King writes that a strong labour movement in Canada needs to fight for the interests of Indigenous workers who continue to face systemic barriers. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Jonathan Watts discusses the strong argument to treat climate hypocrites primarily as destructive petrostates rather than honest actors in trying to address the climate crisis. Leyland Cecco points out how Canada in particular fits that description in subsidizing and promoting dirty energy while pretending to be a climate leader, while Amanda Follett Hosgood notes that British Columbia is in the same situation due to its insistence on pushing fossil gas. And Tim Rauf calls out the unambiguous denialism of Danielle Smith and the UCP, while Annie Hylton writes about Scott Moe's deliberate attack on the concept of reality-based policy in Saskatchewan. 

- Markham Hislop writes that the track record of climate policy shows that a green industrial strategy is far more effective than price signals which depend on private actors to make systemic change. And Susan Price writes about the need to go further and stop pretending the climate crisis can be solved with the same capitalist logic that precipitated it. 

- Liam Keenan, Dariusz Wojcik and Timothy Monteath discuss how an increasingly monopolized food system is harmful to our health and our planet. 

- Linda McQuaig discusses how Ontarians are paying a massive short-term price for Doug Ford's liquor privatization. And John Quiggin points out the longer-term costs as new governments try to pick up the pieces and rebuild public services after decades of corporatist selloffs in the UK and Australia. 

- Finally, Sara Moniszuko examines the causes this summer's COVID surge, while Adam Hunter reports on the Moe government's decision to end vaccine availability even as the latest wave is crushing Saskatchewan's population. Runar Solberg et al. study the continued importance and effectiveness of masks in protecting against COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases. And Maria Fernanda Ziegler writes about research showing that even mild COVID infections can lead to long-term cognitive losses. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Anthony Leonardi writes about the reality that COVID-19 is intrinsically more harmful than "ordinary" respiratory viruses due to its continuing effect on the immune system. And Chinta Sardathan discusses new research showing that the fallout from COVID infection includes higher rates of dementia in order adults. 

- Greenpeace International offers its reaction to the revelation that we've already seen 1.5 degrees of global warming over a full-year period. And Mitchell Beer discusses Robert Howarth's work finding that liquified natural gas produces even more severe climate damage than burning coal, while Jackie Flynn Mogensen writes about the harm LNG terminals inflict on a community (both in environmental risks and inevitable surveillance and suppression of anybody who dares to stand up for their health). 

- Cal Turner and Sara Van Horn interview Brett Cristophers about the futility of relying on private capital to fund a transition to clean energy when entrenched corporate money and power is firmly lined up behind dirty fossil fuels due to their short-term profitability. And Cory Doctorow discusses how the only real disruption emanating from big tech companies is their systematic elimination of either competitors or regulators who could challenge their unaccountable monopoly control. 

- Justin Ling writes about the Pierre Poilievre media circus - where there's no issue so serious or important as to merit any response other than ignorant trolling which will be predictably amplified by the alt-right echo chamber. And Andrew MacLeod reports on David Eby's rightful criticism of Bell for making matters worse by eliminating local and investigative journalism in favour of further recitation of talking points. 

- Finally, Max Fawcett joins the chorus imploring Justin Trudeau and the Libs to recognize that it's not too late to make good on their promise of a fair electoral system. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Meghan Bartels interviews Maria Van Kerkhove about the continuing and emerging threats in the fifth year of a pandemic which most of the powers that be have long since disappeared from any discussion. And Andrew Nikiforuk talks to Ziyad Al-Aly about the unconscionable lack of attention to long COVID even as it disables immense swaths of people. 

- Malcolm McCulloch writes about his new research suggesting that we may have blown past the 1.5 degree climate target a decade ago while continuing to see global warming escalate. Environmental Defence and Keepers of the Water call out the failure of provincial and federal governments alike to hold the oil sector responsible for the harm caused by toxic tailings. And David Thurton reports on Charlie Angus' push to at least limit misleading advertising by fossil fuel companies, while Rick Knight points out the gap between (propaganda-based) perception and reality as to the effects of carbon pricing. 

- The Circle Economy Foundation's latest report highlights how we're consuming more and more unsustainable quantities of natural resources - while actually reducing how much secondary material gets repurposed. 

- David Zipper discusses how vehicular bloat is making the infrastructure intended to favour private vehicles obsolete. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow writes about Apple's practice of thumbing its nose at regulators - along with the prospect that its malicious compliance with new anti-monopoly rules may not go unchallenged. 

[Edit: corrected name.]

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Claude Lavoie examines the problems with the far-too-rarely-questioned assumption that public policy needs to be oriented toward top-end economic growth at the expense of human well-being and environmental sustainability. 

- George Monbiot calls out how the wealthiest few have torqued the law to achieve impunity for themselves while punishing anybody who dares to question their dominance. Steven Staples points out that a Canadian public inquiry into foreign interference is conspicuously refusing to even recognize the control over decision-making exercised by Big Foreign Oil. And Ethan Cox exposes how a private surveillance company is spying on journalists with the apparent support of both the Alberta and federal governments, while Amanda Follett Hosgood points out that the RCMP's unit formed to ignore the rules and force through pipelines is now being turned against other activists (including people protesting for Palestinian human rights). 

- Meanwhile, Sharon Lewis offers a reminder that insurance companies aren't buying the climate denial being pushed on the public at large - with the result that people are increasingly unable to get insurance to cover foreseeable disasters. 

- Benjamin Shingler reports on Canada's lack of effective regulation to weed out false greenwashing. And Andrew Hawkins discusses Ian Walker's research as to how vehicles are designed to filter out awareness of their harmful effects (even as they become perpetually more dangerous for everybody else in the vicinity of the road). 

- Finally, David Climenhaga writes about Danielle Smith's choice to declare war on trans kids, while Amnesty International Canada calls it out as a glaring violation of human rights. And Corinne Mason and Leah Hamilton point out the complete absence of any factual basis for the UCP's campaign of hate. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Tim Murphy discusses the many similarities between Russia's oligarchs and the U.S.' - including how both take advantage of deliberate policy choices to facilitate the concentration of wealth in secret. And Kevin Kharas' interview with Bertrand Monnet includes the recognition that their shared addiction to accumulation is also at the root of Mexico's drug cartels. 

- Linda McQuaig points out the similarities between Pierre Poilievre, Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro as strongmen determined to foment hate and rage to distract from the fact they have no plans to improve anybody's well-being (other than that of their cronies). 

- Jeremy Appel reports on the complete contempt for the law shown by Take Back Alberta in its refusal to cooperate with an investigation into its shady donors. And David Climenhaga notes that the most extreme and corrupt branch of the UCP is now trying to make a mockery of any form of democracy by attempting to take over the NDP.  

- Abdul Matin Sarfraz reports on Ian Burton's work to move us toward climate adaptation. But John Woodside highlights how Enbridge is trying to stop any transition to cleaner energy.

- Finally, Anne Rumberger interviews Anne Larson about the corporate media's systematic erasure of workers. And Matthew Stanley et al. find that workers' loyalty to bosses tends to turn into an invitation to increased exploitation. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Dharna Noor discusses how the U.S.' dirty fossil fuel industry is propagandizing against any transition to cleaner energy sources. And Benjamin Shingler reports on research showing that the forestry sector (like so many other industries) is causing far more damage to the climate than it officially reports. 

- Anne Toomey McKenna examines the Federal Trade Commission's complaint against data broker Kochava as a worrisome example of the information corporate behemoths are able to collect and use against the public. And Cory Doctorow writes that the constant stream of spam and scams online is the direct result of the mindset that the key to wealth is to extract money for nothing from a greater fool. 

- But in case there was any doubt that big business is able to avoid answering for its own unconscionable practices, Sarah MacMillan reports on Enbridge's regular pattern of sticking customers with massive bills without any forewarning or explanation. And Andrew Sampson and Aly Thomson report on Loblaws' decision to let more food go to waste rather than continuing to discount products which are about to expire. 

- Jacob Cerebrin reports that the consistent reactionary principle that "it's always projection" extends to a science-denying conspiracy theorist blaming the government for wildfires actually being a serial arsonist himself. 

- Finally, Marc Edge writes that the National Post - having itself been founded and operated as a shameless right-wing propaganda outlet - has no business shedding crocodile tears over media bias. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jamie Ducharme examines the realities of a COVID-19 surge in progress - as well as the reason to worry that avoidable illness and death is being treated as the new normal. Kailin Yin et al. highlight the harm caused by systemic inflammation and immune dysregulation in the course of infection, while Brian Imbiakha et al. find that mice without adaptive immune cells don't experience those effects. And Marti Catala et al. study the evidence showing that vaccination helps to prevent long COVID symptoms. 

- Oxfam's latest briefing paper on inequality highlights how wealth continues to concentrate in the hands of a privileged few - and will continue to do so unless we take drastic steps to challenge our corporate overlords. 

- Rachel Donald reports on new research documenting the human behavioral crisis underlying the climate breakdown. And Marc Fawcett-Atkinson discusses how the fossil gas sector is seeking to exacerbate that problem by locking us into decades of carbon pollution to come, while Stephen Stapczynski, Ruth Liao and Anna Shiryaevskaya point out the real-world effects of that propaganda. 

- Jorg Broschek discusses how reduced speed limits could significantly slash carbon pollution while also making communities far safer. 

- David Climenhaga writes that Danielle Smith's government which is fearmongering about federal policy leaving people to freeze in the dark has actually made that a real risk due to its own corruption and mismanagement. Yet even his list of examples omits the most jarring contrast between energy security as a goal and UCP policy, as it's actively pushed to bring in crypto miners to use as much energy as possible. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow writes about the need for solidarity among all kinds of workers - including tech and gig workers - to counter the accumulation and abuse of corporate power. 

Friday Afternoon Links

 Assorted content to end your 2023.

- Shannon Hall discusses new research showing that the positive effects of COVID-19 vaccination include a reduction in long COVID in children. And Erin Prater warns about the building Pirola wave which is already causing record-high infection levels in some countries. 

- Meanwhile, Carly Weeks reports on the dire state of Canada's health care system even before that wave crests. And Larissa Kurz details the cascading failures within Saskatchewan's emergency care system, as the spillover effects from overwhelmed and under-resourced hospitals and emergency rooms has led to a lack of ambulances available for people in urgent need of care.  

- Lucy McAllister et al. examine the coverage of climate issues in English-speaking countries, with the National Post getting called out as inflicting particularly inaccurate coverage of the climate breakdown including more outright denialism than any other outlet. 

- Emily Chung reports on new data showing the industries which spew the most carbon pollution in each of Canada's provinces and territories - with fossil fuels taking the top spot in most jurisdictions due to factors including oil and gas production, coal-fired power and vehicular fuel consumption. And Shawn Fluker, Drew Yewchuk and Martin Olszynski discuss the Alberta Auditor General's conclusion that the Alberta Energy Regulator has failed to meet any outstanding recommendations to ensure that polluters pay the cost of closing down oil and gas well sites.  

- Finally, Sally Younger discusses how warming Arctic waters are resulting in yet another climate feedback loop as more melting results in increased carbon dioxide releases. And Alec Luhn reports on the climate-driven releases of iron and sulfuric acid which are turning many of Alaska's rivers most pristine rivers into a rusting orange froth. 

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.

- Apoora Mandavilli writes that cleaner air is essential to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in schools. Elizabeth Hlavinka discusses the severe impact of long COVID on children and the lack of resources to treat it. And Helen McArdle reports that hundreds of Scottish hospital wards have been forced to close due to COVID-19 so far in 2023, while Sissi De Flaviis reports on yet another surge in COVID hospitalizations in Canada. 

- Oliver Milman reports on the likelihood that next year (and all foreseeable future years) will be even worse than this year for extreme heat, wildfires and other calamitous climate impacts. Matthew Rozsa writes about the uber-wealthy and connected "super-emitters" who are contributing disproportionately to a climate breakdown while seeking to cast blame on everybody else. Kaamil Ahmed discusses how rich countries are trying to trap poorer ones into using dirty energy. And the Yale School of the Environment points out the Canadian oil sector's plans to increase how much pollution gets dumped into an already-precarious atmosphere, while Sarah Cox investigates how Canadian taxpayers are subsidizing both fossil fuel expansion and obscene corporate profits.  

- Meanwhile, Colin McCarter and Mike Waddington discuss how wetlands are already becoming carbon time bombs, while Daniel Grossman writes about the similar effect in the Amazon rainforest. 

- Josh Funk reports on the demand by U.S. railroads that a safety hotline serve primarily to allow them to punish workers who dare to report issues. 

- Colette Derworiz writes about the lack of available housing for university students. And Sawdah Bhaimiya reports on New York City's initiative to turn empty office space into homes, rather than pretending that the construction of expensive, sprawling suburbs is any solution to a housing crisis. 

- Finally, the Canadian Press examines how under Pierre Poilievre, the Cons have abandoned even the slightest nod to reality and become a vessel for the most deranged of conspiracy theories. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Marco Zuin et al. examine the connection between COVID-19 infections and subsequent heart attacks. And Felicity Liew et al. study the effect of mucosal defences which don't arise from injected vaccines, but can be promoted through nasal ones. 

- Meanwhile, Consumer Reports finds that dark chocolate is rife with dangerous levels of cadmium and lead - meaning that a product often promoted as a healthier alternative may be smuggling harmful metals into people's bodies.   

- Alex Cooke reports on Halifax's failure to ensure that unhoused people have access to safe accommodations as winter endangers their lives. And Colin Butler points out how encampments made more precarious by the threat of police removal are at particular risk of having concealed fires burn out of control. 

- The Energy Mix discusses how oil is headed down the same path toward obsolescence as telephone landlines due to the increasing availability of superior alternatives. 

- Austin Grabash reports on the private religious schools which insisted on censored tours of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights to avoid any acknowledgement of the rights of LGBTQ people. And Feo Snagovsky discusses how the UCP and Saskatchewan Party are causing real damage to Canadian federalism with their performative posturing about sovereignty.  

- Finally, Marsha Lederman writes about the importance of investing in public libraries. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- The Star Phoenix reports on Saskatchewan's latest COVID-19 data showing 26 more deaths in just the last two weeks along with a rising positivity rate, while CBC News reports on Ontario's alarming numbers of deaths and hospitalizations. Wency Leung discusses the risks we're facing based on the combination of another COVID wave and a potentially severe flu season. And Meghan Grant reports on the Alberta court decision determining that decisions about mitigation measures were improperly made by politicians rather than public health officials. 

- Meanwhile, Laura Sciarpelletti reports on the increasing lack of access to emergency services in Saskatchewan. 

- Ishaan Tharoor writes that the real-world effects of an ongoing climate breakdown are far worse than the few headlines which manage to attract attention. And Kate Aronoff highlights the gas industry's attempt to claim victimization as it extracts windfall profits while continuing to pollute our atmosphere with no regard for the well-being of humanity. 

- Finally, Shannon Bond discusses the possibility of limiting the effect of misinformation by encouraging people to think critically. But Linda McQuaig points out that the right-wing extremists pushing conspiracy theories and violent obstruction have all too often found sympathetic ears among government and law enforcement authorities.