Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Don Moynihan examines how the U.S. is experiencing a more rapid fall from democracy to autocracy than any other country in recent history. And Joseph Cox reveals the user manual for the Palantir tool being used by ICE to target people for incarceration and deportation.  

- The Energy Mix notes that Shell and Mitsubishi are looking to remove themselves from fossil gas projects which stand to be uneconomical due to the rise of renewable energy, while Michael Thomas points out that solar and battery buildup are taking over from gas plants in California's power system. And the Washington Post's editorial board offers a reminder that it's the general public who will pay the price for Donald Trump's obsession with coal power and other dirty energy - due to higher prices as well as more severe pollution. 

- The Guardian's editorial board implores governments to work on building biodiversity and avoiding ecosystem collapse. And Kamil Karamali reports on the next steps in reducing the scourge of plastic waste. 

- Ryan Tumilty reports on the tens of thousands of public service positions at risk from Mark Carney's austerity. And John Woodside notes that scientists and professionals at Environment and Climate Change Canada are facing particularly large cuts. 

- Finally, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examines how the UK is falling far short of meaningfully reducing poverty. And Qasim Rashid writes about the potential for other governments to mimic Zohran Mamdani's model of following through on social commitments and addressing any budgeting complains through progressive taxes on the wealthy.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Sujeet Indap and Akila Quinio report on the accumulation of consumer debt by private credit groups, making people's inability to meet their needs into a factor being exploited by more and more capital interests. And Robert Reich highlights the need for a more fair distribution of wealth and income for the economy to be able to function:

   

- Meanwhile, Roshni Sahoo et al. model the cost of ending extreme poverty around the world, and find the price of ending severe deprivation would amount to a rounding error of .3% of global GDP. 

- Huilin Luo et al. examine (PDF) the effect of different greenhouse gas emission policies, and find that it's impossible to subsidize our way out of a climate breakdown without also regulating carbon pollution. Umair Irfan writes that we can't afford to give up the climate fight even as fossil fuel forces are already pushing us past dangerous thresholds. And Cloe Logan reports on Laura Tozer's lament that Mark Carney is doing nothing but undermining an already-insufficient set of federal climate policies. 

- Finally, Emma Graney reports that Carney is also laying the groundwork to open up the export of single-use plastics as another means of favouring the oil sector at the expense of public and environmental health. And Juno Rylee Schultz discusses how laissez-faire theory which lets businesses decide how much pollution to emit has consistently led to people being poisoned and exploited. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Joyce Vance writes about the purge of any trace of decency in the U.S. right which has found its ultimate expressio in Donald Trump. And Christopher Guly reports on the reaction to the U.S.' plans to dominate Canada from people who have been responsible for managing Canadian foreign affairs.  

- Dana Drugmand discusses a new Center for Climate Integrity report on the constant barrage of false advertising by the fossil fuel industry. And Chris Rossdale et al. study how petropoliticians are repressing and criminalizing peaceful protest to try to ensure oil barons can keep extracting profits unchallenged. 

- Michael Sainato reports on the Trump regime's attacks on the labour movement and the public bodies responsible for regulating and remedying employer abuses. And Emma Arkell discusses the pattern of interference by Canadian governments to prevent workers from making gains through collective action. 

- Gillian Petit documents the reality of the working poor in Canada, while pointing out that readily affordable supports could provide the dignity and stability needed to improve their circumstances. And Mike Moffatt points out the plummeting incomes of young middle-class males (paired with an increase in income for those over 65), while the Canadian Press reports on the World Happiness Report's observation that Canadians under 30 are now the unhappiest generation in the country. 

- Kate Allen notes that one of the primary effects of arbitrary back-to-office mandates is to cause a spike in preventable air pollution. And Gary Fuller reports on new research showing that air passengers are exposed to extreme amounts of particulate pollution during boarding and taxiing. 

- Finally, Jared Wesley offers his take on what Albertans can do in response to the UCP's attacks on anything resembling democratic governance. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Bruce Campbell discusses how Canada continues to be both a laggard in its own climate action, and an obstacle to international cooperation. And Patrick Greenfield and Kristi Greenwood discuss the growing danger of zombie fires in the Arctic due to a warming and drying climate. 

- Michael Green examines the problems with treating the U.S. poverty line as a measure of sufficiency rather than deprivation - meaning that while steps to reduce measured poverty like Rashida Tlaib's Economic Dignity for All Agenda would represent progress toward economic security, they shouldn't be taken to be adequate. And Will Parker reports on the first months of operation of Atlanta's government-funded supermarket in providing accessible and affordable food where it presviously wasn't available. 

- Abdullah Khan et al. study the immense social benefits of vehicle safety technology which the Trump regime is looking to deregulate. And John Lorinc examines (note: post from July) the lack of any evidence to support the Ford government's attacks on bike lanes - in stark contrast to the clear evidence that they save lives. 

- Luke James reports on the steps insurers are taking to avoid being stuck with liability for AI catastrophes. And Tina Nguyen examines big tech's lobbying to have the Trump regime prevent any regulation or liability by fiat.

- Finally, Markham Hislop discusses how Danielle Smith and the UCP are attacking the very idea of democracy in Canada by seeking to import Trump's corruption and authoritarianism.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Stephen Marche writes that Canada is finding its voice in response to the U.S.' threats and bad faith under the Trump regime - at least as long as our corporate overlords don't insist on acquiescing. And Katia Dmitrieva and Philip Heijmans discuss how Donald Trump is making pay-to-play his government's standard modus operandi even where it's flagrantly illegal. 

- Devi Sridhar notes that the U.S.' elimination of vaccine research poses immense risks for people around the globe. And Robinson Meyer highlights how Trump's favouritism toward dirty energy donors is effectively handing the future of energy development to China.

- Campbell Clark discusses how the Libs are letting their promise of a foreign interference registry lapse even as our largest trading partner is operating as a protection racket. And John Woodside reports on their concurrent failure to appoint a Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise to deal with abuses by resource companies operating internationally. 

- Finally, Steven Henke reports on yet another basic income pilot project showing how recipients benefit in terms of housing stability, mental health, education and overall well-being. But Georgie Smith reports that instead of acting on the overwhelming body of research showing that a basic income produces benefits far beyond its costs, we're continuing to force people to fend for themselves - including by sorting trash in order to scrape by. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Adrienne Lafrance discusses how the clock is ticking - but not quite yet run out - to check Donald Trump's assertion of absolute power before the U.S. falls into authoritarianism. Will Stone reports on the Trump regime's gutting of the Department of Health and Human Services' injury prevention team, while Hiroko Tabuchi reports on the cancellation of research grants to address the effects of pollution and toxic chemicals on children. And Laurie Udesky and Jack Leeming write about the beginning of a massive scientific brain drain. 

- Stephen Magusiak talks to Geoff Dembicki about the close connections between Pierre Poilievre's Cons and the corporate forces responsible for Trump's entrenchment in power. Christopher Holcroft examines a half-dozen of the crucial policy areas where Poilievre is consistently parroting Trump. And Washim Ahmed warns that Poilievre's determination to mimic Trump's deportation of people for the exercise of free speech and assembly is particularly dangerous. 

- Ximena Gonzalez rightly questions why neither of the main parties is showing any interest in tackling poverty or inequality. And Danyaal Raza writes about the crisis in primary health care which is likewise receiving short shrift from the Libs and Cons alike. 

- Finally, Christo Aivalis writes about a principled approach to strategic voting for left-wing Canadian voters (in stark contrast to the "Dear Leader requires a crushing majority!" message coming from the Lib camp). And Tom Parkin offers a data-driven approach to electing the most progressive Parliament possible. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Kenneth Vogel and Shane Goldmacher discuss how the Trump regime is using the power of the state to attack any opposition voices and actors. Madeline Sherratt reports that the Republicans' shredding of the U.S. constitution includes trying to keep Trump in power past the maximum of two terms. Josh Marshall reports on DOGE's use of federal contracting power to coerce a private security firm into helping it break into the U.S. Institute of Peace. And Paris Marx highlights how techbros are seeking to unleash DOGE-style assaults on public services in Canada and around the globe - even as the U.S. experiences the grim consequences of a government being in the hands of vandals determined to destroy it beyond repair. 

- Meanwhile, Mike Konczal reviews two books touching on the ability of progressive parties and leaders to get things done. 

- Evan Dyer discusses how Canada and Europe can help meet each others' defence needs as the U.S. turns into a hostile actor. 

- Matt Bruenig examines how to measure the number of people who live paycheque to paycheque in the U.S., finding that an estimate of up to 60% referenced by Bernie Sanders is entirely plausible. And Jason Linkins discusses the strong public response to Sanders' anti-oligarchy tour. 

- Finally, John Calvert discusses why we shouldn't accept a race to the bottom when it comes to regulating in the public interest - particularly as a supposed response to the corporatism of the Trump administration. And Michael Gorman reports on the rapid backtrack after Nova Scotia's Cons passed legislation which would have effectively eliminated professional regulation. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Pema Levy observes that Elon Musk's use of the U.S. government to line his own pockets would be illegal under any standard in which conflicts of interest are recognized as being prohibited, while tengrain discusses how the Washington Post and other corporate media are content which dares to challenge Musk. And Brian Beutler points out what Democrats should be doing if they were interested in serving as a meaningful opposition, rather than merely taking up space and hoping for an authoritarian coup to fail on its own. 

- Don Moynihan writes about the obvious mismanagement involved in Musk's practice of purging staff first and asking whether they were needed later, while Tom Nichols discusses how the Trump regime is using weaponized ignorance to destroy government expertise which will be exceedingly difficult to rebuild. And Henry Carnell points out the costs of a war on equity and inclusion.  

- Heather Stewart interviews Joseph Stiglitz about the reality that investors have every reason to stay away from a U.S. regime marked by arbitrary and destructive decision-making. Jeet Heer discusses why the rest of NATO has every reason to set up an alternative defence structure that doesn't depend on an untrustworthy ally. 

- George Monbiot writes about the potential ways Trump may trigger a global collapse. And DeSmog reports on the collaboration between the administration, the fossil fuel sector and fascist politicians from multiple countries working toward that end. 

- Elizabeth Thompson reports on the work Canadian volunteers are doing to try to preserve U.S. public data before it's permanently disappeared. And Kristofer Harrison notes that one of Canada's strongest possible response to Trump's threats will be to fight the corruption at the heart of his regime. 

- Meanwhile, Cole Bennett calls out the conservatives who are eager to sell out Canada to the Trump administration. And Alex Cosh writes that Pierre Poilievre is absolutely unfit to respond to Trump - particularly as his obsession with cutting taxes and slashing government makes him an obvious fellow traveller/pawn rather than a foil to Trump's plans.  

- Finally, Maeva Shearlaw, Adam Sich, Ken Macfarlane and Temujin Doran discuss how the scourge of poverty is undermining the health-care system in the UK (as is the case in Canada as well). And the Australia Institute examines how the climate breakdown is creating all the more financial precarity for households. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Andrew Nikiforuk writes that Canada is currently failing to carry out any energy transition, as any expanded use of renewables is only being added to rising fossil fuel extraction and consumption. Natasha Bulowski writes about a new Senate committee report showing how our transportation infrastructure is ill equipped to deal with the climate breakdown. And Dan Hendry discusses how free transit for youth represents one of the most promising ways to create healthy transportation habits. 

- But Alex Steffen notes that the oligarchs at the centre of the Trump administration have plans to make massive profits off of the climate breakdown. And Michelle Cyca discusses how politicians in Canada (like elsewhere) are choosing to amplify conspiracy theories and disinformation in order to avoid having to engage with the climate crisis. 

- Owen Jones comments on the collapse of any "centre" element to right-wing parties across the western world - and the concurrent rise of increasingly extreme and antisocial figures. Karl Bode worries that the pollution of the U.S.' media ecosystem with disinformation may be terminal, while Michael Harris warns about Donald Trump's plans to destroy the news media (and how that may spill over into Canada). And Matt Pearce points out how two corporate outlets are looking to undermine the Associated Press as one of the last credible sources of news standing. 

- Ned Resnikoff points out how the success of a Housing First policy for U.S. veterans makes clear that there's a readily-available option to help homeless people generally. Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi and T.Y. Yang discuss the need for federal leadership in treating housing as a right - not merely funding new technologies and hoping other jurisdictions will fix the lack of avaiable homes. Phil Tank notes that the Moe government is choosing to utterly neglect the soaring homelessness counts in Saskatchewan's major cities. And Neil Howard discusses how strings attached to basic social supports serve primarily to divert resources away from people who need it toward bureaucratic controls. 

- Finally, Zhu Li et al. study how poverty is a distinct cause of diabetes (among other dangers to health and well-being). Nick Tsergas talks to Dr. Joss Reimer about the state of Canada's health care system - including the need to ensure that fixable issues of process and capacity aren't used as excuses to allow the spread of pay-to-play medicine. And Maya Miller and Duaa Eldeib point out the perverse incentives from the U.S.' for-profit insurance system, as people receiving mental health care see their coverage cut off because their treatment is too successful. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Oliver Milman reports on the warning from climate scientists that humanity has already missed the window to limit global warming to the agreed target of 1.5 degrees Celsius - making the continued posturing and heel-dragging as a substitute for agreement on action all the more indefensible. Damian Carrington reports on a new assessment showing that numerous heat waves and other severe weather events experienced over the past few years would have been impossible before the climate breakdown. James Riordon points out new NASA data showing a sharp drop in global freshwater levels over the last decade. And Victoria Gill discusses Jane Goodall's warning that the Earth is already well into its sixth great extinction event even as we continue with exploitation and pollution as usual.

- Nesrine Malik discusses how an authoritarian turn in politics can be traced to the enshittification of society generally and social media in particular - together with the lack of a compelling response from any competing alternatives. And Robert Reich notes that the inevitable result is that a Trump kleptocracy will loot the public and make the underlying reality even worse.

- Josh Halliday reports on a new study showing that nearly a quarter of the UK's population - and over a third of children - are currently living in poverty. And Torsten Bell writes about the desperate need for decision-makers to better understand the plight of the working class. Which of course means the political class is firmly focused on ensuring the inheritors of massive agricultural operations don't pay any tax.

- Finally, Adam Piore reports on a new study showing that up to a quarter of American adults may be suffering from long COVID. And City St Georges, City of London finds that the growing list of COVID-19's effects on children includes a 16% increase in heart defects. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- The University of California, Irvine examines the connection between air pollution and spontaneous preterm births. And Attracta Mooney and Jana Tauschinski discuss how the fossil fuel sector is far more interested in concealing its dangerous methane emissions than reducing them. 

- Hannah Brown interviews Faith Birol about the value of renewable energy in limiting our dependence on bad actors and vulnerability to crises - though it's well worth noting that the oil and gas sector which has amassed obscene amounts of wealth by preventing us from escaping won't be eager to see us take advantage. And Megan Gordon discusses the latest IEA report confirming that anybody focused on jobs should be supporting clean energy over fossil fuels. 

- Stéphane Leman-Langlois, Aurélie Campana and Samuel Tanner examine how the far right is expanding its reach in Canada. And Rachel Ward, Steven D'Souza, Andrew Culbert and Daysha Loppie report on the RCMP's video evidence showing the extremist ideology behind the armed insurrection at Coutts, AB. 

- Nick Falvo lists some of the gains made in homelessness and poverty policy in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic - though it's worth lamenting how those have been reversed (or worse) since. And Emmanuelle Bernheim writes about the flawed theory that involuntary treatment is a viable solution to homelessness. 

- Finally, Christopher Cheung talks to Rachel Bok about the self-serving corporate "solutions" being peddled to cities as a substitute for community-building. And Ian Welsh discusses how any nominal savings from Elon Musk's government destruction project are bound to be illusory as the corporate sector moves in to provide the same services at a marked-up price. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Avery Lotz reports on Al Gore's latest reminder that the fossil fuel sector is far better at capturing politicians than carbon pollution. And Max Fawcett discusses how the UCP continues to make polluter-paid its primary operating principle in dealing with the oil and gas sector. 

- Marietje Scheeka points out the dangers of treating "innovation" (defined as corporate impunity) as the sole end to be pursued through economic policy. And Pauline Gerrard writes about the need to keep plastics out of our fresh water.  

- Alex Hemingway rightly questions why municipalities are banning small, liveable apartment buildings while complaining about a housing crisis. 

- Kendal David and Hannah Owczar note that Leah Gazan's basic income bill offers an immediate chance to move toward eradicating poverty in Canada. 

- Finally, Randy Robinson points out how the Ford PCs use big headline numbers to paper over real cuts to public services - and it's well worth noting the similar pattern of the Moe government as it pretends not to have starved Saskatchewan's health and education systems. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Sarah Kaplan and Simon Ducroquet highlight new research documenting hundreds of millions of years worth of temperature fluctuations - and finding both that high temperatures are connected to mass extinction events, and that the current rate of increase lacks any precedent in the historical record. 

- Michael Sainato reports on a new study showing which corporations are doing the most to undermine democracy - with big tech joining mining and fossil fuel conglomerates among the worst offenders. 

- Cory Doctorow discusses how one of the fundamental elements of exploitative capitalism is its deployment of boringness and complexity to keep people from challenging its abuses. And the Joseph Rowntree Foundation highlights how no amount of economic growth will reduce poverty levels if it isn't accompanied by redistribution.

- Yves Smith points out how businesses have systematically implemented price increases to extract more from the people who have the least (while falsely blaming it on forces beyond their control). And Sarah Butler reports on a study showing exactly how much more grocery stores charge for the "convenience" of shopping at smaller, closer locations - amounting to another increased cost for people who don't have a large vehicle ready at hand.

- Finally, Jessica Wildfire notes that the employer push to force workers back to offices in the midst of a pandemic is all about preserving real estate value with no regard for health or well-being. And William Trender et al. examine the effect of COVID-19 on memory and cognition - finding that it regularly causes observable harm without a patient noticing.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jonathan Watts reports on the unprecedented number of heat records being set in 2024, while the University of East Anglia examines how climate change has raised the risk of the wildfires we've seen in recent years. And Environmental Defence notes that oil industry lobbying is also reaching new highs. 

- Jonathan Safran Foer and Aaron Gross discuss how factory farming is a major vector for disease - meaning that any work to prevent future pandemics should include healthier food production models. Kevin Jiang reports on the imminent declaration of a global mpox emergency - and the refusal of Canada and other wealthier countries to help stop the spread in regions which have already been hard hit. 

- Anja Karadeglija reports on the findings of UN Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata that Canada's temporary foreign worker program is a breeding ground for contemporary slavery. And David Moscrop writes that it's long past time for the Libs to stop allowing their corporate buddies to use temporary foreign workers to make work worse for everybody. 

- Meanwhile, Maya Goodfellow writes that contrary to the bigotry spread by right-wing parties, there's no legitimate basis to blame immigrants themselves for societies designed to exploit them. And Simon Wren-Lewis discusses how the UK Cons' dehumanization of immigrants and minority cultures has served an open invitation to violent repression.  

- Finally, Cory Doctorow notes that the obscene power held by the likes of Wal-Mart and Amazon can be traced back to the Reagan-era decision to allow for monopsony control of purchasing in essential industries. And Larry Elliott reports on a new study showing that inflation disproportionately affect the poorest households who have fewer means to avoid the effects of corporate profiteering. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Fiona Harvey reports on the UN's warning that fossil fuel propagandists are engaged in a massive disinformation campaign to keep us spewing carbon pollution, while Petra Stock discusses new research showing how false denialism is seen as more credible the more often it's repeated. And John Woodside reports that Canada's oil and gas sector is predictably trying to suppress any reporting and sharing of accurate information about greenhouse gas emissions. 

- Meanwhile, Carl Meyer reports on the constant contact between pseudo-populist Pierre Poilievre and fossil fuel lobbyists. And Matt Simmons and Mike de Souza report on TC Energy's attempt to work political channels within the B.C. premier's office after a report emerged on its multiple environmental violations. 

- Climate Central examines how the effects of a warming planet include dangerously high nighttime temperatures. And Michelle Gamage discusses how poverty more than doubles one's risk of dying from extreme heat - though it's worth noting the converse that relative wealth doesn't bestow immunity either. 

- Michael Phillis reports on the Environmental Protection Agency's emergency order against the use of a pesticide which harms fetal development. And the Canadian Press reports on research showing that ultrafine air pollution particles were responsible for 1,100 deaths in Toronto and Montreal alone over a 15-year span. 

- Diane Taylor discusses how truth is the antidote to racist violence. But Luke LeBrun highlights how Pierre Poilievre is deeply committed to lying in order to preserve potential support on the lunatic fringe. And Joan Westenberg writes that there's no more sure path to to far-reaching platforms and consistent income than to claim  have been "canceled" for one's bigotry. 

- Finally, Kevin Watkins reports on the prospect that the G20 could lead the way in eliminating hunger and extreme poverty - though there's reason to be concerned that international discussions won't be matched by budgetary resources. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Matt Simon discusses the continued escalation of global temperatures to record highs (which only figure to be exceeded in the years to come). Arno Kopecky writes about the haunting spectre of a burned-out Jasper, while Katharine Gammon warns that we're all test subjects for the dangerous health effects of wildfire smoke. And Pepukaye Bardouille highlights how disaster response mechanisms for vulnerable areas are woefully inadequate for the new baseline for climate-related events. 

- Meanwhile, Richard Schiffman interviews Kristie Ebi about the reality that already-appalling heat death tolls likely represent significant undercounts. And Valerie Volcovici reports on research showing that industry-reported methane emissions likely represent only a quarter of the actual fast-acting carbon pollution being spewed by fossil fuel operators. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk points out the risks of eliminating early-warning systems for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, while Trish Greenhalgh discusses the unpredictable and jarring course of long COVID. And while Tamara Schneider's reporting on the potential development of an effective nasal vaccine to prevent COVID transmission, it's not clear that policymakers determined to operate in denial will bother to facilitate and encourage its use. 

- Muneeb Javaid and Silas Xuereb discuss how the affordability crisis facing the Canadian working class is the result of corporate greed rather than carbon pricing. Rowan Burdge, Anastasia French and Véronique Sioufi warn that the good intentions behind British Columbia's anti-poverty strategy aren't being matched with action. And Rebecca Plavin and Dakota Smith reports that a basic income trial in Los Angeles is just the latest example of how a modicum of income security can produce immense benefits for recipients and society at large. 

- Finally, Justin Ling reports on the costly and conflict-ridden consultants being used by the Trudeau government as a poor substitute for a properly funded and supported civil service. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Matt Stoller writes about the "economic termites" whose barely-noticed individual bites into personal finances are adding up to a fundamentally unsound economic structure. Imogen Tyler discusses how UK demagoguery against the receipt of social benefits has provided cover for an appalling increase in poverty, while Paul Krugman observes that needless austerity is having devastating impacts on the general public. And Owen Schalk points out that Canada is increasing military spending while doing nothing to rein in our own rising poverty rates. 

- Lewis Akenji notes that the wealthiest few people are inflicting the cost of disproportionate climate damage onto everybody else to no benefit in anybody's well-being. And Kim Scipes reviews Jason Hickel's Less Is More - while pointing out the need to start discussing and defining what degrowth means as an alternative to inherently unsustainable increases in exploitation. 

- Steven Greenhouse discusses how the U.S. Supreme Court's Republican majority has been using its power to attack workers without many of the people most affected even noticing. And Amy Howe discusses SCOTUS' decision today which effectively destroys the administrative state (ensuring there's no public mechanism to check corporate power). 

- Finally, Andrew Gregory reports on Carlos Monteiro's call to regulate and tax ultra-processed foods due to their harmful health effects.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Hazel Sheffield and Larry Elliott report on new research showing that the austerity and low-wage policies of the UK Cons have pushed nearly a million children into poverty.

- Caroline Anders notes that over 1,400 temperature records were broken just in the last week as multiple heat waves hit large swaths of the planet. Damian Carrington reports on a new data analysis showing that the climate crisis is causing an exponential rise in extreme wildfires. Stephanie Sy talks to residents about the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer and the threat to the well-being and livelihoods of a substantial proportion of U.S. domestic food production. And Alexander Bradley and Ian Hewitt study how increasing ocean temperatures may cause even faster melting of Antarctic ice sheets than previously anticipated. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk writes about the numerous and severe harms caused by fossil gas extraction in British Columbia, while Fatima Syed exposes how Enbridge is lobbying and pressuring governments to lock consumers into gas-based infrastructure to avoid any transition to cleaner sources of fuel and energy. And Simon Evans examines how an ideological aversion to green energy has cost UK consumers tens of billions of pounds over the past decade (while also contributing to the climate breakdown). 

- Finally, Andre Picard points out that Canadian governments have been neglecting the value of directing resources toward prevention rather than limiting to reactive responses to health issues for upwards of half a century.  

Monday Morning Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- Leslie Sattler discusses new research showing that carbon concentrations are continuing to increase by record amounts. David King writes about the immediate and large-scale changes needed to avert an imminent climate catastrophe. And Mohammed Muizzi writes about the existential threat facing the Maldives and other low-lying areas as a result of carbon pollution from wealthier countries.

- Cynthia McCormick Hibbert points out a new study suggesting that the environmental harms of microplastics may include reducing the ability of oceans to absorb atmospheric carbon. Zoe Schlanger discusses Maine's attempt to respond to the ubiquitous threat of PFA "forever chemicals" in water. And Sattler also notes that sandwich bags are rife with PFAs. 

- Meanwhile, Carl Meyer reports on the attempt by the tar sands-based Pathways Alliance to both evade any environmental assessments for planned megaprojects, and help itself to massive amounts of public money in the process. 

- Caitlin Owens discusses the mental health crisis which may have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but which continues to hamper wide swaths of people. And Jonathan Ore writes about the "great exhaustion" arising out of a combination of work and social stressors.  

- Aaron Wherry writes about Food Banks Canada's report card indicating that the Libs are barely treading water in ameliorating poverty (while right-wing provincial governments are doing no better and the Cons are bent on making matters even worse). And Thom Hartmann highlights the U.S. Republicans' "mudsill" theory which relies on a trapped underclass of labour to further enrich the already-wealthy. 

- Finally, Timothy Cooke writes about Josh Chernofsky's escape from the alt-right's cult. 

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.