Friday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to end your week.

- Amy Peng et al. examine the profound positive impact of mask mandates in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario. And Sheena Cruickshank warns about the avoidable harm we can expect as so many respond to the political and social signals to abandon all precautions in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. 

- Luis Guanter et al. document an immense methane leak from a single well blowout in Kazakhstan. Michael Barnard offers a reminder that the definition of a carbon capture and storage "success story" is the release of 25 times more carbon pollution than is captured.

- Zoe Yunker reports on the federal government's choice to scrap pipe supply and testing requirements for a particularly treacherous stretch of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Fatima Syed discusses how the Ford government has suppressed a study which shows how the climate crisis endangers numerous facets of life in Ontario. And Raidin Blue and Betsy Again study (PDF) how bottlenecks in labour and material supplies are among the obstacles to making buildings more energy-efficient - making clear that the price of subsidizing dirty energy expansion is to divert the resources needed to transition to a cleaner economy. 

- Matthew Kurtz examines the problems with making educational institutions beholden to capital investments.

- Finally, Erika Shaker writes that trans children deserve far better than to be used as pawns in the right's culture wars. Rob Reiner discusses how hostility toward diversity is behind the willingness of U.S. religious nationalists to support Donald Trump. And Laura Woodward reports on the appalling demand by a Saskatoon church to shut down support services for homeless people - and how it's being echoed in Sask Party policy. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Rachael Lyle-Thompson discusses how children are happier in countries with social safety nets which reduce the anxiety level around them. And Eric Galbraith et al. find that satisfaction levels in small-scale Indigenous societies may be just as high as in the wealthiest countries - offering yet another indication as to how substituting GDP for social well-being misses the mark. 

- Evan Halper discusses how the plastics industry is attempting to hijack school systems to avoid answering for the harm it does to the environment. And Taylor Noakes examines how the dirty energy industry is responding to legislation seeking to rein in deceptive advertising with a barrage of exactly the type of dishonesty which demands a public policy response. 

- Arthur Neslen discusses the "litigation terrorism" being used to block even the most minimal of environmental laws and policies. And Billy Briggs examines the systematic abuse of litigation threats against individual climate activists. 

- Max Fawcett writes that Danielle Smith's obsession with the perpetual expansion of fossil fuel production (and resulting carbon pollution) exceeds even that of Saudi Arabia - even as Alberta stands to pay the price for being a laggard in both climate and economic terms. 

- Finally, Catharine Tunney reports on CSIS' warning that anti-trans bigots pose a threat of extreme violence. Gillian Steward discusses how Smith is serving exactly those forces in aiming her government's power against trans teens, while Althia Raj highlights how Pierre Poilievre is twisting the truth to justify his own attacks on trans people. And Jason Vermes reports on the gender-affirming clinics who have no choice but to operate privately as right-wing governments refuse to recognize their work as health care. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Surrounded cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Stephanie Bouchoucha et al. offer a reminder that Australia (like other jurisdictions) needs to do far better in reducing the harm caused by an ongoing pandemic. And researchers presenting to the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine have found widespread long COVID among people who were infected while pregnant. 

- Meanwhile, Crawford Kilian warns that the anti-social, anti-science cranks empowered by crass corporate operators wanting to avoid COVID restrictions are stoking a resurgence of measles (as well as increased threats from other diseases). 

- Clyde Hughes reports on a new study showing that 83 million U.S. residents are exposed to unhealthy air every year due to the climate breakdown. And Jennifer Francis discusses the "weather whiplash" which is becoming increasingly common and destructive due to climate change. 

- But Jefim Vogel and Jason Hickel find (PDF) that even the countries who are claiming to have decoupled growth from carbon pollution are still spewing more than we can afford. 

- Andy Stirling reviews Tim Schwab's The Bill Gates Problem as an important exposition as to how billionaire-controlled "charity" results in warped and self-interested priorities.  

- Finally, Shauna MacKinnon writes that there's no excuse for governments deferring to the whims of private-sector developers when the need for housing can only be met by public social investment. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Oliver Milman reports on new research showing that shipping, aviation and industry are the three areas where carbon emissions are remaining at their existing levels or growing on a global basis. But Barry Saxifrage notes that Canada is a climate scofflaw as the only G7 country to be spewing more emissions than we were in 1990, while Theresa Beer calls out the provincial governments spending public money trying to demolish the few substantial climate policies which exist to date based on false spin about affordability. 

- Uday Rana discusses how parking mandates are contributing to a lack of affordable housing. But Rachel Cohen notes that many U.S. municipalities are moving past a passive approach, and instead building their own social housing intended to create communities which include all walks of life. 

- Judith Graham writes that the callous decision-making around COVID-19 raises questions about whether the U.S. cares about older adults at all - though it's worth noting the question is probably equally valid if applied more widely to caring about people period. 

- Sean Illing interviews Elizabeth Anderson about the damage wrought by a neoliberal "work ethic" which paints compliant subservience to the interests of capital as the ultimate virtue. And Adam King discusses the need for anti-scab legislation at the provincial level. 

- Finally, Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman reports on the spread of Fixit Clinics as a means of giving effect to the right to repair in California. And Currey McCullough discusses how farmers are being exploited for billions of dollars every year through the greed of equipment providers who exercise monopoly control over repairs and maintenance. 

Musical interlude

Timecop1983 - On The Run

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. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Mark Poynting reports on the latest data showing that global warming reached the 1.5 C threshold over the past year. And Adrienne Berard discusses new research finding that the climate breakdown's devastating feedback loops include the potential that hotter, drier conditions will make it more difficult for trees to sequester carbon. 

- But Andrew Nikiforuk writes about David Hughes' new report showing that while Canada continues to subsidize carbon pollution, it doesn't even have a plausible path to stop actively exacerbating the climate crisis by 2050. And Katharine Sanderson and Carissa Wong discuss how the EU is relying on vaporware rather than emission cuts in trying to set a slightly more ambitious timeline. 

- Jake Bittle discusses new research into the depletion of groundwater around the globe. And Crawford Kilian interviews Erica Gies about the dangers of taking water for granted. 

- Lise Olsen interviews Jim Morris about his new book about the connection between industrial chemicals and severe health issues for American workers. 

- Finally, Q Hamirani writes that the mandatory return-to-office policies which have stoked the continued spread of COVID-19 and other diseases represent an attempt to conceal poor management. 

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.]

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cool cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Cordell Jacks writes about the need for an economic model which evolves beyond the short-term exploitation of people and the planet. And Jessica McKenzie interviews Charlotte Kukowski about the importance of reprioritizing in the context of readily-apparent feedback loops between inequality and the climate crisis. 

- Daria Shapovalova reports on a landmark court decision determining that oil companies won't be able to avoid answering for downstream emissions in environmental assessments in Norway. But sadly, both Canada and the UK are continuing to rush through as much extraction and export as possible before anybody applies that standard to their fossil fuel sectors. 

- Marcus Baram reports on new legislation under consideration in New York which would ensure that large-scale wage thieves lose the privilege of doing business. 

- Adam King writes about the fight of Saskatchewan's teachers for tolerable working and learning conditions - and the Moe government's determination to avoid providing anything of the sort. 

- Aaron Wherry asks whether Justin Trudeau is reaching the point of regretting not keeping his promise of a fair and proportional electoral system. 

- Finally, Luke LeBrun points out that Stephen Harper's International Democrat Union has quietly scrubbed its links to Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party - though the main news appears to be that  there exists a level of authoritarianism that even the IDU will disclaim. 

On harm exacerbation

Ryan Meili offers an important values-based critique of the Sask Party's "do more harm" policy on addictions treatment. But it's worth taking a closer look at who stands to benefit from the pursuit of harm maximization and treatment-for-profit.

A single private business, ROSC Solutions Group, has been trotted out by the Moe government at various points as an adviser and author of a report, an "expert" validator and a source of rebuttals against the people calling to continue work on harm reduction. 

Presumably that combination of consulting and PR work hasn't been carried out for free. And it's telling that the primary party apparently willing to say anything supporting the Sask Party's position is the one which has been hand-selected and paid to support the government's line. 

Meanwhile, it's abundantly clear who stands to receive ongoing public funding as a result of the plan.

As part of the incomplete list of spaces to date, EHN Canada is listed as being funded for both virtual and in-treatment care. (The inclusion of virtual programs as part of the government's promised number of spaces is left as a degradation of health services for another day.)

And in case there's any doubt about its goal of using public funds to build a private care system, EHN's own intake page for online services lists Saskatchewan's funding alongside a general assumption of patient-paid treatment:

Worried About Paying For Treatment? 

We know not everyone has the same financial situation. There are options when it comes to covering the cost of treatment, give us a call to discuss the possibilities. 

We are proud to have partnered with the Saskatchewan Health Authority to provide funded treatment for our online substance use disorder program to residents of Saskatchewan. Click here to learn more.

Not surprisingly, both of those actors seeking to profit from attacking harm reduction and emphasizing unregulated, for-profit "recovery" are tied into similar movements in B.C. and Alberta - as documented by Rumneek Johal last year. (ROSC is listed as having done similar work for Alberta, while EHN has a dubious and controversial history of work in both B.C. and Alberta.)

To be sure, there's also a moralistic "war on some people using some drugs" at play as well. But while the cruelty may be the point for parts of the Sask Party's base, the overarching purpose again looks to be the funneling of public money into connected businesses - no matter how much harm is done as a result.  

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. 

Musical interlude

Everything But The Girl - Caution To The Wind

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Ian Welsh discusses how COVID-19 is the second-most important story in the world - and how our failure to respond with appropriate regard for human life and well-being mirrors our inability to address any social challenge. And Ruth Link-Gelles et al. find that the latest vaccine update has been highly successful in reducing symptomatic - confirming again that the problem is not a lack of technical expertise to reduce the risks of an ongoing pandemic, but the total absence of will to acknowledge people need to act to protect themselves and others.  

- John Woodside weighs in on the eleven-figure combined cost of federal handouts to fossil fuel companies. And Environmental Defence highlights how continued subsidies to dirty energy operators represent a violation of multiple commitments - both in political promises and international agreements. 

- The Guardian rightly argues that a status quo in which the vast majority of people are squeezed dry in order to enrich the greedy few is utterly unsustainable. And Akielly Hu talks to Kohei Saito about the merits of focusing on degrowth in connection with improved equality and well-being. 

- Tim Querengesser discusses what Canada has lost in abandoning passenger rail as an affordable, low-stress form of transportation (while pouring obscene amounts of money into expanding highways).  

- Finally, David Climenhaga doubts that Albertans are about to accept Danielle Smith's attempt to substitute corporate pharmacies for access to primary health care. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Stephanie Soucheray examines new research showing that a large majority of respondents have concealed infectious diseases out of perceived economic or social necessity. And Zoya Teirstein discusses modeling showing that we're vastly underestimating the death toll from the climate crisis - with roughly 4 million lives lost just so far.

- Katrina Miller highlights the desperate need for Canada to stop throwing massive public subsidies at dirty fossil fuels. But David Thurton reports that we're instead underestimating planned giveaways to the fossil fuel sector by ten-figure amounts - even as a program to fund fuel pumps is about to run out of money.

- Corporate Knights examines how fossil gas production and consumption results in dangerous methane leakage at every turn. And Jennifer Ellen Good discusses how a "turn it off" approach produces far superior results to hoping for a transition without taking steps to achieve it.

- Rick Spence calls out Danielle Smith for her consistent dishonesty in attacking any climate action. And Paula Simons is rightly offended to see Smith determined to strip away the rights of children in order to cater to the bigots who have taken over her party.

- Finally, Ajit Niranjan reports on a study showing that vehicles are growing wider in the EU, while Jonathan Gitlin discusses research finding a predictable connection between hood height and pedestrian fatalities. And Sarah Wesseler observes that reductions in urban speed limits are producing safer streets for everybody who uses them.

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- David Michaels, Emily Spieler and Gregory Wagner examine how negligent pandemic policies (even when COVID-19 wasn't being treated as a matter of general denialism) resulted in tens of thousands of worker deaths in the US alone. Olivia Man et al. find that prenatal exposure to COVID may produce severe health effects, while Mary Kekatos points out how the continued spread of respiratory viruses increases the risk of heart problems. And Nate Bear discusses why it will never be accurate to treat COVID as "just a cold".

- Oliver Milman reports on new documents showing that the dirty oil industry has had - and suppressed - warning about the damage expected from climate change since at least 1954. And Robert Jones reports on just another oil round of deceit, as oil companies in New Brunswick have been falsely claiming they're subject to higher federal regulatory requirements in order to gouge consumers. 

- Joseph Keller, Manann Donoghoe and Andre Perry write about the climate impacts of AI and other tech industries which pretend there's no cost or environmental harm from consuming immense amounts of energy. Adrienne LaFrance writes about the rise of techno-authoritarianism as the dominant ideology of the tech giants. And Thomas Germain reports on research showing that search results are becoming demonstrably worse due to the combination of increased focus on advertising dollars, and the gaming of search algorithms by spammers.  

- Cory Doctorow writes about the decades-long slumber of regulators - and the hope that they're starting to regain consciousness. And Meghan Smith highlights a few stories which illustrate the value of a right to repair taking priority over corporate control over products. 

- Finally, Rachel Donald and Tim Parrique discuss how individual-level deprivation is entirely the result of grossly distorted distribution rather than a lack of overall output - meaning that the only means to ensure people's needs are met is to focus on redistribution rather than endless growth. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cushioned cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Colin Carlson discusses why we should be treating the climate crisis as a health emergency (while also recognizing that such a thing demands urgent action rather than enforced denial). Debra Werner discusses the progress being made on at least identifying methane emissions which have previously gone undetected, while Laurie Winkless writes about the severe underreporting of pollution from the tar sands. And NASA notes that Greenland's ice sheets are in worse shape than previously recognized. 

- Meanwhile, Juliana Marino reports on the call from scientists to start monitoring the presence and effects of plastic particles in water. 

- Cory Doctorow's McLuhan lecture takes a look at how Facebook serves as the poster child for enshittification, while Luis Berumen Castro examines its application to digital products generally. 

- Finally, Dom Byrne discusses Catherine Thomas' work demonstrating the effectiveness of cash transfers in alleviating poverty, while Lise Olsen highlights the work being done by counties in Texas to implement a basic income (at least until antisocial Republican state officials stymie them based on the principle that helping people is unconstitutional). But Brandie Weikle reports that the Libs' level of ambition is limited to slightly reducing the interest people can be required to repay when trapped in a cycle of payday loans. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Chris Walker discusses new research showing that over half of the increase in U.S. consumer prices over the past 6 months is pure corporate greedflation. And Michael Harris warns that Pierre Poilievre is planning to use discontent among Canadian voters as to a lack of affordability to further enrich the robber barons who are causing it. 

- Alan Semuels examines the consequences of leaving an important policy project (the installation of solar panels) to the corporate sector, as the goal of converting to clean energy is in danger of being swamped by the machinations of financialization.  

- Geoff Dembicki warns that Canada is on the verge of detonating one of the planet's largest carbon bombs by pushing and subsidizing fossil gas exports. And Nichole Dusyk notes that we no longer have the excuse that "everybody else is doing it", as the U.S. has set a needed example in prioritizing a habitable planet over dirty energy exports. 

- Matthew Rosza writes about new research showing that the spread of microplastics includes accumulation in the bodies of endangered Galapagos penguins. And Joseph Winters reports on a new study showing that while recycling schemes may do little to reduce plastic contamination, actual bans work wonders in reducing the number of bags discarded. 

- Zak Vescera reports on British Columbia's steps to reduce the extent and danger of exposure to asbestos in the workplace. 

- Finally, David MacDonald examines what's included - and what's still missing - in the first step toward a national dental plan.