Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Beth Mole reports on research showing that U.S. children suffered a spike in brain abscesses after COVID protections were removed - and that the levels continue to be elevated long after everybody has been told not to bother doing anything to avoid the spread of COVID-19. And Nicole Ireland reports on a new study finding that brain inflammation in long COVID patients (accompanied by debilitating symptoms) can linger for months after an initial infection. 

- Seth Borensen writes about the Earth Commission's recognition that our planet is operating at dangerous extremes on nearly every measurable front. And IANS reports on the danger extreme heat and drought pose to the global wheat supply. 

- Damian Carrington reports on belated efforts to stem Turkmenistan's methane "super-emitter" releases - though it's well worth noting how much more other countries need to do in reining in methane emissions as well. And Sarah Miller weighs in on the absurdity of treating carbon capture and storage as the primary option to address carbon pollution, rather than actually reducing the use of fossil fuels in favour of zero-emission alternatives. 

- Meanwhile, Matthew Rosza writes about the harm plastic pollution is doing to our living environment - and the reality that recycling programs billed as a solution are of minimal help at best. 

- Finally, Armine Yalnizyan discusses how the escalation of Toronto's housing crisis can be traced directly to the diversion of tens of thousands of homes to AirBNB and other temporary purposes. 

Musical interlude

Shallou - Save Some Room

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Kelly MacNamara writes about the slowing of Antarctic ocean circulation as a calamitous consequence of climate change which is happening far sooner than predicted. And Alex Cooke reports on the state of emergency in Nova Scotia reflecting the immediate impact of extreme weather and unprecedented levels of heat. 

- Meanwhile, Timothy Gardner reports that the U.S.' plans for new nuclear power include the use of bomb-grade uranium - meaning that the dangers of fixating on nuclear energy include the readily foreseeable risk of weapon proliferation. 

- Talmon Joseph Smith and Joe Rennison report on the growing recognition that inflation is primarily the product of a profit-price spiral, with corporations all taking advantage of talk of limited supplies to pad their bottom lines at public expense. 

- Pete Evans reports on the CMHC's warning that household debt now exceeds Canada's entire gross domestic product - meaning that Canadians are in a far more precarious position than even their peers in other corporate-dominated countries. 

- Finally, Jessica Hamzelou reports on the plight of patients who benefited from a brain implant to help warn of epileptic incidents - only to lose the benefit of a valuable medical tool to a corporate shutdown and the failure of anybody to support its continued use. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Helpful cats.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Martin Sandhu writes about the development of degrowth as a viable economic organizing principle. And Kevin Drum offers a reminder that the growth we've been trained to demand has been entirely funneled into corporate coffers for over four decades, rather than creating any improvement in workers' personal incomes. 

- Meanwhile, Justin McCurry reports on the experience of Nagi, Japan showing that investments in child care and support for parents is the key to increasing birth rates for anybody treating population growth as a goal. 

- Alex Lawson reports on the EPA's findings of environmental violations by Amite BioEnergy in its wood pellet operations - reflecting a business based on claiming emissions credit for shipping and burning dirty fuel falling short of even its cynical operating model. 

- Finally, Rebecca Speare-Cole reports on the unsurprising - but still-important - reality that the corporate sector's priorities involve controlling the world first and ensuring it's liveable last. And Simone O'Donovan writes that action is ultimately the only solution both to the climate breakdown and to the anxiety it's provoking in generations who see their futures being burned for short-term profit.

Sunday Evening Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- David Cox talks to Akiko Iwasaki about the reality that we're still far from being done with major harm from COVID-19. Keith Muziguchi discusses the stories of some of the people living with long COVID and finding few receptive listeners for either their experiences or their warnings. And Dylan Lubao points out the connection between the removal of mask mandates in health care facilities, and another fully-preventable COVID surge. 

- Ian Austen discusses the choices facing voters in Alberta's election - though the apparent belief of people who recognize the dangers of the UCP that they can accomplish as much by destroying a ballot as by voting for a viable alternative bodes poorly for the province's prospects. 

- Meanwhile, Jim Stanford highlights how the UCP's corporate tax giveaway (which Danielle Smith is pushing to lock in) was utterly counterproductive, gutting public revenues while showing no evidence of encouraging investment or economic development. And Nojoud Al Mallees reports on new data from Statistics Canada which suggests that any business complaints about a labour shortage are both overblown, and based primarily on their own refusal to provide decent work. 

- Tom Sanzillo writes about a new study showing how what little major oil companies are doing to claim to reduce emissions often involves selling high-emitting assets to others to continue operations.. 

- Finally, John Cartwright and Bianca Mugyenyi make the case for investing our public resources in butter rather than guns - particularly as the greatest threats we face involve social and environmental needs rather than plausible military confrontations.