Musical interlude

Elderbrook - Talking

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Steve Turton writes about the dangers of global temperatures which were far exceeding recorded highs even before the start of an El Nino cycle. And Denise Chow reports on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's warning that a spike in ocean temperature will likely linger through most of 2023 at least. 

- Laurie Parsons points out how heat waves and other extreme weather events exacerbate existing inequalities. Paul Brown discusses how urban microclimates can exacerbate dangerous temperatures and winds, while Blaine Friedlander reports on new research showing how wildfire smoke endangers the health and lives of people downwind. And Neha Wadekar highlights how women in particular bear a disproportionate share of the costs and burdens of a climate breakdown.  

- Nigaan Sinclair and Sean Carleton write about the residential school denialism industry (with the full participation of the racist right) which is constantly on the lookout to undermine any recognition and acknowledgment of a genocidal legacy. 

- Finally, Fahad Razak and Angela Cheung discuss the desperate need for Canada to develop a long-COVID strategy - even as the ongoing mass infection giving rise to a steady stream of cases is being systematically ignored. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner discuss how even crucial advances like vaccines are under threat due to the ruthlessly persistent anti-science message being used to excuse continuing disregard for human health. And Jonathan Watts reports on new research showing that we're reaching dangerous climate tipping points faster than previously predicted as the cumulative impact of multiple factors alters our living environment beyond recognition. 

- Umair Haque discusses why we're continuing to stoke an addiction to fossil fuels even as we're experiencing the direct effects of a climate breakdown. But Dharna Noor reports on the prominent role of dirty energy money in fighting against any prospect that corporations could even be permitted to consider environmental or social factors in making decisions.

- Meanwhile, in advance of the COP28 climate conference, leaders from around the world have agreed to statements on the importance of an equitable green transition and a financial architecture which properly accounts for climate costs and risks. But it remains to be seen whether that theoretical recognition will be translated into any action - or whether oil barons will be allowed to dictate the terms of engagement yet again. 

- Matthew Taylor reports on new research showing that most people will be just as well off if we recognize that fossil fuel assets will eventually be stranded - meaning that those fighting to ensure they're exploited are doing so solely for the benefit of their already-wealthy cronies. 

- Kartikay Mehrotra and A.C. Thompson expose how lobbyists from the trucking industry have kept pedestrians and cyclists at increased risk by fighting regulations to mandate the use of side guards - with the assistance of regulators who stifled a recommendation that they be required. 

- Ellis Simani and Robert Faturechi report on the convenient timing that's seen executives and insiders clean up in trading U.S. biotech and health care stocks. 

- Finally, Iglika Ivanova and Jim Stanford discuss how British Columbia (and other jurisdictions) can better protect gig workers from corporations whose sole business plan is to evade worker protections and rights. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Mitchell Beer writes about the Canada Energy Regulator's recognition that the future will involve far less fossil fuel use than the oil industry and its spokespuppets want us to believe. And Marc Fawcett-Atkinson discusses how biomethane is just another distraction intended to turn the focus away from actual solutions. 

- Rob Thubron reports on Antonio Guterres' latest warning that continued dependence on fossil fuels is incompatible with a liveable planet, while Fiona Harvey reports on Avinash Persaud's call for far more support for developing countries facing the brunt of the damage of a climate breakdown so far. And Yale Climate Connections points out that there's strong public support for strong action to stop carbon pollution - even as people demanding action wrongly believe they're in the minority due to the cacophony of paid fossil fuel shills dominating any public discussion. 

- Tina Reed discusses how scientists seeking to provide people with accurate information within their disciplines are being harassed off of Twitter (and out of other public spaces) as the violent, anti-knowledge right is being deliberately legitimized by wealthy conservatives. And Cory Doctorow writes about the importance of presenting and defending an alternative to the corporatism and fascism - rather than presuming that the only option is to compromise on everything while satisfying nobody. 

- Omar Mosleh reports on Barrie's appalling proposal to outlaw any assistance to unhoused people. And Clara Pasieka reports on the movement pushing back against that naked cruelty. 

- Finally, Michael Sainato reports on the tens of billions of dollars being stolen from workers by employers every year in the U.S.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Outstretched cats.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Nippon.com discusses a new survey indicating that a large majority of people in Japan continue to mask regularly to protect their own health and that of others. But Richard Woodbury reports that Nova Scotia (like other Canadian jurisdictions) is seeing significant unexplained excess mortality now that it's stopped making any effort to limit or track the spread of COVID-19. 

- Martha Bailey et al. study how investments in the social safety net pay for themselves dozens of times over. But Patrick Butler discusses how the UK has chosen to provide minimal cost of living supports which fall far short of providing a stable financial base. And Michael Casey and R.J. Rico write about the escalating rate of evictions in the U.S. as landlords push people out of their homes to pursue higher rents.  

- Tzeporah Berman highlights how the oil sector is the arsonist responsible for setting much of Canada on fire. Luke Barratt discusses how existing carbon offsets are generally fictitious rather than representing any true reduction in carbon pollution. And Jamie Swift writes about the need for a political movement to work on averting a climate breakdown. 

- Florian Dietrich et al. find that the climate harm caused by fossil gas is far more severe than assumed in existing policies. And Zoë Yunker examines how one carbon-fueled disaster can cause another, particularly as fires make land more vulnerable to flooding. 

- Finally, Andrew Hawthorn rightly argues that "thinking of the children" shouldn't be taken as an excuse for bigotry or violence. And Jae Puckett points out how the anti-social right's attacks on LGBTQ+ people are imposing new burdens and stresses on people who aren't asking for anything more than to be able to live life as themselves. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Eyal Press writes about the problems with the U.S.' health care system which forces medical workers to subordinate the health of their patients to the demands of corporate investors. And Andre Picard points out that the largest problems with Canada's health care system come from the areas where it's the least universal and most profit-oriented. 

- The Economist discusses the extreme wildfires which have already torn through massive swaths of Canada before we even reach summer. And Mitchell Thompson offers a reminder that in addition to insisting on spewing the carbon pollution that's driving a climate breakdown, right-wing governments have also systematically destroyed the firefighting response needed to try to limit the damage. 

- Meanwhile, Sam Meredith reports on Europe's recognition that it faces a water crisis - which sadly places it far ahead of Canada in at least attempting to plan ahead rather than merely reacting to disasters as they occur. 

- Andrew MacLeod writes about the significance of global shipping as a driver of climate change - which is particularly important in light of the perpetual push by the dirty energy industry to ship oil and gas offshore and move carbon emissions off of Canada's balance sheet. 

- Emily Chung and Alice Hopton report on the reality that environmentally-friendly housing is often more affordable - as long as it's being built and operated by groups focused on meeting needs rather than banking profits. 

- Finally, Roy E. Bahat, Thomas A. Kochan, and Liba Wenig Rubenstein make the case for employers to start working with organized labour rather than seeking to undermine it at every opportunity. And Zachary Carter discusses Isabella Weber's compelling argument that controls on corporate profiteering are a needed answer to exploitative inflation. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Matthew Cunningham-Cook and Andrew Perez highlight how Suncor and other dirty energy giants have poured loads of windfall profits into stock buybacks while simultaneously repudiating their environmental promises and obligations.

- Jonathan Barrett discusses how Australia has seen the same spate of "shrinkflation" that's similarly resulted in the corporate sector goosing its profits at consumer expense elsewhere. And Paul Krugman points out how a focus on current measures of core inflation results in a misleading picture of household expenses.

- Meanwhile, Michelle Cyca discusses how Canadian public policy has gone astray due to the impossible promise that homeownership can paper over growing structural inequality. 

- Finally, Luke LeBrun reports on the bigoted right's attempts to take over Canada's schools and public spaces. And Jeremy Appel discusses how the Alberta NDP unfortunately kept that mindset in power by seeking to placate a right-wing view assumed to be shared by persuadable voters while offering only to be less hateful and corrupt in implementing it.