The UN’s contentious motion on slavery
Earlier this month the United Nations passed Resolution A/80/L.48: Commemoration of the abolition of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, a motion proposed by the…
Sustainability: how two “problems” equal one solution
Two economic “problems” confound our policy-making. They appear distinct, yet offer a very promising relationship. The first is population decline. Outside of Sub-Saharan Africa, the…
About the decline of Western civilization
The American administration has been expressing concern lately about the “decline” of Western civilization. The villain is Europe. Chief purveyor of this notion is Vice…
Calgary’s water problem and the cost of sprawl
Calgary has been having water problems lately. In June 2024, the city’s largest water line, the main feeder from the Bearspaw reservoir, broke, triggering severe…
Where did all the conservatives go?
Reading an article about immigration, a hot topic these days, in my latest copy of Canada’s History, I was reminded of how much of our…
The U.S. changes sides, whither Canada?
Donald Trump and his MAGA colleagues have decided to do more than abandon America’s fight against climate change, more than formalize climate denial as the…
Alberta, tribalism, luck and oil
People are tribal. It’s in our genes. We are a communal species. It makes us what we are, it brings us together, and it tears…
It’s the cruelty that appals
The chaos taking place in Washington reminds me of Bananas, Woody Allen’s comedy about revolution in a fictitious Latin American republic. Only it isn’t funny.…
The hypocrisy of exporting fossil fuel emissions
Alberta is the pollution province. Despite a population of less than a third of Ontario, it is responsible for 70 percent more greenhouse gas emissions.…
What is the real price of your hamburger?
As much as we trust the free market, it isn’t always honest with us. It often tells lies. Big lies. Specifically, it lies about the…
Premier Smith and the fascist hatemonger
When Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi called Premier Danielle Smith “dangerous,” I thought he was perhaps being overly partisan. That was before I was fully…