Calgary gets serious about housing
Somewhat surprisingly, we have an issue which all three major parties have agreed on. A housing crisis. There is even agreement on how to deal…
Do kids have to sue for a sustainable future?
Much publicity was generated recently by a court case in Montana (Held v. State of Montana). A nonprofit called Our Children’s Trust, acting on behalf…
Talking to China
Winston Churchill is credited with saying “It’s better to jaw-jaw than war-war.” It is very much better indeed when two protagonists are armed with nuclear…
Sortition—assembling citizens
A recent essay in The New York Times prompts me once again to write about a favourite topic of mine, namely citizens’ assemblies. The essay,…
An American hero
The U.S. has come a long way. Any doubt about that was erased last Monday. On that day, a Southern black woman announced that she…
Oil industry disappoints (but doesn’t surprise)
Once upon a time I toiled in the oil patch and it was good to me. I worked for Shell Canada and the royal pectin…
The planet is literally in hot water
According to the dictionary, getting yourself in hot water means getting yourself into trouble for which you risk punishment. Well, we are heating up the…
Alberta pauses the future
Alberta is Canada’s leader in renewables projects and investments. Of the new solar and wind generation capacity added in Canada in 2022, 75 percent was…
Biden, Trump and the authoritarian urge
Recent polls show that Donald Trump and Joe Biden are tied in this very early stage of the 2024 presidential race. Each has just over…
A Republican and a Democrat take on big tech
The headline in The New York Times “Lindsey Graham and Elizabeth Warren: When It Comes to Big Tech, Enough Is Enough” caught my eye for…
August 2—Earth Overshoot Day
The Global Footprint Network performs the public service of calculating how rapidly we are devouring the Earth’s natural resources. The Network is a charitable not-for-profit…
The amazing American economy
Reading a very good book recently I was once again reminded of the irrepressible nature of the American economy. The book is Chip War: The…