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Recent Posts
- Understanding future demand for heavy oil – Why the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project is a good bet for Canada
- Thoughts on living a public life with a stutter and on the value of early and intensive speech therapy
- Revisiting activist myths about the Trans Mountain Pipeline – or Why Climate leaders may sometimes need to build pipelines
- More chemically-uninformed fear-mongering about the Trans Mountain Pipeline – this time about the dangers of diluted bitumen
- A Chemist looks at a major activist study about the Trans Mountain Pipeline Project and finds a hot mess
Top Posts & Pages
- Understanding future demand for heavy oil - Why the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project is a good bet for Canada
- Why a Pragmatic Environmentalist supports the Trans Mountain Pipeline
- Debunking some Viral Climate Change Alarmism
- Some ideas to help teach Evolution under BC's new Grade 7 Science curriculum
- Revisiting activist myths about the Trans Mountain Pipeline - or Why Climate leaders may sometimes need to build pipelines
- On the bizarre narrative about bitumen being an "inferior" form of crude oil that can't be sold
- Why public health officials advise against masks to protect from the Coronavirus - my thoughts using lessons learned from asbestos exposure
- About
- Alberta's Renewable Energy Conundrum in Charts and Numbers - Why Capacity Factors Matter
- Thoughts on living a public life with a stutter and on the value of early and intensive speech therapy
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Shaheen Innis on Understanding future demand fo… Mike Riemer on Understanding future demand fo… Robert Cyr on Why a Pragmatic Environmentali… Robert Cyr on Why a Pragmatic Environmentali… Robert Cyr on Why a Pragmatic Environmentali… Categories
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Author Archives: Blair
More on Coronavirus PPE – This time let’s talk about gloves
I am an Environmental Chemist. My work involves exposure to toxic and/or corrosive chemicals. Prior to my current professional position, I worked at the University of Victoria teaching first year students in their first university laboratory course. As a Professional … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
Why public health officials advise against masks to protect from the Coronavirus – my thoughts using lessons learned from asbestos exposure
A heated debate has arisen about wearing masks in public to help protect against the Coronavirus. Our health authorities have been advising against general mask use but have not been very effective at explaining why general mask use is not … Continue reading
Posted in Chemistry and Toxicology, Uncategorized
14 Comments
Winding Down BC’s Fossil Fuel Industries – another CCPA report that just doesn’t cut it
This morning I was directed to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). As I have written previously, every time I get a notification about one of their reports, I hope that it will present an evidence-based analysis … Continue reading
Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, LNG, Uncategorized
5 Comments
On civil disobedience, uncivil obedience and understanding the limits of legitimate protest
As many of my readers know, I have been environmental activist for a long time. As an activist I learned a lot about what you can and cannot legally do at a protest. It is through this lens that I … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
15 Comments
Fractures in the Bridge – Another disappointing CAPE report, this time on hydraulic fracking
Regular readers of this blog know of my ongoing frustration with the MDs at the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). No group has so consistently disappointed me with the variance between the reports they are capable of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
7 Comments
What Chemistry lab safety (and mom’s rules) teach us about how to protect ourselves from the flu or viruses like the Coronavirus.
As my readers know, I am trained as an academic chemist and spent a decade teaching in lab environments. Since I left the academic community, my work has included a lot of time doing occupational health and safety. This practical … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
4 Comments
On the IISD’s misleading calculations of Canadian fossil fuel subsidies
There are few topics that raise the ire of activists more than the idea of subsidies for oil and gas companies. Listen to an activist talk and you will invariably hear a comment about oil and gas subsidies and how … Continue reading
Posted in Pipelines, Uncategorized
5 Comments
Alberta’s Renewable Energy Conundrum in Charts and Numbers – Why Capacity Factors Matter
Over the holidays I have read a lot of commentary on Alberta’s energy future. I keep seeing individuals demanding that Alberta concentrate on wind and solar for its energy future. The people making these statements are mostly activists and journalists, … Continue reading
I debunk yet another misleading CAPE article about fracking and BC LNG
As someone who specializes in evidence-based environmental decision-making, I am regularly disappointed by the dismal level of discourse in the environmental field. Organizations and individuals you would expect to provide useful insight end up doing exactly the opposite. No group … Continue reading
Posted in Canadian Politics, Chemistry and Toxicology, LNG, Uncategorized
8 Comments
BC’s Dormancy and Shutdown Regulation – Another example of BC making the right decisions in regulating our oil and gas industry
I have written a lot about the BC natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. I have pointed out how BC produces some of the lowest greenhouse gas LNG on the planet; how we regulate flaring and venting better … Continue reading
Posted in Canadian Politics, LNG, Uncategorized
9 Comments
