Category Archives: Leap Manifesto

Reviewing Seth Klein’s A Good War – An interesting historical treatise that ignores the details of climate science

In A Good War the author makes it clear he really doesn’t understand our climate challenge from a technical and scientific perspective. To use a metaphor from the book, the author builds his cathedral using a flawed foundation, resulting in a structure unable to support his basic premise. It is worth the read for the historical perspective it provides but sadly like many recent tomes on climate change, the book has less to do with fighting climate change and more to do with eliminating/defeating Neoliberalism Continue reading

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Climate Change Politics, General Politics, Leap Manifesto | 4 Comments

Why political demands we radically speed up decarbonization represent wishful thinking

This blog post started as a potential Twitter thread that got out of hand. It grew out of recent demands by major political organizations that Canada increase its pace of decarbonization. First it was the Canadian pact for a Green … Continue reading

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Climate Change Politics, Leap Manifesto, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

On the Energy Innumeracy of the supporters of Canada’s Green New Deal

In the last week a group of Canadian activists have decided to mimic their American cousins by trying to advance a Canadian pact for a Green New Deal (GND Can hereafter). This is not the American Green New Deal you … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Climate Change Politics, Leap Manifesto, Uncategorized | 18 Comments

Revisiting 100% Wind, Water and Sunlight for Canada – an ill-advised approach to fight climate change

Dr. Marc Z. Jacobson, the lead scientist of the 100% Wind, Water and Sunlight (100% WWS) movement, was in Vancouver last week for a presentation. Dr. Jacobson is a proponent of relying solely on wind, water and sunlight to meet … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Climate Change Politics, Fossil Fuel Free Future, Leap Manifesto, Renewable Energy, Uncategorized | 17 Comments

A challenge to the climate activists, Leapers and anti-pipeline activists: show us your plans

I started this blog to provide a venue for pragmatic discussions about evidence-based environmental decision-making. The problem with being both pragmatic and evidence-based is that it grounds you in the mundane realities of the world. It prevents you from taking … Continue reading

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Climate Change Politics, Environmentalism and Ecomodernism, Leap Manifesto, Pipelines, Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Debunking the Leap Manifesto’s 100% Wind, Water and Sunlight Annual Energy, Health, and Climate Cost Savings

As regular readers of this blog know, I have spent a lot of time debunking components of the still-draft paper prepared by Dr. Jacobson 100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS) All-Sector Energy Roadmaps for 139 Countries of the … Continue reading

Posted in Canadian Politics, Fossil Fuel Free Future, Leap Manifesto, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Debunking the Leap Manifesto’s 100% Wind, Water and Sunlight Health Cost Savings for Canada

As anyone interested in the topic of renewable energy knows Premier Brad Wall made the news the other night. He did so by giving a speech where he discussed a number of the figures provided in the “100% clean economy by 2050” … Continue reading

Posted in Canadian Politics, Fossil Fuel Free Future, Leap Manifesto, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Debunking the Leap Manifesto 100% Renewables by 2050 demand

My vocal challenges to the viability of “The Leap Manifesto” have earned me some negative feedback and as such I figure it is necessary to back up my opinions with a few numbers. In doing this I will differentiate myself … Continue reading

Posted in Canadian Politics, Environmentalism and Ecomodernism, Fossil Fuel Free Future, Leap Manifesto, Uncategorized | 52 Comments

The Leap Manifesto: Good Intentions Mixed with Bad Science

As regular readers of this blog know, I first encountered the Leap Manifesto when it was released in September of 2015. At the time I wrote a couple pieces. The first: A Chemist looks at the Leap Manifesto and finds … Continue reading

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change Politics, General Politics, Leap Manifesto | 6 Comments

Debunking the Leap Manifesto – Demand #9: Local agriculture is not always better

I have been asked numerous times in the last couple days what I have against the “The Leap Manifesto”? My answer is simple: The Leap Manifesto is of particular interest to me because it touches so close to my intellectual … Continue reading

Posted in Leap Manifesto | 7 Comments