Category Archives: Canadian Politics

Thoughts on the new Liberal Government and the Environment

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Blair

Like many interested observers, I was shocked at the size of the Liberal victory in our Canadian election. I was confident in a Liberal minority but had no clue that the Liberals would end up with a majority. From an … Continue reading →

Posted in General Politics | 1 Comment

More on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Environment

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Blair

As many of my blog readers know, I have a regular blog at the Huffington Post Canada. On that blog I post shorter versions/updates of my A Chemist in Langley posts and post “short takes” on recent issues in the … Continue reading →

Posted in General Politics | 3 Comments

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

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Blair

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

A Chemist looks at the Leap Manifesto and finds it wanting

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Blair

This morning as I was enjoying a well-earned coffee break a fascinating announcement lit up my Twitter feed. It was about “The Leap Manifesto”. By the breathless tweets I expected a highly-researched document full of insight and new ideas, maybe … Continue reading →

Posted in Leap Manifesto | 11 Comments

On Linda McQuaig’s comments, Carbon budgets, and keeping oil sands “in the ground”

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Blair

NDP candidate Linda McQuaig has been taking a lot of flack in the last couple days for a quotation on CBC’s Power and Politics where she suggested that “a lot of the oil sands oil may have to stay in … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Oil Sands | 6 Comments

Some pitfalls in the road to an affordable, low-carbon energy future

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Blair

I was chatting on Twitter yesterday and had another interesting discussion with one of the people with whom I regularly spar. He is a recent convert to environmental activism and, like many of his kin, has a limited science background … Continue reading →

Posted in Leap Manifesto, Renewable Energy | 1 Comment

More on that "Toxic Benzene Plume"

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Blair

Today’s blog post is intended to provide some further commentary on the “toxic benzene plume” from my previous blog post: Questions about the City of Vancouver May 27th Trans-Mountain Expansion Proposal Summary of Evidence. As readers of my blog know, … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Environmentalism and Ecomodernism, Risk | 2 Comments

Questions about the City of Vancouver May 27th Trans-Mountain Expansion Proposal Summary of Evidence

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Blair

Yesterday my twitter feed was stuffed with multiple re-tweets of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Proposal (TMEP) Summary of Evidence (SoE) prepared for Vancouver City Council 27 May 2015 (ref). I was first directed to the document by Jeff Lee … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, General Politics, Risk, Trans Mountain, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

On the “conspiracy” to force people to remain connected to sanitary and sewer systems

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Blair

The topic for tonight’s blog arrived on my radar because of the story of a Florida woman who went to court in an attempt to legally get herself off the grid (ref and ref). Her story created a pretty significant … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Risk, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Where the new Pembina Report misses the mark on Energy East

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Blair

Numerous people have sent me links to the Pembina Institute report: “Crafting an Effective Canadian Energy Strategy: “How Energy East and the oilsands affect climate and energy objectives”. Having quickly read the report I must admit to being a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Energy East, Pipelines | 5 Comments