Category Archives: Canadian Politics

Understanding environmental complexity: when initial impressions are wrong – wrapped banana edition

Posted on August 17, 2018 by Blair

I have spent my week on twitter in a series of quite interesting discussions about, of all things, bananas. This started thanks to a tweet from a local journalist showing a pile of individually wrapped bananas with the comment: “you … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Environmentalism and Ecomodernism, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Looking at the science linking BC forest fires to climate change

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Blair

A State of Emergency has been declared in British Columbia because of all the forest fires, and the usual suspects have started their usual game of blaming the forest fires on climate change. The problem is, as I will demonstrate … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Climate Change Politics, Uncategorized | 25 Comments

No, Kinder Morgan did not say that the Trans Mountain would cost $9.3 Billion to complete

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Blair

By now I should really be used to the bad reporting associated with the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP). Daily, I see reporters simply repeating talking points presented by Dogwood and Greenpeace employees who are paid to produce a constant … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Oil Sands, Pipelines, Trans Mountain, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

An Environmental Scientist responds to the signers of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council “Letter to the PM” about the Trans Mountain Pipeline project

Posted on July 25, 2018 by Blair

Last week selected members of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council (PMYC) wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister asking that he cancel the buyout of the Trans Mountain pipeline. While young, these representatives have a strong public appeal and an … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Uncategorized | 14 Comments

On using chemophobia to try and sell hot dogs

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Blair

As a parent of young kids, in the middle of a hot summer, I am a natural target demographic for hot dog advertisements. My kids love hot dogs and I don’t want to guess how many they have consumed in … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Let’s be clear, the actions of the self-styled “water protectors” will place the Pacific Northwest at greater risk of a major oil spill

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Blair

My Twitter feed erupted this week with the news that protesters, led by Mike Hudema of Greenpeace, had rappelled beneath the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge to block the movement of an oil tanker from the Westridge Marine Terminal. Looking at Mike’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Pipelines, Trans Mountain, Uncategorized | 25 Comments

On the CCPA’s ridiculous suggestion that price gouging explains BC gasoline prices

Posted on June 23, 2018 by Blair

There has been a lot of misinformation about gasoline prices in the lower mainland but few recent pieces have got the story quite as wrong as the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives‘ (CCPA) take by their economist Marc Lee. In the … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Pipelines, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Debunking another compilation of Trans Mountain pipeline myths

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Blair

I have spent countless hours debunking misinformation about the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) project. I have done so as a pragmatic environmentalist who has spent the time necessary to become informed about the relative risks associated with the project. … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Environmentalism and Ecomodernism, Pipelines, Trans Mountain, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Yet another carbon bubble paper that misses the mark

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Blair

One of the interesting features of the climate change debate is that many of the highest profile academics in the field are European and many of the papers have what, to outsiders such as myself, might appear to be unconscious … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Pipelines, Renewable Energy, Trans Mountain, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

On politicians shading the truth about diluted bitumen

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Blair

One of the most frustrating parts of the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline debate is dealing with all the misinformation out there. I can’t count the number of people who have assured me that the TMX is only about exporting … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Oil Sands, Pipelines, Trans Mountain, Uncategorized | 15 Comments