In a speech, Greta Thunberg stated: “all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth”. Continue reading “Greta Thunberg was Wrong about Economic Growth”
The Role of Protests in a Democracy
INTRODUCTION
There is currently a public enquiry in Canada examining whether the invocation of the Emergencies Act to end the “Trucker’s Freedom Protest” in Ottawa last year was legally justified. This protest was to force the government to end the vaccination mandate for truckers crossing the border to the U.S. It lasted from Jan. 28 to Feb. 20. The police did not intervene effectively until the Canadian Parliament invoked the Emergencies Act and the protest was dispersed.
This raises general questions about protests in democracies. Continue reading “The Role of Protests in a Democracy”
Merry Christmas 2020
Christmas is here!
Nowadays, it is seen largely as a consumption holiday, whether it is consuming turkey with all the trimmings or shopping for presents. However, for Christians the world over, it is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The essence of Christianity is following the teachings of Christ
I am constantly surprised by how many people in the West do not know what those teachings are.
Christmas provides an opportunity to remind people of some of these: Continue reading “Merry Christmas 2020”
What is 1 + 1? It depends who you ask!
Donald Trump
“Glad you asked me this question. I am a very stable genius and math is one of my specialties. When I was on the Howard Stern show, he asked me a very difficult math question, “What is 17 times 6?”.
The Killing of Breonna Taylor is Not About Systemic Racism – It’s Much Deeper Than That.
Breonna Taylor, a young black woman, was shot and killed by the police in Louisville, Kentucky. Ms. Taylor was a front-line worker at a hospital and had no police record. Street protests started immediately and all pundits claimed this was another case of systemic racism by the police.
However, many aspects of the case raise questions. Many of these have not been answered in the press.
Starting with the facts. This is made difficult since there are conflicting reports and there are indications that there is a lot of genuine fake news (as opposed to Trump’s “fake news”)
The Covid-19 Pandemic May be Over Sooner Than You Think
Covid-19 has spread throughout the world and people and governments are going to extraordinary lengths to contain it.
Two of the first nations to experience the pandemic are China and South Korea. In both cases, the number of new casualties has dropped ( in China there have been no new cases at all yesterday – 23-March 2020). In other countries, including Canada and the U.S., the number of new cases is still rising.
We can look at the data for Canada and the U.S. and compare it to South Korea and see if there are similarities and if it can suggest how long the outbreak will last. Continue reading “The Covid-19 Pandemic May be Over Sooner Than You Think”
What will it take for Canada to eliminate its use of fossil fuels?
- Gasoline/diesel vehicles will have to go electric
- Railways will have to be electrified
- Heating will have to go electric
If this were to happen, Canada’s demand for electricity will increase. In this blog, the increase in electricity generation capacity is estimated.
The results show that Canada will require 31 new nuclear plants or 202 new hydro plants or 1413 new wind farms or 15167 solar plants or a combination of the above
First look at current consumption of energy from fossil fuels in Canada:
- Coal 33.2 106 tonnes/yr
- Petroleum products 1.9 mmbbl/d
- Natural gas 8.9 Bcf/d
Continue reading “What will it take for Canada to eliminate its use of fossil fuels?”
What Would a Corbyn–Led British Government Look Like?
There is a lot of fear-mongering in the British press about the disastrous consequences if the Labour Party won a British General Election and Jeremy Corbyn became Prime Minister.
One approach to see how disastrous this would be is to compare it to what happened when the last left-wing government was in power. The closest analogue is the Labour government from 1945 to 1951 under Clement Attlee. Continue reading “What Would a Corbyn–Led British Government Look Like?”
What Does “Peer Reviewed” Mean?
Articles about scientific matters (especially climate change) refer to studies with “peer reviewed” papers. Most readers assume that this means that the findings have been endorsed by qualified scientists and that they can be considered reliable.
The reality is that this is actually a low standard and is not an accurate guide to the reliability of the results. Continue reading “What Does “Peer Reviewed” Mean?”
The EU after Brexit – A Vision for Success
Much has been written about the effects of Brexit on the UK, but there has been little thought given to the future of the EU itself.
The problems of the EU are well known. What Europe needs is a Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon or a Bismark (or all of them). Angela Merkel showed hints of European leadership, until her disastrous error in allowing unlimited numbers of “refugees” into Germany. Even though there is the lack of leadership, clear common goals and periodic crises, the EU muddles through, in spite of the British press gleefully predicting the imminent break-up of the EU and the collapse of the Euro
Continue reading “The EU after Brexit – A Vision for Success”