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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”

Trump’s Achievements

No president has divided public opinion more than Donald Trump. Many find him personally obnoxious, irresponsible and harmful to the U.S. and the world. His supporters however, see him as a breath of fresh air who is “making America great again”.

Personally, I am not an admirer of Trump but I think that it is beneficial to play the “devil’s advocate” and try to look at his record in his first two years in as positive light as possible. Continue reading “Trump’s Achievements”

Indigenous Academics in the Press

The Globe and Mail has published a number of articles by indigenous academics in Canadian Universities and indigenous leaders.

Some of the statements made called out for rebuttal, but the “Comments” section was unavailable or the comments were closed down as “not meeting the G&M’s standards”, most likely due to being deemed racist. Continue reading “Indigenous Academics in the Press”

The Cost of Opposition to Resource Development

The Financial Post identified $129 BILLION of resource projects which are held up by:

  • Environmentalists
  • First Nations

What is the cost to the economy of these delays? In this blog I will try to quantify the cost of this to the Canadian economy (as measured by its GDP) over the next 20 years. Continue reading “The Cost of Opposition to Resource Development”

Get Canada Moving Again – Streamlining the Resource Development Approval Process

In Canada resource development projects must go through a lengthy approval process.  This is necessary so that all the factors are taken into consideration including, of course, environmental concerns.

However, radical environmentalists have used these approval processes to stop all resource developments, whether it involves pipelines, oil and gas development, hard rock mining or forestry.

The Financial Post has identified 35 projects valued at $129 billion that have been held up or stopped by extreme environmental extremists. Continue reading “Get Canada Moving Again – Streamlining the Resource Development Approval Process”

Canada’s 2018 budget: virtue signaling all the way

Canada’s 2018 budget was released on February 26th.  It projects an estimated deficit of $17.8 billion for 2018.  In subsequent years the budget deficit is expected to decrease, but only to $13 billion.

Canada’s economy is currently strong.  Unemployment is at record lows and GDP growth is as high as could be expected.

Conventional Keynesian economics would expect a budget surplus under these conditions.  Admittedly the budget deficit is lower than had been expected a year ago due to the strong economy.  This was seen as a signal for the Trudeau government to increase spending and introduce new programs.

Continue reading “Canada’s 2018 budget: virtue signaling all the way”