In a Trumpian world, does any of this matter anymore? Or does it matter more than ever?
Powering Prosperity: Achieving local support for 100% renewable energy in Canada
Carbon Talks
As Canada’s federal government prepares to meet its international climate change obligations and as several provinces ready to eliminate coal from their electricity mix, unique opportunities are emerging to transform Canada into a renewable energy leader. In this Carbon Talk, Dr. Jose Etcheverry, Co-Chair of the Sustainable Energy Initiative and Professor at York University, will look at safe strategies to help Canada achieve 100% renewable energy and prosperity at the community level.
Thursday, November 24
12:30 to 1:30 pm
Can’t make it in person? Carbon Talks will be webcast live – link here. (Follow the conversation on Twitter at @CarbonTalks)
Dr. Etcheverry is the co-chair of the Sustainable Energy Initiative of York University, and a member of the World Council of Renewable Energy, Japan’s Renewable Energy Innovation Network, and the Scientific Committee of the International Renewable Energy Storage Conference.
I came here hoping to avoid all the depressing US election coverage. But, it shows how far reaching the impact is.
Climate change deniers have taken control of the entire US government. I expect more pipelines. Drill, baby, drill. The monster truck crowd has won. It wouldn’t even surprise me if evolution is removed from school curriculums.
Meanwhile, here we bicker about if the bike lane should be separated or just painted. All seems so trivial now.
That would be monster trucks with gun racks and confederate flags on display.
I guess you read The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/10/democrats-working-class-americans-us-election?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Oh, Trump knows that climate change is real but he probably figures that things aren’t so far gone yet so business can still make some profit before it’s really bad or that they can profit regardless of what happens.
In the 1970s there was lots of innovation with alternative energy and then along came Reagan and set things in another direction and shut much of it down.
Things don’t look good right now.
The NDP in Alberta and Rachel Notley certainly must be thinking that this is XLnt news.
Yes. Just think of the tens of thousands of jobs created in Koch Industries’ US refineries fed with heavy Canadian bitumen from Alberta. Rachel must be ecstatic.
Who wouldn’t be. We are all Albertans now.
If that was actually true it would be a tragic comedy. I say that as an ex-Albertan.
Well, Kellie Leitch is happy.
Anyway, sounds like Seattle is approving ST3. Some good news.
XL has a good chance of being approved now.
After Dow futures dropped 500 points overnight this morning stock market is way up due to Trump’s gracious victory speech and a republican house AND senate.
I’d say that is all good for Canada !
Many proud Americans today ( and many more incl democrats and of course highly biased media pundits shell shocked )
The wind of change will feel to some like a wrecking ball in 2017. To start anew sometimes you have to wreck things first. UN, N-Korea or Iran: big changes afoot from the US, for example. Not just in Washington.
New Supreme Court judge, new head of state, new chairman of the federal reserve, new Attorney General, new head of department of energy, Republican house & senate, repeal & replace ObamaCare etc all will make a HUGE difference in 2017 and beyond !
Can $ firm vs US $ unlike Mexican ( wall building ) Peso as some changes to NAFTA with Mexico ought to be expected.
Trump to Clinton: you’re fired !
And the incarceration industry will flourish as more and more people who care about the planet are rounded up and tossed in the slammer.
America: Great Again!
Many people care about the planet. Most I’d say. Many just do not like big taxes and big government and an elite (in Ottawa, in Washington, at the UN) telling them what to do !
Who wants an oil spill ? Who wants bad air ? Who wants dirty rivers ? Only a strong economy has the capability to produce good well paying jobs so corporations, governments and people can afford the $s required to clean up air, water and soil. Poor people do not nor do poor nation nor do firms teetering on bankruptcies. If you travel around the world you will see that only wealthy countries have the cleanest beaches, the cleanest air and the low emission vehicles. Never ever in poor countries or poor regions. Who drives the 20 year old belching pickup truck ? Usually a poor person not a wealthy one. Who drives the Tesla or hybrids ? Usually an affluent well educated person. You wreck the economy with excessive taxation and you wreck the ability to invest into necessary infrastructure.
Such a deliberately distorted view of the world.
How do you clean the air? By getting rid of environmental protections so we can all get rich by polluting the air so that we can afford to clean the air.
Why are poor countries more polluted and ours less? Because rich industrialists export industry and its pollution to cheap labour countries with no environmental standards, usually with lots of payoffs to corrupt, oppressive governments who keep the labour force subservient.
Nice for you.
My view is distorted. How can it be ? It is my worldview. Please accept it.
Kinda like telling me pizza is better than pasta, or beer better than wine ?
Ask any poor or even for their standard middle class African, S-American or poor Asian: would you like to have what most Canadians take for granted, i.e. would you like to own a car or an e-bike, would like a nice a condo, would you like to see the world fro 4-6 weeks per year and get 20 years of free education at fine schools & universities ? What would most people say to that question ? Why do they all want to come here ?
So, you are anti-trade ? Shut the borders, especially for imports from coal spewing China and low wage labour friendly Bangladesh, India or Philippines ? No more iPhones, TV, jeans, T-shirts or running shoes from there ? or just highly taxed, like Europe, say 20-25% GST/VAT ?
Or do you adhere to more of Naomi Klein’s theories that socialism is the way to go, i.e. mass poverty ie far less purchases thus cleaner planet by less resource use?
Or do you prefer mass culling of humans from 8B to sub 4B as surely humans cause all this pollution ?
or mere taxation of the rich ? That would mean less Tesla purchases, of course. Limit purchases to small Priuses only ? Would you allow more than one color as surely color causes environmental pollution ? or only solar panels with electricity costs 5-8 times what we pay today here in BC ? or just no more big houses, just tiny condos ?
Hitler had a world view too. We should have all accepted it like it was a choice of pizza. We, through our globally abusive corporations, oppress the very people you are oh-so caring about. Colonization didn’t go away, it just changed strategies. Some think abusing others for personal gain is okay, Thomas. Others see through your self-serving justifications.
Oh how predictable! Whinging about ‘respect my worldview’ while busily condemning those with differing perspectives as eco-fascists blah, blah, blah. Two set of rules as always from those who fear real, positive change.
When the century-long fight for the American civil rights gains of the 1960s are shredded, the economy will seem awfully meaningless to the 80 million eligible US voters who stayed home on Nov 8th.
When the economy dips and unemployment rises with the incoherent economic policies of Trump, especially when run like his own businesses rife with bankruptcies, shafted business partners, laid off Hispanic workers, and the offshoring of supplies and labour, the supporters who suffered in the Rust Belt will wonder why the rust continues to grow.
When the US economic position in the world descends from the mass deportation of 20-million Spanish-speakers who underpin the economy, and Muslims, and when the jails fill up with blacks, people will start to understand the concept of devolution.
But the racist KKK goons, millionaire alt right authors, paranoid tabloid radio screamers, and armed doomsday preppers couldn’t be happier. In fact, they could gorge on hate and fear to the point they become fat and complacent and let a gay Asian-black-transgender woman slip into the presidency with an absolute Democratic-Green majority in all three levels of government.
“To start anew sometimes you have to wreck things first.”
What an immature attitude. You can’t imagine any other path to change other than destruction? Utter foolishness and indicative of weak mind. Get a clue.
Note the word “sometimes” Chris.
Who has a weak mind ? As I certainly do not nor does Trump. Please do not insult people.
I speak as a business leader. And a person with experience. Change requires destruction on occasion, such invasion of N-Korea, various UN committees, certain foundations, certain laws. Some change is modest or gradual, some is destructive.
What is your life experience with implementing change ??
Real change comes from making things better for everyone. Destructive change only continues a see-saw battle between opponents. It’s for children who haven’t been properly socialized and think some tit-for-tat cycle can lead to justice. It’s not for grown-ups who should know better than to advocate to ‘wreck things first’. Be careful what you wish for. I suspect if we had a real ‘wreck things first’ trend in the world you would be less enamoured of how that would play out than your off-hand remarks on the Internet seem to suggest.
Your purported business acumen give you no bona fides in telling the rest of us how change happens. Quite the opposite in fact. It’s your cohorts’ short-sighted and narrow view of the world that leaves us struggling to feed and house people in a world of plenty. Would that we could have less money worship and pontificating from the business class and more listening to real wisdom, which is available and easy to find.
Spoken like a true socialist with no experience. We house FAR MORE people today and the world is FAR BETTER OFF today with far less people in poverty. Why don’t you talk to some folks who moved here from socialist countries like Poland, Romania, Cuba, N-Korea, former Soviet Union, E-Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Venezuela etc to see how miserable life was before they came here.
For example, to change life in N-Korea you have to go to use force as diplomacy has its limits. Ditto with unfair trade practices. Ditto with criminals or illegal immigrants. The US has 12M+ of those and well over 150,000 with a criminal record. Why are they still in the country ?
A good justice system is more important than the type of political system. Comparing places that have had high levels of tyranny to those that have had less doesn’t prove anything. Socialist Scandinavian countries have high standards of living but they didn’t make your list because they don’t support your one-sided argument. You can whine about high tax rates all you want – that is part of socialism. It doesn’t make them poorer – because that is also part of socialism.
We probably all agree that capitalism is the best way we know so far to accumulate wealth at the expense of our children.
Look, you have no idea what my background is, who I’ve spoken to. And it’s irrelevant anyway. My background has no bearing on your world-view, which as we can see, is just an updated version of Kipling’s played-out ‘white man’s burden’ nonsense. Don’t try to deflect attention from your comfort with ‘wreck it/fix it’ foolishness by claiming your business-sense gives you a leg-up in understanding suffering and want or invoking the problems of the past as a reason to continue down the same road that got us to this point (What a bizarre idea).
The commonality with the countries you reference and America as of last night, is bad leaders with limited imaginations. It has nothing to do with socialism or capitalism or any isms.
Real destructive change looks like France’s Reign of Terror. Chop, chop, chop. It’s bad for business. You might want to think about that.
@Chris: why don’t you tell me about your background, your insights into socialist countries and why they are allegedly so much better ?
My background is irrelevant. This is a forum for ideas, not ancestry.com. But, it’s telling when someone wants to judge a person’s beliefs by where he was born or how much money he had growing up, what sunny locales he might have visited or business deals one has made. That’s shallow and distracting when the topic under discussion is one of philosophies and approaches to improving our systems for ensuring a better quality of life for more people. One doesn’t need to jet hither and yon to understand how the world works, appreciate what one has, or wish for more people to live in greater security and comfort.
What counts is whether the ideas we present stand up to scrutiny and investigation. We have seen countless times that your ideas aren’t able to weather a dispassionate review of their pros and cons. We have seen you proclaim as gospel, nonsense like 4 km/h freighters in Burrard Inlet, that even a casual observer of their comings and goings can see is untrue. You have demonstrated a shocking lack of historic knowledge of this region and its relations with indigenous people, all the while telling the rest of us who have been paying attention that we have it wrong. And from these observations we reach rational and logical conclusions about the person who presents them. And if that hurts your ego then it is a pain of your own creation.
You have repeatedly invoked your background as some kind of rationale for a position that’s hard for me to articulate, because when a white European man with a subsidized university degree tries to claim he came here ‘with nothing’ it simply doesn’t compute for me. But that’s your choice to use your personal history as a talking point. My background does not inform my ideas — because I am not bound by my upbringing, the foolish ideas that are perpetuated in our schools, such as nationalism, patriotism, or any isms, or economic mumbo-jumbos that fall flat on their face when confronted with logic, a long-term view, and a desire for a more inclusive, equitable way of living on a crowded planet.
You regularly choose to ignore posts that, for reasons that work for you, you don’t wish to address. You are welcome to ignore my remarks too, even when directed at you. If you choose not to, then to my way of thinking, you are inviting responses and critiques. That they are not laudatory, and come from a variety of sources, ranging from prickly pricks such as myself, to individuals whose bona fides put yours to shame when it comes to understanding politics, economics, and the environment, might be cause for reflection for some. Food for thought. Perhaps a bit of success in the business world doesn’t equate a grand understanding of a complex world that is much more than transactions and deal-making based on immediate self-interest. And the criticisms we receive are a kindness and a gift one would do well to examine before rejecting.
Just read your sermon, Chris. While I don’t agree with much of it, I certainly agree with this: “…prickly pricks such as myself”.
Can’t say I’ve seen it before with that adjective. It works though.
Awesome, thanks for that valuable contribution to the conversation.
You’re welcome. Almost all writers are insecure and need to be stroked.
You didn’t ‘stroke’ me from what I read. And one needs to respect the source to value the praise.
https://www.sadtrombone.com/
@Chris: appreciate the insight. You appear to think only what happens in your brain matters, not where you are brought up, what you did, whom you work with and the external inputs you received ? All that matters not ? I find that rather arrogant. Any human and thus society, is shaped by what happens in the various brains AND by external inputs, through time, is it not ?
You have to learn to appreciate other people’s views as many folks differ in their view from yours. In many cases there is no right or wrong. Some people think oil is evil and that the path to planetary salvation is through CO2 taxes, big government, solar panels, e-cars (or better: no cars or mere e-bikes), the democratic party, Hillary or Obama only. Others – apparently over 50% as we saw this Tuesday night – have a different view on life, both in the US or here in Canada.
Thomas, if you really did value other people’s opinions and processed all those inputs you’d begin to understand how narrow and foolish your worldview is. Many of us were brought up on those same narrow, myopic views but eventually saw a bigger picture and grew up. You’re not enlightening us with something new. You’re just proving that you haven’t learned very much.
Everything you say is so blatantly obvious that a ten year old easily grasps it. The world is much more complex. Maybe you’ll get it one day. I’m not holding my breath.
Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office: http://www.npr.org/2016/11/09/501451368/here-is-what-donald-trump-wants-to-do-in-his-first-100-days
What’s not to like, as a Canadian or US citizen ?
Why Trump won: https://www.facebook.com/viralthread/videos/598130190359668/
Mainly because certain worldviews are now outlawed and because people with other views that the left side of the spectrum are routinely insulted as deplorables, stupid, racist, homophobic etc ..
Discourse is required. Please stop insulting others !
At the risk of going off-topic;
To be precise Trump so far has not won anything. Hillary won the popular vote.
In countries where elections are held such as in Russia for example, the candidate with the most popular votes is declared the winner. In the US however an anachronistic structure known as the Electoral College determines who will be the President. Even Russia is better at elections if we ignore ballot stuffing, voter suppression by intimidation and the assassinations of Putin opponents that frequently take place in that country.
The Electoral College will meet on December 12th and President “Elect” Trump will be put forth as the potential yet to be inaugurated President of the US. On January 20th Trump may very well be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States but in the meantime we are in never-never land, a familiar place for the “Donald”. We can expect during this period to see Mr. Trump placed on trial for fraud over his “Trump University Scam”. Other charges may very well be brought forward having to do with libel, tax evasion, sexual assault, etc.
I personally am in favor of a charge of sedition over his call to Putin to hack the e-mail of his opponents which resulted in the consequential leaks by Julian Assange now holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
Does any of this sad tale of Shakespearian dimension matter going forward in respect to climate change and sustainability? Probably not because even without Trump, the Republican Congress will likely support big coal, big oil, big pipelines, big frikin fracking, and big damage to the environment.
Yes the electoral college system invented when the only way to travel was by horse is utterly outdated. The idea that only swing states matter is the result. Needs a change indeed.
Clinton won the popular vote because two vote rich states, NY and CA, are mainly democrats and thus, why bother voting as a Republican ?
Thomas, the love of money is not a world view, and to the extent that money is all that you understand, it is in comparison to all other world views, a small minded narrow distorted view of human experience.
I find it curious that people hurl these insults at people who have a different world view. Only poor (or very young or mentally challenged) people think that money doesn’t matter as they usually mooch off others.
Are you a net contributor to society, or a net moocher ?
You find it curious because you haven’t understood a single word.
“I find it curious that people hurl these insults at people who have a different world view.”
Says the guy throwing around ‘eco-fascist’. Pot/Kettle
Money doesn’t matter. And that’s frightening for those who believe otherwise. A pauper can change the world and a billionaire can go to their grave having given little to society. It’s good ideas that count. And by my interpretation it’s the fact that your ideas aren’t given the due you feel they deserve that’s at issue here. But it’s not the fault of the observer that your claims don’t stand up to scrutiny.
As for background, again, how we are raised needn’t define us if we are open to change and growth. For those who go a step further and choose to question their early teachings, there’s a path to understanding. Repeating what some parent or teacher told you once upon a time without further examination can be achieved with a parrot.
Chris, make that two Sapporos.
I don’t believe anyone will gain clarity on Thomas’s mind, not even Thomas who has a churning Cuisinart mixer logic that blends totalitarian military-backed dictatorships with socialism. I’ll think about that next time I drive on a public road.
Ideas without action (or money for that matter) are just dreams.
To change the world you have to act. Ideas matter, yes, but implementation matters even more.
Japanese proverb: Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.
Remember this famous quote:
http://www.billmcgonigle.com/files/2012/04/its-the-economy-stupid-2012.jpeg
As a political necessity. Not as the only thing that actually matters. Myopia abounds.
When evil men plot, good men must plan.
When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind.
When evil men shout angry words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love.
Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
When they go low, we go high.
First Lady Michele Obama, 2016.
Adding to Seattle’s ST3 thing, I just read a blog post saying that the matching federal money could now disappear. So, there goes that silver lining.
https://www.seattletransitblog.com/2016/11/08/puget-sound-votes-yes-on-st3-federal-funding-now-uncertain/
BTW, why do we keep giving credibility to pollsters? They have proven over and over again, that their “profession” is a sham. At what point do we finally ignore them? I think the cow, parrot, and sandwich polls all have a better batting average.
November 8, Wall Street Journal.
“BEIJING—China’s government said it would raise coal power capacity by as much as 20% by 2020, ensuring a continuing strong role for the commodity in the country’s energy sector despite a pledge to bring down pollution levels.
In a new five-year plan for electricity released Monday, the National Energy Administration said it would raise coal-fired power capacity from around 900 gigawatts last year to as high as 1,100 gigawatts by 2020. The roughly 200-gigawatt increase alone is more than the total power capacity of Canada. ”
Sure, buy yourself a thick sweater and an electric bike and Save-the-Planet™. They will be quite happy to eat your lunch.
When America actually was still great they decided to put a man on the moon. They didn’t wait for the Chinese to do it first because it was too expensive.
The rich must lead and not whine that the poor aren’t keeping up. The fastest way to reduce emissions is research the best ways, move forward and share the expertise. The climate won’t care who it kills.
You talk about saving the planet like it’s some f***ing board game.
The rich are leading. Google and Microsoft, as well as many others are investing billions in finding ever cheaper renewable energy. Great!
In the meantime life has to go on.
Justin Trudeau is investing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into Bombardier for oil burning jet aircraft. The oil could come from Alberta, the sea off of Newfoundland or from Venezuela or Saudi Arabia. These are choices.
When Justin went to Europe to sign the CETA trade agreement, which will further facilitate trade in goods burning bunker oil between Canada and Europe. He flew in a government oil burning Airbus jet. He could have sailed in a boat. This too was a choice.
Panic about some perceived threat to the world climate cannot be how leaders play their game.
At one point panic will be all that’s left after dithering and excuses. Nobody said turn off the oil taps. But investing heavily in new fossil fuel infrastructure as renewables become increasingly viable is completely irresponsible.
Is someone asking you to invest? My guess is that oil will be used for quite a few decades to come. As will coal and natural gas.
We all look forward to the first ocean going ship and the first passenger carrying aircraft that, aside from nuclear, don’t burn oil.
Meanwhile; “Shipping is by far the biggest transport polluter in the world. There are 760 million cars in the world today emitting approx 78,599 tons of Sulphur Oxides (SOx) annually. The world’s 90,000 vessels burn approx 370 million tons of fuel per year emitting 20 million tons of Sulphur Oxides. That equates to 260 times more Sulphur Oxides being emitted by ships than the worlds entire car fleet. One large ship alone can generate approx 5,200 tonnes of sulphur oxide pollution in a year, meaning that 15 of the largest ships now emit as much SOx as the worlds 760 million cars.”
That makes my neighbour’s Prius nothing more than a hill of beans and I pay taxes so he can get it subsidized and cheap.
1. Using fossil fuel for decades does not require new sources and new investments.
2. I look forward to it. I think you actually hate the idea.
3. So let’s give up then. Who cares? The kids can burn – it’s too hard.
4. You’re complaining about subsidies for a few cars? Are you truly out of your mind?
No no… no need to answer that. It’s clear.
@RV, You don’t really know. I’ve hosted officials in positions of power and regulation and discussed many times with them, in a one-man campaign against a usage of bunker C. Successfully, in my small part of the universe, by the way.
New investments are always needed. Oil companies have committed to spend more than $1.2 billion on exploration in a frontier area of the Newfoundland offshore in the coming years.
That’s the biggest-ever combined amount to come in a round of bids for exploration rights in the region.
Your love of Scandinavia is charming.
The Norwegian state-owned company Statoil — which already has significant holdings in the Flemish Pass area — is playing a role in six of the seven bids.
“The successful bids in these frontier areas offshore Canada are in line with Statoil’s strategy of deepening our position in prolific basins and securing access at scale,” Tim Dodson, Statoil’s executive vice-president for exploration, said in a news release.
Just across the bay in Copenhagen is the headquarters of Maersk. One of the eight longest container ships in the world, the 1,300 ft Emma Mærsk also has the world’s largest reciprocating engine. At five storeys tall and weighing 2300 tonnes, this 14 cylinder turbocharged two-stroke monster puts out 84.4 MW (114,800 hp) – up to 90MW when the motor’s waste heat recovery system is taken into account. These mammoth engines consume approx 16 tons of fuel per hour or 380 tons per day while at sea. This ship uses roughly the same volume of fuel in a day what my vehicle uses in 120 years.
Maersk Line is the global container division and the largest operating unit of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, a Danish business conglomerate. It is the world’s largest container shipping company having customers through 374 offices in 116 countries. It employs approximately 7,000 sea farers and approximately 25,000 land-based people. Maersk Line operates over 600 vessels and has a capacity of 2.6 million TEU. The company was founded in 1928.
It’s good to have some perspective.
Nice apples to my oranges.
Eric: “Shipping is by far the biggest transport polluter in the world…”
You are focusing strictly on SoX, and not being honest about total emissions.
The reason ocean shipping contributes so much to SoX as a percentage (9% per wiki) is because of the lack of regulation on fuels for ocean going vessels. We used to have problems with SoX with vehicles, but regulations limiting the amount of sulphur in road fuels made a huge difference. It is actually a success story, not a failure. Political will would cause us to regulate the sulphur in fuels for ocean going vessels with similar positive impacts.
Looking at all transportation emission sources, the same wiki article states that the “EPA estimates that large marine diesel engines accounted for about 1.6 percent of mobile source nitrogen oxide emissions and 2.8 percent of mobile source particulate emissions in the United States in 2000” So, your claim that shipping is “the biggest transport polluter” is specific to SoX, and not true for other pollutants such as NoX and particulates. Particulates that are listed by the EPA as a likely carcinogen.
Your neighbour’s Prius is still a positive step, unless it is running on bunker C.
A narcissistic planet destroyer has ascended to the most powerful political office on Earth. Be very afraid.
Did you note that during his gracious acceptance speech his youngest child was right beside him, then his (beautiful) wife and his other 3 or 4 kids with their spouses. What does that tell you ? He does not strike me as a planet destroyer, especially if he has 5 kids ! He strikes me more as a saviour from political corruption and too much BS / double talk.
Rather than being very afraid I’d say: be very happy as the future is very bright. I am far more afraid of our mayor that wants to ban clean burning gas to heat your home or cook your meal. He prefers expensive energy and expensive housing instead creating far more homelessness and displacement.
Higher energy costs = more poverty. To lift billions out of poverty (in Africa, S-America, Asia and the US lower class) you need a decent economy to create jobs and you need energy, lots of it. Socialism and equal poverty won’t do that !
I noted while listening to Trump’s acceptance speech that he can now well afford a few minutes of graciousness. But it must have been very difficult for a guy that was programmed by the previous 17 months of inflammatory bombast.
By comparison, Hillary was the model of graciousness while under fire.
I also noted that Trump actually lost the election. The majority of human beings at the polling stations voted for Hillary, but the system, which involved an archaic relic called the Electoral College (which makes it worse than even our discredited winner-takes-all system), gave it to The Silly Hair That Walks.
Another note. Millennials, who are overwhelmingly liberal, split their vote with third candidates, or stayed home once Bernie bowed out. They are now getting the government they deserve, and will undoubtedly remedy their mistake next time.
Lastly, but not least, 49% of eligible voters did not vote. The ascent of this demagogue is hardly a revolution.
Most powerful office? When did Trump become President of China?
Alberta and the NDP might be saved.
https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/canada/2016/11/09/transcanada-looking-to-engage-with-newly-elected-trump-on-keystone-xl/keystone-xl.jpg.size.custom.crop.868×650.jpg
Perhaps not. The Koch brothers will be X-tatic, though, with shipping jobs and profit south.
Meanwhile the increasing numbers and intensity of multi-billion dollar Alberta floods, fires and drought are doing a dandy job bankrupting the province.
Trump, Brexit, the Translink referendum. All signs of a populace sick of what is being served up by the ruling political classes. Gregor is lucky the NPA can hardly paint itself as anti-establishment outsiders, and that COPE is run by people who couldn’t organize a vegan, gluten free bake sale.
Served up: You mean Republican style globalization, European cooperation and better transit? There are a lot of people without noses but they’re okay with that.
Trump will soon enough become part of the ruling political class, which won on a promise to regress.
The difference is that many of the Vision policies come from the populace.
Trump has called global warming a “hoax” and vowed to “cancel” the Paris agreement.
This ideological position does not mean that climate change and sustainability are irrelevant. Scientific study suggests that we should be very concerned about this issue.
We might expect that NASA related Earth study projects will come under attack, might be defunded. We in Canada have already witnessed the conservative science attacks from the Harper Government (If you don’t know what’s happening then you have no need to act.)
We can also expect that the green economy will continue to develop where ever it is economically competitive. This will require a great deal of ingenuity as has been demonstrated by Elon Musk with his ventures in the electric vehicle industry and the solar cell industry. It has also been demonstrated by others that wind technology is economically viable. Closer to whom BC Hydro continues to develop hydro generated power and runs a vast energy network that is based on 87% renewable sources, indeed BC Hydro has long been the backbone of the BC economy.
By the way Eric, thanks for the perspective on worldwide shipping. These facts that you cite really undermine the narrative on trade globalization being good for us. It is only good for us if shipping is a clean industry. Any ideas on how to fix this situation as it is truly an intergovernmental challenge?
Strong support for Trump could reduce international trade. He feels strongly that the US is getting a raw deal from trade deals.
Hi Eric, I get it that reducing global trade would reduce emissions, but is there a technology that could be deployed or developed that would reduce or ideally eliminate shipping emissions. I do not see isolationism as a solution. Is there a brave billionaire out there that could take this on?
Nuclear.
Or, we could start with low sulphur fuel. Known technology. Worked fine in automotive and truck applications, and inland waterways.
Then adopt broader emissions standards for ocean going vessels, similar to what is already in place for inland waterways in the US and in Europe. Not just SoX, but NoX, CO, particulates.
Or, we could paint this as an all or nothing, and take the position that only nuclear power will move us forward. While that would be an effective delaying tactic, it would result in significant greenhouse gas emissions in the interim.
Was this discussed at the Paris fest?
Yes.
http://www.politico.eu/article/aviation-shipping-cop21-emissions-greenhouse-paris-marshall-islands/
I read it. All that yapping but nothing of any weight. It was such a long and typical bureaucratic NGO yap-fest that half way through I had to take a break for some escargot washed down with an unpretentious chablis.
One can hold the belief that the changing climate is not caused by the burning of fossil fuels. However, this is not like betting $10 on a horse race. If you are wrong, you lose $10!
If Trump is wrong on his climate change bet, all the civilizations of the world are profoundly affected for many centuries.
But we can personally take mitigating actions along with corporations and other levels of government to strive for sustainability. Also as the weather continues to deteriorate, insurance companies will demand action or they will not sign an insurance policy.
Many people now realize that they have failed to use their talents to met and discuss the issues with many different groups to listen to their worldviews. Here is an article entitled “What Designers Should Do Now”
https://www.fastcodesign.com/3065502/what-designers-should-do-now
In a Design Observer op-ed it was opined that moving forward after the election concluded with: “The voting may be over, but the work is just beginning.”
Another hopeful observation is that many corporations, state governments and Mayors are now actively taking steps reduce their carbon footprint.
https://www.fastcoexist.com/3065508/ceos-and-mayors-are-now-our-only-hope-for-saving-the-climate
This is great. Hard work and great art and design.
It is of no surprise that much of the greatest art works are created when societies feel that they are, or are, oppressed.
News Flash;
Trump has selected one of the best-known climate skeptics (Myron Ebell) to lead his U.S. EPA transition team according to Scientific American Magazine.
And so the regression begins.
Myron Ebell is very well educated, not only did he go to universities in England, he also went to Colorado College, where Gregor Robertson went too.
It is estimated that building the “Wall” will require 350,000,000 cubic feet of concrete. Does anybody know how many tons of carbon emissions that will generate?