Mar 21, 2012
For the first few years of my life, I lived in a brick house and as far as I was concerned, all houses were made of brick. When I was six years old, our family moved to a wooden-frame house and I discovered that houses could also be made from wood. Eventually we settled into a modern concrete house, and I slowly began to understand that a house is defined by its function, not how it’s built. However if I suggested that a house could be made out of paper, or a car could be... read more
Dec 12, 2011
The recent “Renewables 2011 Global Status Report” by the Renewable Policy Network for the 21st Century paints a dire picture of Canada’s renewable energy industry. Canada lags far behind other countries on renewable power capacity. Despite Canada’s third position on hydropower... read more
Dec 7, 2011
The automobile industry has undergone significant changes over the past decades. However, it is arguably on the verge of its greatest transformation ever. While commuting to work on public transit, I see three big changes: A growing number of people are embracing the idea of... read more
Nov 25, 2011
One of the hot potatoes being passed around the policy branches of state departments around the globe is the question of how to achieve a comprehensive, balanced and ambitious post-2012 Kyoto protocol that satisfies the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities. Recently, there have been numerous discussions to address this issue. One avenue, it is hoped, is deeper collaboration between policy makers during the upcoming UN climate change... read more
Nov 23, 2011
France is aiming at reducing its carbon emission by 20% by 2020. A very recent report entitled: Trajectories 2010-2050, towards a low-carbon economy actually suggests that boosting France’s reduction from 20% to 30% by 2020 would create more jobs and be more beneficial to the economy.... read more
Mar 29, 2011
On March 17, Carbon Talks hosted its third brown bag dialogue of the year. In the past, greenhouse gas emissions were essentially ‘free’ for the individuals and corporations emitting them, and only the environment paid the full price. During this dialogue, Nancy Olewiler asked “what do people do when they can get something for free? They take as much of it as they can!” The potential solution is BC’s carbon tax. The carbon tax is a price tag on... read more
Jan 19, 2011
Today's Brown Bag dialogue featured Dr. Joe Kelly, a professor at Capilano University and one of the founding partners at Gobi Carbon Management Solutions. His presentation featured eye-opening information on the detrimental effects of climate change, the tourism industry's part in affecting... read more
Jan 19, 2011
Last December I attended the Copenhagen COP 15 Conference on Climate Change and blogged daily about it. Like many Canadians, I decided not to attend the Cancun COP 16 Conference because my expectations were extremely low about what could be achieved there. But after tracking daily blogs and reading some of the reports following the conference, I’m regretting my decision to stay home. It appears that Mexico was more successful than Copenhagen in delivering... read more