Op-Eds
A great part of Canada’s goal of eliminating emissions from electricity generation by 2050 relies on renewable energy, and the relevant technology is simply not there yet. Wind and solar generate valuable zero-greenhouse-gas power – but only provided there exist low-cost means to “store” surplus electricity not needed by the utility at time of generation but needed later. Without adequate storage, power utilities heavily dependent on wind/solar risk instability.
The problem has not arisen in Canada, but has elsewhere. Advocates of nuclear, including many Canadian power utilities, make the obvious argument in finding a solution: Nuclear power emits no GHGs and is accessible, whether or not the sun is shining and/or the wind is…
Le climat et sa sœur, la biodiversité, sont des jumeaux qu’on n’aurait pas dû séparer à la naissance.
À la COP15 de Montréal, on se penche sur le cas de la petite, aussi grave mais autrement plus compliqué que celui de son frère, traité le mois dernier à la COP27, à Charm el-Cheikh. Les savants docteurs ont intérêt à travailler ensemble, car ces enjeux sont intimement liés.
Le réchauffement climatique réduit la biodiversité et vice versa. Un exemple : le réchauffement étend les déserts et le recul de la végétation réduit le captage naturel du carbone, qui s’échappe dans l’atmosphère et empire le réchauffement.
Heureusement, ce qui est bon pour l’un l’est aussi pour l’autre. On estime que des solutions axées sur…
Where’s the oil boom? Why Alberta’s recent good fortune is mostly a mirage – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Alberta has earned a reputation over many decades for being a boom-bust economy. Strong oil demand and high prices have created boom times for jobs, incomes, investment and government revenues, while weak demand and falling prices have meant a slowdown or even recession on occasion.
But now, global demand for oil is again rising and prices are high, yet more oil-production revenue is not translating into a sustained economic boom for Alberta.
The province’s economy grew by 4.8 per cent in real terms (with inflation removed) in 2021. A budget surplus has financed or paid for Premier Danielle Smith’s latest inflation-relief handouts. While that sounds good, there was no oil boom; this growth is simply part of…
On Oct. 25, Ontario’s Ford government announced its More Homes Built Faster Act, which would allow the province to rewrite municipal plans, with the aim of allowing more land for development.
These and many more recent changes have been controversial. And more such plans are expected. Premier Doug Ford has been accused of trampling upon democracy and the environment.
But the bottom line is that Mr. Ford’s plans are going to have a substantial beneficial effect on prices for home buyers. Amid a housing crisis, this is what really matters, and Mr. Ford’s moves are necessary because, otherwise, Ontario cities won’t build up and out as much as needed on their own accord.
Some of the biggest changes in the act and…
The federal government’s Emission Reduction Plan, which it published in July, calls for economy-wide greenhouse gas reductions of 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. In particular, it projects emissions from homes and commercial buildings that will fall 37 per cent from 2005 levels. Judging by reasonable estimates of what it would take to achieve this, however, that goal appears wildly unrealistic.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings are the third largest source of emissions in Canada. (The first two are oil and gas and transportation) In contrast to some other sectors of the economy and despite better technology and efficiency, GHGs from buildings have actually increased since 2005, partly because the…
