AAARGHHH - U.S. urges 'fivefold expansion' in Alberta oilsands production

With apologies to my American friends, this is VERY scary. The CBC reports that a meeting was held in January 2006 where the U.S. urges 'fivefold expansion' in Alberta oilsands production. Now, this may seem like a GOOD THING, but what happens if Canadians don't want to increase their own dependence on fossil fuel production and want to invest funds in the development of alternate fuels? Canadians have always rated the environment highly when polled, and while less-mainstream parties like the Greens and the NDP have traditionally been the political parties which have advocated the environment, the Liberals have now staked their claim in this area: Witness Stéphane Dion's pro-nvironmental stance, and in particular, Dion's endorsement of the Kyoto protocol, which places the Liberals at odds with the Conservatives.

Smart move, Stéphane. By claiming the environmental agenda, you'll garner support from disaffected Greens and NDP, and your position has the support of the majority of the Canadian population - even more in Québec.

Bien pensé, Monsieur Dion!

;-)

“If you want to change the world, become a scientist” - Tony Blair

Finally, a politician that has the cojones to make that statement...Mind you, it makes me wonder why a lame-duck politician would say it NOW, less that a year before he leaves office. Why make the statement at this time?

Read the New Scientist article entitled: Tony Blair issues rallying cry for science on the New Scientist website

re: BBC NEWS - Global ecosystems 'face collapse'

The BBC reported today that the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) released its biannual "Living Planet Report," and the news is not good. Basically, if global consumption levels continued at the current rate, two planets would be needed to meet global demand by 2050. The WWF concluded this by estimating each country's ecological "footprint".

Here's what is interesting: If one looks at the "footprint", one notices that a big chunk of the footprint comes from fossil-fuel utilization.

And guess what? The Canadian Government had earlier announced that the "Clean Air Act" would halve Canada's 2003 emissions by 2005. (Oh,I get it now. This is MUCH better than the Kyoto protocol that the Conservative government had us bail out of, that would have required us to stick to 1990 levels.) Under the previous government, the Liberals pledged to spend $10 billion over seven years to help Canada cut its average greenhouse gas emissions by 270 megatonnes a year from 2008 to 2012. I wonder if anyone did the math to compare the two... but the difference is that now Canada will not be bound to its Kyoto commitments, and it will be "business as usual" for the foreseeable future (or until the next election).

IMHO, I think it's already too late... the human race missed its chance to keep the planet in good health...

HotSoup launched

Another interesting article. Only this time, an interesting approach to participatory democracy.

In the article entitled "The Clintons Get Their Village", Wired magazine reports on a new site called HotSoup. In a nutshell, it's a forum for movers-and-shakers in the States to gain 2-way communication with "opinion leaders" who themselves have influence in their communities. The site is worth a visit, as HotSoup includes members such as Bill and Hilary Clinton, biker champ Lance Armstrong, Jon Bon Jovi (!) and senior Democrat / Republican strategists.

While the site is strictly U.S.-oriented, I couldn't help but think that this kind of site could be of use in Canada - but would likely be destined to failure because of the average Canadian's apathy and close-mindedness of its politicians and opinion-drivers...

Oh well...

Video games can reshape education: U.S. scientists

Well, duh!

It's about time people started to wake up to the enormous potential of education-though-videogames. Some people might consider it distateful, even immoral - but let's face it, it's here, so we might as well get used to it and use it to "our" adavantage. That includes education.

'Bout frickin' time....

Piila's Thought Wave

Ah, it's time to recognize a sister-in-arms, Piila, who's entered the blogosphere. Kindred spirit, she is. I invite you to check Piila's Thought Wave!

Happy blogging, Piila!

Thanksgiving at Shabomeka Lake

My family and some close friends spent a wonderful weekend at Shabomeka Lake at a fabulous cottage we rented. We hiked, biked, kayaked during three glorious autumn days and left the preoccupations of work behind...

We can only appreciate the beauty of Nature thanks to the work of those who take the time and effort to make it easier for the rest of us to get around. Thanks to Glenn Pearce, who over the past 20 years has built a network of trails in the area, we were able to sample a bit of what Nature had to offer.

You'll find some pictures of our treks during our Shabomeka Thanksgiving.