Environment and Energy Archives • Page 4 of 8 • Thomas Homer-Dixon

The Enticements of Green Carrots

THD2017-08-25T05:28:35-04:00August 9th, 2009|Energy, Environment and Energy|

We Canadians like to think we are green, but when it comes to protecting the environment, we are among the world’s worst actors. Whether the metric is carbon output per capita, toxic waste emissions or protection of endangered species, Canada regularly ranks near the bottom of the list of similarly wealthy countries. If our economy’s incentives start pulling in the same direction as our ethical impulses, Canadians can do better. At present, they are pulling in opposite directions.

The Great Transformation: Climate Change as Cultural Change

THD2017-10-11T19:08:39-04:00June 8th, 2009|Climate Change, Environment and Energy, Speech Transcripts, Transcripts|

A critical conversation about climate change is going on right now through the UNFCCC process; a key stage in this process will be the Copenhagen meeting at the end of this year. This conversation, to the extent that it is prescriptive, generally emphasizes technology and economics. It stresses strategies for dealing with the climate problem that involve technical aspects of, for instance, societies’ energy mix and energy efficiency. I don’t want to disparage these approaches or suggest that they shouldn’t be pursued. But, the fact remains that despite all our efforts we seem to be falling further and further behind.

Clean Coal? Go Underground, Alberta

THD2017-11-08T15:17:02-05:00May 4th, 2009|Alberta, Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Energy, General Topics|

with Julio Friedmann | Alberta appears to be in a box – an energy box – that constrains policy options in every direction. The province’s wealth is critically tied to exploitation of its vast hydrocarbon resources.

Climate Change, The Arctic and Canada: Avoiding Yesterday’s Analysis of Tomorrow’s Crisis

THD2017-05-31T19:05:09-04:00October 30th, 2008|Climate Change, Conflict, Environment and Energy, Environmental Stress and Conflict, General Topics|

Paper Prepared for the 20th Anniversary Conference of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, Ottawa, Ontario

Blocking the Sky to Save the Earth

THD2018-04-03T20:05:03-04:00September 12th, 2008|Climate Change, Environment and Energy, General Topics|

with David Keith | To the relief of climate scientists around the world, it appears that the polar ice cap hasn’t shrunk as much this summer as it did last summer.

A Win-Win-Win Situation

THD2017-08-02T07:14:24-04:00March 8th, 2008|Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Energy, General Topics|

with David Keith | What should we do with the carbon we produce when we burn fossil fuels? Some experts say we should fight climate change by putting the carbon back underground, whence it came.

Positive Feedbacks, Dynamic Ice Sheets, and the Recarbonization of the Global Fuel Supply: The New Sense of Urgency about Global Warming

THD2017-10-11T19:09:07-04:00January 1st, 2008|Climate Change, Environment and Energy, General Topics|

A Globally Integrated Climate Policy for Canada, University of Toronto Press, 2008.

With Cracks and Holes in the Greenland Ice Sheet, We May Well Have to “Geo-Engineer” the Climate

THD2017-10-11T19:09:16-04:00December 1st, 2007|Climate Change, Environment and Energy, General Topics|

A few years ago, these scientists regarded global warming as a matter of serious concern; now many appear to think that it's a matter of grave urgency - that we may be running out of time. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports are increasingly viewed as out of date.

A Swiftly Melting Planet

THD2017-10-11T19:09:22-04:00October 4th, 2007|Climate Change, Environment and Energy, General Topics|

The Arctic ice cap melted this summer at a shocking pace, disappearing at a far higher rate than predicted by even the most pessimistic experts in global warming. But we shouldn’t be shocked, because scientists have long known that major features of earth’s interlinked climate system of air and water can change abruptly.

The Age of Cheap Oil Is Ending

THD2017-05-16T00:07:44-04:00August 6th, 2007|Energy, Environment and Energy, General Topics|

On July 18, the National Petroleum Council delivered a blockbuster report to the US Secretary of Energy. The council advises the US federal government on energy issues. The council’s report—entitled Facing Hard Truths about Energy—assesses the “future of oil and natural gas to 2030 in the context of the global energy system.” Its 400 pages reveal a major shift in the energy industry’s publicly stated views about humankind’s energy prospects: We’re running out of cheap oil.

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