Our Fukushima Moment

2017-05-31T18:20:50-04:00March 18th, 2011|Energy, Environment and Energy|

A quarter of a century after we first heard it, the word “Chernobyl” stands in our minds for technological calamity borne of incompetence. Environmentalists used the label to deliver a near-fatal blow to the nuclear power industry. What will Fukushima mean to us in 2036, and how will we have used the label to change our world?

The Enticements of Green Carrots

2017-08-25T05:28:35-04:00August 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 Age of Cheap Oil Is Ending

2017-05-16T00:07:44-04:00August 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.

The End of Ingenuity

2017-09-11T18:36:16-04:00November 29th, 2006|Climate Change, Economics (General), Energy, Environment and Energy, General Topics, Ingenuity Gap, Ingenuity Gap (General), Innovation|

Having to search farther and longer for our resources isn’t the only new hurdle we face. Climate change could also constrain growth. A steady stream of evidence now indicates that the planet is warming quickly and that the economic impact on agriculture, our built environment, ecosystems and human health could, in time, be very large.

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