Articles

How Alberta could champion a new energy source

August 8, 2016

Albertans may well wonder if a plague of locusts will come next. From the 2013 floods, to the oil price collapse and the resulting fiscal crisis, to the Fort McMurray fires, the province has taken some heavy blows.

Start the Leap revolution without me

April 22, 2016

The Leap Manifesto is a Rorschach ink-blot test of one’s political and economic ideology.

What is really at stake in extremist attacks

January 25, 2016

We’ve been lucky so far, because the bad guys have usually been stupid. But they probably won’t be stupid forever, so our luck probably won’t last. When it finally runs out, we need to make sure we don’t do the bad guys’ work for them.

Don’t Peddle Climate Fantasies

December 14, 2015

The French have pulled a rabbit out of the climate hat in Paris. It’s a rather incomplete rabbit, because it’s missing bits and pieces – an ear here, a foot there. But it has a heartbeat, and it’s recognizable as a rabbit all the same.

The False Promise of Climate Adaptation

December 7, 2015

Climate skeptics may not be out for the count, but they’re definitely on the ropes. As Earth’s atmosphere warms and severe droughts, storms, and wildfires sweep the planet, those arguing that climate change isn’t a grave danger have had to bob and weave to stay on their feet.

Harper’s Biggest Election Blunder

October 16, 2015

By pressing the niqab issue, the Conservatives made an enormous strategic mistake. In fact, it was probably the single biggest blunder by any political party in this extraordinary election season.

The Ideological Conflict Project: Theoretical and Methodological Foundations

July 1, 2015
Stephen Mock and Thomas Homer-Dixon

with Stephen Mock | Ideology is important to conflict. Shared beliefs create a sense of group identity, specify targets of hostility and enable coordinated action. Understanding ideology is key to effective conflict resolution and management.

Scientists Call for an Oil Sands Moratorium

June 10, 2015
Wendy Palen, Thomas Homer-Dixon, et al.

Consensus statement says the science is clear: there can be no more oils sands development if we are to solve the global climate crisis.

Today’s Butterfly Effect is Tomorrow’s Trouble

November 15, 2014

Amid reports of sex scandals, lone-wolf terrorists and Middle East beheadings, it’s easy to miss small events. But they sometimes carry messages far larger than those in the headlines.

Ebola Epidemic Could Tear Societies Apart

September 18, 2014

World leaders finally seem to be waking up to the gravity of the Ebola threat. Like the rest of us, they’ve been distracted by the Islamic State’s rampage in Syria and Iraq, the Ukrainian crisis, and even the mini-drama of the Scottish independence referendum.