By Anna Augusto  Rodrigues, for  The Conversation If you missed the Netflix debut of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, there are reasons to watch it now that go beyond being inspired to keep up fashionable appearances through a winter in COVID-19 lockdown or dreaming about travelling to beautiful Icelandic...

In Canada, we’re quick to favourably compare ourselves to our southern neighbours. COVID-19 caseloads may be at an all-time high here, but the U.S. situation is even more dire. Canada hasn’t managed to curb carbon emissions, but the U.S. abandoned emission reduction targets when it pulled out of the Paris Agreement. We may ...

By Jacob Stegenga, in aeon magazine Numerous criticisms of medical science have been articulated in recent years. Some critics argue that spurious disease categories are being invented, and existing disease categories expanded, for the aim of profit. Others say that the benefits of most new drugs are minimal and typically...

Five tips to get you off the sofa – because sitting more during COVID-19 is hurting your health By Wuyou Sui, for The Conversation With the Canadian government continuing to recommend physical distancing measures, many people are finding themselves confined to their homes more than ever before. While some are citing the...

Earlier this year, Seamus O’Regan, the Minister of Natural Resources said in a speech that “We are placing nuclear energy front and centre… This is nuclear’s moment.” And in discussions around building a new economy after COVID, the government is doubling down on those sentiments.  The latest debates are slightly different ...

The hand-over between generations: a lack of empathy? "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." ---  Mark Twain Youth and Age, it is a commonplace observation, often suffer...

Recently I’ve been thinking about what a low-carbon life might actually look like.  We would drive and fly less and mostly cycle, walk and ride transit. We’d eat less meat and more plant-based foods. We’d heat our energy-efficient homes with electricity or geothermal and get power from the wind and sun.  It might also be a ...

Ottawa’s latest climate plan bets on expensive and unproven carbon capture technologies   By Burgess Langshaw Power, from The Conversation    Last week, the federal government released its long awaited plan to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Bill C-12, if passed, commits...

We impede evolution and the development of the human species if we neglect the aged.”   -- James Hillman, Force of Character “Ve gett too soon oldt undt too late schmartt!  -- sign seen in a joke shop The value of Elders: obsolete, replaced, or persisting? I had begun a column on Elders in March this year, but the pandemic ...

What we refer to as “plastic” hasn’t been around for long. But its usefulness has caused production to skyrocket — from about two million tonnes in 1950 to almost 400 million tonnes a year now, and rising steadily. It’s a problem. Although much of it can be recycled, most isn’t. That’s led many local and national governments...