Editorial: Sex Problems Abound!
The “mid-life crisis” is a well-known phenomenon, often involving snazzy new sports cars, extra-marital affairs, or other impulsive and rash departures from the norm. Could sexual dissatisfaction be fueling such attempts to spice up their lives? Middle-aged readers, if you’re less than ecstatic about...
Column: A Downside of Energy Efficiency?
[Editorial Note: Readers can better understand Suzuki's urgency by first reading a recent article on CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/world-hothouse-report-1.4775649 ] By David Suzuki In the race against the increasingly widespread and devastating consequences of climate change, solutions tend to focus on products and...
Editorial: How we vote, Part Ten: Local representation, proportionality and less corruption
Local representation – everyone wants it, right? Some people may not realize how important local representation is until an issue arises that affects them directly. Then suddenly they want to talk to their MLA. But wait; do they want to talk to an MLA for a party they didn’t vote for? We do have local representation now,...
Op/Ed: The marvel of electric lighting is now a global blight to health
By Richard G. Stevens; republished from Aeon magazine Light pollution is often characterized as a soft issue in environmentalism. This perception needs to change. Light at night constitutes a massive assault on the ecology of the planet, including us. It also has indirect impacts because, while 20 per cent of electricity is...
Op/Ed: Buy BC First, says BC Premier
By John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia This B.C. Day long weekend, let's take time to enjoy food, friends and family. Let's also celebrate the farmers, producers, and local businesses who provide quality food and drink grown right here in B.C. B.C. farmers grow fresh, local food delivered to us at farmers’ markets, grocery...
The trouble with Bitcoin -- Blockchain and life on earth
We’ve all read about Bitcoin. Blockchain transactions such as those used by Bitcoin are touted for their security – the term “Blockchain” refers to a chain of “blocks” of data designed to be tamper-proof, partly because each block is identified by a “hash” which is like a digital fingerprint; it’s unique, and if anything...
Editorial: Who opposes proportional representation, and why?
There’s an old saying: follow the money. In the case of the upcoming referendum on whether or not BC should change our voting system from First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) to a form of Proportional Representation (ProRep), those most vocally opposed to a change seem to have one thing in common: they are people who think they would...
Opinion: Reconciling Energy and Indigenous Rights
In 2007, Canada was one of four countries to vote against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (with New Zealand, the United States and Australia). With its single-minded focus on making Canada an “energy superpower,” albeit only with fossil fuels, the Harper government feared the declaration’s concept of ...
COLUMN: values past and present, and the news
A mind in movement across space and time: Part III Traveller Chaos, Column Coherence This month’s column is about travel, time, and identity. I have just returned from a four-week trip by car across the nation to Ontario and back. It is not the first such trip of my life; I have logged tens of thousands of miles since my...
Column: From the Hill -- Columbia River Treaty issues
Last week I spent three days in Spokane at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region meetings. Over 600 legislators, business people, and other interested folks from BC, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Yukon and Northwest Territories gathered to talk about issues important to this region....