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Canada would need 96,000 wind turbines to satisfy Kyoto

Monday, January 28th, 2008

A recent article in the UK publication The Independent caught my attention because it said that the UK would need to build 12,500 wind farms to meet EU emissions targets. I wondered how many wind farms Canada would need to build to meet its emission reduction commitments. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, [...]

Remembering Our Humanity - Science Ethics in the 21st Century

Monday, January 21st, 2008

I recently read Next by Michael Crichton - a thought-provoking read that postulates what life in America might be like when genetic manipulation enters the consumer goods market. Like most Crichton books, it’s not particularly well written but it poses some interesting ethical questions and interestingly, makes actual policy recommendations about genetic research to the [...]

Does BC Have a Future in Fuel Production?

Monday, January 14th, 2008

In the past decade, pundits and scientists have teased us with the concept that British Columbia might be able to get into the fuel production business. We’ve heard about offshore oil and gas, we’ve heard some hints that hydrogen might have a future in BC but neither of these have seemed to pan out. However, [...]

Is Geothermal Energy Ready for Prime Time in Canada?

Monday, December 31st, 2007

A recent Canadian Press article announced that Yellowknife, NWT is getting ready to pilot a geothermal power system by repurposing an abandoned gold mine. The mine, which goes as far as 2.5 km into the Earth’s crust can heat water to a balmy 50 degrees celcius. Some geothermal specialists are planning on running a pilot [...]

A Green, Green Christmas

Monday, December 24th, 2007

This Christmas Eve, two environmental policy issues related to the holidays haunt my thoughts. First, the looming policy shift around plastic carrier bags. Second, the lack of attention paid to the Christmas tree industry. I believe that many Canadian jurisdictions, like Leaf Rapids, Manitoba are preparing to institute a plastic carrier bag ban. At the [...]

The US Roadmap for Nanotechnology and Where Canada Stands in Comparison

Monday, December 17th, 2007

The Foresight Nanotechnology Institute in the US gave us nanotech geeks a sneak peek at their Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems – due for public announcement in January, 2008. I am extremely interested in this topic area because of my ongoing work with NanotechBC. I’ve already worked on a nanotechnology asset map for British Columbia [...]

Proposed Carbon Tax for Families with More Than Two Children Reads like Dystopian Novel Plot

Monday, December 10th, 2007

One of my all-time favourite books – Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card – is set in a future where humanity is at war with a remote but deadly race of aliens. In this future, socio-economic factors after two crippling inter-planetary wars lead to the point where Earth’s government imposes population restriction laws. The [...]

Recent Announcement of Canadian Cell Phone Spectrum Set Aside for Newcomers is Political Bullshit

Monday, December 3rd, 2007

In May, 2008, 105 mhz of the 2 Ghz radio spectrum in Canada will be auctioned off to the highest bidders. This spectrum is the spectrum that the new “3G” highspeed wireless services (currently enjoyed predominantly outside of North America) will run on. The Canadian government recently announced that they would be setting aside a [...]

The Carbon Footprint of a Supermodel

Tuesday, May 15th, 2007

Editor’s note: I will be better about writing regularly from now on. I just had a death in the family hot on the heels of moving homes.
On my 50km commute from a meeting in downtown Vancouver to my home in the subburbs (no, the irony is not lost of me that I was commuting as [...]

Don’t Burn Nanotechnology At The Stake

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

One little note before I get into the meat of my rant/article: I am not writing this thinking that I am the first person to make this connection so that I can look back in a few years’ time and say “Ha! I told you mooks that this was going to happen!” I realize that [...]

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