Current and anticipatory grief The reality of the continuing extinction of many so species is profoundly upsetting.  Readers may wonder why old people should care.  For example, I’ll be dead in a few years myself;  it will be up to others to live their lives diminished by the loss of caribou and many other creatures, many...

By John Rapley, for Aeon Two questions: is it good or bad that professional athletes earn 400 times what nurses do, and is string theory a dead end? Each question goes to the heart of its discipline. Yet while you probably answered the first, you’d hold an opinion on the prospects of string theory only if you’ve studied...

Some Elections matter more: this should be one Canadians are about to choose a national, federal government on October 21. It is a more significant choice for our nation than we have faced in many elections, and not because Canada alone is facing some unusual circumstances: the entire human world and the non-human species...

The polar bear has become the poster child for climate change impacts in the Arctic. Sea ice, which the bears depend on for hunting, is melting at an ever-expanding rate. For other species, climate impacts are not as direct. The 2019 State of Canada’s Birds report found aerial insectivores like swifts, swallows and nightjars...

Last week I cycled around the beautiful riding of South Okanagan-West Kootenay—436 km of rail trail and highway, 18 cafes and restaurants and lots of good conversations!  While the talk over coffee and food was wide-ranging—from caribou to craft distilleries, health care to infrastructure, agriculture to electoral reform—the...

It’s time to reflect on our driving habits, and on the facts cited below – especially for the safety of everyone’s children.  According to the  Canadian Paediatric Society, motor vehicle incidents are the leading cause of unintentional injury and death in Canada for children from 1 year old to 19 years old. The  BC Injury...

As I knock on doors across the south Okanagan and West Kootenay, one issue is a common topic of conversation—health care.  Canadians are rightfully proud of our public health care system, and the NDP is proud that it was Tommy Douglas who fought for the free, universal program that we enjoy. It is not perfect, but...

UPDATE:  Canada's Chief Electoral Officer, Stephane Perrault, issued a public statement today, clarifying that environmental groups can say "whatever they want" during the election period, subject to the usual rules. There had been a rash of reports and opinion pieces, including this one, and a fine piece in The Beaverton, ...

Dated:  July 29, 2019:  For over two decades the Tsilhqot’in have battled to keep Taseko Mines Ltd. (TML) from destroying Teẑtan Biny and Yanah Biny with TML’s plan to create an open pit mine on a place of profound cultural and spiritual significance. Both TML and TNG have filed injunctions in B.C. Supreme Court and are in...

Betty was very quick of wit, usually quite agreeable and very funny.  She was gentle, accepting, and supportive and she rarely took crap from anyone.  She always had a ready response.    Her kindness and generosity of spirit usually stopped her from giving voice to unkind sentiments. She could always see the positive side of...