Up to a third of Africa’s great apes are threatened by a boom in mining projects for minerals required for the renewable energy transition, new research shows.
In perhaps one of the great ironies of human civilisation, mechanical devices to truly magnify human power came along as soon as we didn’t need them. Pedal-powered devices like bicycles only appeared after coal had already begun to transform the landscape, however – mass production was necessary for the standardised metal parts — and around the same time that gasoline was first being introduced as a fuel for automobiles.
The federal government provided at least $18.5 billion to the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries last year, according to a new report by Environmental Defence.
The largest single subsidy was to Trans Mountain, which benefited from $8 billion in loan guarantees to try to get its nearly completed $35-billion pipeline expansion project to the finish line.
Despite commitments to align their portfolios with net-zero emissions, Canada’s largest banks are increasingly financing fossil fuel companies and pushing their decarbonization goals out of reach.
While the world burns, conservative governments in both Alberta and Ontario continue to spend billions hiding and protecting their failed hydro deregulation schemes. This is money that should be spent combatting the climate crisis.
I’m listening to John Coltrane through my headphones as I type, in an effort to stay calm enough that I don’t just start sputtering. You might want to do likewise as you read.
