Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are on the rise in Canada, leaving many with questions about the impact EVs will have long-term on the environment and on the energy grid. So, just how “environmentally friendly” are electric vehicles? Overall, EVs have a much lower impact on the environment than their fossil fuel-burning counterparts. But let’s […]
Archives for October 2020
The Tragedy of the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’
The man who wrote one of environmentalism’s most-cited essays was a racist, eugenicist, nativist and Islamaphobe—plus his argument was wrong. Fifty years ago, University of California professor Garrett Hardin penned an influential essay in the journal Science. Hardin saw all humans as selfish herders: we worry that our neighbors’ cattle will graze the best grass. So, we send […]
Flotsam and jetsam
Biographical history, as taught in our public schools, is still largely a history of boneheads: ridiculous kings and queens, paranoid political leaders, compulsive voyagers, ignorant generals, the flotsam and jetsam of historical currents. Those who radically altered history, the great creative scientists and mathematicians, are seldom mentioned if at all. Martin Gardner, mathematician and writer (1914-2010) […]
In summer of darkness, distributed energy offers brighter future for US West
As communities throughout the western United States sort through the rubble from a series of extreme heatwaves, wildfires and wind storms that devastated the region in August and September, knocking out power for millions of residents, recognition grows of the need for a reimagined and restructured power grid to ensure that the lights stay on. […]
Are We Sacrificing the Young to Save the Old with our Approach to Covid-19?
Students Moving out of Dorm at University [4] Brutally said, younger people are being asked to make a huge sacrifice in social life, personal life and economic prosperity to save the older population from COVID-19. [1] Today I ask you this question: Should we change our approach to Covid-19 so as not to sacrifice the […]