According to the IPCC, the world has just twelve years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level that would achieve the Paris Agreement target of less than 1.5oC of global warming.[1] With net global emissions still on the rise and big players like the United States turning their backs on climate action, for many... Continue Reading →
Oil Initiatives, Technology, and Climate Change…
Using non-existent technology as a justification for destructive operations With climate change concerns growing, threats to the oil and gas sectors are multiplying. More than ever, there is a need for proof that current and future extraction initiatives are in line with climate goals. A report released by IPCC last October confirmed that shooting for... Continue Reading →
Yes, Europe Has Not Needed AC in the Past. Let’s Keep it That Way.
This a response to Victor Pellicero Calvo’s article titled “Quit the Banter, Europe Needs Air Conditioning”. There is no questioning that as the world becomes warmer, human lifestyles will have to adapt to harsher climates. However, adaptation must not come at the cost of worsening climate change. Building more air conditioning (AC) is not the answer.... Continue Reading →
Whose Right to Development?
Article 1 of the Declaration on the Right to Development holds that the right to development is an inalienable human right.[1] When this was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1986, it represented a strong step forward for global distributive justice. Today, however, we are facing a situation in which states increasingly invoke the... Continue Reading →
The Environmental Cost of our Amazon Prime Subscriptions
The carbon footprint of online shopping highly depends on the actions of consumers. A 2013 MIT study, “Environmental Analysis of US Online Shopping”, shows shoppers can be divided into a number of different categories that span from a “traditional retail shopper” to what the study calls a “cybernaut” shopper who exclusively shops online. The highest... Continue Reading →
Managing the Sinking Feeling: How Rising Sea Levels Will Endanger Energy Security
The world’s oceans are heating up and even climate change sceptics are struggling to deny it. In May 2016, six of the land masses which form the Solomon Islands vanished off the world map without a single trace, and with sea levels predicted to rise by between 9 and 88 cm by 2100, the forecast... Continue Reading →
“The Windy City Getting Windier”
In 2018, the state of Illinois announced the enactment of the Illinois Clean Energy Jobs Act, with the highly ambitious aim of producing 100% clean energy by 2050. However, this past week, the mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emmanuel signed a resolution taking the act one step closer, passing legislation committing to run the city on... Continue Reading →
Can Green Dictators Ever Work? Constitutional Autocracy for a Good Cause
All current expert estimates concerning climate change are alarmist. The British Met Office, based on IPCC reports, has calculated a measly 10% probability that we will take the necessary steps to “keep the world from tipping over the [1.5 Celsius] limit by 2030”. Nothing short of a drastic turnaround from our current energy consumption pattern... Continue Reading →
What the Alberta Election Means for Climate Action and Energy Security in Canada
On 16 April 2019, the United Conservative Party (UCP) of Alberta won in a landslide provincial election against the New Democratic Party (NDP), obtaining a total of 63 seats in the provincial legislature. The leader of the UCP, Jason Kenney, focused much of his campaign on the province’s struggling economy, job creation, and constructing more... Continue Reading →
There’s A Lot of Light, But What About the Dark?
India leaps forward in Renewable Energy -- will millions be left behind? Bathing in extravagance, Cinderella’s ugly step-sisters dangled their privilege in front of her eyes. They raced for prestige while rag-laden Cinderella was left in the dust. The Energy Security of India is no Cinderella-story, but can we say it’s that far off? This... Continue Reading →