John McGrath’s Posts

• My government dumps nuclear waste, and I cheer

  Costs kill Ontario's new nukes 4

  Posted 4 months, 1 week ago

  Almost exactly three years ago, Ontario's government announced the construction of two new nuclear reactors to replace aging parts of our current power supply. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

• Climate Wars

  Because we've always needed reasons to kill each other 2

  Posted 9 months ago

  Canada's public broadcaster, CBC, has just finished airing the three-part series Climate Wars, based on the Gwynne Dyer book of the same name. I haven't yet finished reading the book, but the thesis is easily summarized: If you thought that the effects of climate change only included withering droughts, torrential storms, and general freaky-deakiness, you've missed one of the big ones: anthropogenic mass death, or as the political scientists call it, "war."

  Yup, on top of all the other things we'll have to worry about in a melting world, there's the sad fact that we'll have more and more… Read More

• Worst idea ever?

  I'm having a cow over beef-tallow biodiesel 9

  Posted 9 months, 1 week ago

  I heard about this on the radio this morning, and couldn't believe the uncritical reporting on it:

  The City of Calgary's entire fleet of trucks and buses may soon be partly fueled by biodiesel produced from Alberta beef tallow.
  
  Tallow is all that's left over after an animal has been processed. The city has been experimenting with tallow from the meat-packing plant in High River, Alta., as part efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  ...
  
  Not only is the tallow in ready supply locally, turning it into biofuel recycles a product that would normally be thrown away, he said.
  
  Tallow-waste biofuel is… Read More

• The week that Canada learned the definition of 'prorogue'

  Canadian Parliament suspended, PM Harper survives ... for now 0

  Posted 11 months, 1 week ago

  The situation in Ottawa has passed, for now. The Governor-General (representing Her Majesty Elizabeth II) has granted Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's request to prorogue (or suspend) Parliament, meaning that the confidence vote that had been scheduled for Monday will not happen for now. This is a day of firsts, as this is the shortest session of Parliament in this country ever and the first time a PM has suspended Parliament with a confidence vote on the docket. Harper has bought himself about two months as Parliament will return late January and almost immediately present a budget at that… Read More

• Harper's Black Friday

  Canadian government may fall, bring in greener coalition 6

  Posted 11 months, 1 week ago

  It looks like Stéphane Dion might just make it to the Prime Minister's office after all, at least for a little while. According to frenzied reporting out of Ottawa, opposition parties in Canada's Parliament (who, while not forming the government, hold the majority of seats between them) are preparing to topple the Conservative government of Stephen Harper.

  According to initial reports, Dion would become Prime Minister until the spring, when his party chooses a new leader.

  It will go down on Dec. 8, when opposition parties will table a motion of no confidence in the House of Commons; the… Read More

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John McGrath’s Recent Comments

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  Oh, right, the other hemisphere

  Was I the only one who had to read that three times?On Did I say darndest? I meant stupidest posted 1 year, 4 months ago 26 Responses

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  Link?

  Can we fix the link to this recent paper, please?On Projected CO2 emissions dwarf previous expectations posted 1 year, 7 months ago 15 Responses

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  re: Gore's humor

  The only time I saw Gore live, I got a dose of his humor:

  MC:  "Well, I think we can take one more question..."

  Gore:  "Make it two."

  (Cocks head, runs hand through hair.)

  Gore:  "I stil have some power."On Gore's impromptu humor at a recent small climate summit posted 1 year, 10 months ago 14 Responses

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  Wait a minute!

  I went with cars because it's the issue Yglesias raised, not because I think, thought, or will think that cars are the sole important factor.

  That said, I think cars are a keystone that, if made oil-free with some speed, could buy the planet precious time.  When you consider that the EWG says we could be at 40 mbd of oil by 2030, we need to pick the low-hanging fruit fast, and personal vehicles are exactly that.  On Progressive pundits don't seem to be fully grappling with the oil problem posted 2 years ago 10 Responses

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  Tell it to Nick Stern

  "Being able to converse relatively proficiently about economics and market principles, not just acknowledgment of the problems, is the best way to create a bipartisan consensus on policy. People on the right will listen to these and often agree."

  Uh, really?  So you mean, they won't spend weeks and months nitpicking about insignificant issues when an economically-conversant expert unequivocally states that climate change is a huge and growing danger to the global economy?

  I don't think we're watching the same conservatives at work.  Call me when they stop screeching about discount rates.On The benefits of using prizes to drive alternative fuel research posted 2 years, 1 month ago 5 Responses