My wife and I wrap cheese when we put it into our lunchbags. I use plastic and she uses waxpaper. As the waxpaper is at least twice as thick as the low density polyethylene in my lunch bag, I initially create a smaller waste burden in our local landfill. Of course, over time, the waxpaper… (read more)
A couple of years ago, I offered a synopsis of world trade patterns on the basis of the Economist’s Pocket World in Figures. Here is an update of that post for 2018 with a bit of a forecast of how the trade deals (or lack thereof) we keep hearing about might shake things up in… (read more)
Shortly before leaving office in 1974, Richard Nixon proposed a universal healthcare bill that would have assured all Americans of health insurance coverage. Developed countries around the world were passing similar legislation at the time, using some mix of private and public insurance. It was also at this time that the American healthcare system began… (read more)
Four years ago, I highlighted Jeffrey Simpson’s five recommendations for improving the value of medical care in Canada. These addressed some of the natural weaknesses of a single payer system, which frequently lead to long wait times. One of these recommendations, investment in home care, has been seized upon by the Trudeau government as a… (read more)
In October 1992, shortly before his victory over George H. Bush, Bill Clinton declared that trade deals should “require each country to enforce its own environmental and worker standards”. Clinton was trying to distance himself from the NAFTA trade deal that the Republicans had negotiated with Canada and Mexico without denying its expected economic benefits…. (read more)
This blog has, from the beginning, focused on ecology and economics. These topics are taken up in a recent encyclical by Pope Francis with the extra dimension of how faith informs our decisions in these areas. Like Al Gore in his book, “The Future” , the pope summarizes some trends in the world around us and… (read more)
When I started this blog, I referred to the similarities between ecosystems and economies. Here, I will make an ecologist’s observations on the patterns of world trade. Foodwebs are an important tool in understandng ecosystems. They are a list of species from which each species draws energy. That is to say, who eats whom. Economists… (read more)
My last blog post was about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. The scientists shared that award with an individual who won an Oscar in the same year. That has to be some kind of record, inspiring peace and artistic acclaim in one effort. This same individual,… (read more)
The 40 page summary published this month by the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change makes some startling statements. The summary is the capstone of three major reports, 6 years of work and 30 years of experience in getting governments and scientists to clarify the likely outcomes of the increasing load of greenhouse gasses in our shared… (read more)
Canadians are obsessed with health care. Our publicly-funded system is one of a very few cultural differences (along with the length of our football fields) between ourselves and our great neighbours to the south. As such, medicare is a source of pride and identity. Jeffrey Simpson has recently pointed out that this pride is… (read more)
