My previous two posts have been about ways that we can apply a cost to the emission of carbon dioxide, through either a carbon tax or an emissions trading system. Both of these work through making existing polluting technologies more and more expensive to run until they force the adoption of cleaner, greener technologies. Today’s post is looking at what I am calling ‘Green Obligations’. Instead... Read more.

The other day I wrote an article on how carbon taxes could be used as a way of addressing carbon emissions. Today I’m going to look at another widely accepted method; emissions trading, or the cap and trade system. Instead of charging a fixed tax for each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted, the government sets a limit on annual emissions for the country (called the ‘cap’). These limits... Read more.

After Stephen Harper’s recent announcement of a general election, Canadians will be heading to the polls on October 14th, 2008. With the environment likely to be a top issue amongst Canadians, the parties will no doubt debate their policies, trying to position their’s as the correct choice for Canada. I thought I would use this as an opportunity to write a series of articles on the choices... Read more.

George Monbiot’s Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning is one of the most complete looks at what is required to maintain global warming below catastrophic levels. As opposed to many other books on the subject, which focus on the cause of global warming and the devastation it might cause on our planet, Monbiot focuses on proposing a solution to virtually every aspect of our lives where we emit... Read more.

Much has been made of the Greenhouse Effect and its responsibility in the current rise in global temperatures that we are seeing. While it is true that the greenhouse effect is in some ways responsible for global climate change, it is essential to point out that the greenhouse effect is also essential to human life on this planet. Without it, the average global temperature would plummet to -19°C.... Read more.