From the Ground Up

Today we interview Robert Clipperton, Peter Gallen and Odin Swidzinski - members of the Bus Riders Steering Committee - about the Saskatoon transit system.

Not quite Sherry Olson's debut on the show - she talks with Mark about her motivations for getting involved. Look out for Sherry as host in the near future.

Does carbon pricing work? - new research says the answer is yes, but it helps to do other things too to cut emissionsAnd a look at some of the work of World Weather Attribution.Then part 4 of a repeat of episode 308 on dealing with ecostress.

Mackenzie and Justin talk with Mark about the recent devastating fire in JasperThen part 3 of a repeat of episode 308 on dealing with ecostress.

Mark and Sherry talk through of some recent developments:a press release from the Saskatchewan Environmental Society outlining the threat of climate chaos to Saskatchewan and the irresponsibility of government policya recent report from IISD showing the major contribution of fossil fuel dependence to inflation and the cost of living crisisProgress in the city of Saskatoon towards rapid bus transit (now called Link) and in plans for the housing accelerator which we discussed in episode 320.Then part 2 of a repeat of episode 308 on dealing with ecostress.

A run-through of some recent reports:for each of the last 12 months the average global temperature has been more than 1.5degC higher than pre-industrial levelsthe recent heatwave in eastern Canada shown to be 2x to 10x more likely than it would have been before climate changegas with carbon capture and storage produces far more emissions than normally claimed; so does "blue" hydrogenSaskatchewan fails spectacularly in an assessment of its climate leadershipThen part 1 of a repeat of episode 308 on dealing with ecostress. More of that episode to be re-run next week...

This is a longer episode than usual because two programmes got together - first a recording of Don Kossick's CFCR programme, Making the Links, then further commentary from Mark for From the Ground Up.The federal government has just passed legislation which makes greenwashing illegal, and the greenwashing arm of the oil industry has in consequence taken all content off its websiteThe Saskatchewan provincial government is set to disregard (probably illegally) the federal Clean Electricity Regulations, and the tribunal they set up to resist federal legislation they don't like has produced a report based on biassed assumptions and dubious criteriaA new windfarm to be built near Weyburn will have significant involvement by an Indigenous consortium. But do media reports overstate its significance?

The housing crisis in Saskatoon has become acute. Meanwhile,the historic tendency towards sprawl has increased peoples' travel distances and their emissions, and reduced potential for building strong community. The federal government's Housing Accelerator Fund aims to address all of these issues. In this episode, Sherry Olson explains the fund, what it would mean in Saskatoon, its benefits and its limitations.

Mark explores three recent reports:The Canada Electricity Advisory Council produced detailed recommendations for how the electricity sector can lead the transition to "net zero" carbon. In line with an increasing consensus, they call for serious pursuit of energy efficiency, a rapid rollout of renewables, and a significant expansion of the capacity for interprovincial trading.Saskatchewan's provincial auditor has exposed serious weaknesses in the management and operation of the provincially-run output-based scheme for carbon pricing of heavy industry. She calls for genuine transparency, and questions why there had been no use of the technology fund which is supposed to enable corporations to reduce their emissions intensity.The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis has looked at the assertions made in support of small modular nuclear reactors and shown the weakness of those claims.