Capitalism

Imagine a world where the Northern Gateway pipeline doesn’t get built. With the federal government’s curiously tepid approval in hand, Enbridge Inc. sets to work trying to chip away at the dozens of conditions it must meet before it is allowed to fire up its trenching equipment. First Nations opposed to the project dig in for lengthy court battles and noisy demonstrations, arguing that an oil sands pipeline threatens long-held rights and title to their lands and that they were inadequately consulted.

By 2012, the U.S. was awash in light sweet crude from (fracked) shale oil deposits in Texas, North Dakota and elsewhere. With Midwest and Gulf Coast refineries configured to take heavy oil, that light crude has been looking for a refining home.

During his speech at West Point Military Academy earlier this week, President Barack Obama described climate change as a "creeping national security crisis" that will require the armed forces to "respond to refugee flows, natural disasters, and conflicts over water and food."

The speech emphasised that US foreign policy in the 21st century is increasingly being honed in recognition of heightened risks of social, political and economic upheaval around the world due the impacts of global warming.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched into a full-on attack on the "evils of communism" at a fundraiser on Friday for a monument to its victims: "During the 20th century, communism's poisonous ideology and ruthless practices slowly bled into countries around the world, on almost every continent," Harper said. The evening's event aimed help raise money for Tribute to Liberty, which aims for a permanent memorial in Ottawa to communism's "hundreds of millions" of victims. You can hear the full speech below.

Do people exist to serve the economy or does the economy exist to serve people?

This question came to me as the left side of my brain was reading Thomas Piketty's important new book Capital in the Twenty-First Century while the right side of my brain watched the news.

When I hear the phrase “on the edge,” the irresistible image is the proverbial lemmings marching resolutely to the cliff.

While Canada slashes budgets for research, education and public broadcasting, there is one part of our economy that enjoys remarkable support from the Canadian taxpayer: the energy sector.

My hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan, was once known as the Furniture Capital of the world. The furniture industry moved south, and then overseas, but in the 1970s a few stalwarts still plied the pretensions of the uppity class with vestiges of noblesse oblige. We made reproductions of antiques. Why not? We had the blueprints, patterns, jigs, fixtures, and most importantly, the experience. I worked at John Widdicomb Furniture Co.

Tom Steyer, who has spent over $10 million to help defeat the Keystone XL pipeline, challenged the oil billionaire Koch brothers to a debate last night on the Bill Maher show.

To stand any chance of keeping global warming below dangerous levels, a large percentage of fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground unburned. 1 Lord Stern endorses an estimate of 60-80% of current reserves being unburnable, assets which support share values of around $4 trillion, about 27% of US Gross National Income ($15 trillion), or about 5% of Gross World Product ($85 trillion).