Contemplating the Human Future

Contemplating the Human Future

September 1, 2022 admin 0

CHERYL LYON – We are getting more and more climate scenarios of “bad-to-worse” and even human extinction. Humans (and possibly other sentient beings) feel fear, anxiety and despair over how very difficult things can become. How to be? What to do? The long view We consider our societies “civilized.” Successive human civilizations have collapsed over history. None have lasted forever. Even the most long-lived one, the Roman Empire, only managed 1426 years. A blip on […]

Nukes are not The Answer

April 21, 2020 admin 0

Arithmetic: A finite planet cannot sustain infinite growth. PATRICIA REMY – BWXT and its plans to expand its range of operations have been in the news for months now. CARN (Citizens Against Radioactive Neighbourhoods) and others have been picketing regularly outside the BWXT plant and appealing to City Council to intervene. A change in BWXT’s licence would allow the firm to produce pellets for nuclear reactor fuel rods from uranium dioxide dust. CARN’s concerns are […]

Dismantling a Nuclear Reactor

April 14, 2020 admin 0

PATRICIA REMY – It hasn’t been done in Canada yet, but in Europe the nuclear reactors of the first generation have reached the end of their shelf-life and are being dismantled. At some point in the not-too-distant future, very probably within the next twenty years, and despite attempts to refurbish them, the same fate awaits the Bruce Power reactor cluster and those in Pickering and Darlington. My information is based on reports (i) on the […]

Making Sense Of Peterborough’s Climate Emergency Declaration

January 6, 2020 admin 0

BILL EEKHOF – Peterborough high school student Dana Jordan believes meaningful action is needed to address the climate crisis. So, she wants to pursue a career in science, politics or law to further climate action efforts. “I am very worried about climate change,” Jordan admits, “but as (Swedish climate activist) Greta Thunberg has said, ‘you need to keep hope with you…’ Every small action makes a difference.” Jordan is pleased to see her hometown acting, […]

The Doleful and The Soulful

August 1, 2019 admin 0

PETER CURRIER The Doleful Picture Oil Work: One barrel of oil does the work of 12 1/2 years of human labour. Imagine pushing your car up Armour Hill to the Peterborough Museum. You’d need ropes, a dozen strong people, a good hour, and an ice-free road. Now estimate how few ounces of gas it takes to do the same job. Shows how dependent we are on fossil fuels. Enduring Blight: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch […]

11 Tips for Securing Our Water

January 1, 2018 admin 0

Don’t bathe, shower. Fill the sink, don’t run the tap. If it’s yellow let it mellow. Even low-volume toilets use huge amounts of water. Don’t rinse dishes: dishwashers can handle them using much less water. Water lawn and garden judiciously, leave hardier plants to wait out dry spells. Collect downspout rainwater in drums for watering. Use downspout extensions to divert water away from sewers. Avoid pesticides; use salt sparingly, if at all. Substances used on […]