Indigenous peoples in Canada and a coalition of environmental groups launched a “Global Week of Action” for June 14-21, aimed at pressuring an array of insurance companies to cut ties with a long-distance tar sands pipeline under construction in Canada. On Wednesday, the Braided Warriors, an Indigenous youth group in British Columbia, held a rally […]

The post Insurance Giants Under Fire from First Nations for Backing Trans Mountain Tar Sands Pipeline appeared first on DeSmog.

Angela Rasmussen, in Slate, on how we can’t rely on vaccines alone to end this pandemic (this is especially true right now in Canada where our vaccination program is barely off the ground)
Alice Lu-Culligan and Akiko Iwasaki, in the New York Times, on…

Sarah Zhang, in The Atlantic, on the forgotten power of windows in a pandemic.
Luisa Beck, in The Washington Post, on the 1,200 new German words coined for the pandemic.
Aisha Lofter, in TVO, on the need for an anti-racist response to COVID.
 &#1…

ExxonMobil’s production numbers in the Permian basin in West Texas and New Mexico appear to have deteriorated in 2019, according to new analysis, calling into question the company’s claims that it is an industry leader and that its operations are steadily becoming more efficient over time. Chastened by years of poor returns and rising angst […]

The post Exxon is Telling Investors its Permian Fracking Projects are ‘World Class’. The Data Says Otherwise. appeared first on DeSmog.

Sorry my laptop is being looked at-all of a sudden the keyboard wouldn’t work. Not sure how long I will be without it. So – later, dude!

 Here’s some stuff I collected from Twitter – enjoy! My goal was to lose 10 lbs by the end of 2020. Only 24 lbs to go!— Jordan (@FoxyDocKnoxy) December 28, 2020 Okay, who did this? pic.twitter.com/Ezmgd3p441— jamie (@gnuman1979) December 28, 2020…

Scott Gavura, in Science Based Medicine, on the anti-vaxx campaign to erode confidence in COVID vaccines.Julia Belluz and Umair Irfan, in Vox, on the new South African COVID variant that may challenge current vaccines.André Picard and Adalsteinn Brown…

Angela L. Rasmussen, in the New York Times, explains how yes, the vaccines will work to stop the spread.
Julia Belluz, in Vox, interviews the inimitable Hilda Bastian, the scientist who has been right on COVID vaccines every step of the way. 

Ca…

John Michael McGrath, for TVO, on what we do and don’t know about the latest scary variant B.1.617
Hilda Bastian, in her blog Absolutely Maybe, on the evidence behind the systematic evidence behind all matters COVID. 
David Leonhardt, in The New …

Enjoying his life to the fullest#dogs #dogsoftwitter #DogsofTwittter pic.twitter.com/HOq8cWKGyl— dog lover (@10_Ilovedogs) April 21, 2021 There are 2 types of dogs.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/RtyNme0rHe— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) May 10, 2021 If you’…

Here’s a map I found that illustrates the Jan 6 Trump Insurrection: The New York Times has an excellent interactive article which describes how the attack on the US Capital building went, and here’s an article from the Washington Post describing what W…

Math professor fixes projector screen. Sound on https://t.co/gcJhzVOrTp pic.twitter.com/ulWFRIWT6l— Channa Prakash (@AgBioWorld) June 19, 2021

Kai Kupferschmidt and Gretchen Vogel, in Science, explore the future of vaccines with rare risks of blood clots.Andrew Althouse, in Medscape, on vaccines and the failure of NNTs.John Michael McGrath, in TVO, makes the case for paying people to get vac…

Gideon M-K, in Medium, on whether or not we should be vaccinating kids against the coronavirus (tl;dr – yes) 
Bernie Farber and David Fisman, in The Globe and Mail, on the overlap between racism, hate, and COVID denialists. 
Photo byAnthony …

Climate campaigners are again taking Europe’s second largest oil and gas producer to court over the climate impacts of fossil fuel extraction in the Arctic, after a previous attempt failed at the country’s Supreme Court in December. Six climate activists, alongside Greenpeace Nordic and Young Friends of the Earth Norway, have filed an application at […]

The post Norwegian Arctic Oil Drilling Targeted by Campaigners in New Legal Action appeared first on DeSmog.

James Hamblin, in the Atlantic, on the promise of a single coronavirus vaccine which would protect us against SARS, MERS, COVID-19, and every other coronavirus-related disease, forever and ever.
David Robert Grimes, in Scientific American, on how COVI…

And this happened here, in Saskatoon: Meanwhile in Canada:A 10-year old boy wanted to do something nice for the dogs in his neighborhood.So he built them a stick library.He now has two locations and is already expanding to more.🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/fzC4p…

It has been a bumpy start for the new kid on the block. Such have been the teething problems of Britain’s youngest news channel that there’s already a dedicated Twitter account posting clips of the gaffes and technical hitches besetting its programmes. The channel was also subject to an advertising boycott from some major brands, […]

The post We Watched GB News’ First Week of Climate Coverage and… Ouch appeared first on DeSmog.

When Trump doesn’t succeed on Wednesday to get Pence to “do something” about winning the election, I believe he is going to try to declare Martial Law, thinking that will stop Biden from being sworn in. It’s going to be a nightmare. We’re alr…

I’m back – turned out my keyboard had somehow disconnected itself from my laptop operating system and they needed to find each other again. Sorta like this: The great escapeNothing can keep this cat away from his best friend 😻 pic.twitter.com/6W3PP7L0…

If you’re not already following Dr. Popescu, you should be.
Stephen Reicher and John Drury, in the BMJ, on how adherence to COVID recommendations is reliant more on resources and less on motivation or energy.Gideon M-K, in Medium, with the plain truth …

Helen Branswell, in STAT, with the questions experts still have about COVID.
Justin Ling, in Macleans, with the almost unbelievable story of Ontario’s science table and its recommendations versus what our government is doing. 
Julia Belluz, in Vo…

More than 25,000 Canadians have been lost to COVID-19 (and terrible governance given the bulk of those deaths were preventable), Macleans is collecting their stories. Please take the time today to click at least a few.
     &nb…

Akiko Iwasaki, in Medium, on how vaccination might help COVID longhaulers.
Jennifer Murphy, in The New York Times, reflects on her experiences as a NYC EMT during the worst of their pandemic.
Jane Philpott and David Walker, in The Ottawa Citizen, disc…

On March 5, 1963, 30-year-old singer Patsy Cline was killed in a plane crash – one of the first musical losses I can remember, though far from the last. Here is a pretty good documentary about Patsy Cline and her music:

everyone’s anti-godzilla until there’s a 200,000 ton boat that can’t be moved— Emma Berquist (@eeberquist) March 27, 2021 So now the world is following the tale of the boat stuck in the Suez Canal, there’s even a website Is The Ship Still Stuck?And al…

When you don’t have time for this crap. pic.twitter.com/JzfWuh8dEz

— 𝖠𝖺𝗋𝗈𝗇 𝖶𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖾𝗋 (@Wieneraaron) March 13, 2021

Never has there been a better introductory paragraph to a textbook, nor will there ever be. #higherEd https://t.co/e8TAuwJLGa pic.twitter.com/zp2HRmSszR

— Dr. Alec Couros (@courosa) March 7, 2021

Prince George and Princess Charlotte after the monarchy is abolished. pic.twitter.com/W8s984Ensq

— Rohita Kadambi 🍾 (@rohitak) March 8, 2021

And one more – its hilarious:

I’m never letting this video die pic.twitter.com/QAOXjNLAqk

— Best Videos 🎬🍿 (@30SECVlDEOS) February 7, 2021

Lauren Dobson-Hughes, in The Line, reflecting on Canada’s responses to COVID wonders if we are actually a country?Zeynep, in Insight, on the gaslighting of science.And in non-COVID writing, here’s my latest in Medscape How Dare There Be Effective Drug…

Nearly 200 people were arrested on Monday while protesting the Line 3 pipeline, a long-distance tar sands pipeline that runs across Indigenous land and threatens food and water resources, including the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Indigenous and environmental groups, and even some elected officials, condemned the aggressive use of a helicopter to disperse protesters. […]

The post Hundreds Arrested at Line 3 ‘Treaty People Gathering.’ Water Protectors Vow To Continue Until the Pipeline is Canceled appeared first on DeSmog.

Ed Yong, in The Atlantic, with a typically phenomenal piece (and sadly the last he’ll be writing for a while as he finishes up a book) where he discusses the pandemic’s year two.Kai Kupferschmidt, in Science, with what you need to know, and why people…

About 100 miles off the coast of Guyana, along the northern edge of South America, the drillship Stena Carron spent Saturday, June 5 drilling a new exploratory well on behalf of ExxonMobil. The drilling takes aim at a 9 billion-barrel oilfield recently discovered in the waters off Guyana. Exxon is now putting Guyana at the […]

The post Oil Drilling in the ‘Land of Water’: ExxonMobil Hunts for More Fossil Fuels in Guyana Amid Sea Level Rise Fears appeared first on DeSmog.

Jennifer Yang and Kenyon Wallace, in The Toronto Star, on how cities, provinces and countries awash in vaccines can still mess things up if they’re not cautious with the Delta variant. 
Tavia Grant, in The Globe and Mail, on the need to address ve…

What a relief it is to just have normal politics-as-usual going on everywhere these days – blaming Trudeau for stuff that isn’t his fault, blaming O’Toole for stuff that IS his fault, watching Biden taking over the US government, its all good these day…

Meanwhile in Canada, please remember social distancing is still in effect. 😶 pic.twitter.com/y5RgTrN8AB— Terry Small (@terrysmall) February 25, 2021

On March 21st 2020, the land border between Canada and the United States was closed to non-essential travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that most Canadians and Americans have received at least one vaccine shot, many wonder when the longest border in the world will reopen? After 14 long months, we finally have an […]

Stephen Maher, in Macleans, with the comprehensive story of Canada’s first year with the pandemic.
Emily Anthes, in The New York Times, on the end of overzealous cleaning.
Gregg Gonsalves, in The Nation, on what comes after the end of this stage of th…

Ed Yong, in The Atlantic, on how health, including during pandemics, cannot be framed as a matter of individual/personal choice.
Elizabeth Cooney, in STAT, on what we do and don’t know about children COVID long haulers. 
    &…

Sharon Lavigne of St. James Parish, Louisiana, is one of six winners of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize, in recognition of her work within the “Cancer Alley” community where she was born and now, at 68 years old, continues to mobilize for environmental justice. Lavigne, who founded the community group RISE St. James in 2018, […]

The post Cancer Alley Activist Sharon Lavigne Among Goldman Environmental Prize Winners for 2021 appeared first on DeSmog.

I was going to put up another funny post, but not tonight. This week I read the books Nomadland and Snakes in Suits so I was a little bummed out to begin with.  And then we got the terrible news about the Kamloops Residential School grav…