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Asleep at the Switch: Regulators prioritize corporate interests over public safety with oil shipments by rail
Recent articles in the Toronto Star and the Globe & Mail newspapers paint a disturbing picture of the situation in Canada (and by extension the United States) regarding safety and public disclosure of information about fuel oil shipped by rail through populated urban areas,…
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Off to save the Amazon
This is an interview with Panacea Peru owner Emily Shaw about her business exporting Amazon botanics outside of South America, but first… …you need to know that just after Christmas I’m jumping on a plane and heading off to save the…
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Reflections on the Architects of Human-made Disasters; or Why Overlaps Often aren’t such a Bad Thing
By David McRobert (with contributions from Meghan Robinson and Sharon Sam) For decades I have struggled with an illusive, demanding and unforgiving mistress who has kept up me many nights: my muse asks, “David how can we balance economic goals…
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New info from an in-depth article on the Deepwater Horizon spill
Our sister publication HazMat Management focuses on contaminated site cleanup, new technology and pollution abatement. We have a strong readership (and growing) in the oil & gas sector, and in oil services companies. So I thought an in-depth article that appeared on…
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Back to the Future: The Beer Store’s Recycling Plus in Perspective
Image: Sung, One of North Toronto’s numerous soft drink can recyclers, July 2012. Photo credit: David McRobert. Authors’ Note: This blog was drafted on February 17th but I was unable to load it due to technical and software…
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The Myth of Human Progress
I found this article on the myth of human progress from TruthDig.com very interesting and thought share it with readers. My favourite paragraph contains this gem: “We must transcend our evolutionary history. We’re Ice Age hunters with a shave and…
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Quebec's floundering asbestos industry
This week I thought to share an article that appeared in the Toronto Star on August 10 by Kathleen Ruff about asbestos and the situation in Quebec, where attempts to restart an asbestos mine have floundered because of difficulties funding…
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Asbestos in Quebec, Part 2: Why We Export Death – Perhaps we feel “Lucky”?
Part of my reasoning was related to the fact that Canadians have spent millions of dollars refining the technologies associated with controlling asbestos hazards. We have produced hundreds of reports and studies by some of the best engineers and doctors in the world
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The Alberta Oil Sands – A National Resource?
I like the new Premier of Alberta, Alison Redford. Having lived in Canmore, Alberta for the past five years and, after being deeply immersed in Ontario politics for over fifteen years, she is a breath of fresh air. The oil…
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Keystone Kops, or Preoccupied with Occupied
The relationship may seem obscure between the Occupy Wall Street movement and the decision in November by the US State Department to delay approval of the Keystone Pipeline project that would pump Canadian oil sands crude as far south as…