Tag Archives: Global Competitiveness

Energy, Politics

Why Didn’t the US Develop Solar Energy 45 Years Ago?

The following interview was originally broadcast on August 20, 2014, when this website was called the ECOreport and all of my long distance interviews were over Skype.

Solar technology was invented in the United States and the world’s first solar company was American. The initial race to develop wind energy was closer, but once again the first prototype was built in the U.S.  

In 1978 Dr Alan Hoffman handed President Jimmy Carter a plan to fast track the adoption of renewable energy.

Only Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 and for the next three decades, Hoffman watched as other nations took over the leadership in developing renewables.

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Politics

how do democracies go wrong?

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Folk U Radio – With a high stakes election in the U.S.,  a sudden BC election called amidst a pandemic, and numerous local elections across Canada, the role of democracy is on many people’s minds. What works? What doesn’t? How is it that democracies can be used for personal gain and it can seem so hard to change things even when they seem to so obviously go wrong.

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Politics

The World's Most Sustainable Nations

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If one accepts the findings of the  2019 Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index,  the age of colonial states and super powers is over. The World’s two largest economies, the United States and China, are ranked 34 and 37, respectively. Germany leads the G7 nations, but only places 15 overall. Only two non-European nations, New Zealand (12) and Canada (19) are in the top ten. The World’s most sustainable nations are Scandinavian.

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Politics

Canada’s Emissions

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By Roy L Hales

The ravages are already upon us. Extreme weather events: flooding, more heatwaves in the summer; snowstorms and longer fire seasons. While there still are Canadians who do not take Climate Change seriously,  a recent CBC poll found that 65% do not believe the nation is doing enough and 42% view climate change as a national emergency. So I asked the candidates about Canada’s emissions.

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Environment

How The EU Can Cut Emissions 40% Below 1990 Levels By 2030

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By Roy L Hales

If the world fulfills the pledges made at COP 21 it might be possible to keep the rise of average global temperatures to between 3.3 and 3.8 degrees above 1990 levels, but this may be unattainable. CO2 emissions reached an all-time high, with an increase of close to 3%, in 2018. Thanks to the oil sands and transportation sector, Canadians now pour more pollutants into the atmosphere (per capita) than any other nationality. The United States emissions rose 3.4% in 2018. The only good news comes from the, European Union which has already met its 2020 emissions target. Agora Energiewende has just released a report explaining how the EU can cut emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

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