We talk a lot about thinking, but rarely think about what thinking really is. René Descartes, a 17th century French philosopher, thought he had brought the subject to a close with his conclusion that, “I think, therefore I am.” But his position was countered by the 18th century French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who contended that,“I feel, therefore I am.” But all this speculation was centuries ago, without either having access to the wealth of neurological and cognitive evidence available in the 21st century.
Continue reading Thinking the World – The Quadra ProjectTag Archives: Greenland ice melt
The Quadra Project: Sea Level Rise
When we think of sea level rise, we probably have a fairly simple explanation for what happens. The glaciers and polar icecaps melt, the resulting water flows into the world’s oceans and they rise accordingly. But, in actuality, the process is far more complicated than that. Consider Antarctica as an example—usually neglected because of its remoteness and the incorrect assumption until recently about its relative stability.
Continue reading The Quadra Project: Sea Level RiseLocal artist hosting art show depicting Greenland travels and the realities of climate change

By Louis Belcourt, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca
Iris Steigemann, an artist and painter local to Cortes Island, has been travelling to Greenland over the course of the past decade and has distilled her experiences into a collection of paintings that she will be presenting this weekend.
Continue reading Local artist hosting art show depicting Greenland travels and the realities of climate changeThe Next 18 Months May Be Critical
By Roy L Hales
The heat wave that toppled European temperature records last month, reduced half of Greenland’s ice sheet to slush. Though wildfires are common in northern regions, there is no record of anything corresponding to what is transpiring today. Close to 5.5 million hectares are ablaze in northern Russia, and another million in Alaska. As a BBC environmental correspondent recently stated, the next 18 months may be critical if we hope to halt the rise of global temperatures at 1.5 degrees.
Continue reading The Next 18 Months May Be CriticalWe Are Already Close to 1.5 Degrees
By Roy L Hales
While Canada’s political leaders toy with the idea of expanding the pipeline infrastructure out of Alberta, average global temperatures reached a record high in 2015 and are expected to be even warmer in 2016. According to Dr Kirsten Zickfeld, of Simon Fraser University, “We are already close to 1.5 degrees.”
Continue reading We Are Already Close to 1.5 Degrees
