Archives
Cheer Up. The Hard Part’s Over.
Posted by Daniel Hoornweg on January 03, 2024
Recently a fourth-year engineering student asked me, “so, how much trouble are we in?” With earth systems out of whack, like climate...
Filed under: Sustainability 101
Taxing the World’s Patience
Posted by Daniel Hoornweg on November 24, 2023
As Canada’s carbon tax appears to be going up in flames as fast as fossil fuels on a cold winter day, it may be worth asking what we get in...
Filed under: Sustainability 101
Sustainability Round Two: The Women’s Match
Posted by Daniel Hoornweg on September 28, 2023
Last month the men’s Sustainability Round One match featured Vaclav Smil versus Noah Yuval Harari. When trying to come up with a similar...
Filed under: Sustainability 101
Sustainability Match Round One: Vaclav Smil versus Yuval Noah Harari
Posted by Daniel Hoornweg on September 06, 2023
The thrust and parry of the sustainability debate is well-argued in the writings of two men: Vaclav Smil[1] versus Yuval Noah Harari[2],[3]. Yuval...
Filed under: Sustainability 101
Read more from Sustainability Match Round One: Vaclav Smil versus Yuval Noah Harari
The Eleventh Commandment
Posted by Daniel Hoornweg on July 27, 2023
Dana Meadows, likely the world’s most appreciated systems engineer and champion of sustainability, suggested an Eleventh Commandment: Though...
Filed under: Sustainability 101
The Year of Living – (sort of) Radical Sabbatical Musings on Sustainability
Posted by Daniel Hoornweg on July 01, 2023
One of the best perks of academia is the sabbatical; a year to think and write. The first leave is typically granted after acquiring tenure, and...
Filed under: Sustainability 101
Read more from The Year of Living – (sort of) Radical Sabbatical Musings on Sustainability
The Urgent Need for Canadian Cooperation
Posted by Daniel Hoornweg on May 06, 2020
As President Obama, Bono and the back wall of Indigo said, the world needs more Canada. This may be true but first the world, and Canada, need a...
Filed under: Sustainability 101
Earth Day 2020
Posted by Daniel Hoornweg on April 20, 2020
Fifty years ago, on 22 April 1970, only a few days after Apollo 13 failed to reach the moon but returned safely to earth, 20 million Americans...
Filed under: Sustainability 101
Lessons learned from the past
Posted by Daniel Hoornweg on February 11, 2020
Preparing for history to repeat One of the largest collections of books on World War II is now available at Bearly Used Books in Parry Sound,...
Filed under: Sustainability 101
Cities key to Canada's success
Posted by Daniel Hoornweg on November 29, 2019
As the dust from the federal election settles, a familiar picture emerges. Canada’s cities have again chosen a different path from the rest...
Filed under: Sustainability 101