Writer
Flame Lit - Part I - A limited micro-blog series of energy definitions and quick facts to help improve energy literacy photo/graphic by author Combustion When we burn any organic compounds like candle wax, propane, or coal, the combustion equation is always the same: Fuel + oxygen = heat + by-products (carbon dioxide and water)... Continue Reading →
I am away at a writer’s conference this weekend. I usually try to post every Friday - normally something energy or climate related. Since I am surrounded by books and authors this weekend, I thought it might be appropriate if I shared a list of some of my favourite books that talk about our environmental... Continue Reading →
photo by Nathan Engel from Pexels I have an un-natural obsession with apocalyptic stories - movies and books. My husband pokes fun at me for it - even though he often settles in to watch too. I am not alone, clearly, looking at the box office numbers. Why is it we are drawn to them?... Continue Reading →
Should you invest in an electric vehicle “EV” to work on your personal greenhouse gas emissions? Or stick with your gasoline powered internal combustion engine – your “ICE”? If you plan to charge it up off the provincial electric grid – then it depends where you live in Canada. If you plan to install your … Continue reading Should Your Next Vehicle be Electric?
photo by author - Old Arts Building, Fredericton, 2019 During my undergraduate years in chemical engineering, I failed Statistics. Twice. And it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I failed the first time somewhere in my early years. I don't remember why - likely I spent too much time in... Continue Reading →
photo by author Sensory Processing after the Fort McMurray Wildfire The red fire tee. That's how I think of it. It sounds like a description from an L.L. Bean catalogue. It's not. It's the shirt I wore for almost twenty four hours as our family fled from the Fort McMurray wildfire three years ago. Often... Continue Reading →
Introduction This article is a continuation of an outline of the basics of Alberta and Canada's carbon pricing plans that began in "The Carbon Tax for Dummies - Part 1" The Alberta carbon plan is based on its policy report, "The Climate Leadership Plan", or the "CLP". The federal government based its policies on the... Continue Reading →
photo by Alex Sidor on Unsplash UPDATE 2025: Since this was written Canada's carbon price has risen to $80/tonne (adding about 17.6 cents a litre to gasoline) and Alberta has retired its coal plants in its electrical sector favouring natural gas for generation along with renewables and other sources. And Alberta has shed its own... Continue Reading →
When we had to rebuild our wooden fence a few years back, I let our contractor talk me into a six- footer. “It’s the legal limit” he said. Right after the last nail was hammered, we immediately regretted the decision and longed to have back our more “neighbourly” five- foot fence. But it was too... Continue Reading →
I confess that I used to be a dandelion anarchist. For years, after we moved into this house, I raged in silence at the City for spraying herbicides in the park behind us to kill off the dandelions and clover. It seemed to be such an archaic practice. After all, many cities had already banned…
Alisa Caswell 
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