One of the sad truths of our world is that many politicians still don’t see climate change as a crisis – and that apathy is also felt among many people who vote for those politicians. What can be done to change people’s attitudes? Today in The Conversation Canada, Abhishek Kar and Hisham Zerriffi of the University of British Columbia have a possible solution: send them a cheque. If governments start taxing industries for their carbon production, the money collected could be returned directly to citizens. Would that turn climate apathy to climate enthusiasm?
We’ve got another important environmental story, this one about ongoing issues with drinking water in more than 100 communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. Steven Liss of Ryerson University explains the problems that have occurred from using chlorine and disinfection byproducts in the municipal drinking water and how pilot projects are using a different disinfection solution with great success.
Are you looking forward to 2019? Or are you worried this is the year when the world will come to an end? Sheheryar Badar Sheikh of the University of Saskatchewan studies apocalypses that are portrayed in literature and presents us with his apocalyptic reading list. Happy New Year!
And speaking of the new year….The Conversation Canada will spend the rest of this year reviewing some of the most important stories we published in 2018. For the next 10 days, I’m turning over the daily newsletter to our team of talented editors who will talk about the stories that left a lasting impression with them – and with you, our readers.
Regards,
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If citizens think they’ll personally and financially benefit from a carbon tax, maybe politicians would take action.
Thomas Hafeneth/Unsplash
Abhishek Kar, University of British Columbia; Hisham Zerriffi, University of British Columbia
Millions of people worldwide are either indifferent to a carbon tax or opposed. If citizens were motivated by potential carbon dividends, maybe politicians would finally take action on climate change.
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Many towns in Newfoundland and Labrador have issues with disinfection byproducts created by chlorination.
(Shutterstock)
Steven Liss, Ryerson University
Chlorine has been used to disinfect drinking water for more than a hundred years. But new alternatives may be safer.
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The movie ‘Children of Men,’ based on the book of the same name by P.D. James, shows how people come together in a tragedy.
Sheheryar Badar Sheikh, University of Saskatchewan
The end of times, and any small-scale apocalypse, has a special quality: that of distilling what is important from what is superficial and unnecessary.
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Business + Economy
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Alexander Kurov, West Virginia University
The Federal Reserve opted to lift interest rates in a snub to stock investors who have been bleeding red for more than two months.
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Science + Technology
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Gareth Dorrian, Nottingham Trent University; Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University
If we didn't correct for gravitational effects on the Earth's orbit, the winter solstice would shift backwards by a day every 72 years.
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