politics – Page 38 – Things Are Good

More Policies Support Renewable Energy Around the World

More countries than ever before now have policies that support renewable energy production. This is obviously a good thing as we are seeing the impact of climate change (like the recent tornados in Japan). We are now a seeing a global effort to slow climate change via policy over the last couple years with Asian and South American countries enacting polices, previously it was primarily only European nations.

The economic diversity of countries enacting support policies for renewable energy has also greatly expanded. High-income economies accounted for 69 percent of all policy support by mid-2005, but by early 2013 this had declined to 30 percent. The other economic groups each increased their share by more than 10 percent.

â€œAs the renewable energy sector continues to mature, policymakers face a host of new challenges,â€ said Evan Musolino, trend author. â€œWhile the pace of countries adopting new renewable energy support policies has slowed somewhat in recent years, the sector has experienced a flurry of activity centered on revising existing policy mechanisms. Policy changes have been driven by a variety of factors, both positive and negative.â€

Rapidly changing market conditions for technologies such as solar photovoltaics, where module costs declined by 80 percent since 2008 and by 20 percent in 2012 alone, have dramatically reduced the level of support needed to make projects attractive to investors and feasible for project developers. Simultaneously, the global economic slowdown left many countries with continuously tight national budgets, which has threatened support for the renewable energy sector. The combination of factors has led to a number of cuts to existing incentive programs.

A Protest Song About the NSA Reading Your Emails

The band YACHT has gone back to the glory days of Dylan and the like by writing a protest song. The song is about the NSA illegal spying the USA, which should bother pretty much anyone who cares about privacy. Until now, there was no good news to mention about the questionable actions revealed by Edward Snowden so hat tip to YACHT for singing what we all think.

â€œWe claim full citizenship in the nation of Internet,â€ Evans told me over email, by way of explanation. â€œWe wouldn’t be where we are if it weren’t for the existence of an open, free, and direct line to our fans–and to the world.â€ The idea that an intelligence agency could be listening-in struck Evans and Bechtolt as, well, creepy. â€œThe analogy we’ve been using is that nobody wants to dance when there’s cops in the club,â€ says Evans.

The song came first, but soon after came the idea of putting it to work. The song became a pay-what-you-wish fundraising website for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, one of the best-known advocacy groups pushing to keep the Internet free. Evans says the donations have rolled in â€œsteadilyâ€ since the site launched, with the largest single donation coming in at $30.

Evidence for Democracy: A Group Championing Fact-Based Policy

Evidence for Democracy is a new organization in Canada that wants government policy to based on reality. The federal Canadian Conservative government (which openly hates the environment) continually cuts finding to scientific research that can lead to a better understanding of the world around us. The constant cutbacks and denials of actual science pushed some scientists too far: now they are calling for the government to openly cite scientific research to back up their policy.

â€œI watched as the professors realized that they are the ones that have to stand up for science,â€ Dr. Gibbs said, â€œthat they canâ€™t expect someone else to make the case as to why it is important.â€

At the behest of her colleagues, Dr. Gibbs helped organize the Death of Evidence protest in Ottawa, July 2012. Thousands of scientists and their supporters chanted, â€œNo science, no evidence, no truth, no democracy,â€ as they carried a symbolic coffin to the steps of Parliament Hill.

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â€œGovernment policies affect every aspect of our daily lives,â€ Dr. Gibbs said. â€œUsing the available evidence assures that we get policies that actually do what they are supposed to do. Itâ€™s a better use of tax dollars than just picking what seems to be a good idea at the time.â€

Suburban Community Considers Higher Taxes for Paved Properties

Toronto and area received massive rain fall last week and one suburban community has decided that the need to encourage better water management through taxes. Basically, if you pave over green space you’ll literally pay for it. THe idea is to preserve as much green space as possible to act as a natural sponge during large rainfalls.

As a bonus, the preserved green space will also act as a natural coolant for the local environment.

Powell says a user-fee levy is expected to get final council approval by the end of the year.
Dan McDermott, the Ontario chapter director for the Sierra Club, says the proposal makes perfect sense.
â€œItâ€™s a very clear disincentive to paving over or covering over your whole property. If youâ€™re going to put up a parking lot, you need to leave enough ground space to let the water naturally drain.â€

McDermott says governments need to incorporate that kind of thinking when they plan or approve new structures.
Mississauga faces special challenges because of its short history, Powell said.
â€œAll of this infrastructure built by development charges, by developers, all of a sudden has to be rehabbed by tax dollars. Thatâ€™s where the pressure comes; thatâ€™s what Mississauga is facing over the next 10 years.â€

15-Year Study: Stop Drug Use Through Harm Reduction

The American style “war on drugs” undoubtably ruins more lives than it saves (all while militarizing North American police forces), yet some people think that punishing drug users is sound policy. Research is continually adding more evidence that approaching drug consumption as a health issue and not a criminal one improves the lives of users and of non-users.

In Vancouver, a 15 year long study has concluded that safe injection programs like Insite make the city a better place. Drug users are safer and so too is the surrounding community.

In 1996, almost 40 per cent of drug users reported sharing needles, but by 2011, that had dropped to 1.7 per cent. About 25 per cent of Vancouver’s drug users are HIV positive, and about 90 per cent suffer from Hepatitis C.

The overall health of drug users had improved and more people were accessing addictions treatment, jumping from 12 per cent on methadone treatment in 1996 to 54.5 per cent since 2008, statistics showed.

“This is probably the city with the most aggressive harm reduction approach, yet we’re seeing declining rates of drug use within this community,” Kerr said.