canada

Get High and Fight Cancer

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

A new drug derived from marijuana is now available to Canadians, but you don’t actually get high from it. Sativex is a drug that uses part of the marijuana plant that has no psychoactive effects to relive pain – relatively, this can be like getting high. The U.K. has already approved drugs based off of marijuana which means Canada isn’t the first nation to do this.

Gordon said Sativex, which is primarily composed of THC and cannabidiol – a non-psychoactive cannabinoid – hasn’t produced any adverse side-effects in patients, something other pain medications, particularly opioids, can’t claim.
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She said patients who react negatively to other medications shouldn’t have to suffer because of their sensitivity.

“Any extra tool in that tool kit to allow for increased comfort is welcome,” she said.

Hybrid Cars Selling Fast

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

Ironically, or appropriately, climate change and increasing gas prices have increased consumer interest in saving the environment. The Toronto Star is reporting that hybrid sales in Canada have increased by 90%. It’s good to see Canadians realize that their driving habits are connected to climate change.

In its pursuit of hybrids, Beatty said Toyota found it is more than a transitional technology to other auto power alternatives.

“It took a while for us to figure it out, but the hybrid really is a platform you can build other technologies on,” he said.

Several automakers are working on technologies such as electric plug-in cars that improve fuel efficiency or other projects that give consumers alternatives to meet their needs.

GM and Chrysler already offer deactivation technology that seamlessly shuts down in highway driving.

“The bottom line is there needs to be a multiplicity of technologies for consumers to choose from depending on their needs and driving habits,” said Stew Low, director of communications for GM of Canada.

Building a Green Home in the Land of Oil

- Adam Clare

Calgary is absolutely flush with oil and oil-related wealth, it is also the last place in Canada that you’d think you would find a green huose being built.

Well, the Ramsay House Project is a project that a family of Calgarians are undertaking to live in a sustainable way. It’s great to see that in a province that hates the Kyoto Accord that people are still caring for and about the environment. You can follow the Ramsay House Project at their site and they also include information on how to build green into your house (if you have one) too!

The Mystery of the Northern Lights

- Agasel 8 Comments

Next month, in a joint Canadian / American project, five satellites will be launched to help figure out the mystery behind aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights.  This project, called THEMIS, includes recording interaction between charged particles expelled by the sun and the Earth’s magnetic field. 

When these particles interact with the magnetic field, they sometimes release energy near the polar regions, resulting in aurora substorms. The electron release interacts with molecules in the atmosphere and appears as the northern lights.northern_lights.jpg

The scientists involved are from Canada and the United States, including NASA.  In addition to the satellites, twenty observatories will take digital images and monitor magnetic signatures from substorms.  Most of the observatories will be located in northern Canada, including Whitehorse, Inuvik, and Gillam, Man.

Taxes are good for YOU!

- Cam Proctor 1 Comment

A study by the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives released its report yesterday entitled, the Social Benefits and Economic Costs of Taxation: A Comparison of High- and Low-Tax Countries by Neil Brooks and Thaddeus Hwong. The report studies high-tax Nordic countries and low-tax Anglo-America countries on 50 social and economic measures and finds the high-tax Nordic countries score better in 42 categories. In short, tax cuts are disastrous for the well-being of a nation’s citizen.

The report alleges that Canada’s fairly low tax rate will cause Canada to fall behind a number of OECD nations in a wide range of social and economic areas. Countries like Finland with high tax rates are actually preforming quite well economically, with a steady share of the research and development market. Smart and savy.

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