Tuesday, October 2, 2018 at 9:11AM 
In last week's column, Wade Wiebe described some of his experience in building his strawbale garage. But why build strawbale? One reason for Wade's choice was the low embodied energy in the building materials used in strawbale construction. In this column I want to explore low embodied energy.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018 at 10:27AM 
Since my early 20’s I’ve dreamt of building a straw bale house. I love the deep windows and the smooth, warm aesthetic of the walls. Building with bales creates extremely energy-efficient homes using materials which themselves have very low embodied energy.
Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at 2:07PM .jpg)
Most of us have been following the controversy surrounding the proposed Trans-Mountain Pipeline which is to carry crude oil and dibit from the Athabasca region of Northern Alberta to ocean ports in Burnaby and Vancouver. Did you know that at the same time Enbridge Energy has been quietly expanding its own Line 3 pipeline from the Athabasca region through Saskatchewan and western Manitoba into North Dakota near Gretna? I did not, until last week when I responded to an invitation to join others on a visit to the Spirit of the Buffalo Camp near Gretna.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 at 10:18AM 
Recently I was discussing a tax on carbon with some farmers. Readers of this column know that I strongly advocate for a tax shift away from income to a tax on consumption, more specifically the consumption of fossil based energy – carbon. My argument is that it is essential that we move away from our dependence on fossil fuel and cheap energy, and that a tax on carbon is the most practical way of motivating such a move. On the other hand, anyone following the Tax of Carbon discussion knows that on the whole farmers are opposed to such a tax. The discussion was interesting.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018 at 10:45AM 
The title above is the bottom line of a 2018 Participaction report card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. The report is fascinating and brimming with basic common sense. (Why do we so easily abandon common sense in the overwhelming presence so many electronic devises?) All parents, teachers and teens would do well to access this report card and read at least the highlights.