Wingnut in Alberta - Part I

 For months now, I've been thinking of writing a post about that wingnut in the Premier's office in Edmonton.  Every time I see some outrageous story with her at the center, like the last one about the E-coli outbreak in Calgary, I think of writing down something about it, if just for the chance to rant.  But wait, the MOST recent one was Danielle's assertion that Alberta could start its own pension plan with half of the money from the CPP.  Very few days pass without hearing something completely insane from Alberta's dear leader.

How about I start with Danielle's latest "plan"?  The notion that Alberta will withdraw from the national CPP and bring in an Alberta Pension Plan, complete with bonuses for retiring workers and higher pensions.

The story is still unfolding, but it seems to be a repeat of a theme: Alberta is unappreciated.   Alberta pays too much for too little.  Alberta would be better on its own.  Alberta has grievances and nobody else cares enough to listen.  And if this sounds familiar, just remember, it is.  It's all about "me", just like the so-called "Freedom Convoy" clowns.  "I'm" unhappy.  "I" don't want to wear a mask.  "I don't want to limit my social contacts just so others won't get sick.  And "I" certainly don't want someone else telling "me" what to do.

The "plan", such as it is, seems to involve Alberta demanding over half of the total assets of the Canada Pension Plan, around $334 Billion,and bringing in an Alberta Pension Plan.  Polls indicate Albertans are wary of this, as they should be.  How does a politician woo the wary?  With money, of course.  As an article from the CBC noted:

Dramatically slashed premiums! Larger paycheques! Higher benefits for seniors! Maybe a $10,000 bonus for retirees!

One has to ask: what kind of fantasy world does Danielle live in?

Just before the CPP/APP announcement (or was it just Danielle's stream-of-consciousness thinking?), the news was all about an E.coli outbreak in a number of Calgary daycares.  I don't know how many people (Albertans especially) have made the connections here, but to my mind, this is a Public Health issue.  And Alberta's last Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Hinshaw, was summarily fired by Danielle almost as soon as she became Premier.  Why did Danielle fire the CMO?  Because COVID restrictions and vaccine mandates (even as anemic as they were)...  Y'know, the very Public Health measures intended to reduce the numbers of sick and very sick people and reduce the impact on hospitals (not to mention other businesses), nevermind the ultimate goal of keeping people from dying.   And remember that, in Alberta, the Cabinet made the ultimate decisions about all of these practices.  This is a good example of politicians trying to manage things in which they have NO expertise.  It's a good example of how something that should be a medical issue can be politicized.  Once again, look at what happened during COVID.  Masks, vaccines, distancing, staying home, ivermectin (horse dewormer, remember?)....  ALL of these became toxic topics because politicians decided they needed to coddle some loony part of their base.

We asked survey respondents to evaluate four organizations that were important to the pandemic response, scoring them on a scale from one (poor) to 10 (excellent). They gave each a passing grade, but not a strong positive endorsement. Alberta Health Services and the Chief Medical Officer of Health scored highest, while the provincial and federal governments fared worse. (The Conversation, March 22, 2023)

But I digress.  The E.coli outbreak.  This is what happens when a Public Health Department is being run by a well-intentioned medical person but one who has NO training in the communication and management practices needed to run something like Public Health.  This is what happens when politicians create a culture of interference and second-guessing in issues that they don't understand.  Public Health ends up not doing the surveillance and enforcement that it needs to do.  Eventually, people get sick.  Some people die.  In this case, it was kids - toddlers - getting sick.  Some very sick.  Quite a few hospitalized.  Some on dialysis because of kidney damage.

And it took DAYS for the interim CMO of Health to make a public appearance and even longer for Danielle to show up making consoling and concerning noises ("we will get to the bottom of this").  It seemed like a variation on the "thoughts and prayers" message that we're used to seeing from American politicians after the most recent shoot-up at some elementary school.  Kids died and the best you can do is wring your hands?

“I’m heartbroken by what these family families are going through,” Smith said in announcing the province will give families $2,000 for each child who became sick.

One has to wonder....if one of these kids dies,  will that be worth more?

Secondary cases of E.coli have been appearing.  These are people infected from other people, not from the original source (believed to be a kitchen).  A simple message reminding exposed people to avoid contact with others (sound familiar - social distancing during COVID?  Limiting contacts?).  But that would be telling people what to do, wouldn't it?

Albertans should the OUTRAGED.  The UCP (United Conservative Party) was SO concerned about upsetting some of its libertarian base that, during COVID, some of its actions could best be described as anemic and often canceled far too soon.  Even with those half-hearted, watered down attempts at pandemic management, the person at the "buck stops here end" of the decision-making process, a certain Jason Kenney, was unceremoniously dumped by UCP luminaries and a true wingnut installed in the Premier's Office, one who really wouldn't upset that libertarian base.

To come back to the E.coli outbreak.  This is what can happen when you have an avowed anti-vaxxer as Premier, one who is quite comfortable eviscerating Public Health in the interests of not upsetting some "Freedom-loving" nutcases who might have to wear a mask in a grocery store for 15 minutes.  Who is comfortable firing a trained and experienced CMO of Health.  Who will intercede with Justice officials in an attempt to set aside a case involving a pastor who refused to follow Public Health orders during a pandemic.  A Premier who said, quite clearly, that she felt some of the most persecuted people she'd ever seen were those who refused to get vaccinated.

This is what can happen.  And now it has.  Fortunately, none of the toddlers have died, so far.

This is what happens when you have a wingnut in the Premier's office.

The Costs of Doing Nothing

 A recurring theme one sees these days is that switching to renewable sources of energy or adapting to the changes we're already seeing will be too expensive.

Other than a few quick comments, we can dispense with arguments about whether CO2 is a greenhouse gas or whether the planet is warming.  These issues were settled decades ago.

The greenhouse effect was first described in 1824, although it wasn't given that name at the time.  That came later.  To quote from Wikipedia:

The existence of the greenhouse effect, while not named as such, was proposed as early as 1824 by Joseph Fourier.^[12] The argument and the evidence were further strengthened by Claude Pouillet in 1827 and 1838. In 1856 Eunice Newton Foote demonstrated that the warming effect of the sun is greater for air with water vapour than for dry air, and the effect is even greater with carbon dioxide. She concluded that "An atmosphere of that gas would give to our earth a high temperature..."^[13][14]

 We will see some claiming that CO2 is essential, that plants need it, and so on.  Like many fairy tales, there are some grains of truth in what they say.  Without CO2, Earth would be too cold for us and many other organisms.  Plants do absorb CO2 to make carbohydrates.  Unfortunately, that glosses over more important truths.  This article from NOAA covers most of the important bits.  Atmospheric CO2 is increasing, rapidly.  That increase can be linked to increasing CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels.  The amount of CO2 in our atmosphere is higher than it's ever been for the past 3 million years.  Global temperatures are rising as a consequence.

We can see what's happening.  This past summer, many parts of the world experienced devastating, very intense, forest fires.  In recent times, various parts have experienced unprecedented floods, some are already experiencing sea level rise, Arctic sea ice cover in summer is decreasing, some Antarctic ice shelves are disintegrating. deserts are increasing.  The Gobi and Sahara Deserts are both increasing in size.  These are facts.

As of a month or so ago, BC had spent over $500 million fighting forest fires.  In 2021, it was over $700 million.

Europe generally (especially Spain, Greece and France) has seen forest fire costs exceed $ billion Euros (that's about C$5.7 billion) so far this year.

In the USA, the cost of fighting forest fires in 2022 was US$3.7 Billion.

That article goes on to note:

For instance, a study by University College London stated in the report showed that California’s 2018 wildfires alone cost the U.S. a whopping $148.5 billion. Capital losses and health costs within the state amounted to $59.9 billion. 

The True Cost of Wildfires is discussed in this article.

It's important to note that climate change doesn't "cause" the fires.  It just makes conditions more conducive to fire starts and more intense fires.  Warmer weather and droughts increase tree mortality, adding to the problem.

Climate change has been a key factor in increasing the state’s risk for wildfire. Hotter temperatures create drier conditions, exacerbate drought, and make fires easier to spread and harder to put out.

I'm going to pretty much ignore silly claims that "most of the forest fires" were caused by arsonists, even if Alberta Premier Danielle claims that they were.  There is NO evidence to support such a claim.  Danielle has made other silly (and dangerous) claims.  Albertans are paying the cost of those silly claims, as recent e-coli outbreaks in Calgary make very clear.  That's a story for another post.

Smoke from this summer's forest fires in Canada made its way across North America, all the way to the East Coast.  It is estimated that 8 million people die from air pollution globally each year.  Forest fires are only one part of that pollution, but they are a significant part.

And, of course, fires add to CO2 emissions, which adds to warming, and so on.  Fires also reduce the size of our forests, reducing the ability to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

In our area, it's been true for some time that domestic fire insurance policies are not available from at least some insurers during the summer.  That added risk for some people is also an added cost, it just isn't easy to quantify.  Also in our area, vocal conspiracists have disrupted discussions about bringing in Climate Action Plans, even as massive fires burn in our province.

Despite these and other costs, there are arguments that adaptation and mitigation are too expensive?

Someone needs to explain that line of "thinking", because it's not clear to me.

How Unprepared Are We? This Past Summer Tells the Story

 Here in Canada, the past summer was marked by wildfires, unprecedented in size and intensity.  Smoke from those fires blanketed (ironically) Canada's oil capital Calgary with days of thick smog.  It even reached as far as the East Coast of North America.  In case anyone wants to toss this off, note that established research shows this kind of air pollution increases neurological disorders not to mention other serious health effects.  The solution seems to be to wear masks but perhaps best, spending more of our summers inside.  Wonderful.

Articles are appearing highlighting how unprepared we are to deal with these conditions.  This story, and many others, highlight American unpreparedness, but it's no better here in Canada.  And people are moving because of it, one of the things this article points out.

How a Summer of Disasters Shows the US Isn’t Prepared for Climate Migration

Nationally, our government is mostly tiptoeing around the whole issue, mainly, in my opinion, because politics is a short-term game and currently the Liberals are down in the polls, fighting rearguard actions against the Conservatives who don't believe there actually IS a climate crisis.  And it's the Federal government that is building the Keystone expansion which guarantees another few decades of business as usual.

Provincially, we're continuing LNG development.  Maybe better than coal, but a fossil fuel nonetheless.  I've been unable to identify much in Provincial actions that are addressing either the root causes of the climate crisis OR how we prepare, not for what's coming, but what's already here.

Locally, our regional government is trying to roll out a Climate Action Plan, something that is being loudly opposed by a group of nitwits who apparently believe that ANYTHING the government does is an intrusion into our personal space and who also claim that this whole climate thing is a hoax, that climate is always changing, that CO2 is plant food, and other similar nonsense.  The same people, possibly, who claimed, with disastrous results, that COVID was also a hoax.

So, if this past summer didn't focus more minds on the crisis we're facing, one wonders what will.  Another summer like this one?  Two more summers?

How Bad IS Canada?

 On a per person comparison with a number of other countries, Canada does NOT come out well, according to a study done by a Research organization in Berlin.

The full story can be read here.

The naysayers, of course, are doubling down, repeating the tired old line that Canada only contributes about 1.6% to global emission totals.

It's helpful to that argument that Canada only has a population of just under 40 million.  Unfortunately, that small population coupled with our emissions, makes us one of the worst polluters on the planet, as this article points out:

Any Way You Slice it, Canada is one of the Worst Emitters on the Planet

"“This is one of the challenges our government faces ... and I think it shines a light on the need for a just transition because so much of the reasons why we're up there is that we are digging up and providing fossil fuels to the world,” Fenton said.

That massive contribution to climate change “has undermined a lot of the mythology of Canada ... being a good actor on the world stage,” he said."

Forest Fires and Climate Change Denial

 Are we seeing signs of desperation here?

As forest fires rage literally around the world, basically fulfilling what we have been told for a number of years now, people anxious to deny the existence of human-driven climate change are ramping up their conspiracies.

From Phys.org - Hawaii wildfires stoke climate denial, conspiracy theories

And in a similar article from Phys.org - Canada Wildfires Spark "Ecoterrorist" Conspiracy Theory.

This last story actually quotes the leader of a Federal political party here in Canada, spouting such nonsense.  But we've heard outrageous nonsense from him before.

So what is the reason for all these fires?

First, as we've been warned for quite a few years now, a warming planet (courtesy of our CO2 emissions), will mean more heat, less moisture and sometimes more "dry lightning".  Any of these and especially all three together, will result in more fires.

No, climate change doesn't "cause" the fires.  It just creates the conditions favourable for fires.

Second, it's pretty clear that most of the fires are caused by lightning.  The proportion varies - some can be caused by arson, most human-caused fires are caused by carelessness or accidents, and the rest can be from natural causes like lightning.

This story, also from Phys.org, notes that most of the causes come from Power lines, burning trash and lightning.

We've seen this desperation before.  During the COVID pandemic, the anti-vaxx crowd were operating in full force as the new vaccines were rolled out.  As literally billions were vaccinated with exceptionally few issues, all around the world, their supposed fears were proved wrong, so they doubled down again.  Nonsense like #diedsuddenly popped up.  Dire warnings about imminent deaths (or at least, deaths sometime, later, eventually....).  A stream of baseless claims entirely without evidence.

It's happening again, this time about forest fires.  That person referred to as MTG, that Republican representative from Georgia has - seriously - blamed high energy space lasers.  Other climate change deniers are latching on to the arson conspiracy.  Certainly, some fires are caused by arson, but I've looked at the information provided by the BC Wildfire Service.  As of August 18th, 2023, they report about 1800 fires, almost 400 still active.  They identify somewhat over 300 as having natural causes, like lightning.  About 24 were human-caused (not necessarily arson - more like untended campfires, cigarette butts, ATV use, forestry operations), and over 40 were undetermined.  In the part of the province where I live (the Southeast Fire District), I've been unable to find ANY fires listed as caused by arson, but I had an exchange with a person who insisted that "several" fires were caused that way.  She provided no details.  Kind of typical.  Make a claim.  Can't back it up.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Blamed Wildfires on Secret Jewish Space Lasers

So, I think this is, once again, desperation.  Things are happening that are challenging the narrative that some people have.  Climate change is a hoax.  The climate hasn't warmed.  Vaccines are deadly.  The virus isn't real and if it is, it's no worse than a cold.

When your personal narrative is challenged, you have two options.  Accept reality and change your narrative or double down and create fictional stories that will prop up your position.

In another post, I will present an exchange between myself and one of these conspiracy theorists.

Finding Ways to Skirt Facebook's Rules

It seems Facebook has decided to block any post that contains ANY news, apparently, not just Canadian news.  I recently tried to post a comment that contained a line from the Washington Post.  It was blocked.  Perhaps the WP has changed head offices.

This morning, I read a short article about some new subvariant of Omicron.  Nothing too exciting.  Perhaps a bit more transmissible, but current immunities seem to protect from it.

This is the story that was on the CBC's website:

I also posted a comment about anti-vaxxers in the comment section of that article.  It was blocked too (but by the CBC this time).  Apparently it's NOT OK to to point out the silliness of the anti-vaxxers position.  This is what it said:

Read the article for the information, stayed for the silly comments. And they never disappoint.

Anti-vaxxers have had almost 3 more years to push their narrative, and all they see in this most recent article is an existential threat to their cherished position. All I saw in the article was a bit of information. A new subvariant, nothing much to be concerned about yet. The virus keeps mutating. A booster perhaps, eventually. Ongoing surveillance - always best to be aware of what viruses are doing.

As I write this, a flood of anti-vaxx nonsense appearing in the comment feed below. As I say, to this crowd, anything remotely close to information is an existential threat to their cherished position.

The facts: Millions died around the world. Trivialize that fact if you must, but they're dead. Our World in Data has a very informative graph of deaths from COVID, comparing unvaccinated with vaccinated. The difference is stark. Sorry/not sorry. The flu? Yeah, multiplied by about 10x. There are numbers to support that claim. Microchips? You can't STILL be serious about that. Or about Bill Gates.... And they complain about lies politicians tell....

You'd think after years of this, the anti-vaxxers would just make their personal decisions, let the virus do what viruses do and give up making fools of themselves. Apparently we have not arrived at that point just yet.

STILL Missing the Point

 Not sure if I should be gratified, surprised or disappointed, but it is interesting to see how my one letter to the editor of The Valley Voice back in February seems to STILL have legs and how yet one more response STILL misses the point.

My original letter appeared in  The Valley Voice on February 23.  I wrote two posts about it, here, and here, the latter after being attacked by Mr Joyce.  In the intervening time, there have been one or two letters nearly every two weeks about this whole kerfuffle, on both sides of the aisle.

Once again, in the April 20th edition of The Valley Voice, yet another missive, this one from a Kris Wheeler (read it on page 5).

First, he claims that Mr Joyce's original article was merely a call for more study and better information about the adverse effects of vaccines on some people.  Mr Joyce's article did nothing of the kind.  It attempted to push, once again, illegitimate claims of serious harm caused by vaccines.  What Mr Wheeler seems not to know is that ANY adverse reactions to vaccines ARE recorded and examined, carefully, to determine if there is anything that might raise alarms.  Mr Wheeler uses wiggly words in phrases like "...the possibly vastly under-reported cases of negative vaccine reactions." and "If what Mr Joyce says is true...".  Exactly.  If anything that Mr Joyce said were true, then possibly there would be cause for alarm.  Unfortunately for Mr Joyce and Mr Wheeler, neither of their contentions are true and the facts prove it. 

Then, Mr Wheeler goes on to claim that the unvaxxed are NOT anti-vaccine.  Huh.  Prove it.  And, just for the record, the COVID vaccines were NOT mandatory.  It is true that some people needed to be vaccinated to occupy certain jobs, but many jobs have requirements and if one chooses not to meet those requirements, then it's pretty clear that one needs to look for a different job.  I'm particularly thinking of healthcare workers here, people who work closely with medically compromised patients.  Yes, they should be vaccinated and they should have a certain level of training.  Why should they not?  And if Mr Wheeler is possibly thinking of truckers who weren't allowed into Canada if they were unvaccinated, he should know that the US (and most other countries) had similar requirements.  Perhaps he should take his complaint to the United Nations.

Finally, Mr Wheeler moves on to what he sees as my outrage and my insistence that in order for him to know "the truth" he must consult a website (ie: my blog).  I'm not certain where he got the impression that I was outraged, but the antics of the anti-vaxx cult are certainly puzzling, disappointing and frustrating.  And if Mr Wheeler feels demeaned by an invitation to read further (ie: my blog or a whole host of reputable sites), then  it might explain why he knows so little about vaccines, the virus and public health.  Perhaps if he read "websites" a bit more, especially ones that present accurate information, he might learn something.

My point was that The Valley Voice has, over the past 3 years, given a disproportionate amount of space to articles with an anti-vaccine leaning.  In fact, I'm not aware of a single article in all that time that laid out the benefits of getting vaccinated.  Perhaps there was a small one that I missed?  As well, in the Voices from the Valley section, where contributors are cautioned to keep their articles short, I've noticed that some of the most long-winded and inaccurate that get space every edition are all against vaccines, public health directives and masks and go to great lengths to try and claim that the pandemic was a hoax and that all those people didn't actually die from the virus.  If my article had attempted to include a decent amount of information in rebuttal to Mr Joyce's article, it would have been refused because of length.  THAT's what I was referring to when I claimed that vaccines and their supporters can't get a "decent hearing" in The Valley Voice.  I stick to that claim.  Prove me wrong.