Category Archives: How the World Really Works

Pollard’s Laws and XR

Posted on September 28, 2019 by Dave Pollard

some of the half-million Montréalers who participated in yesterday’s climate march; from Greta’s twitter posts One of the things that intrigues me about XR is that their three demands are simple, measurable and revolutionary: Government must tell the truth by … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves, Preparing for Civilization's End | 1 Comment

IFLS

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Dave Pollard

image from nutritionfacts.org There’s a new survey that suggests that 1/3 of Canadians, up from 1/4 in the last survey, are “skeptical” of scientists and scientific research. And globally, 45% say they only agree with science “if it aligns with … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works | 2 Comments

If You Wanted to Sabotage the Canada/US Elections…

Posted on September 14, 2019 by Dave Pollard

(In case it isn’t obvious, this article is meant as satire.) image from The Daily Show Canadians go to the polls for a federal election this fall; Americans do so next fall. There is already evidence of large-scale election meddling … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 3 Comments

Links of the Quarter: September 2019

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Dave Pollard

cartoon by Lars Kenseth in the New Yorker What have we to do But stand with empty hands and palms turned upwards In an age which advances progressively backwards?    (TS Eliot) Hiraeth (heer-eye-th) (Welsh) A word with no direct English … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves, Preparing for Civilization's End | 2 Comments

Why Economic Collapse Will Precede Climate Collapse

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Dave Pollard

It’s encouraging to see that the terms “climate crisis” and even “climate collapse”, which even five years ago were ridiculed as doomerism, are now considered perfectly reasonable descriptions of our current state. That doesn’t mean there is any consensus on how to … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Preparing for Civilization's End | 23 Comments

Conversations That Matter: What It Takes to Have Them

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Dave Pollard

photo by Maren Yumi on flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Ironically, despite the fact that I engage in fewer conversations than I used to (maybe because since I’m retired I don’t have to, and because I find few conversations valuable anyway), I’ve started … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves, Preparing for Civilization's End | 4 Comments

Links of the Quarter: June 2019

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Dave Pollard

image of the Maldives by David Mark from Pixabay, CC0; the islands will likely be completely submerged due to sea level rise from glacial melt by mid-century I’ve recently updated the (highly subjective) list of my ‘best’ 94 posts. That’s out … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves, Preparing for Civilization's End | 3 Comments

Where We Are Now: More on the Culture of Fear

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Dave Pollard

Image of ghost town in Japan, near Nagasaki, abandoned when the coal ran out, from pxhere, CC0 Three years ago I wrote an article entitled A Culture Driven By Fear: The Psychology of Collapse that argued that while healthy cultures strive to meet … Continue reading →

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What Will It Take?

Posted on May 9, 2019 by Dave Pollard

Last evening a group of about 30 Bowen Islanders watched a documentary called The Reluctant Radical. I arranged it, since the film profiles Ken Ward, who is a friend of Tree’s and who I’ve met a couple of times myself. … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves, Preparing for Civilization's End | 6 Comments

Collaboration is the Hallmark of Community

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Dave Pollard

I‘ve spent many hours over the past four months rehearsing for a choir performance, a benefit for our local food bank. The world premiere concert was last night and played to a sold-out crowd, and it was a huge success … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 2 Comments