The environmental and social arguments for decreasing animal based protein intake and increasing plant ones have been around for a while. And surely they have convinced some to make changes in their diets. But what about a health link? If you knew that eating more plant proteins as an adult would help you live longer … Continue reading
Insects are the dominant form of animal life on earth. There are more species, more diversity, and more biomass. They are essential for life on the planet engaging in activities like pollination and decomposition. But the population health of 99% of species is poorly understood. Of the 1% of species that have had IUCN assessments, … Continue reading
I get comments about safety all the time when I bike commute: “I wouldn’t risk it, it’s so dangerous.” The thing is that I’m healthier when I’m biking in, so how do the health benefits of the biking balance with the higher risk of traffic accidents? Friel and colleagues (2024) looked at long term health … Continue reading
I’m curious about how different foods will be affected by climate change. We’ve already been seeing impacts, such as the loss of peach and nectarine harvests in BC, Canada, in 2024 after extreme cold piled onto previous years of extreme heat and harsh winters (see for example Junos, 2024) The podcast Gastropod has a good … Continue reading
I’ve been contemplating the complexity of animal products in fashion recently. Growing up, I’ve always thought that fur was bad. But is it still bad if it is harvested by Indigenous peoples using traditional or even modern humane practices and that respect and use the entire animal? What about leather versus hide? Something I had … Continue reading
My city has an amazing river valley. It offers many recreation trails, treed areas, and open spaces. Even outside of the river valley, many neighbourhoods have access to smaller green spaces. Green space is not evenly distributed with lower socioeconomic status communities often having less access than higher ones, known as the luxury effect. Sadly, … Continue reading
I have never smoked, so I really don’t understand the attraction, but I do understand the frustration when I see so many cigarette butts lying on the ground. It always baffles me, how many people just toss their butts rather than disposing of them properly. This, along with a couple of recent discussions with people … Continue reading
Driving through Jasper National Park in the last few weeks was a sobering experience. The scale of the destruction caused by the Jasper Complex fire is overwhelming. As a result, it was hard not to reflect on the reasons behind the scale of the fire. Climate change and wildfire is one of the more difficult … Continue reading
While I didn’t get into this there are also problematic representations of race in sport where white athletes are often praised for their hard work and training while athletes of other races are reduced to genetic anomalies. Perhaps a topic for another post.
We are currently in a heat wave. It has been intense, although I know that it pales in comparison to heat waves in other regions of the world. Sharing my space with both dogs and cats, I have been very careful to keep them healthy in this weather. Lots of available water, frozen treats, no … Continue reading