Welcome
Posted October 21st, 2007 by Mike
So, I've finally made myself a personal website. This space will be used to promote my skills and ideas of vegetable oil fuels, spread environmental news and ideas, explore neat developments in science, and share photos and stories with friends and family. I'm already hosting a number of other web projects, so I might link to those from time to time as well.
Check out my SVO page to learn about how you can run your car on straight vegetable oil
....or see my BLOG posts below for other cool stuff
The Politics of Climate Change Denial
Posted June 7th, 2009 by MikeThis is a paper I wrote for my Political Ecology class at the University of Victoria. The course "introduces the various socio-political and philosophical issues associated with the concept of a sustainable society." The text for the course was Karl Polanyi's "The Great Transformation," which is great reading for anyone interested in the history and origins of the economic system which currently dominates our world.
It was one of my favourite courses, and I spent a good deal of time writing a paper that I'd be happy with outside of class. I chose to write about the unfortunate trend of people who respond to climate research by calling the research into question. The "climate change debate" is not much of a debate anymore - while there are definitely many educated people who believe that industrial activity is NOT having an effect on the climate, the vast majority of climate researches do agree that we're having a disturbingly strong impact. The debate now focuses on how much of an impact we're having, what the potential effects are, and what (if anything) we can do to maintain a livable climate.
So who are these people who are fostering doubt and confusion? Attacking the science behind climate research and claiming that Gore and Suzuki are part of a conspiracy to lie to us all? Read the paper to find out :)
Here's the result of (some of) my hard work. Click 'read more' to see what I've got to say.
Gratitude for the garden
Posted May 25th, 2009 by MikeWow. Every day I go outside and I'm even more amazed at how well everything is doing.
UVic summer co-op
Posted May 11th, 2009 by Mike
Another term is over, but there's no rest for the wicked - I've been awarded a co-op position with Dr. Venn from UVic, starting today. Apparently now I'm an astrophysicist :)
Chick magnet
Posted April 8th, 2009 by MikeWe got our backyard chickens!!
Hey ladies!
4 beautiful old hens showed up on our doorstep this past weekend, courtesy of our neighbour Nate who has had backyard chickens for several months.
Community gardens!!
Posted January 31st, 2009 by MikeIt's almost garden season! Time to dust off those garden plans, take stock of seed stores, and think about what to plant this coming spring. Exciting times.
Almost springtime in Victoria
Posted January 25th, 2009 by MikeIt's that time again - when the rest of Canada curses their son/nephew/friend/whatever who lives in rainy Victoria. We're in the middle of a cold snap now (low of -5 and we might even get a dusting of snow tonight!) but the trees are budding, the daffodils are poking up, and spring is in the air :)
Letters to the editor
Posted January 23rd, 2009 by MikeTL:DR version: The local newspaper published my letter! Check it out at http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/saanichnews/opinion/le...
I don't normally read our local free newspaper (that ends up in everyone's mailbox whether they want it or not), but the letters section really caught my eye this week. David Suzuki must have had a guest article published on Wednesday, which gathered a response from a reader that was pretty negative. Really questioning Suzuki's "environmental extremism" and "alarmist claims".
Fall reflections...
Posted November 11th, 2008 by MikeWhat a crazy year this is shaping up to be. Another summer of music festivals and cross-country traveling wound down, just in time for fall responsibilities to hit like a ton of bricks. New developments for fall:
-New school (transferred to University of Victoria from Camosun College)
-New house (again)
-New roommates
-New gardens
Back in Vic - Heading east!
Posted August 6th, 2008 by MikeWhat a whirlwind. The rest of my stay on Texada was way too brief. Dave and Branka of Welcome Harvest Farm gave me a royal welcome and treated me like family. I had a blast. Day one we got farm fresh chicken - I'm a "vegetarian" but I make exceptions for occasions like that. Well worth it! All the fresh organic milk I could drink, homemade cheese and butter, and awesome cooking in exchange for doing a bit of work outside? Sweet deal!
