Stephen Leahy

There will soon be more biofuel in your tank of gas starting next year

Electric vehicles will dominate the light-duty vehicle market in the coming years but biofuel and synthetic fuels will power vehicles, ships, rail, and most aircraft for decades to come. There will be more biofuel in your tank of gas starting next…

Our Three Trillion Ton Problem

2.5 Trillion Tons. That’s how much CO2 we have dumped into the atmosphere in past 170 years. (A trillion is one thousand billion.) Need-to-Know: A trillion seconds adds up to nearly 32,000 years. We’re set to add as much as a 50 billion tons this…

Europe Now Endures 3 to 4 times More Heatwaves

Heat levels not expected until 2050 already here Europe’s recent record-breaking heatwave led to thousands of heat-related deaths. This is the result of climate change. Period. Here’s why the heatwave was so bad and how Europe has become a heatwave…

dengue fever

An outbreak of dengue fever in Yemen’s most populated governorate has prompted urgent calls from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for a “humanitarian corridor” to facilitate the flow of medicines to over three million civilians trapped in the…

Insects Are Us

“Look at all the fireflies in your garden,” I said to my daughter one recent evening. “It’s the most I’ve seen in a while,” She agreed. “But I’ve hardly seen any bees this year.” Sadly, no one else is seeing bees either unless they’re beekeepers with…

Cannabis cultivation has an enormous carbon footprint, study finds

Tuesday, March 23rd 2021, 3:06 pm - Canada’s cleaner electricity means northern cannabis is often greener than legal grow ops in the U.S. A study published in Nature Sustainability reports that indoor cannabis operations can be a significant source…

Confused about Canada’s carbon tax? Here's what you should know

Wednesday, February 3rd 2021, 6:00 am - In December, 2020 the Federal government announced that starting in 2022 the carbon price rebates will be paid quarterly by cheque or direct deposit. Putting a price on carbon emissions is the foundation on…

The world can become net zero by 2050, IEA report outlines how

Tuesday, May 18th 2021, 5:28 pm - Billions of people will be able to live off of net zero energy sources by 2050, and a report from the International Energy Agency lays out the exact steps we need to take. Limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5…

Get Rid of Your Gas and Live Longer

Welcome to Need to Know: Science & Insight, my personal newsletter that looks at what we Need-to-Know at this time of pandemic, climate emergency and unravelling of nature’s life supports. Gas is the ‘least bad’ fossil fuel many will tell you.…

Cruise ban spares B.C. coast up to 31 billion litres of wastewater

Wednesday, February 17th 2021, 12:00 pm - Experts say that there is a significant amount of evidence documenting cruise ships dumping their wastes in Canada’s Marine Protected Areas Coastal waters of British Columbia will be spared up to 31 billion…

Zero-emission electricity in Canada by 2035 is practical and profitable

Canadians desire the benefits of a zero-emissions electricity system, but political challenges are ahead. This is a modal window. An unanticipated problem was encountered, check back soon and try again A powerful derecho that left nearly a million…

Climate Change: The Force Multiplier of Extreme Weather

In times of geopolitical unrest climate change loses its priority billing, at least until the next heat wave, major storm or wildfire. I wrote that, and most of this post on May 20, just before an extreme, and very rare event called a dejercho cut a…

Derecho puts climate back on the Ontario election radar

The debate around highways and farmland rages as environmental groups analyze each party’s platform before voting day. This is a modal window. An unanticipated problem was encountered, check back soon and try again The astonishingly destructive and…

Canada "not moving fast enough" to hit climate targets, experts say

From a carbon price to 100 per cent non-carbon electricity generation by 2035, the proposed plan has potential to reduce carbon emissions. But how quickly will depend on the implementation of key policies. This is a modal window. An unanticipated…

Food Crisis and the Ethanol Connection

Welcome to the web version of Need to Know: Science & Insight, my personal newsletter that looks at what we Need-to-Know at this time of pandemic, existential crisis of climate change and unravelling of nature’s life supports. Food prices are 34%…

Canada announces new target to cut emissions by at least 40% by 2030

Thursday, April 22nd 2021, 5:19 pm - World leaders announced new ambitions to slash greenhouse gas emissions at President Biden's Earth Day Leaders Summit on Climate. Share Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration…

Conservatives Who Hate Energy Efficiency

Welcome to the web version of Need to Know: Science & Insight, my personal newsletter that looks at what we Need-to-Know at this time of pandemic, existential crisis of climate change and unravelling of nature’s life supports. Energy bills in the UK…

How Everyone can have a Decent Life with Half the Energy

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was released last Monday. It is all about how to cut carbon emissions to prevent disastrous and costly levels of climate change. Here’s the IPCC’s three main need-to-knows:…

New climate report is a final warning: these solutions are needed now

Key measures that speed up the transition to zero-emission already exist but experts suggest these solutions are not being implemented fast enough. They are needed now. This is a modal window. An unanticipated problem was encountered, check back soon…

Staggering Implications of Long-Covid

The Three Systemic Failures Welcome to the web version of Need to Know: Science & Insight, a new form of personal journalism that looks at what we Need-to-Know at this time of pandemic, existential crisis of climate change and unravelling of nature’s…