Ways Forward from this Polycrisis: David Suzuki/Ian Hanington

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Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Connected crises contain opportunities  for a better world The climate crisis is not simply an isolated technological challenge. It’s part  of a much larger “polycrisis.” After all, everything is interconnected. The magnitude of this “system disequilibrium,” as Canadian author, social  scientist and Cascade Institute executive director Thomas Homer-Dixon  calls it, can cause a sense of hopelessness, but it is resolvable —  with major changes in the ways we conduct ourselves on this small planet. That’s the message of a comprehensive new study. The World  Inequality Lab’s “Global Justice Report: A Plan for Equality &  Prosperity Within Planetary Boundaries” — by 45 authors using  databases compiled by more than 200 researchers from around  the world — states that “it is possible to reconcile planetary  habitability and high well-being for all, but only if the transformation  rests on three pillars simultaneously.” This will require significantly altering the power structures  that now govern our world and that are driving us toward calamity. The pillars are rapid decarbonization of energy systems, a shift from  overconsumption toward “sufficiency” (including reduced labour hours  and raw materials use and large changes in food habits, land use and  forest cover) and a “drastic reduction in inequality of income, wealth  and power” between and within countries. This will require significantly altering the power structures that now govern  our world and that are driving us toward calamity. It would include “hefty  wealth taxes on billionaires, sharp reductions in working hours, a change  in diets and a shift of investment from materially intense sectors, such  as industry and mining, to education and health,” the Guardian reports. The majority of humans would benefit, as it would double the incomes  of 89 per cent of the world’s population by 2100 and keep global heating  below 2 C above the preindustrial average. It would also reduce the  average workweek to about 2.5 days, increasing leisure time. Wealth inequality would be sharply reduced, with the poorest half of  humanity increasing its portion from two to 30 per cent, while the  billionaire class would see its share fall from six to 0.05 per cent. “Close to 90% of the world’s population would double their income  between 2026 and 2100, and once leisure and a habitable planet  are counted, more than 99% come out ahead,” WIL co-director and  Paris School of Economics professor Thomas Piketty and others wrote in a Guardian article. As people feel less economically secure, they support authoritarian leaders, but that then leads to a backlash against green policies, undermining efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Piketty says the ideology of people currently in power or rising in the  United States and many other countries can’t deliver what most of humanity needs. “At the end of the day we’ll have to come to this kind of cooperative  redistribution of resources and power because the alternative will  simply lead to disastrous outcomes both on the environment, on the  climate, but also on social grounds,” he told the Guardian. Homer-Dixon argues that, although the interrelated crises may  seem dire, they also present opportunities. That requires  understanding how they connect, and how feedback loops  exacerbate the problems. For example, fossil fuel consumption  leads to climate change, which produces economic costs. “As  people feel less economically secure, they support authoritarian  leaders, but that then leads to a backlash against green  policies, undermining efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption.” The opportunity, he says, is that this “delegitimizes the existing way  of doing stuff, the existing vested-interest stakeholders who are hunkered  down and don’t want anything to change.” What stands in the way is not technical impossibility but political choice and the hard but crucial work of building a coalition behind it. The Cascade Institute and the WIL report attempt to understand the holistic  nature of the polycrisis to find solutions. Given that one underlying cause  is wealth hoarding and inequality, the backlash from the ultra-wealthy and  their political backers will likely heat up. The “Global Justice Report” notes  that average per capita gross national income worldwide would increase  for almost everyone but, “The exception would be the mega-rich, who  would be highly taxed because they are most responsible for the climate crisis.” As well as taxing the overly affluent, the report recommends measures such  as “a global justice fund to finance the energy transition and oversee an  increase in education and healthcare spending” and “a world sovereign  fund, which would rebalance global holdings of public and private wealth closer  to proportions last seen in 1970.” It concludes that a better, more equal world is materially possible. “What stands  in the way is not technical impossibility but political choice and the hard but  crucial work of building a coalition behind it.” It’s a coalition we should all get behind. By David Suzuki, with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Editor and Writer Ian Hanington Read Online Share this story! Support the David Suzuki Foundation Your gift will help push for bold climate action, protect nature so it can sustain all life and create resilient communities that benefit everyone. Donate Today . To configure which emails we send you, please manage your content preferences here. If you no longer wish to receive any email from the David Suzuki Foundation, you can unsubscribe at any time. The David Suzuki Foundation is a registered charity in both Canada (BN 127756716RR0001) and the United States (94-3204049). We are located at 340-1122 Mainland Street, Vancouver, B.C., V6B 5L1, and we also have offices in Montreal and Toronto. Please visit our website for more information on how to contact us.

 

Doe and fawn playing in an alvar: Doug's wildlife photography

Doug caught this mother and fawn whitetail deer playing in an alvar at Callaghan's Rapids Conservation Area using a trail camera.

they gambol

she sees the camera and junior performs

What the heck's an Alvar?

 Alvar

Almost all of North America’s alvars

are found within the Great Lakes

basin. There are several types of

alvar, most of which are globally

imperiled and under stress.

Alvar Pavement and Grassland

 Less than 10% tree cover and less

than 25% shrub cover

 High abundance of herbaceous

plants or exposed bedrock (may be

covered with lichens and mosses)

Alvar Shrubland

 Less than 10% tree cover with

moderate to high cover of shrubs

 Variable amounts of herbaceous,

moss, and lichen cover

Alvar Woodland and Savanna

 Partial canopy of trees;

savannas: 10 - 25% cover and

woodlands: 25 - 60%

 High cover of shrubs, with some

trees, and some herbaceous, moss

and lichen cover

 

Our Major Press Ignores Amerikan Threats: Charlie Angus

 

The Work We Do Matters: A Note From Charlie CHARLIE ANGUS / THE RESISTANCE JUN 10   READ IN APP   Earlier this week, I held a press conference in Ottawa to lay out a series of allegations of foreign interference in the Alberta referendum campaign. No media came. Well, almost none. There was one observer from a right-wing Alberta publication. But none of the major national outlets bothered to attend. I’m not surprised. They never show up. Charlie speaking at a press conference on foreign interference - June 2026 Someone asked me why I bother holding press conferences at all. For me, it’s simple. I believe that presenting evidence on issues like foreign interference in the democracy of our country should be done in the national press gallery in Ottawa. I believe that Canadians deserve transparency and answers. This work matters. If the media don’t bother to attend, our team takes the clip and shares through Meidas Canada and Meidas Touch. The information gets out and the video will reach hundreds of thousands of people. But it wasn’t always like this on the Hill. Charlie speaking with media following a leadership debate - August 2017 When I was first elected, the press gallery was a powerful and sometimes sullen fiefdom. Journalists were focused on the issues and on holding politicians to account. If you showed up thinking you could provide spin and glib commentary at a press conference, you’d be taught otherwise. There was nothing like the so-called “murder questions” from the tough buzzards in the fourth estate. But those days are gone. Parliament has been redesigned so politicians can avoid the “perp walk” of facing tough media scrutiny. The press rooms have also been stripped of staff. The veterans were sent into early retirement, to be replaced by lower-paid interns and young, untrained scribes. Last month, the legendary Bob Fife of The Globe and Mail hung up his boxing gloves for the last time. I was surprised to receive a request to provide a video thank-you for his years of service. My message was funny but accurate. I described a typical encounter. I’d be walking away from Parliament when my phone would ring. If it was Bob Fife, I always froze. To answer was the great unknown. He might be calling about the latest scandal or to share evidence he had dug up. Or it could be about issues in my own party. My first instinct was always to pretend I didn’t see the ringing phone. But that never worked with Bob. So eventually I would pick up and hope to get off easy. That’s when the hardball question would be thrown. There was no point trying to spin him or to deflect. His job was getting at the facts, and I respected him for it. I always told Bob exactly what I knew. It was like getting the murder question thrown at you by Richard “the badger” Brennan or Julie Van Dusen. Kristi Kirkup was more diplomatic, but she always drilled home. You couldn’t outrun these people. They built their careers on accountability and fairness. Fellow resisters, I write this because more and more people have tuned out the national pundits who don’t seem to be willing to tackle the issues of the moment. This is why I started The Resistance and Meidas Canada. It is about providing information and helping people feel they are part of a larger conversation in an age of AI slopaganda and lazy, understaffed mainstream journalism. Since launching just over a year ago, we’ve published over 385 essays, worked with grassroots resisters to hold 30 Resistance Tour events from one end of the country to the other, and built a global Substack community of 77,500 readers. Meidas Canada Network is now the largest independent news platform in Canada with 241K subscribers and growing every day. What’s even more extraordinary is where people are tuning in from: every Canadian province and territory, every U.S. state, and 144 countries around the world. I could drive those numbers higher by going for rage bait, but I think of what mentors like Bob Fife. I believe it is important to back up what you say. It is important to dig deeper to determine if the latest online drama actually happened. We are a very small team covering both The Resistance and Meidas Canada Network, and we might not always get it right, but the integrity of the project matters to us. We rely on paid subscriptions so we can do the work of being out there, meeting Canadians, and sharing their stories. We don’t receive any outside funding. Everything we do is powered by you. If you like what you read, I’m asking you to consider supporting us by upgrading to a paid subscription. It would make a huge difference. Paid subscriptions mean we can do more, reach further and sustain this work. Upgrade to paid But if you aren’t in a position to upgrade, it’s ok we thank you for sharing and being part of the conversation. This is public engagement and the essays and full archive will always be available to whoever wants to read.  Charlie with local resisters in Regina, SK If you’d like to make a one time contribution beyond a subscription, please get in touch with our team at info@charlieangus.ca We are going to keep kicking at the darkness until it bleeds daylight. Thank you. — Charlie Support The Resistance AUGUST 13, 2025 Read full story If any photos or images on this site are under copyright, please let us know and we will provide appropriate credit. This content is used in accordance with applicable copyright laws, including “fair dealing” under Canadian law and “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act, for purposes such as criticism, comment, and news reporting. Charlie Angus / The Resistance is a reader-supported publication — please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Upgrade to paid Thank you for reading Charlie Angus / The Resistance. If you’d like to upgrade to a paid subscription your support will help keep this project independent and sustainable. I’m grateful to have you here - thank you for your support. Upgrade to paid   LIKE RESTACK   © 2026 Charlie Angus PO Box 74173, Ottawa RPO Beechwood, Ontario K1M 2H9  Unsubscribe