Oct

2023

Look away so you can see

Thursday April 27, 2023

A neighbour and I go for a walk most mornings. These days, the sun has risen already, but it hasn’t risen high enough to shine on our side of a high ridge.
As we walk, we can watch the sunlight creep down the slopes on the far side of the lake. And then across the lake, to reach us.
We can almost see the edge of the light moving downwards.
Almost.

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Categories: Soft Edges

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14

Oct

2023

Earth Day celebrates our favourite planet

Author: Jim Taylor

Earth Day, April 22, 2023

Where would you live, if you had unlimited choice?
Perhaps you’ve thought, “Paris. Or the Italian Riviera. Or Bali…”
Driving through picturesque small towns in rural Ontario, I used to think, “I could live here.”
And every time I drove west into the mountains, I felt myself exulting, “I want to live here…”
But the question involves something more than that: On what other PLANET would you want to live?

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14

Oct

2023

Celebrating Easter with Canada geese

Author: Jim Taylor

Thursday April 13, 2023

We had a Sunrise Service on Easter morning. In a park, on the edges of a lake. A couple of Canada Geese wandered up from the water. As our minister talked about the significance of Easter, the two geese stood a safe distance behind her in rapt attention, heads cocked to one side.

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14

Oct

2023

Learning to live without endless growth

Author: Jim Taylor

Sunday May 21, 2023

I never thought I would write this column. For years, I have ranted about overpopulation. During my lifetime, the world’s population has grown from about two billion to eight billion. Canada has gone from 11 million to 38 million. And while Canada seems to have lots of space to accommodate its growing population, the rest of the world doesn’t.
There isn’t enough arable land on the whole planet for eight billion people. So we draw on capital assets deposited some 300 million years ago. We call them “fossil fuels.”
But now, I discover, we have to deal with the economic implications of declining populations.

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Categories: Sharp Edges

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14

Oct

2023

Vaccine lawsuit poses moral questions

Author: Jim Taylor

Sunday May 14, 2023

A pandemic has gripped the world. People are dying like fruit flies, especially in crowded long-term care facilities.
A pharmaceutical giant creates a vaccine to protect millions of people. Initial tests show it’s effective. But there’s a one in about 700,000 chance that the vaccine could trigger some intense, possibly even fatal, complications.
And I stress again, I cite these figures as purely hypothetical.
Do you release the vaccine anyway, to save as many lives as possible? Or do you withhold the vaccine, to protect one potential victim who may suffer life-threatening side effects?

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Categories: Sharp Edges

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Jim Taylor's Columns - 'Soft Edges' and 'Sharp Edges'

Look away so you can see

Earth Day celebrates our favourite planet

Celebrating Easter with Canada geese

Learning to live without endless growth

Vaccine lawsuit poses moral questions

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