Juggling Dynamite

Gotham Green CEO Viraj Puri discusses the business of urban farming.  Here is a direct video link.

Another day and more carnage for income-seeking investors.  Yesterday Westshore Terminals Investment Corp announced that it was further slashing its dividend.  From a high in May 2015 the stock had already fallen 49% before yesterday news.  It’s down a further 25% since last night’s close.  A widely recommended brokerage ‘top pick’, the damage here has no doubt hit would-be conservative investors hard.  In truth, most never should have been holding this type of security–money they couldn’t afford to lose.  Reaching for ‘yield’ with over-priced assets is a well-worn path to hell.

After all the talk in Paris, a global agreement on taxing carbon is not yet inked even though pretty much all stakeholders agree it is essential. See: Here’s the climate deal everyone wants.  Here is a direct video link

Still progress is being made on a more granular level as individual states, provinces and municipalities recognize their vested interests and move to implement their own carbon tax programs. Alberta led with an initiative last month. See: Alberta to introduce economy-wide carbon tax.  A long overdue step in the right direction.

Further leadership is being shown by municipal leaders, with 100 Canadian cities to date signing declarations of the right to a healthy environment for their citizens. See the list here.  All of which heightens attention on the need to add a right to healthy environment to the Canadian Chart of Rights and Freedoms. See: An environmental bill of rights for Canada. After all without a healthy, sustaining natural environment, all other human rights declarations are hollow.