3 days agoAER Reform or Revolution?Author Note: A version of this article will be published in the upcoming Winter 2023 issue of Alberta Wilderness Association’s quarterly magazine, the Wild Lands Advocate. There may be slight differences between the two versions of this article, but it has been reproduced here with permission. Also, this article was…Alberta14 min readAlberta14 min read
Sep 28Reconsidering GrowthNote: This article was written by me (Phillip Meintzer) and first published on September 28, 2023, in the Fall 2023 Issue of the Wild Lands Advocate magazine. It has been re-published here with permission from Alberta Wilderness Association. The original article is available at the following link: https://albertawilderness.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Advocate-Autumn-2023-Edition-WEB.pdf Note from…Climate Change9 min readClimate Change9 min read
Sep 15My Presentation to Calgary City Council on the Need for Affordable HousingHello city council. My name is Phillip Meintzer, and I am here today as a current resident of Inglewood in Ward 9, but I grew up in Woodlands in Ward 13, and I’m here to speak in support of the housing strategy. I would like to start by saying that…Housing3 min readHousing3 min read
Jul 6Thoughts on House HuntingMany of you may know that my wife and I have recently started looking to potentially purchase a home. In fact, about a month ago, we put in our first ever offer on a house. …Housing5 min readHousing5 min read
May 23Living our ContradictionsEveryone is a hypocrite under capitalism, and it’s important that we recognize this. There is a common saying that “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism”, because at some stage in the global supply chain, there is bound to be some form of intrinsic exploitation, at least based on how…Hypocrisy6 min readHypocrisy6 min read
May 10A Primer on Climate ChangeI originally wrote this piece in 2022 as part of my work with Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) to help inform our organizational position statement with respect to climate change, and to help shape the development of our climate change specific webpage. …Climate Change8 min readClimate Change8 min read
May 9On a Materialist SpiritualityThis piece of writing was driven by the following questions. How do I conceive of my own spirituality? Or rather, how do I reconcile my belief in a spiritual aspect to existence within my broader belief in a materialist foundation to reality? From the time I was young until I…Spirituality7 min readSpirituality7 min read
Apr 18Against Drug StigmaIt is a commonly held misconception (in western, capitalist society) that drug addiction is the cause of social issues. As if drug addiction is the starting point or root cause from which all (or many) other social ills emerge, such as homelessness, crime, violence, and civil disorder. …Drugs3 min readDrugs3 min read
Mar 23Against Band-Aid EnvironmentalismMy job sucks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the work I get to do, because I know that there’s very little money in environmentalism (which means jobs like mine are few and far between), but that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it. I don’t hate my job…Environment4 min readEnvironment4 min read
Mar 10An Alien ExistenceCapitalism has alienated us from both the natural world and our own labour. We have always engaged in some form of labour (also known as production) to meet our needs, whether it was through hunting, gathering, farming, building shelter, child rearing, education etc. However, under capitalism, the means of production…Capitalism6 min readCapitalism6 min read
