Alan MacEachern

Ontario's Conservation Authorities: Past, Present and Future Ontario’s conservation authorities evolved from watershed-based environmental management but now face restructuring, funding pressures, politicization, and criticism over balancing development and eco...

Change is coming to the Ontario conservation authority system, but is it the change we need? In this @nichecanada.bsky.social post, I look at the history of the agencies that have been the "primary care providers" of our relationship with our watersheds. Thoughts? niche-canada.org/2026/02/14/o...

Grizzly or brown? I've got you. No polar.

One of the things A.I. has taught me - truly - is that I’ve got to be more positive in my feedback to students.

In 2016, as @westernu.ca History grad chair, I had a pot of $ to offer incoming grad students.

In 2026, all Social Science grad programs (Psych, Econ, Anth, Soc, Geog, PoliSci, Hist) combined have less than what I had 10 yrs ago.

But, hey, we're still @u15ca.bsky.social. We'll be fine.

It’s disgusting to watch the United States choke the life out of Cuba & its people.

Join us for our upcoming Graduate Conference - Spaces and Places: Exploring the Physical and Conceptual Environments of History - Friday, March 6, 2026 -Western University.
The schedule may be found here - history.uwo.ca/graduate/his...

Today! For those who wish to join online, here is the zoom link
westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/91063003930

Meeting ID: 910 6300 3930

1st time above freezing in, what, a month? 🥶

It’s like witnessing the origin of a Swiftie.

You let your dog pee on a snowman, I’m going to throw a snowball at you. A man’s got to have a code.

Ebooks were made for Cormac McCarthy & vice versa. We don’t give ebooks enough love.

There’s likely a German word for that feeling of dread when someone has sent an email to a large group of people but not bcc-ed it, & you’re poised for the reply-alls to start, asking people not to reply-all.

Started up reading these again and the words are like a red dark that bleed across the page without sign or mercy and they tell of the heart’s mirific hunger and of the world that is a cruel fire that burns the young most of all, a beautiful and terrible thing, recumbent in its own cold truth, and

Are you *sure* you know what it stood for? Agitation Intensifier, maybe?

Which, coincidentally, is my superpower.
Yours,
Al

The Battle for February 2 - Canada's History The groundhog wasn’t always Canadians’ choice for predicting the end of winter.

Does this prove my 2019 article wrong?!

Oh well, it's apt that a holiday famous for recurrence would be ripe for re-visionism.

www.canadashistory.ca/explore/envi...

#GroundhogDay #Cdnhist

Happy Groundhog Day, to all who celebrate!

The bear, not the groundhog, was historically Canada’s foremost forecaster. So imagine my shock (shock!) to find this Ottawa Citizen piece from 1867 – the earliest 2 Feb groundhog reference I’ve seen, by more than a generation.

The answer to both, unfortunately, is yes…

Like every (?) #skystorian, doing a little Groundhog Day research in the run-up.

Haven't seen this before:
An 1879 Chicago Daily Trib article connecting the holiday not to Pennsylvania Germans but to "our colored brethren."

Spider causes earthquake.
Like the butterfly effect, but creepier.

January

Love it when you find a photo for your book.
There's 1/2 a page done.🙂

Just put a bottle of red wine in the fridge to warm it up.

That's an insult to humans, who are perfectly capable of creating slop of their own. As much as I appreciated the speech in both political & rhetorical terms, you're right: "Canada lives -- thrives -- because of Canadians" would have been more elegant imho.

We talked pareidolia in #His1840 Graphic History! & now students are sending me faces they see in the world. My email is more fun than usual.

I’d say there’s a lot of looking back to learn in his speech. And recognition of the uncertainty of the future.

Speeches are important to the degree that they define truths & call up action. This could end up being the most important 🇨🇦 speech in generations. Or, depending on what follows, not.

“Principled and pragmatic: Canada’s path” Prime Minister Carney addresses the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Thank you, Larry.It’s a pleasure – and a duty – to be with you at this turning point for Canada and for the world.Today, I’ll talk about the rupture in the world order, the end of a nice story, and th...

“It’s a pleasure – and a duty – to be with you at this turning point for Canada and for the world. Today, I’ll talk about the rupture in the world order, the end of a nice story….”

Required reading.

www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/spee...

RB Bennett radio address, 1935: “The old order is gone. It will not return.”

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, February 10th at 12:00pm to listen to David Seston, MA student speak on, The Canadian Golden Age: Celebrating the 85th Anniversary of WECA Comics. #westernu

Geopolitically & seasonally apt.