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Michael Schwandt

@michaelschwandt.bsky.social
313 followers 367 following 836 posts

Public health physician in Vancouver. Antiracist ecoanxious xennial numtot. Healthy environments, equity, climate. Once posted a viral tw!tter thread on COVID prevention. Clinical faculty @UBC. Views mine. He/him.

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Reposted by Michael Schwandt
Denis Agar (he/him) @denisagar.bsky.social · 22h
Fascinating story of a community desperate for gathering spaces in a suburban asphalt wasteland. Imagine if zoning allowed us to have public plazas for every cultural community!
thelocal.to
How a Suburban Strip Mall Became a Buzzing Community Hub, and a Political Flashpoint | The Local
Mississauga’s immigrant communities made Ridgeway Plaza one of the city’s most vibrant cultural spaces—and also one of its most contested. This municipal election could decide its future.
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
😱Boo streets? 🎃Treat streets! 👏
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Ian Bushfield @bushfield.ca · 03/10/2026
My vote to local politicians who can do basic shit like this
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How-Sen Chong @how-sen.com · 02/10/2026
Listen: I don’t want to minimize the danger of high e-bike speeds. But if the problem here is that stores sell e-bikes that can drive faster than legal limits, then where’s the story about how literally *every car dealership has been doing the same thing for decades*?!?
cbc.ca
Hidden cameras show some stores unlocking speed limits on e-bikes, selling e-scooters that go up to 120 km/h | CBC News
A new hidden camera investigation by Marketplace shows how some stores are selling e-scooters and e-bikes with top speeds much higher than provincial speed limits and with recommended rider ages young...
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BCMECR spooky/pumpkin spice mode @b1kes.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Wow, better for traffic... How are these things to navigate for anyone outside of a car? I'm going to go with a hellish nightmare. We're basically reinventing highway interchanges but in tighter and tighter settings, all so that people who choose to drive everywhere have a bit more convenience.
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Rhi Faux @rhifaux.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The lifecycle emissions of the pipeline announced today would likely be 4-5x greater than those of LNG Canada. It will also substantially increase tar sands extraction & tailings pollution, which are causing health crises for downstream Indigenous communities where cancer rates are 25% higher. 3/
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Anne Shibata Casselman @annecasselman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
💯 Also... can the trucks not have a moratorium driving during recess and lunch - or the port enforce levies for cargo containers running on the roads during school hours? I don't know. There's no silver bullet but anything to reduce exposure...
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Andrea Woo @andreawoo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
After reading decision, BC Supreme Court judge who sided with DULF operators in Constitutional challenge to Canada's draw laws addressed them directly: "It's people like you who make a difference. And you just did.” First web hit, more to come: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
theglobeandmail.com
B.C. top court judge rules in favour of operators of illicit-drug compassion club
Lawyers had argued the pair who tested illicit drugs for fentanyl before reselling them offered a safer alternative to toxic supply
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Andrea Woo @andreawoo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
BREAKING: A BC Supreme Court judge has sided with Jeremy Kalicum and Eris Nyx, who operated an illicit-drug compassion club (Drug User Liberation Front), were convicted of trafficking, and challenged the constitutionality of Canada's drug laws. Trafficking section ruled invalid, convictions stayed.
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Andrea Woo @andreawoo.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
At the heart of a remarkable ruling in Canadian drug policy today is what the judge found to be a fundamental contradiction in the CDSA: A prohibition intended to protect public health/safety can also criminalize actions that can reduce the risk of overdose www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
theglobeandmail.com
B.C. Supreme Court rules drug law unconstitutional
Lawyers argued two individuals who tested illicit drugs for fentanyl before reselling them offered a safer alternative to toxic supply
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Judge says DULF founders 'selflessly' put their lives on hold during public health emergency...found parts of Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act unconstitutional and stayed the convictions." www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Judge tosses drug trafficking convictions for B.C. compassion club founders after constitutional challenge | CBC News
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has ruled in favour of two harm-reduction activists convicted of drug trafficking who argued they were doing it to reduce the harms caused by toxic drugs.
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Andrew Longhurst 🇨🇦 🍉 @alonghurst.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“The outbreak at Cargill was not inevitable,” Tucker said. “It was the result of systems and leaders failing — leaders who lacked the courage to do what they should have done.” #abpoli #cdnpoli calgaryherald.com/news/new-rep...
calgaryherald.com
New report cites 'catastrophic failure' of government response to Cargill COVID-19 outbreak in 2020
New report describes "catastrophic failure" of the province to adequately protect Cargill workers during a massive COVID-19 outbreak in 2020
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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 29/09/2026
You can’t meaningfully address workplace safety while ignoring the information environment that makes us targets. That includes vaccine misinformation and disinformation from people (hi Bobby 🧠 🪱 ) and other leaders with enormous influence over how the public understands our work.
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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 29/09/2026
🛑 CDC, we are all acutely aware how easily our workers’ rights can be stripped away. One of the best tools to fight this is our union, AFGE2883 Join to protect yourself & future CDC workers 💪 Help us form bargaining units asap. More info 👉 www.afge2883ga.org Join here 👉 join.afge.org/L2883
afge2883ga.org
Home | AFGE Local 2883
🚨BREAKING NEWS: On October 28, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston (Northern District of California) granted a Preliminary Injunction (PI) in AFGE v. OMB, which continues halting all Federal Reduction-in-Force (RIF) actions initiated or approved by OMB during the current government shutdown. The ruling applies nationwide to any agencies--including CDC/HHS--with at least 1 AFGE Member or BUE that applied the new OMB RIF framework.🚨
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Rest in power, Mighty Sparrow. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/a... 'Calypso was born centuries ago among the African slaves forced to work on colonial plantations there. The calypso song became a potent form of social commentary — an amiable, buoyantly syncopated number with a sting in its tail.'
nytimes.com
The Mighty Sparrow, Trinidadian Titan of Calypso, Is Dead at 91
He was sometimes described as the last of the true calypso singers. But in fact he simultaneously preserved calypso tradition and invented it anew.
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ClimateChangePost @climatechangepost.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
ClimateChangePost: www.climatechangepost.com/news/sandy-c... Beaches in Southern California Are Disappearing www.nytimes.com/video/climat...
nytimes.com
Video: Beaches in Southern California Are Disappearing
Giant swells this year have stripped sand from Southern California beaches. Experts warn that this year’s El Niño could be the strongest ever recorded, bringing even more damaging surf.
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Julie S. Lalonde @julieslalonde.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Y'all know Bean Soup Theory? How someone can post a recipe for bean soup and the replies will be "BUT WHAT IF I DON'T LIKE BEANS?!" That is sometimes annoying trolling but it's predominantly people failing to understand how to read for context, understand intended audience, etc.
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If you've noticed that ~75% of face-out covers in the shop kind of look the same. "A successful cover must now communicate not only what a novel means, but what being seen with that novel means." lithub.com/how-the-role...
lithub.com
How the Role of Book Cover Design Has Changed in the Age of Social Media
I work in the Art Department at HarperCollins, where I have a front-row seat to the conversations that shape how books appear in the world. What kind of cover art reads as “literary” versus “commer…
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Alex Papadopoulos @egeasri.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
What if school buses were also batteries for the grid? Charge overnight. Drive students during the day. Send stored electricity back when the grid needs it most. Transportation + energy storage + resilience. Pretty amazing use of technology. #CleanEnergy #EVs www.utilitydive.com/news/utiliti...
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Germany has committed to phasing out fossil fuels by 2045, aiming for 80% renewable energy by 2030 and a potential earlier coal exit date of 2035.
theguardian.com
Germany pledges to phase out fossil fuels for first time with target of 2045
Campaigners say plan marks notable shift away from oil and gas as previously pledges were only for carbon neutrality
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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Alert to Canadian Academics: The parliamentary committee report on criteria for grants (i.e. EDI) is out. It’s not good. So not a time to get too comfortable with how things are going here compared to elsewhere. Need to push back on this. EDI makes for better science. It’s not a tradeoff
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Happy Car-Free Day! 🎉 'From races for alternative-energy powered vehicles in Budapest, to horse-riding in São Paulo, to street picnics in Vienna, to running in Jakarta, cities and people are stressing the alternatives to polluting vehicles on this important day.' www.unep.org/news-and-sto...
unep.org
World Car-Free Day on 22 September a great opportunity to reduce air pollution
Every year on or around 22 September, cities across the globe celebrate World Car-Free Day, encouraging motorists to give up their cars for a day. The event highlights the numerous benefits of going c...
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Reposted by Michael Schwandt
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Happy World Car-Free Day to all who celebrate!
unep.org
World Car-Free Day on 22 September a great opportunity to reduce air pollution
Every year on or around 22 September, cities across the globe celebrate World Car-Free Day, encouraging motorists to give up their cars for a day. The event highlights the numerous benefits of going c...
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
First stage deadline Thu Oct 1... 'The Community Climate Action Grant is for community-led projects that directly support our climate plans, which focus on cutting Vancouver biggest sources of pollution and protecting communities most affected by climate change.' vancouver.ca/people-progr...
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Stories like this have, for ages, treated men's desire to harm women as a sort of background noise, a weather we just normalize and accept and try to work around. Feminism is among other things a process of denormalization.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
These "solutions" are a bit like climate footprints: urging the individual to take individual actions when what is clearly needed is system change, and it will be achieved only through collective effort.
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The Serfs (youtube.com/theserfstv) @theserfstv.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Nearly a quarter of a million people experience living on the street in Canada each year but we have all the money in the world to house computers
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Kate Marvel @drkatemarvel.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
My hot take on AI and climate change is that I would not like to be killed by either of them
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Because financialization and wringing every last dollar out of a utility always lead to a better user experience. 🤦‍♂️ YVR, YYZ, YUL and YYC are excellent. Miles better than peer airports in North America, and among the best in the world. We literally own these. Don’t let the enshittification in.
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Avi Lewis @avilewis.ca · 18/09/2026
There's a reason previous Liberal governments looked at privatizing airports and didn't go through with it. Private investors don't want a stake in our public assets to make them better. They’re in it to make as much money as possible for themselves - while workers and passengers pay the price.
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BCMECR spooky/pumpkin spice mode @b1kes.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Worth noting that as Amtrak introduces brand new trains to Vancouver, BC, VIA Rail continues to rolling 8 hours late on rolling stock that would have retired ten years ago if it were a human working any regular job.
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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
YVR is the best airport in North America, one of the best in the world. What exactly is the urgency to “fix” his? We have serious shit to fix in this country that a rush to sell off assets doesn’t solve. news.yvr.ca/yvr-recogniz...
news.yvr.ca
YVR recognized as Best Airport in North America for record 15th year, 10th Best Airport in the World
Skytrax Award recognition as voted by millions of travellers follows record-breaking year for both cargo and passenger volumesVancouver International Airport (YVR) has once again been named Best Airpo...
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Mary Gillis @marygillis.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Funny how the drive to privatize Canada's airports didn't start with the Ottawa airport, the one MPs use the most. It would've been the perfect trial, they all could've seen what the result was first hand before inflicting it on everyone else.
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Mary Gillis @marygillis.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Most people don't know that the best way to make a service more efficient is to bring in a layer of upper management devoted solely to extracting a profit from it. It takes a doctorate in economics to figure that one out.
cbc.ca
Government to open up Canada's 4 largest airports to private investment, Carney says | CBC News
Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will open up Canada's four largest airports to private investment, but that Ottawa will maintain ultimate ownership.
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
As the saying goes: See something, say something, don't swim in that thing. Blue-green algae blooms have led to a beach advisory at Alice Lake near Squamish. If you see something along these lines elsewhere, our friends at BC Algae Watch want to know! www.vch.ca/en/news/unde...
vch.ca
Understanding blue-green algae and what you can do about it | Vancouver Coastal Health
Blue-green algae are microscopic bacteria that can bloom and produce toxins in freshwater across B.C. typically in the late summer and early fall, and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) experts are callin...
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Siobhán McElduff @siobhanmcelduff.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
The opposition leadership mainly muttering in the background about how they would do it so much nicer in between bouts of playing footsie with transphobia.
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Siobhán McElduff @siobhanmcelduff.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Almost every story out of the US right now: we found a way to make something really fucking terrible worse.
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Melissa Lem @drmelissalem.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
We need moments of joy, connection and solidarity in the climate movement more than ever these days — which is why @cape-acme.bsky.social's + @cane-aciie.bsky.social's Healthy Climate Solutions Fair last weekend was such a powerful event. Heartfelt thanks to everyone involved. act.cape.ca/hcsf
Melissa speaking onstage at the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment's and Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment's Healthy Climate Solutions Fair with CANE RN Aggie Black and CAPE medical student Emilie Wang at Milton Wong Plaza in Olympic Village, Vancouver, BCMelissa moderating a Vancouver municipal election candidates' conversation with (from L-R) Green Party of Vancouver mayoral candidate Pete Fry, OneCity mayoral candidate William Azaroff, Vancouver Liberals mayoral candidate Kareem Allam and Bright Future Vancouver mayoral candidate Muhammad Ahmad onstage at the Healthy Climate Solutions Fair in Vancouver, BCMelissa smiling onstage with children's troubadour Raffi after their fireside chat at the Healthy Climate Solutions FairMelissa with friends in front of the Healthy Oceans, Healthy City art board at the Healthy Climate Solutions Fair in Olympic Village, Vancouver, BC
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Patrick Johnstone @pjnewwest.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
My work-related trips today: Walk Walk EVO EVO Lime Bus SkyTrain Walk #NewWest
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Iva Cheung @ivacheung.com · 12/09/2026
Love this channel. Fascinating deep dives into various facets of medical history. This one's about cervical health! youtu.be/Smyxhx-myvE?...
youtu.be
The HPV Vaccine Rules. Why doesn't everyone get it?
YouTube video by Patrick Kelly
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
youtube.com/watch?v=i30j...
youtube.com
Ex-Anthropic insider tells CNN how AI could kill all humans by 2030
YouTube video by CNN
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
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Mary Gillis @marygillis.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The big shots at Apple don't want you to know this, but you can save a fortune on an iPhone Duo by buying two refurbished mini iPhones and taping them together.
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Michael Schwandt @michaelschwandt.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
“What is a science centre without its science staff? It’s like a hospital without doctors and nurses or a fire department without firefighters." toronto.citynews.ca/2026/09/10/o...
toronto.citynews.ca
Ontario Science Centre laying off entire science department
The Ontario Science Centre has laid off 30 workers including the entire science department.
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Alyssa_Jayne @alyssajayne.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I Iive in this neighbourhood and the traffic calming is in no way confusing, it makes neighbourhoods safer, and nothing about it at all is bad.
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Chris Kluwe @chriswarcraft.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
There’s such an easy answer to this “gotcha” question and it’s “Sports are inherently unsafe and unfair and it’s ridiculous to single out trans athletes when we allow 150 pound linebackers to go up against 260 pound linemen in freshman football on a daily basis. Let kids play with their friends.”
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Elvy @elvezio.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Bullshit! I navigate this neighbourhood -by car- to get to Hastings Community Centre. Is the route less direct? Yes, moderately. Has it calmed traffic? Yes, dramatically. Similar changes are now coming to my area and they can't happen fast enough to make it inconvenient for lunatic rat runners.
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Democratic Socialists YVR @demsocsyvr.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This is a $2.1B subsidy. Canada is an oil producing country and oil companies are having their best years ever with profits increasing by billions of dollars. A sensible policy is a windfall tax on oil companies and using the revenue to invest in infrastructure that makes us less dependent on oil.
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Democratic Socialists YVR @demsocsyvr.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Every oil price shock is a reminder of the value of robust public transit & intercity transit. We live in a country where these shocks are a boon to one part of our economy at the expense of everyone else. Fair policy would tax these excess profits (these companies would still be wildly profitable).
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