Canada's Environmental Voice
To watch Anthropocene is to be saddened and overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by our remaking of the Earth’s surface through extractive industries; by the destruction of living creatures on land and at sea; and by the injury inflicted on humans, especially the poor, as they participate in these processes. Earlier societies harnessed and harmed […]
Sharks are the perfect predator – formed by 450 million years of evolution having lived longer than the dinosaurs and surviving five major extinctions. They formed life as we know it and keep the oceans, our planet’s life force, healthy. We exist, in part, because sharks did – and still […]
“Build an education guide,” they told me. “Easy,” I replied. Turns out, it’s not. While on the surface it may seem like a simple task, building an education guide is quite complex. For example, in this edition of the guide you’ll see we’ve included an indicator for whether or not […]
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” – Socrates
Did you know that the collective noun for bats is a “cloud”, or that in the first scientific classification of mammals, bats were placed close to humans because, like us, they have two nipples? The book Bat, by Tessa Laird, is full of similar tidbits that you will want to share […]
There’s an ethereal quality to much nature writing that can feel oppressively twee, miscalibrated to life in the Anthropocene. Annie Dillard may have had a year to wander the Blue Ridge Mountains playing King of the Meadow with grasshoppers, but that was 1974. Haven’t you heard? A Delaware-sized iceberg is […]
This is a book that addresses the climate crisis at its very roots. Editor Paul Hawken, who made his name with such environmental classics as Natural Capitalism and The Ecology of Commerce, says reducing or even halting new greenhouse gas emissions is not enough. At this moment in history we […]
Day 5 of the 2018 Turtle Island Solidarity Journey was spent back at the Pointe-Aux-Chien Tribal Building. We had connected with the community and shared a meal with its members a few days earlier, but this time we returned to nurture the relationship we all share – our relationship with […]
Imagine catching a GO train to see, taste, and pick the best the world grows and prepares all in one place. Imagine picking your own berries and then drinking squeezed juice while watching some frisky goats. Then imagine sitting down to enjoy what can be done with the cheese they […]
Twelve kilometres east of Parliament Hill, the Just Food Farm grows a dazzling mix of organic fruits and vegetables including carrots, brussel sprouts and watermelon. Executive director Moe Garahan tells me the 150-acre agricultural operation forms part of the National Capital Commission’s Greenbelt yet it’s squarely within Ottawa city limits. […]
