Canada's Environmental Voice
There’s no doubt that our economy has been built upon acquisitiveness. Since the Second World War, incessant growth has been based on mass production; mass production has been based on creating and channeling demand; and demand has been based on the desire to have or own. We are trained from […]
As the first quarter of 2014 draws to a close the threat of global climate change has been largely absent from the public discourse.
Why do we drive on a parkway, but park on a driveway?
In the early hours of July 26, 2010, Sue Connolly bundled her children into the car and drove to the local daycare in Marshall, Michigan, like every other weekday. But on this morning, something was not quite right. “There was a very strong odor in the air. It just took […]
Toronto has a seemingly neverending cycle of film festivals, but only Planet in Focus trains its crosshairs exclusively on environmental concerns. The 14th annual version (from November 21 to 24) featured a slate of strong, complex and curious documentaries, and another handful of very well deserved PiF award winners.
The Canadian government is all-in on the tar sands, the nation’s reputation be damned. The Keystone XL pipeline has been a central focus of opponents of unlimited tar sand development, but it has been selected for challenge in part because the pipeline decision does not rest with a government that […]
OCAD University’s Faculty of Design is hosting their first ever Urban Ecologies conference on June 20th and 21st. This conference will examine how ecological approaches to design are shaping the future of our cities, focusing on five intersecting themes: information visualization, systems thinking, regenerative urbanism, urban health and community engagement.
Let’s say you want to install a solar panel on your roof but there’s a tree in the way. Trees are great and all, but for the sake of green energy you’d want to cut it down, right? Actually, maybe not. In fact, if you own a tree (just one […]
David Brower’s legacy is unparalleled. The visionary activist practically created the environmental movement, and he might be its most controversial and influential figure. Brower transformed the Sierra Club from a group concerned primarily with California into the most powerful environmental organization in the US. Later he founded Friends of the […]
Climate change, overpopulation, rampant consumerism and other huge problems make it pretty hard to feel hopeful about the fate of the world. We can all rhyme off many ways in which our planet is being assaulted. Yet, according to Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, none of these phenomena are what […]
