Canada's Environmental Voice
AT A CLIMATE change conference in Vancouver in 1996, I ran into David Suzuki. He wasn’t well versed on the issue back then and wanted to know if there were any companies doing something about climate- change. I named a few and he suggested that it would be a good […]
WHEN THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS from some of Canada’s most influential corporations encourage government intervention to tackle climate change, you know change is in the air. And in this case, the change involves a tax shift, a green tax shift, that is.
This issue of Alternatives focuses on water soft paths. For most people this statement invites the question: What are water soft paths? Though noun and adjective have been reversed, water soft paths share a common heritage with the soft energy paths developed in the 1970s by a group of researchers […]
Move over David Suzuki. Make way Al Gore. Switzerland’s most engaging hero after tennis star Roger Federer is now a proponent of renewable energy. Dr. Bertrand Piccard’s affinity for TV cameras won’t hurt his reputation, but it’s his inspiring talks and efforts to promote solar energy that will put him […]
Richard Gilbert opens Waste is what we have used and have no further use for. Incinerating waste, I believe, is a better environmental solution than landfilling.
IT’S 2060. Your grandchildren are sitting in their classroom. On the wall hangs a photograph of a blue planet. But it isn’t Earth. It’s a planet in a distant star system. And we know that this planet harbours life. Humanity is not alone. Now imagine a different scenario. Suppose our […]
There is no denying that the world could use a helping hand these days. With a shrinking ozone layer, melting ice caps and overfishing, the outlook for the environment isn’t so great. And knowing that all the penguins are moving to Hollywood only serves to remind us of how we’ve […]
Welcome to Living Classics, our new book review column. Upcoming issues of Alternativeswill include a look back on classic environmental books and reports. We’ve dusted off old copies of Silent Spring, the Berger Report, Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, and more to see how they resonate today. We invite you to suggest your […]
“Climate porn.” That’s how the Institute for Public Policy Research in Britain depicts the portrayal of the climate crisis by media and governments. In the organization’s report, “Warm Words,” the authors claim the apocalyptic and external framing of global warming convinces the public that climate change is inevitable and therefore […]
Question of Trust The public trust doctrine holds hope for protecting Canada’s ecosystems. “By the law of nature these things are common to all mankind; the air, running water, the sea, and consequently the shores of the sea.”– Institutes of Justinian (sixth century AD)
