Canada's Environmental Voice
WHEN THE FIRST ISSUE of Alternatives Journal rolled off the presses in 1971, the world was a very different place – politically and technologically. There was a self-conscious political left and the political right was far less ascendant. Computers filled whole rooms and munched on punch cards to obtain information. […]
BACK IN 1971, the founders of this publication called it Alternatives. Bob Paehlke, who played a big role in the conception, says the idea was to explore better options for a blindly pro-consumption and pro-growth-at-all-costs society in which almost no one was thinking about the long term.
Musicians have always drawn inspiration from the world around them, but what happens when that world is in trouble? For an increasing number of environmentally minded artists, their efforts are moving off-stage. Instead of writing green lyrics, they are setting up foundations, leading conservation drives, greening their tours, and changing […]
Dragon boat racers, soccer teams and choirs have it. The People’s Food Commission and its report, The Land of Milk and Money, had it too. Team members often display a go-for-it passion that is rooted in a powerful tradition: to believe in tomorrow, we must appreciate yesterday. To become a […]
Editorial The Whole Enchilada Pretending to Help the Poor – Anuradha MittalA Third World activist challenges the hypocrisy of the biotech giants. When Organics Go Mainstream – Vijay CuddefordThe rising mass-market appeal of organic foods has changed the world for the small, local producers who started it all.
Editorial: A Sacred Task Experimenting on Children – Kathleen CooperDespite the lessons from experience with lead in gasoline, Canadian regulators are only slowly adopting more precautionary approaches to environmental health threats involving children. Starting Off – Loren Vanderlindenmilk is still nature’s best infant food, but it is vulnerable to persistent contaminants.
Editorial: Our Place in the World This issue of Alternatives explores how the built environment – the physical structures making up our cities, towns and villages – influences our relationships with nature and our fellow human beings. The basic insight expressed in the various theme articles is that if we […]
Good Work, Less Toil – ANDERS HAYDEN The job-spend treadmill exhausts us and the planet. It’s time to jump off. Inset: One Step Forward, One Step Back Working for Change – FIONA HEATH The Working Centre helps people become more self-reliant and less dependent on wages.
Editorial: No Fish, Two Tories – Robert Gibson From Jigging to Farming – Dean BavingtonThe destructive management principles that led to the collapse of the northern cod stocks are now being applied to the new aquaculture industry.Inset: The Belated Discovery of Cod DiversityInset: Principles of Ecological Aquaculture
Editorial: Just Another Reason – Robert Gibson Proof or Consequences – Lydia DottoSkeptics say we should wait for proof before taking action on climate change. If they turn out to be right, we’ll have saved a lot of bother. But if they’re wrong…Inset: Industry Fossils Deny Problem
