Canada's Environmental Voice
Hard Nose on the Soft Path I write with congratulations on a thought-provoking and introspective 40th Anniversary issue of Alternatives. I am concerned, however, by a potential stumbling block faced by the environmental movement that may have greatly stymied our progress: We’re quite a weak lot, aren’t we? From “soft” […]
AS WE CROSSOVER the Claiborne Avenue bridge from the Upper Ninth Ward on Gray Line International’s “Hurricane Katrina – America’s Greatest Catastrophe” tour, local artist Brad Dupuy informs us in his rich voice that we “are about to enter what is known famously as the Lower Ninth Ward.” What makes […]
MODERN CONCERNS about energy started with two oil-price shocks in the 1970s, coming to the fore again in the 1980s with the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Then, more recently, we experienced the Deepwater Horizon and Fukushima disasters. Who knows what the future holds?
ENERMODAL ENGINEERING is Canada’s largest consulting firm exclusively dedicated to creating green buildings and communities. The company recently celebrated its 100th LEED-certified building, and its president and founder Stephen Carpenter was named a LEED fellow. He spoke with Alternatives’ podcaster Mark Brooks. Mark Brooks: What exactly is LEED certification?
Editorial: Environmentalism and Optimism – Robert C. Paehlke The Rise and Fall of Industrial Agriculture – Larry M. Geno The Future of Canadian Population Policy – Chris Taylor For an Eschatological Ecology – John M. Raftery Nuclear Power for Ontario? – Amory Lovins Nuclear Power: A New Dimension in Politics […]
IF YOU FIND YOURSELF saying, “There’s nothing in the newspaper these days,” you are undoubtedly correct. Large white and coloured voids are in, as are expansive photos with blank areas, such as a distraught goalie kneeling in a huge goal mouth adorned only with a missed soccer ball. In its […]
Concerns for our unsustainable, fossil-fuelled lifestyle underlie Rachel Kaplan and K. Ruby Blume’s book, Urban Homesteading: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living. The book provides a colourful overview of what each of us can do to build a more self-sufficient future. It explains the principles of homesteading and permaculture, and provides a […]
If the world as you knew it was going to end in 21 days, what would you do? Find shelter, locate a water supply or possibly pull out your SKS assault rifle? Wendy Brown’s Surviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs takes readers through day-by-day preparations in order to live comfortably after an […]
Evolution is a series of short essays exploring some of the many topics under the umbrella of evolutionary theory. Using the natural landscape around his southern Quebec cottage as the central theme, author Jean-Pierre Rogel explores topics as diverse as genetically modified corn and whale taxonomy.
You don’t often come across a book of innocent-looking doodles that has the power to make you reflect on the deeper meaning of life. Kate Bingaman-Burt’s Obsessive Consumption does just that.
