Canada's Environmental Voice
The words on the back of the business card say so much: Belong & Thrive. For staff at House of Friendship, a social service charity based in Waterloo Region, Ont., these words are much more than an inspirational motto. They are a reminder that helping people in need by providing food, […]
The Islamic philosophy of Tauhid (Unity of God) connects the entire creation to the Creator. A view that ultimately leads to an understanding that we are all connected, that we are all related and that we must work together for peace and environmental harmony. Islamic Cosmology “We are not the […]
In the spring and summer of 2014 and late winter 2015, I lived and worked in the beautiful vibrant hamlet of Igloolik, Nunavut, a coastal Inuit community of more than 1800 people located on Igloolik Island about 300 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. I was there doing my undergraduate thesis, working on […]
Emi Do was captivated from the get go. By the beginning of the 2011 season, she had accumulated 13 plots of land scattered around Vancouver, to which she tended by way of bicycle and trailer. Her first season, at the beginning of 2010, Do stumbled on the opportunity to farm a plot on the […]
The other day I had a treacherous thought as I reviewed a report on how far away Canada is from meeting our climate targets. Where would be today if those of us who condemned the Harper governments “Turn the Corner” climate plan years ago (2007) had instead encouraged the government to implement it?
A 2007 study by the Nebraska Energy Office demonstrated that when a 2500-square-foot home is constructed, on average 3.6 metric tonnes of waste is produced, all of which is shipped to landfills. Attributed to hotter than average summers, air conditioners, large emitters of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants, are also quickly becoming the norm […]
Over the past century or so, the housing problem has ceased to be one of poor living conditions and instead become one of affordability. This is a bit of a simplification, though.
Housing represents the single largest store of wealth among Canadian individuals and families, and is the largest expense in most household budgets. Housing epitomizes the concept of “use value” where the worth of something comes from how it is used, and not its resale price. Historically, as land was passed down through generations […]
THIS ISSUE STARTS with a call to action. We propose that Canada’s housing system needs a reframing – and that’s putting it lightly. As a nation, we pride ourselves on being inclusive, friendly and compassionate people. But our housing situation does not reflect these values. Growing numbers of people are […]
In a sentence, David Brower was the single most influential force on environmental policy in the United States and on the environmental movement both in Canada and the United States in the 20th century. Having been born in 1912 and lived to 2000, his life almost spanned the century. It […]
