Canada's Environmental Voice
WHILE 100-MILE DIETERS provide a ray of hope, small-scale farmers the world over continue to face intense pressures, and many are still forced out of farming each year. In response, we need to think carefully about our aspirations for the 21st century food system.
You’ve heard it before – small is beautiful. Whether it’s farming, mining or producing energy, the size of the operation is important. Despite the welcome trend toward smaller scale production, however, it isn’t always the best solution. In this edition of Alternatives Journal , we look at the issue of […]
ON APRIL 17, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver stood behind a podium on the warehouse floor of Automatic Coating Limited’s Centre for Pipe Line Coating Innovation, in the industrial heart of Scarborough. Renowned for its technologically advanced and fully automated production lines, ACL has made a name for itself […]
Through sharing her adventures and reflections in the food movement, Jo Anne will explore complex issues from a youth perspective, including: the need for an innovative, integrated, empowerment-focused approach to food security; the connections between social justice, environmental issues, and food production; and reviews of foodie events in the Greater […]
The environment is a complex system in which changes to one component create long-term impacts. Policymaking, on the other hand, happens on a short-term time scale. Policies are typically introduced as a direct reaction to a perceived problem. Confounding the issue further is the fact that public interest in the […]
EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY requires producers – not taxpayers or the government – to safely manage their products from the cradle to the grave (or from cradle to cradle). Because it allows product waste to be managed separately from the municipal waste stream, extended producer responsibility (EPR) saves municipal and taxpayer […]
FOR MOST CANADIANS, energy efficiency is synonymous with light bulbs. Switching to compact fluorescents might be simple and inexpensive, but it is not the only cost-effective way to reduce energy use in homes, businesses and utilities. Reducing water use, especially the hot stuff that flows from showers and cleans our […]
THE SUMMER OF 2009 marked a tumultuous stage in the evolution of electricity policy in Ontario, and the future path of the province’s electricity system remains uncertain.
Energy: Can’t live with it; can’t live without it. In fact, over 80 per cent of our emissions causing climate change are energy-related. From the difficulties in getting Canadians to conserve to carbon trading with a conscience and concerns about nuclear options, this issue of Alternatives provides a fresh and […]
IN 2012 it seems easy to mudsling the truth until it’s a total mess. This weakness is not new – women, homosexuals and people of colour who lived just 50 years ago might argue that 21st century reality is far less distorted. What distinguishes our time is that we can access […]
