Despite the Internet and the iPad, it’s hard to imagine that books will give way altogether. And as for environmental books, there are more than ever before on bookstore shelves. As Stephen Bocking points out in this issue of Alternatives, information is important, but stories are essential. That is exactly […]

Just as parents aren’t supposed to favour any one of their children, it’s risky for editors to have a special attachment to a particular issue of their magazine. Nonetheless, this other-worldly issue is very dear to our editor-in-chief. From space travel to crop circles, rainmakers to junk building, swamis to […]

Initially intended to celebrate our nation’s spectacular biodiversity in 2010, the UN International Year of Biodiversity, Alternatives Journal could not help but highlight Ottawa’s spectacular failure to value these invaluable ecosystems. At the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan, Canada may be blocking progress, rather than encouraging it.

Corn-based ethanol has become the latest target of the environmental and social justice movements, but let’s not throw out the jatropha, French-fry grease and pond scum with the maize. There is more to the biofuel debate than food-versus-fuel. Take a look inside this issue of Alternatives and you’ll discover that […]

20 books in review, 11 teasers, 2 excerpts, 3 essays, 13 staff favourites and 20 bestsellers. Featuring a whopping total of 77 new releases and timeless classics, our 2nd annual issue on environmental books is the ultimate guide to green reading.

Now on newsstands Is ecology the “master science” of the 21st century? Thomas Homer-Dixon argues that it could be society’s new dominant science, just as physics was in the 20th century. In this issue of Alternatives, we take a deep look at The New Ecology, with articles from Bill Rees, […]

“Sustainability” is a monstrous concept. Perhaps no other term exposes such a vast gulf between frequency of use and level of understanding. With its newest issue, Your Town: Sustainable by Design, Alternatives jumps in to fill that gap. Deborah Curran uncovers sustainability’s wicked nature, while Ray Tomalty and Mark Redwood […]

Please note, the print copy you receive of this issue may be a black and white reprint. Going to work is so much a part of our lives that sometimes we forget to think about it. This issue of Alternatives will encourage you to reflect on how we spend the […]

We’re gambling that several of the smart, candid and passionate articles in this thought-provoking issue will give you at least a few “aha, I never thought about it that way” moments. To see for yourself, push up your sleeves, grab a cuppa holiday cheer and read one of the articles you […]

Get out of the way Al Gore. Move over George Monbiot. Take a time out Tim Flannery. The new crop of environmental books on bookstore shelves is enough to keep you entertained all summer long and more. So this issue of Alternatives is dedicated to helping you decide what to […]