Alternatives Journal articles from January 2006

Alternatives Journal archives from January 2006

Where the boys aren't.(RESEARCH FINDINGS)(male births in the Aamjiwnaang First Nation community dropping to 34.8 percent between 1999 and 2003)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... A recent study conducted at the University of Western Ontario shows that the percentage of male births in the Aamjiwnaang First Nation community near Sarnia, Ontario, is declining significantly--dropping to 34.8 percent between 1999 and 2003,...

National inspirer: the Canadian Environmental Network's latest green energy paper tells Canadians how to step up efforts to curb climate change.
January 1, 2006... THE CURRENT IMPACTS of climate change can be observed globally. The casualties of climate change are mounting. They include the victims of the hurricanes on the United States Gulf Coast this past summer, and the 20,000 people who died across...

Kyoto: still waiting to get on board?/Vous songez a vous mettre a l'heure de Kyoto?(Advertisement)
January 1, 2006... Is your company sitting on the Kyoto sidelines? If so, then it is time to act. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As a signatory to the protocol, Canada is committed to meeting its...

Arctic alarm: in the Arctic, climate change isn't an abstraction--it's happening now.
January 1, 2006... TRY AS HE MIGHT at the Gleneagles G8 summit in July 2005, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair was reportedly unable to persuade US President George W. Bush to adopt greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and timetables. Disturbed by bombs on the...

Local heroics: one size doesn't fit all when it comes to climate policy. The best chances for cutting emissions lie with communities.
January 1, 2006... WITH KYOTO'S DEADLINES looming, Canada faces the likelihood that we will not reach our targets of reducing emissions to six percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. And Canada is not alone. A number of European countries, Japan and New...

Unnatural disaster: Katrina ripped the lid off the tangled relations between environment and politics, exposing desperate poverty, the dangers of environmental manipulation and the need for collective action.(Political Science)
January 1, 2006... EVEN BEFORE the flood receded, leaving toxic brown sludge, it was evident this was a most unnatural disaster. Unimpeded by islands or marshes, Katrina wrecked towns and flooded a city, striking hardest the most vulnerable. Unnatural, but...

City stepping.(The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices)(Book review)
January 1, 2006... The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices, Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti, Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2004. This book is aimed very clearly at municipal practitioners and...

A perfect storm.(A Stain Upon the Sea: West Coast Salmon Farming)(Book review)
January 1, 2006... A Stain Upon the Sea: West Coast Salmon Farming, Stephen Hume, Alexandra Morton, Betty C. Keller, Rosella M. Leslie, Otto Langer, and Don Staniford, Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2004. Salmon farming is a perfect storm of an issue:...

Secret agenda.(The Secret Wars of Judi Bari: A Car Bomb, The Fight for the Redwoods, and the End of Earth First!)(Book review)
January 1, 2006... The Secret Wars of Judi Bari: A Car Bomb, The Fight for the Redwoods, and the End of Earth First!, Kate Coleman, San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2005. Until her tragic death from cancer in 1997, Judi Bari was the US WestCoast media darling...

Canoe lessons.(Brain Mulch)
January 1, 2006... Robert Fulghum's poem, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" is a fantastic compilation of little life lessons. It seems we are not the only ones who think the idea is a good one; there are hundreds of offshoot poems with the...

Take it down to zero.(Editorial)
January 1, 2006... I JUST GOT BACK from a walk in my neighbourhood. I wish you'd been there. It's our garbage day tomorrow and in the back lane is marshalled one-week's collection of my neighbours' household discards. A computer monitor and a set of stereo...

Green roofs for big smoke.(CANADIAN NEWS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... Toronto recently drafted the first-ever comprehensive green-roof policy in North America, which includes plans to install vegetation systems on roofs of new and existing public buildings, and to establish pilot programs and financial incentives...

Art blocks oil.(CANADIAN NEWS)(Peter von Tiesenhausen claims copyright on his land)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... By claiming copyright on large installments on his land, artist Peter von Tiesenhausen has successfully been able to ward off Alberta oil companies wanting to develop through his property since 2002. His works include towering statues, a...

Legacy of lodges.(CANADIAN NEWS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... BC plans to expand commercial development within its provincial parks. According to Valhalla Wilderness Society chair Anne Sherrod, BC has identified ten parks for future development.

Pipeline profits.(CANADIAN NEWS)(Dene Tha' First Nation to halt Mackenzie Gas Project)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... The Dene Tha' First Nation has asked Canada's federal court to halt environmental hearings on the Mackenzie Gas Project, a plan to deliver natural gas to the US and Canada via a 1220-kilometre pipeline stretching from the Mackenzie Delta to...

Revenge of the bats.(Science Desk)
January 1, 2006... SUDDENLY, BAT ECOLOGY has become a hot topic at the World Health Organization. Two recent Chinese studies have traced the natural reservoir of the coronavirus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) back to three species of Chinese...

Mystery of the narwhal tusk.(Science Desk)
January 1, 2006... THE NARWHAL TUSK has inspired association with the fabled unicorn and at one time was a highly valued trade commodity. Queen Elizabeth I reportedly paid 10,000 pounds, the 16th century equivalent to the cost of an entire castle, for a single...

Relax with the Work Less Party.(Science Desk)(Work Less Party campaigns for standard 32-hour workweek)
January 1, 2006... THE STANDARD ELECTION PROMISE of cutting taxes hinges on the assumption that voters want one thing above all--more money in their pockets. In contrast, the Work Less Party, a burgeoning grassroots party based in Vancouver, promises less money...

Cryogenics for seeds.(GLOBAL)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... Spitsbergen, a remote Norwegian island, will host a seed bank designed to withstand global catastrophes of human-made or natural proportion. The bank will hold approximately two million seeds in an effort to preserve the genetic building blocks...

GE must pay.(GLOBAL)(General Electric Co. to pay Environmental Protection Agency for discharge for toxic substances)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... General Electric (GE) has agreed to remove PCBs from the Hudson River, a project that could cost over $700 million (US). GE manufacturing facilities discharged large amounts of the toxins for more than 30 years prior to the 1979 PCB ban. Last...

E-waste toxics restricted.(GLOBAL)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... In spite of America's lag in addressing the issue of electronic waste, California is now considering a bill that will ban hazardous materials in the manufacturing of electronic components. The US is one of the only countries still exporting its...

Nuclear decisions.(CAMPAIGNS'; nuclear power)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... The Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA), in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation and the World Wildlife Foundation, is promoting a "Clean and Green" alternative for Ontario Energy Policy. Following recommendations by the Ontario Power...

Pay as you spew.(CAMPAIGNS; cruise ship waste)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... Responsible Cruising in Alaska is trying to get cruise lines to pay for dumping their waste. The organization is urging Alaskans to vote for the Cruise Ship Ballot Initiative on the August 2006 primary ballot. If enacted, this law would impose...

Awareness starts "here".(CAMPAIGNS; climate change)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... Over the next two years, the Dutch PostCode Lottery will be donating 16.3 million Euros--one for each person in the Netherlands--towards a climate change awareness campaign called Hier (meaning "here" in English). The campaign aims to make...

Hockey activists lace up.(Science Desk; global warming)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... REMEMBER CRISP WINTER AFTERNOONS, perfect for a game of hockey on the neighbourhood pond? Remember squinting as you chased the puck across the glittering ice? The Save Hockey, Fight Climate Change coalition, a group of hockey enthusiasts and...

RETScreen.(Hot Green Websites; www.retscreen.net)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... The RETScreen website is for those who want to implement renewable-energy or energy-efficiency programs. Hosted by Natural Resources Canada, the site offers free software tools for analyzing energy production, lifecycle costs, greenhouse gas...

Greentec International.(Hot Green Websites; www.greentec.com)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... Greentec International in Cambridge, Ontario, helps reduce electronic waste by buying and collecting items such as print cartridges and cell phones on a large scale. To find out about its programs, including THINKGREEN Fundraising for schools...

Terra Voce Project.(Hot Green Websites; www.thegreenpages.ca/terravoce)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... The Terra Voce Project offers tips for effective environmental communication. The website provides techniques and resources for budding activists, journalists and artists alike, including how to tell true grassroots initiatives from mere...

Freecycle.(Hot Green Websites; www.freecycle.org)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... Freecycle is an electronic forum that enables people to recycle items they might otherwise throw out. Started in Arizona in 2003 to promote waste reduction, Freecycle members see themselves as part of a "worldwide gifting movement that reduces...

Competing claims on cod.(Letter from St. John's)
January 1, 2006... IN DOWNTOWN St. John's, a T-Shirt reads: Endangered Species--The Newfoundland Fisherman--Help Preserve Our Natural Inhabitants! The message appears as the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada suggests that the northern cod...

Industrial manure production.(RESEARCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... A recent UN report reveals the environmental risk of industrial livestock production worldwide. The Food and Agriculture Organization study shows that the growing trend of concentrating large animal-rearing and meat-processing facilities closer...

Global wind power up.(RESEARCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... According to the Global Wind Energy Council, an international wind-energy sector forum, more than $14 billion (US) worth of new generating equipment was installed worldwide in 2005 alone. The United States, Germany, Spain, India, Portugal and...

See no evil.(RESEARCH; children's environmental health)(Brief article)
January 1, 2006... The Bush administration has cut funding for the National Children's Study in the National Institute of Health's 2007 budget recently submitted to Congress. Approved in 2000, the study was to commence in 2008, with plans to monitor 100,000...

Hope in wasteland: a radical but reachable departure from current practice will put product waste back in the hands of producers, and allow cities to follow their zero-waste dreams.
January 1, 2006... THE WASTE POLICY that we take so much for granted today was established over a century ago when the Industrial Revolution transformed life in Europe and North America, bringing people to live together in large cities. The living conditions in...

Practical tools for zero waste: one small Canadian community is using common sense measures and financial incentives to eliminate waste by design.
January 1, 2006... MOST COMMUNITY waste systems are designed to manage waste, not to eliminate it. Changing to a zero-waste system requires political will, staff that is committed to change, energetic educational efforts, and a toolkit of common sense measures....

Zero waste wins: it's not just better for the environment, it's better for the local economy. Ask Nova Scotia.
January 1, 2006... IF THE COMMUNITY cannot reuse, repair, recycle or compost it, industry shouldn't be making it--that's the position of zero-waste communities. Zero waste is not merely a call for 100-percent recycling, which emphasizes community responsibility...

A world of trash: from Canada to Cambodia, waste is a common problem with common solutions.
January 1, 2006... GARBAGE provides a snapshot of what is really going on in a community. In Cambodia, along the banks of the Siem Reap River south of the town of Siem Reap, a picture emerges. With no waste collection services, many residents of this riverside...

Embodied energy: we can't measure the impact of solid waste unless we study the energy we throw away.
January 1, 2006... WASTE discussions have traditionally focused on the back-end management of garbage: the significant economic and environmental implications of finding safe disposal sites, for example. But the obvious often escapes us--that garbage is made up...

Lighten up: dematerializing everyday life is easier than you would think, and smaller footprints bring bigger benefits.(energy use)
January 1, 2006... THE AVERAGE Canadian ecological footprint is about four times that of the average person worldwide, about ten percent lower than an average American, but considerably higher than the norm in Europe. (1) Things get really interesting, however,...

Garbage: there is no such place as "away".
January 1, 2006... WE CANADIANS THROW OUT more per person than the citizens of any other country in the world. In 1993, each of us produced 1.7 kg of waste each day--now the figure is up to 2.7 kg of waste per person per day. That is more than our body weight in...

Accounting for waste: holistic waste audits help to reduce waste, increase awareness, and boost employee and customer loyalty.
January 1, 2006... GARBAGE has a story to tell. And waste audits allow it to talk. A waste audit is, as the name suggests, a survey of what an individual, business or institution throws away. It is an underused yet effective tool for learning not only about...

Unplugged: Canada should follow Europe's lead on e-waste.
January 1, 2006... 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...

Waste milestones in Canada.
January 1, 2006... ALTERNATIVES' LAST ISSUE ON WASTE hit the stands in 1993. That edition tried to capture some of the new initiatives for waste management that were to usher in a future of reduction, reuse and recycling and corporate responsibility for waste....

Bottom line: the best way to divert disposable diapers from the waste stream is not to use them, and thankfully, cloth technology is more sophisiticated than ever.
January 1, 2006... IN AN AVERAGE YEAR Canadians throw away about four million used disposable diapers. Most of them end up in landfills where the untreated human waste can leach into and contaminate groundwater and where the diaper materials take an estimated 500...

Coca crunch: a Colombian moth that feeds exclusively on coca leaves might eliminate the need for herbicides in the war on drugs.
January 1, 2006... THE INSATIABLE appetite of a caterpillar native to Central and South America may help to destroy Colombia's coca plant--the raw ingredient for cocaine. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "There are around 250 species of pests known to destroy coca...

Charge ahead: London's fee for driving in the city centre raises money, reduces traffic--and is a model for Canadian cities.
January 1, 2006... "I hate cars. If I ever get any powers, again I'd ban the lot." --Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, England ON AN otherwise unremarkable Monday morning in February 2003, a population of bemused Brits woke up to a rather strange and...

A history of trash.(Garbage in the Cities: Refuse, Reform, and the Environment)(Book review)
January 1, 2006... Garbage in the Cities: Refuse, Reform, and the Environment, Martin V. Melosi, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005, revised edition. Martin Melosi provides a fascinating history of garbage in the US between 1880 and 2000. This...

Power to the public.(Power Play: The Right to Control the World's Electricity)(Book review)
January 1, 2006... Power Play: The Right to Control the World's Electricity, Sharon Beder, New York: The New Press, 2003. Hydro: The Decline and Fall of Ontario's Electric Empire, Jamie Swift and Keith Stewart, Toronto: Between the Lines, 2004. With few...

Velo-city: new cycling infrastructure shapes a sparkling vision for people-powered transportion.
January 1, 2006... IT'S MONDAY morning. You get your gear on and strap your bag onto your bike. It is cold and raining today, but after just five minutes of riding, you can see a glassed-in on-ramp in the distance. A quick lane change and you pump your way up the...