Alternatives Journal articles from June 1999

Alternatives Journal archives from June 1999

MODIFIED ORGANISMS FOR LUNCH.(genetically-modified products)
June 22, 1999... It's summertime, and I've been splashing around in the shallow end of the gene pool, trying to stay cool. And this isn't easy, with all the heat that's being generated over genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. I'm not sure what all the...

TREATING THE CAUSES.(effects and causes of environmental pollution)(Editorial)
June 22, 1999... "We are about protecting people, not birds and bees." American activist Lois Gibbs was referring to her campaign against toxic waste, but she spoke for many environmentalists concerned less about wilderness or rare species, than about cities...

Ontario's "Living Legacy" Brings New Parks and New Perils.(national reserves and parks)
June 22, 1999... In March, when the Ontario government made its Living Legacy promise to double the area of new protected land in northern Ontario, many environmentalists hailed it as a step in the right direction. But others say the plan's fine print will...

Debt Relief Inches Forward at G8 Summit in Cologne.(Group of Eight)
June 22, 1999... After a year of intense pressure to cancel the debts owed by the world's poorest nations, leaders of the G8 countries have agreed to provide an additional $US 27 billion (net present value) for debt relief in 36 countries. That is about one...

Escaped Aquarium Plant Plagues Mediterranean Ecosystem.
June 22, 1999... Beautiful, luxuriant carpets of Caulerpa taxifolia are spreading throughout the Mediterranean Sea, wiping out native algae species, and destroying fish nurseries and spawning habitat. Crab, shrimp, starfish and other species are disappearing as...

Alberta Board Asked to Play Swan Song for Swan Hills.(hazardous waste treatment facility)
June 22, 1999... The Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council and a concerned local citizen, Charlie Chalifoux, are asking Alberta's Environmental Appeal Board to revoke Chem-Security Ltd.'s licence to operate the Swan Hills hazardous waste treatment facility....

MINING FOR COMMUNITY BENEFITS.(Canada)
June 22, 1999... The Voisey's Bay Environmental Assessment Panel shows how it might be possible Recommendation 1 of the Environmental Assessment Panel report on the world's richest nickel deposit was no surprise: "The panel recommends that the Voisey's Bay...

AIR POWER.(wind-generated electricity; Canada)
June 22, 1999... Despite government inaction, more Canadians are turning to green energy from windmills Turning the winter wind into electricity that heats your house sounds like an idea pulled out of thin air. And that is exactly what it is. Reliable...

CLEAR-CUTTING THE OCEAN FLOOR.(trawling fishing gear and environment)
June 22, 1999... Trawling gear devastates the world's continental shelves New evidence suggests trawling may have a much greater impact than clear-cutting on the earth's biosphere. In a recent Conservation Biology (12:6, 1998) report, Dr. Les Watlingand Dr....

BATTLELINES.(energy industry case; Canada)
June 22, 1999... Val-Saint-Francois citizens win court case against Hydro-Quebec, but power line construction continues For four days, starting January 5,1998, freezing rain glazed hydro pylons with twice as much weight as they could support. As power lines...

CITIZEN CASE.(citizen wins case brought under provisions of the Fisheries Act)(Brief Article)
June 22, 1999... Kingston resident wins Fisheries Act prosecution of city Janet Fletcher is one of the few private citizens in Canada to prosecute a government successfully for an environmental offence. In December 1998, Justice of the Peace Jack Bell...

View from a Foundation.(Laidlaw Foundation funding initiative)(Brief Article)
June 22, 1999... Children, toxics and the public interest LAST YEAR the Laidlaw Foundation launched a new funding initiative focusing on environmental contaminants and children's health. The initiative reveals much about the needs that are now being left to...

Money Matters.(economic growth and social and environmental concerns)
June 22, 1999... Incomes tell a story about environmental dangers and human health ENVIRONMENTALISTS tend to mistrust industrialization. In the rich countries, we have been concerned for four decades or more (at least since the 1962 publication of Silent...

Children First.(children's health and environment; Canada)
June 22, 1999... Environmental contaminant protection policy needs to be rewritten to reflect the needs of our most vulnerable citizens IN MAY 1997, Canada signed an international declaration, pledging to give priority to children's environmental health...

Detective Work.(determining effects of pollution on public health; Canada)
June 22, 1999... Environmental contaminants are important contributors to ill health, but it is not easy to identify the culprits and measure their effects ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS to human health have attracted the attention of both the public and scientists....

THEIR HOME AND SACRED LAND.(Review)
June 22, 1999... Sacred Lands: Aboriginal World Views, Claims and Conflicts, Jill Oakes, Rick Riewe, Kathi Kinew, and Elaine Maloney, eds., Edmonton: Canadian Circumpolar Institute, University of Alberta, Occasional Publication No. 43, 1998. Every year or...

EARTH JAZZ.(Review)
June 22, 1999... The Ecology of Eden, Evan Eisenberg, Toronto: Random House of Canada, 1998. The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature, David Suzuki with Amanda McConnell, Vancouver: Greystone Books, 1997. All is flux," Heraclitus declared....

DISMANTLING CIVILITY.(Review)
June 22, 1999... Dismantling the State: Downsizing to Disaster, Walter Stewart, Toronto: Stoddart Publishing Co., 1998. It's rare these days to find a book that brings forth a spontaneous cheer, a resounding "Yes!" But such a one is Walter Stewart's...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
June 22, 1999... The Montreal Melon In his article "Saving Seeds," Bob Wildfong makes an excellent argument for the need to preserve our rapidly disappearing heritage seeds. In fact, the necessity for saving seeds goes beyond the seeds themselves. In many...