Alternatives Journal articles from June 2004

Alternatives Journal archives from June 2004

Branching out.(Editorial)
June 22, 2004... DECADES AGO I spent a winter with friends in a Cape Breton farmhouse. The place had been built well before the invention of insulation, double-glazed windows and other warmth-retaining contrivances. Also before oil furnaces and duct work. We...

Tax loophole closed.(Canadian News)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The 2004 federal budget proposes to close a loophole that had potentially allowed fines and penalties (e.g., for violating environmental laws) to be deducted for income tax purposes. The Income Tax Act generally permits a taxpayer with income...

Electricity market opened.(Canadian News)
June 22, 2004... The electricity market in New Brunswick was opened to competition on April 1 for municipal utilities and large industrial customers. The delivery of electricity to residential and small-scale customers will not change immediately but the...

C[O.sub.2] reporting to begin.(Canadian News)(mandatory reporting of greenhouse gases for major emitters)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The Government of Canada has introduced mandatory reporting of greenhouse gases for major emitters. The reporting system will be in place in time for the first Kyoto Protocol commitment period of 2008 to 2012. A single system for the entire...

Lead still in jewellery.(Canadian News)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Health Canada has issued a draft regulation to control lead in jewellery and candles. The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) is concerned that the regulation applies only to jewellery "intended for children" even though children...

Bubbles, balloons and biotech ...(Off the Beat)(incidents of environmental contamination)
June 22, 2004... IT'S A COLOURLESS and odourless chemical that can be fatal if inhaled. It plays a role in countless incidents of environmental contamination. The spoof campaign against it came close to victory when a California city considered outlawing foam...

Hot green web sites.(Off the Beat)(Iraq Body Count Project )(Canadian Health Network )(Worldwatch Institute )(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The Iraq Body Count Project keeps an independent, running tally of media-reported civilian deaths in Iraq resulting directly from military action by the US and its allies: www.iraqbodycount.net The Canadian Health Network has links to...

Nuclear isn't cheap.(For the Record)
June 22, 2004... ONE OF THE MOST NOTORIOUS examples of misplaced energy optimism must be the statement: "Nuclear power will provide electricity that's too cheap to meter." Not. The reasoning was that a nuclear reactor is fuelled by a relatively small...

Legal breakthrough for Nigerians.(Global News)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... ChevronTexaco may be held liable for the acts of its Nigerian subsidiary, a US federal court judge has ruled. The victims of gross human rights abuses associated with Chevron's oil production activities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria...

Bank adopts eco standards.(Global News)(Citigroup Inc.'s intiative to save endangered ecosystems)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Citigroup, the world's largest private financial institution, has released a set of initiatives that place severe restrictions on investing in logging, mining and oil and gas industries that are destructive to endangered ecosystems worldwide....

EU Green parties unite.(Global News)(European Union)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Thirty-one national Green parties in Europe have united to become the European Green Party. The move represents the first time in the history of the European Union that parties from each member state have joined to form a political family. The...

POPs Convention in force.(Global News)(The Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) came into force on May 17, 2004. The treaty commits governments to eliminate their production and environmental release of POPs, which have killed and injured people and wildlife,...

Pipeline on shaky ground.(Global News)
June 22, 2004... WWF is urging commercial banks Citigroup and ABN Amro not to fund the construction of an oil pipeline though Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The pipeline would pass through an earthquake zone subject to 300 seismic events a year. According to...

Pension plan pollutes.(Campaigns)(Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan invests in coal )(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Greenpeace and the Sierra Youth Coalition have partnered to pressure the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan to consider investments that would be beneficial for the future of today's children. The plan is Canada's largest pension fund and the...

Crown lands at risk.(Campaigns)
June 22, 2004... New Brunswick is expected to launch a new Forest Resource Policy in June that will change how Crown lands are managed in the province. The Crown Lands Network is concerned that the new policy will be based on an industry-commissioned report...

Energy savings for all.(Campaigns)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The Low-Income Energy Network is seeking safeguards for low-income energy consumers in Ontario. The group of social justice and environmental organizations is asking the provincial government for direct energy assistance for low-income...

Stop easy mining access.(Campaigns)(outdated mining laws)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... A new West Coast Environmental Law report draws attention to outdated mining laws, enacted in the early Gold Rush days, that give mining companies "unfettered access" to land. The group calls for reform of these laws, which allow companies...

Small province, big polluter.(Research Findings)(Nova Scotia's air contaminated)(electric power generation emissions)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... A new study by GPI Atlantic shows some good and bad news on air quality in Nova Scotia. As in the rest of Canada, concentrations of carbon monoxide, total particulate matter and sulphur dioxide in the province have shown dramatic declines since...

Aquaculture infects wild fish.(Research Findings)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Wild salmon that live near fish farms have up to 8.8 times more sea lice than wild fish in areas that are distant from salmon farms, according to a study reported in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Ninety percent of...

World bank is greener.(Research Findings)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... The World Bank has gradually become more environmentally responsible for the projects that it funds, says a study published in the journal International Organization. These reforms came about through public pressure on the member states of the...

Lions and tigers in wigs-oh my!(Science Desk)
June 22, 2004... CONSERVATION of large predators depends on accurate knowledge of how many animals are left. It turns out that counting heads isn't an easy task. Tiger conservation in India used to focus on an exhaustive, census-based attempt to determine...

Walking the talk.(Indicators)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Total kilometres of walking trails registered with the Trans Canada Trail: 18,078 Number of trips the average North American car makes each year that are 3 km or less: 2000 Kilograms of carbon dioxide emitted per average kilometre...

Brace for the setbacks.(Letter from Tehran)(environmental conservation work)
June 22, 2004... LATE IN 1992, after more than a decade of working and living in Yukon and elsewhere in Canada's North, I succumbed to a severe bout of wanderlust. Partly by design and partly out of a growing sense that "thinking locally and acting globally"...

Carbon sinks forest rises: many environmentalists didn't want forests included as "carbon sinks" in the Kyoto Protocol. Now those provisions are being used to promote forest conservation.
June 22, 2004... WHEN PLANTAR S.A. and other large forestry companies arrived on the dry savannah of Curvelo, Brazil, in the 1960s, it's not hard to imagine the excitement they caused among the local population. The promise of jobs and economic good times was...

Poor vs poor in Nicaragua's forests.
June 22, 2004... THE PASSIONATE PROTECTION of Indigenous land is critical to preserving what is left of Nicaragua's forests. The government in Managua awards title for public lands not protected in nature reserves to citizens who "improve" it. Cutting down...

Desperately seeking certified: finding sustainably harvested wood is still a challenge.
June 22, 2004... I HAVE A CONFESSION to make. A year and a half ago, my wife and I built a house in Tofino, British Columbia--and it doesn't have a stick of certified wood in it. None, Yes, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the ground zero of the...

Harry Potter and the Order of green paper.(Raincoast Books prints Canadian edition on recycled paper)
June 22, 2004... 255,000 WORDS. 13 million copies. 200 countries. 55 languages. One edition on ancient-forest-friendly paper. When Vancouver-based Raincoast Books had the Canadian edition of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix printed on...

Equity in the woods: the concerns of women in forestry communities are often ignored in environmental and social planning.
June 22, 2004... ONJANUARY 13, 1993, a full-page advertisement, paid for by eight major international environmental organizations, appeared in the New York Times with the question, "Will Canada do nothing to save Clayoquot Sound, one of the last great temperate...

14 threats to the urban forest.
June 22, 2004... Across the City Air pollution interferes with photosynthesis, and ground-level ozone (the main ingredient in smog) burns holes in leaves. Acid rain ties up required minerals in soil and leaches rootdamaging metals from bedrock. ...

Setting the standard: alternatives interviews Martin von Mirbach on the Forest Stewardship Council's new guidelines for good logging practices in the boreal forest.(Interview)
June 22, 2004... The antagonism of the logging blockades and protests of the 1980s and 90s has led to a new stage in the environmental battle for forest sustainability in Canada. Today the focus is on certification. Following the success of other...

Environmental studies at Waterloo.
June 22, 2004... Programs * Architecture * Environment and Business * Environment and Resource Studies * Geography * Local Economic Development * Planning * Tourism Policy and Planning Earn valuable experience Gain...

Two initiatives to save the boreal forest.(Canadian Boreal Initiative)(Forest Stewardship Council of Canada standard)
June 22, 2004... The 50-Percent Rule for Conservation [GRAPHIC OMITTED] IMAGINE PROTECTING large areas of the most distinctive ecosystems and most significant habitats of a region before it is ever logged or developed. That's the vision behind the...

Under the canopy: the gathering of mushrooms, berries and other forest materials is becoming a billion-dollar industry.
June 22, 2004... COUNTLESS orange and yellow trumpets glow under the jack pines. A delightful apricot-like fragrance surprises your nose when you bend closer. It's August, prime chanterelle mushroom season in Saskatchewan's boreal forest. These beauties...

The return of king coal: the mining industry isn't finished with Fernie, BC.
June 22, 2004... BRITISH COLUMBIA Mines Inspector Archibald Dick reported "everything in good order" in the tunnels and galleries of the colliery deep beneath Coal Creek. King Coal was going to provide a safe and prosperous future for the little Rocky Mountain...

The prodigal butterfly: as butterflies go extinct species by species in the Georgia Basin, the story of the island marble gives some hope.(Science Essay)
June 22, 2004... FOUR PRINCIPLES of ecology that I had believed since becoming a naturalist stumbled and fell to their knees when a butterfly called the island marble flew back into existence on a West Coast island not far from my own. The principles were as...

From field to table.(Reviews)(Tangled Routes: Women, Work, and Globalization on the Tomato Trail)(Bringing the Food Economy Home)(Secret Ingredients: The Brave New World of Industrial Farming)(Book Review)
June 22, 2004... Tangled Routes: Women, Work, and Globalization on the Tomato Trail, Deborah Barndt, Aurora: Garamond Press, 2002 Bringing the Food Economy Home, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Todd Merrifield and Steven Gorelick, Halifax: Fernwood, 2002. Secret...

Let them flow!(Reviews)(Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature)(Book Review)
June 22, 2004... Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature, Sandra Postel and Brian Richter, Washington, DC: Island Press, 2003. Sandra Postel, author of well-received books on water scarcity and irrigation, has done it again. Rivers for Life,...

Economics 101.(Reviews)(Ecology Against Capitalism)(Book Review)
June 22, 2004... Ecology Against Capitalism, John Bellamy Foster, New York: Monthly Review Press, 2002. Readers of Monthly Review and Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, two leading neo-Marxist journals with a strong interest in ecology, will be familiar with...

Ecology for survival.(Reviews)(The Environmentalism of the Poor: A Study of Ecological Conflicts and Valuation)(Book Review)
June 22, 2004... The Environmentalism of the Poor: A Study of Ecological Conflicts and Valuation, Joan Martinez-Alier, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2002. The Environmentalism of the Poor by economist and activist Joan Martinez-Alier makes a major...

Web reviews.(Brief Article)(Bibliography)
June 22, 2004... Reviews of the following books were published on the Alternatives Web site in Summer 2004: The Policy Process: A Practical Guide for Natural Resource Professionals, Tim W. Clark, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2002....

In the valley of the 'shrooms.(On The Shelf)(Book Review Mushrooms)(All that the Rain Promises, and More ... A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms)(Book Review)
June 22, 2004... I WORRY GREATLY about whether hobbies such as birdwatching are becoming competitive, record-keeping obsessions. Most nature field guides reflect this trend: the new editions are superb identification manuals, but they have no soul. This is...

Goodbye Tooker-and thanks: alternatives remembers our long-time friend and columnist, Tooker Gomberg, who died March 3, 2004, in Halifax. He had been suffering from depression.(Obituary)
June 22, 2004... NO ONE could match Tooker Gomberg's uncanny ability to instantly invent a memorable political protest, whether goofy or sublime. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A few weeks ago I noticed that someone had put a love seat in an enclosed bus...

Car troubles.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 22, 2004... Thanks for publishing Tooker Gomberg's column, "Every Breath You Take" (Spring 2004), on the folly of private car ownership. I want to highlight that right now--even from a purely selfish, individual point of view--it often does not make...

What's not on the Menu.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 22, 2004... Thanks for "On the Menu: A Consumer's Guide to Eating Seafood Responsibly" (by Gretchen Fitzgerald, Spring 2004). Just as useful, I suspect would be a follow up top ten of "don'ts." Which species should we definitely avoid, and why? Criteria...

Environment Canada on [H.sub.2]O.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 22, 2004... I am always encouraged to see concerned groups making efforts to raise awareness of water issues. The [Water Hot Spots, supplement to Spring 2003, 29:2] poster's facts are compelling and will prompt your audience to question what governments...

Congratulations.(Letters)(Spring Gillard's book Diary of a Compost Hotline Operator won a 2004 Garden Globe Award of Achievement )(Brief Article)
June 22, 2004... Spring Gillard's book Diary of a Compost Hotline Operator (New Society Publishers) has won a 2004 Garden Globe Award of Achievement from the Garden Writers Association. An excerpt from the book appeared in the Summer 2003 issue of Alternatives...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
June 22, 2004... North Battleford, Saskatchewan, appeared incorrectly on the Water Hot Spots map printed as a supplement to the 29:2 Trusting the Tap issue of Alternatives. Although the city had been approached by US Filter to consider a private-public...

Greens seeking greens.(GreenSingles.com dating service for environmentally minded singles)(Related article: Looking)
June 22, 2004... NOT EVERYONE has an organic grocery store to hang out in all day, hoping to catch another's eye across the peaches and pears. And there are still places in Canada where the bars are so smoky indoor air quality activists fear to enter. So what...