Alternatives Journal articles from March 1998

Alternatives Journal archives from March 1998

Upside down logic. (voluntary initiatives' effect on environmental improvement)(Editorial)
March 22, 1998... Industrial interests and governments in Canada and elsewhere are busily promoting voluntary initiatives as the hot new way to win greener corporate behaviour. We have reason to be skeptical. Volunteerism suggests altruistic commitment to the...

Electricity competition plans err on air pollution. (Ontario Hydro to be divided into three)
March 22, 1998... Clean air advocates fear Ontario's moves to a competitive electricity market will have negative health and environmental effects. Last November, the provincial government released plans to split Ontario Hydro into three pieces, ending the...

The 32-hour cure. (France's left-green coalition government to shorten work week from 39 to 35 hours)
March 22, 1998... Shortening the work week would create more jobs and foster sustainability The left-green coalition government of France announced last October that it would shorten the work week from 39 to 35 hours by the year 2000. Its goal is to create jobs...

More damnation in Quebec. (Hydro-Quebec's plans to divert more rivers to generate electricity)
March 22, 1998... Hydro-Qurbec plans to divert eight more rivers to generate additional electricity for the US HQ has recently begun to refuse to give out information concerning its water reserves on the grounds that this "commercial information" may be useful...

Fishing for control. (Canada's fishery-dependent communities strive to gain control over fishing resources)
March 22, 1998... Former enemies join forces as BC coastal communities seek to manage their own fisheries When the West Coast Sustainability Association formed a few years ago, it was one of the first times native and non-native fishers on the West Coast formed...

Dofasco deal cuts pollution and controls. (Dofasco Inc's signing of voluntary agreement to manage toxic substances effectively)
March 22, 1998... The Hamilton steel company's voluntary agreement with environment authorities may reduce toxic discharges, but also set an undesirable precedent Canadian steel giant Dofasco Incorporated has entered into a voluntary agreement that surpasses...

The day the NGOs walked out. (Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics multistakeholder process' lack of support from non-governmental organizations)(Cover Story)
March 22, 1998... The ARET project shows how voluntary pollution prevention may fail unless government ensures effective public involvement Lacking public credibility, the ARET challenge languishes in policy purgatory. When the representatives of environment,...

Voluntary corporate initiatives for environmental improvement. (six categories of voluntary initiatives)
March 22, 1998... Will companies do voluntarily what they grumble about doing under legal obligation? Governments d private sector interests in Canada and elsewhere seem to think so. In the last few years they increasingly have turned to initiatives that encourage...

Who killed CIPSI? (Canadian Industry Packaging Stewardship Initiative)
March 22, 1998... Was it really six business associations using the blunt instrument of a three paragraph letter? An early voluntary initiative dies in the hands of a government devoted to voluntarism. On October 30, 1995 six industry associations sharing no...

Sour gas, bitter relations. (dispute between Lubicon Cree tribe and Unocal Canada natural gas industry)
March 22, 1998... Poor communication between Unocal and the Lubicon Cree about sour gas risks fostered distrust rather than collaboration In spite of the rhetoric, communication about risks still often assumes that the experts have all the answers, and the...

Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use.
March 22, 1998... Reviewed by Brian Milani Most discussion of the economics of sustainable development today is still largely focused on the costs of clean-up, pollution control or product substitution. By contrast, this new report to the Club of Rome is a...

Eco-City Dimensions: Healthy Communities, Healthy Planet.
March 22, 1998... Reviewed by Henry Kock Mark Roseland quotes David Engwicht, author of Reclaiming Our Cities and Towns (1993): "The most important frontier in the ecological revolution will be our cities." The context is crucially important: "Planners and...

The Earthscan Reader in Business and the Environment.
March 22, 1998... Reviewed by Cecilia Rocha Most books on business and the environment are geared to provide business managers with detailed guidance on how to become green by adopting successful environmental strategies. The Earthscan Reader is not among such...

Earth for Sale: Reclaiming Ecology in the Age of Corporate Greenwash.
March 22, 1998... Reviewed by Catriona Sandilands "In recent years," writes US social ecologist and activist Brian Tokar, "there has been an intensely polarized straggle for the very heart and soul of the environmental movement." On the one hand, many...