Alternatives Journal articles from March 2000

Alternatives Journal archives from March 2000

JUST ANOTHER REASON.(the use of fossil fuels already has caused a concentration of greenhouse gases that are bringing about climate changes)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2000... The basic climate change facts are simple enough. Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the global atmosphere are much higher than they used to be. These concentrations are still rising as we burn our way through the global stock of fossil...

French Fries Fuel Greasemobile.(improved use of waste vegetable oils and grease as fuel)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2000... Your local chip stand may soon be offering a new drive-through service to satisfy your vehicle's appetite as well as your own. This is already an option for University of Toronto professor David Boocock. Last fall he powered a tractor with...

Ojibwe Hatchery Leads Sturgeon Recovery.(hopes for a lake sturgeon environmental recovery in the Rainy River, between Minnesota and Ontario)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2000... In a nondescript warehouse on the banks of the Rainy River, Joe Hunter is working to re-establish one of the strangest looking fish on earth. The lake sturgeon, acipenser fluvescens, which has existed since the age of dinosaurs belongs to...

Salmon Are Like the Wildebeest.(bears, taking salmon from streams, may help bring valuable nutrients to the forest areas of British Columbia)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2000... When British Columbia's black bears eat spawning salmon, they may be doing a lot more than just dining on one of Canada's finest fish. University of Victoria biologist Thomas E. Reimchen believes the bears and salmon play a crucial role in...

Pottery Glazes Over Ecological Jewel.(mineral exploration in the Shelburne Barrens section of Nova Scotia may harm the environment)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2000... Pottery glaze may seem to be an innocent product, but for conservationists in Nova Scotia, it has become a threat to one of the province's most outstanding natural areas. The provincial government has decided to allow mineral exploration...

CUBAN CREATIVITY.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2000... Embargoed islanders do more with less Cuba. Instantly, visions of rum, cigars, pineapples and sunshine do a salsa in our minds. But this romanticized image -- familiar to travellers lying on the pearly white coasts of Varadero -- is only a...

TAKING BACK THE COMMONS.
March 22, 2000... A grassroots movement in Newfoundland halts river privatization plans The people of Newfoundland and Labrador enjoy one of the longest-standing traditions of equal access to common property in North America. It is a vital part of the...

Proof or Consequences.
March 22, 2000... Skeptics say we should wait for proof before taking action on climate change. If they turn out to be right, we'll have saved a lot of bother. But if they're wrong [ldots] In the face of the uncertainty within the scientific community about...

THE SCIENCE.
March 22, 2000... Global temperature is on the rise and the dangers are real and significant Scientists have known for more than a century that trace gases in the earth's atmosphere provide a natural greenhouse effect that warms its surface by some...

WARPED TABLES.
March 22, 2000... The decision-making process used by Canada's climate change round tables has built-in biases Under the December 1997 Kyoto Protocol, Canada agreed to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases six percent below 1990 levels by 2010. [1] In...

ARDUOUS TREC.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2000... An urban wind energy co-op faces opposition from people who prefer their turbines elsewhere The Toronto Renewable Energy Coop (TREC) has been working for more than two years to establish North America's first urban renewable energy co-op....

GOOD NEWS.
March 22, 2000... The top ten climate stabilization initiatives in Canada By most measures, Canada overall response to the perils of climate change has been disappointing -- an embarrassment of windy commitments and broken promises. And yet there has been...

Mind the Gap.
March 22, 2000... The crucial gap in Canada is not the one between our actions and our Kyoto commitments, but between what we are doing and what we need to do CLIMATE CHANGE literature frequently refers to the gap between projected emissions of greenhouse...

GENERATING JOBS.
March 22, 2000... Sustainable energy initiatives deliver more jobs and lower greenhouse gas emissions Many politicians fear that active greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction efforts will entail severe economic downsizing, especially in the powerful energy sector,...

BACK FROM THE FUTURE.
March 22, 2000... Future scenarios can help us foresee where climate change is Leading and how we can choose a more sustainable path Concern over climate change has traditionally focussed on the scientific basis for claiming that humans are causing long-term...

WARMING TREND.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2000... Quebec community groups are helping low-income households save energy and cut home heating bills From September 1996 to June 1998, Option consommateurs, a Montrealbased community group dedicated to helping disadvantaged people, conducted a...

WAY TO GO!(Brief Article)
March 22, 2000... Getting kids to school the sustainable way Less than half of Canadian children now walk to school, and two-thirds of Canadian children do not meet average physical activity guidelines to achieve optimum growth and development. That said,...

Household Greenhouse Gas Emissions Questionnaire.
March 22, 2000... Too many people think there is little they can do to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the cars we drive and the households we operate are major emitters. When we combine these sources with the emissions incurred in manufacturing...

EAT GOOD, EAT WELL.(Review)
March 22, 2000... Real Food for a Change, Wayne Roberts, Rod MacRae and Lori Stahlbrand, Toronto: Random House of Canada, 1999. I used to stand in front of the organic produce section at the supermarket while my pocketbook and conscience wrestled for...

WHAT'S BEST FOR THEM.(Review)
March 22, 2000... Working with Indigenous Knowledge: A Guide for Researchers, Louise Grenier, Ottawa: International Development Research Centre, 1998. Measures of Success: Designing, Managing and Monitoring Conservation and Development Projects, Richard...

ECOGAMES FOR GROWN-UPS.(Review)
March 22, 2000... The Nature of Transformation: Environmental, Adult and Popular Culture, Darlene Clover, Shirley Follen, and Budd Hall, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998. Education is essential to living sustainably with the environment. While it...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
March 22, 2000... Cut the Meat I was kind of shocked and disappointed to see so much material in your winter 1999 [25:1] issue on food (three articles as part of your cover story), but so little on the negative environmental and health consequences of...

BIG FOOT IN CLOWN SHOES.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2000... The other night I listened again to an episode of David Suzuki's "From Naked Ape To Superspecies" series. Of the many important and inordinately depressing topics covered, the one that stuck in my mind was that of the "ecological footprint."...