Alternatives articles from July 1994

Alternatives archives from July 1994

The end of the world as we know it. (complexity of the ecosystem) (Editorial)
July 1, 1994... I can tell you that James Kay and Eric Schneider don't look like subversives. So far as I know they don't behave much like subversives either. But the way they think, and encourage the rest of us to think, is a different matter altogether. If...

When Irish lice are smiling.... (sea lice problems for Irish salmon farming industry)(Harms' Way) (Column)
July 1, 1994... Out here on the West Coast, some sectors of the population (by which I mean the large, burly sectors that hang around the wharfs, and the gaunt, vegetarian sectors that hang out at environmental rallies) are getting nervous about fish farming....

Port Elgin saves water and dollars. (Port Elgin, Ontario; water conservation)(includes related article about metering)
July 1, 1994... The southern Ontario town of Port Elgin has discovered the economic joys of conservation. By initiating a water saving programme costing $550,000, the community eliminated the need for a $5.5 million expansion of its water treatment plant. ...

Researchers spot few leopard frogs. (loss of population)
July 1, 1994... The northern leopard frog, once the most widely distributed frog in North America, has experienced a devastating population crash. In Alberta alone, the frog has disappeared from at least half of its former territory, experiencing a loss of...

Patenting of human material postponed. (patent on cell from Guaymi Indian woman withdrawn)
July 1, 1994... The US Secretary of Commerce has withdrawn an application to patent a human cell of a Guaymi Indian woman from Panama. The US Department of Commerce claims that it is the inventor of this human cell, which creates an antibody to a...

Visions of nature and society; a history of the ecosystem concept.
July 1, 1994... In recent decades the ecosystem concept has guided ecological research while informing discussion of environmental issues ranging from land-use planning to Great Lakes water quality. Generally, the concept signifies the study of living species...

Non-human nature and the ecosystem approach; the limits of anthropocentrism in Great Lakes management.
July 1, 1994... The Limits of Anthropocentrism in Great Lakes Management For some, the ecosystem approach bespeaks an attitude of respect towards the earth and its inhabitants and humility regarding human undertakings. It is a management philosophy founded...

Disharmony in the Great Lakes basin; institutional jurisdictions frustrate the ecosystem approach.
July 1, 1994... North America may be pictured by two types of maps. The first, a biogeophysical map, displays the land forms, hydraulic systems and vegetation. The second, a political map, outlines jurisdictional boundaries, transportation networks and human...

Embracing complexity: the challenge of the ecosystem approach.
July 1, 1994... As environmental degradation and change continues, decision makers and managers feel significant pressure to rectify the situation. Scientists, in turn, find themselves under pressure to set out simple and clear rules for proper ecosystem...

In the Absence of the Sacred: The Failure of Technology and the Survival of the Indian Nations.
July 1, 1994... Given the popularity of personal computers, virtual reality, Star Trek and other such phenomena, one would think that the perception of technology as elixir is all-pervasive in Western society. Challenges to this understanding of technology and...

Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology.
July 1, 1994... Given the popularity of personal computers, virtual reality, Star Trek and other such phenomena, one would think that the perception of technology as elixir is all-pervasive in Western society. Challenges to this understanding of technology and...

Technology and Choice.
July 1, 1994... Given the popularity of personal computers, virtual reality, Star Trek and other such phenomena, one would think that the perception of technology as elixir is all-pervasive in Western society. Challenges to this understanding of technology and...

UnderRAPs: Towards Grassroots Ecological Democracy in the Great Lakes Basin.
July 1, 1994... Innovative experiments in planning for ecological rehabilitation, RAPs (remedial action plans), have been under development in the Great Lakes Basin of North America since 1985. The RAP process is designed to identify and carry out specific...

Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity Revisited: The Unraveling of the American Dream.
July 1, 1994... Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity Revisited, written by William Ophuls and A. Stephen Boyan, Jr., updates an earlier edition by Ophuls published in 1977. The authors address the diversity, seriousness and causes of environmental issues. They...

On mallard tails and blueberry trails. (housing developments using natural scenes to sell homes)(Podium) (Column)
July 1, 1994... There's a new housing development on the outskirts of London, Ontario, that recently caught my eye. You know the type of place. A long-abandoned farm field that backs onto a muddy creek is bulldozed flat and, in no time, a couple of dozen...