I have faith in the future because I believe Martin Luther King Jr.’s observation that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’– Rob Shirkey, Our Horizon
Resilience
Optimistic for a Change
“WHAT IS IT about activists that they can’t even be optimistic for one day after a whole decade?” The disgust and disappointment on my 16 year olds’ face is somewhat heartbreaking as he pours cereal the morning after the Canadian election and surfs the comments on my Facebook page. I can […]
Harvesting Community Pride
In the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver, a community is buzzing. Hives for Humanity is a non-profit organization based in Vancouver. They work to enhance the communities where their bee hives reside in by connecting people to honeybees and native bees, gardens and communities through the creation of opportunities. Their […]
The Optimistic Activist
“What is it about activists that they can’t even be optimistic for one day after a whole decade?” The disgust and disappointment on my 16 year olds’ face is somewhat heartbreaking as he pours cereal the morning after the Canadian election and surfs the comments on my Facebook page. I […]
Accidental Ecosystems
The Belarus government created the Polesie State Radiation Ecological Reserve in Belarus in the aftermath of humanity’s worst nuclear power calamity at Chernobyl. After a massive radioactive cloud descended on the forests, farmlands and villages dotting the landscape, almost 2,200 square kilometres were set aside in 1988 to protect wildlife. […]
The Back of the Turtle
A conversation between two characters highlights the main concerns in Thomas King’s new novel: the destruction of the environment and the stories told about these catastrophes. In response to Gabriel’s list of environmental disasters, Nicholas proclaims, “It’s well and proper to write what must be seen and to speak what […]
Climate Change Already Makes Us Sick
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION has identified three major areas in which climate change may impact global health: waterborne and foodborne diseases; malnutrition and food availability; and vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, which is spreading as mosquitoes follow rising temperatures to new locations.
Bouncing Back: How Resilience Leads to Better Health
Western medicine has made great strides in disease control in the last century. Diagnostic technologies and surgical procedures have advanced. Life expectancy has increased dramatically in most parts of the world. Antibiotics, improvements in sanitation and hygiene, as well as vaccines, have eradicated or reduced many of the world’s deadliest […]
Toronto Fish Health Improving – But You Can’t Eat Them Yet
The latest study from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and the University of Toronto analyzed government data on mercury, dioxin/furans and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in local and migratory fish populations from 1975 to 2011.
Building Better Cities
THE STORM THAT HIT Toronto on July 8, 2013 dumped 126 millimetres of rainfall in a two-hour period, which is more rainfall than the city typically gets in the entire month of July. Severe flash floods paralyzed public transit and stranded thousands of commuters. Power outages affected at least 300,000 […]
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