SHOULD POLICY MAKERS USE A CHECKLIST when designing public policies? The authors of MINDSPACE think they should.
Best Practices
Footprint In Mouth
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Web Exclusive: Life Cycle Analysis in Action
We’ve collected a few videos that explain life cycle analysis and how it’s applied – from product design generally to specific examples of paper, hand dryers and cars. We found a mix of animated and lecture-style videos, and even one for the kids! Learn how LCA reveals more ways to […]
Lifecycle Analysis Answers the Christmas Tree Debate: Real or Fake?
It’s a simple concept that is rarely utilized in Canada today: incorporating lifecycle analysis (LCA) into planning and design. Evaluating the full impacts of a project or product throughout construction, operational use and eventual decommissioning/disposal would go a long way to promoting sustainable development in Canada. Unfortunately, many planning decisions […]
Community-Owned Energy
Solar panels, wind turbines and hydroelectric dams are not cheap. Countries can afford them, but national ownership does not tend to foster local pride. Individuals, organizations or corporations can purchase smaller systems, but they need a bunch of money up front. Communities, on the other hand, may be just […]
Editorial: Messy, But Crucial
IN THE MID 1908s, I was involved in one of those touchy-feely weekend retreats along with individuals from Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB). Among other things, we completed the Myers-Briggs personality test.
Canada’s Roadmap to Becoming a Resource Superpower
Canada largely owes its economic development to natural resources, the vast and (theoretically) sustainable resources like lumber, fish, minerals, agriculture and energy in the form of oil and natural gas. Borrowing liberally from Harold Innis’s iconic The Fur Trade in Canada, hewers of wood and drawers of water we were, […]
In Defence of Science Panel
THE ALTERNATIVES TEAM travelled from Kitchener, Ontario, to Ottawa on Tuesday, September 25 to join the on-going discussion about the role of science in protecting Canada’s environment – and the well-being of all Canadians. We hosted a panel discussion, “In Defence of Science”, at the University of Ottawa, with the support of […]
Alternatives to Ottawa
The Alternatives team travelled from Kitchener, Ontario, to Ottawa on Tuesday, September 25 to join the on-going discussion about the role of science in protecting Canada’s environment – and the health of all Canadians – and to promote our current issue, which investigates some of 2012’s most controversial environmental debates.
What’s the Big Idea? Substitution
QUICK, NOW. What’s worse: a punch in the nose or a poke in the eye? An ugly divorce or a year in the slammer? Deep drilling in the Gulf of Mexico or tar-sands mining in Alberta? Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice has an opinion on the latter. In a statement […]
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