Author: emily

Mariner 9 by Kelly Richardson on A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Form With Function

Kelly Richardson All good art makes us see the world around us in a new light. Over the last few years, I’ve been increasingly interested in the function of science fiction, which allows us to experience what life might be like in the future. Scientists and futurologists can speculate, but […]

Over 100 people were arrested at an anti-tar sands action in Ottawa Sept 26

Rethinking Resistance

AS THE PUSH FOR TAR SANDS PIPELINES ESCALATES and the legal channels for fighting them become exhausted, some environmentalists are reconsidering the value of civil disobedience, which Sierra Club Canada (SCC) executive director John Bennett describes as “breaking an unjust law or breaking a law to draw attention to an […]

Eric Rumble A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Editorial: The Unspeakable

NEIL YOUNG cut a record called On The Beach nearly 40 years ago. For half of that time period, my own appetite for music has been scrambled and insatiable. But lately I’ve been coming back to that record’s title track, drawn by a simple (but gigantic) lyric: The world is […]

Editorial: Read Green

A RECENT headline in The Globe and Mail reads, “Canadians won’t quit on the environment.” Indeed, in a February poll conducted by Ipsos Reid, over half of the people surveyed (57 per cent) indicated that Canada should take immediate action on climate change, even if it means larger deficits. Results […]

Pink Greens

The first thing that I notice as I enter the 519 Community Centre on Church St. – unofficial headquarters of Toronto’s queer community – is the men. Tonight, on a frosty December evening, the recently formed group Ecoqueers is hosting its first major public event, a panel presentation called “Greening […]

Embodied Energy

WASTE DISCUSSIONS have traditionally focused on the back-end management of garbage: the significant economic and environmental implications of finding safe disposal sites, for example.  But the obvious often escapes us – that garbage is made up of basic materials (metal, wood, plastic, glass, etc.) that require energy to obtain, process and […]

Unplugged

EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY requires producers – not taxpayers or the government – to safely manage their products from the cradle to the grave (or from cradle to cradle). Because it allows product waste to be managed separately from the municipal waste stream, extended producer responsibility (EPR) saves municipal and taxpayer […]