Author: emily

What’s the Big Idea? Balance

BALANCE IS HELPFUL for bicyclists, knives and the Flying Zambezi Brothers’ high-wire act. For many other purposes it is overrated. For sustainability, it’s a mistake. The idea often sounds good, in a low-expectations way. Balance is preferable to falling down, spilling the beer, or becoming mentally unhinged. Balance of power […]

Pomeo & Gruliet

Two species, both alike in dignity In warming Arctic, where we lay our scene From dwindling ice to heated landWhere carbon theft makes habitat uncleanA pair of star-crossed lovers test their lifeAnd misadventures come perilous to eachDo make a child … A glooming peace in morning?Uncertain future at noon?Go hence and […]

Shower with a Friend

FOR MOST CANADIANS, energy efficiency is synonymous with light bulbs. Switching to compact fluorescents might be simple and inexpensive, but it is not the only cost-effective way to reduce energy use in homes, businesses and utilities. Reducing water use, especially the hot stuff that flows from showers and cleans our […]

Photo: Micheal Desjardins \ Greepeace.org question mark crop circle A\J

Field of Nightmares

IN ITS QUEST to dominate the planet’s agricultural biotechnology sector, Monsanto’s business model has produced significant collateral damage. Generations of farming families in South America, India and other robustly developing regions have been devastated by the US-based multinational’s product line, namely its flagship herbicide Roundup and the patented seeds that […]

not listening Fotolia_47692927_© dreamerve - Fotolia

Belief is Biased

SOME OF THE MOST important controversies we face today are those with a scientific underpinning – but a public consequence. Anthropogenic climate change, GMOs and nuclear power are among them. The curious feature of these so-called “scientific” controversies is that most members of the public take a stance, pro or […]

ELA boat on lake, foggy A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Schindler’s Pissed

DAVID SCHINDLER is one of Canada’s most influential environmental scientists, both at home and abroad. Between 1968 and 1989, he directed the Experimental Lakes Area research facility in Ontario, leading experiments on freshwater ecosystems that advanced our understanding of the effects of nutrient enrichment, acid rain and climate change. An […]