Responsible Business

Designing Suburban Futures \ June Williamson

Designing Suburban Futures: New Models from Build a Better Burb

Suburban sprawl has defined much of the last half century of North American development. Suburban design and use have changed continuously throughout this period and are still evolving as suburban retrofit projects become ever more common.

MS Turanor Planet Solar A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Hopeful Monstrosities: A Historical Perspective on the MS Turanor Planet Solar

On July 13, 1908, huge crowds gathered in the streets of various small towns and villages in Germany to witness the spectacle of LZ 4, one of the first airships, flying overhead. The airship, which was on a proving flight from Lake Constance to Mainz, was greeted with cheering crowds and […]

bees neonicotinoids A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

37 Million Dead Bees Bring Strong Warnings

Honeybees have been part of both our agriculture and our mythology for millennia. From Mesopotamia to Maya bees have been depicted as symbols of eloquence and prophecy. The Delphic oracle was often called the Bee, and the eloquent Plato, Pindar and Saint Ambrose were all said to have had their […]

grass briefcase corporate sustainability A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Is Big Business the Solution to Environmental Problems?

As a graduate of the University of Waterloo’s Environment and Business program, I was taught that by going green businesses can create value for themselves while benefiting society and the planet. While there are certainly many publications on this subject, it is interesting to look at how far corporate citizenship […]

Carbon Rush film review A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Carbon Rush

There are more than 5,000 carbon-offset projects registered by the United Nations and funded by multinational companies that try to compensate for their environmental impacts. Director Amy Miller details how eucalyptus plantations, hydroelectric dams and other projects in developing countries can violate basic human rights, cause further ecological damage and […]

LIFECYCLES

Lifecycle Analysis Success Stories

A note about terminology: Lifecycle approach is a “systematic way of looking at the life of a product, technology, or process” allowing people or companies to measure and reduce costs to our economy and environment (NRTEE). This differs from lifecycle analysis (or assessment), which is “a technique to assess environmental impacts associated wi

Fair Trade book review A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Fair Trade: A Human Journey

With 350 riveting images, Québec-based photojournalist Éric St.-Pierre takes us into the lives of coffee growers drying beans on jute-covered tables in Ethiopia, flower workers wrapping roses in cardboard boxes in Ecuador, and rice farmers sowing seeds in paddy fields in Thailand. St.-Pierre doesn’t hide the harshness of their lives. […]