Environment

Forbidden Film

Hillary Lindsay talks to Director Kevin Matthews about his latest documentary, Forbidden Forest

Multinational corporations and New Brunswick's forests

Nanotechnology and the Rebirth of Alchemy

Is nanotechnology moving too fast for us to assess the risks that might be involved? Yuill Herbert reports.

Are converging technologies laying a golden egg?

Biking Uphill: The Otesha Project

Buy Nothing Year

Matt Watkins' quest to want not, waste not

Sacrificing Belledune

New Brunswick community to host 100,000 tonnes of toxic soil

Canola Fields and Oil Fields

The Uncertain Future of Biodiesel

President Bush, See You in Court

Judging the cost of climate change

Cruise Control?

What images spring to mind when you imagine a northern cruise vacation? Crystal clear water, teaming with sea life; humpback whales, porpoise and dolphin frolicking for your viewing pleasure; or perhaps just the vastness of a clean, wild ocean untouched by human pollution. These images contradict the current reality of the cruise industry. A single cruise ship discharges approximately 1.3 million litres of waste water per day, more than the port city of Haines, Alaska.

Crop Control

The battle over genetically engineered (GE) foods raged on in the month of May, with uncertain victories declared on two fronts. On May 10th, biotech giant Monsanto announced that it was "deferring all further plans to introduce Roundup Ready wheat" into the marketplace. While opponents to GE foods were still celebrating, however, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favour of Monsanto on May 21st, in the controversial Schmeiser case. As the dust settles on fields across Canada, farmers, consumers, and activists are struggling to understand the implications of these decisions.

- by Hillary Lindsay -

Genetically modified crops threaten organic growers

Like Water for Profit

According to Amenga-Etego, the World Bank has left this critical component out of its plan for water delivery in Ghana. "Their formula does not include communities. Basically, they promote a development that transfers money from banks to governments to multinational corporations. The multinational corporations then deliver the resources to the people who have no say."

- by Hillary Lindsay -

An interview with Rudolph Amenga-Etego

Direct Action: Tre Arrow Arrested

On March 10th, a man calling himself Joshua Murray was arrested for shoplifting in a Victoria Canadian Tire outlet. According to police, fingerprints identified him as Tre Arrow, an Oregon environmental activist listed on the FBI's most wanted list with a reward of $25 000 for information leading to his arrest.
- by Dru Oja Jay -

FBI labels prominent anti-logging activist as "eco-terrorist"

A New Era in Conservation

The Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI), launched at the end of last year, is a common vision for the largest conservation agreement in the world. It proposes a plan to protect approximately 265 million hectares of forest and to manage a further area of equal size according to stringent ecological standards of development.
- by Yuill Herbert -

Citigroup Comes Clean: World's Largest Bank Adopts Landmark Environmental Policy

In a surprise announcement on January 22nd, Citigroup signaled its intention to adopt a comprehensive environmental policy that even the company's staunchest critics are calling "the most significant environmental commitment to date in the financial services sector."

- by Ted Rutland -

More Than a Memo?

Legislating the integrity of British Columbia's parks
After spending decades establishing its world class park system, British Columbia may be leaving its wilderness up to expressions of good will in lieu of legislation. On Thursday, January 22, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the BC and Yukon Chamber of Mines, the Mining Association of British Columbia, and the Council of Tourism Associations of British Columbia. The memorandum is not binding, though.
- by Kate Kennedy -

Legislating the integrity of British Columbia's parks

Mustard Gas and Seismic Blasts

The threat of chemical dumps in Atlantic waters
The coastal waters of Atlantic Canada have been polluted with a legacy of chemical, biological and nuclear weaponry. The primary culprits include the Canadian, American and British militaries, which have obsessed over our safety from alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, while the communities and eco-systems of the Atlantic region have been under attack from the very same weapons of mass destruction since the 1940's. Now, with corporations being given permission to do seismic testing in Atlantic waters, the impact of these dumpsites may be compounded.
- by Pierre Loiselle -

The threat of chemical dumps in Atlantic waters

Growth at Any Cost

"NAFTA on steroids" a site for protest and paramilitary-style police action

On November 20th, behind five ranks of riot police, a 10 foot high reinforced fence, water cannons, and light armoured vehicles, ministers representing thirty-four countries agreed to a "lite" version of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). - by Yuill Herbert -

“NAFTA on steroids” a site for protest and paramilitary-style police action

Harvest Goon

Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture: Review
Our connection to the environment is perhaps most apparent when we sit down at the dinner table to eat a meal. That "we eat our daily bread without being conscious of the massive loss of topsoil, diversity and farm communities involved in its production" testifies to North American's disconnection from the land that sustains us. It is this disconnection that is allowing corporations to hide the very real and terrible impacts of the industrialization of our food supply, and it is this disconnection that Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture addresses.

Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture: Review

Cheam People Shut Down Railway and Halt Logging

At about 4 pm on October 2nd two trucks pulled to a halt while straddling the railway tracks that bisect the Cheam Reserve. A small crowd, including members of the Cheam Nation and supporters from local communities, gathered around the trucks forming a human blockade against the trains. Earlier that day, elder and former Chief June Quipp had warned Canadian National Railways that trans-Canadian train travel would be halted, and that she was good on her word.
- by Yuill Herbert -

A saga of resistance

The Swoosh Swoops into Mountain Equipment Co-op

Nike AGC cross trainers arrived on the shelves of Mountain Equipment Co-op's only Atlantic Canadian outlet this August. Canada's largest cooperative is confident in Nike's commitment to greener products, sustainable practices and international labour codes. "They're not perfect, but are certainly putting lots of effort and resources into changing their ways," says MEC's CEO Peter Robinson.- by Norma Jean MacPhee -

North America in the Dark: the Blackout in Context

On August 15th, 50 million people in the United States and Ontario found themselves in the dark, but many argue that North Americans have been 'in the dark' about the global context of their energy consumption for far too long. The 'biggest blackout in history' can shed some light on the inequalities of global energy consumption. The course that policy makers chart in the future must stretch beyond blackouts to looming problems that face all societies across the globe.

- by Yuill Herbert -

Is Climate Change Burning up British Columbia?

Are the forest fires in Western Canada part of climate change? Scientists say that it is likely, and environmental groups are urging Canadians to begin making the connection between the burning forests and the country's rising greenhouse gas emissions. - by Yuill Herbert -

Anti-Globalization's Disappearing Act

Hundreds of "Green Zone" protesters arrested during WTO ministerial in Montreal

From July 28th to 30th, finance ministers from 25 countries and the European Union, gathered in Montreal for a 'mini-ministerial' of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Despite the declaration of Canada's Trade Minister, Pierre Pettigrew, that "the anti-globalization" movement had "completely disappeared," thousands gathered in Montreal to express their opposition to the WTO. A day later, it seemed that Pierre Pettigrew had been right; hundreds of activists had indeed 'disappeared' from the city's streets. Over the course of two days, police arrested 342 people, many through what NDP leader Jack Layton called "indiscriminate" mass arrests.
- by Hillary Lindsay -

Hundreds of "Green Zone" protesters arrested during WTO ministerial in Montreal

Dammed if you do...

HydroQuebec plans diversion of multiple rivers near James Bay

As part of continuing hydroelectric development on James Bay, HydroQuebec has begun the paper work, table talk, and preparatory construction to dam and divert the Rupert River. During a consultation meeting in the Cree community of Chisibi on June 11th, community members spoke out against a plan and process that they feel fails to respect the environment and traditional knowledge of the community. - by Carole Ferrari -

HydroQuebec plans diversion of multiple rivers near James Bay

Dragged into Court

A small NGO in Halifax is taking the Canadian government to court. The Ecology Action Centre (EAC) is accusing the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) of violating its own legislation to protect fish habitat. DFO's decision to reopen George's Bank, an important fishing ground in Atlantic Canada, to dragger boats, without first conducting an environmental assessment, spurred the EAC to take legal action in 2001. The case is expected to come before a judge this summer. - by Hillary Lindsay -

Ecology Action Centre challenges DFO on dragnet fishing policy

Whose Forests?

The transformation of public forests into clear-cuts and tree farms is nothing new in Canada. A government guarantee to corporations that this will continue to be the case is new. Provincial governments in both New Brunswick and British Columbia are considering policies that would effectively eliminate the public's control of public lands and place it in the hands of the forest industry. The stage is set for corporations to make a grab for control of Crown forests. According to the Supreme Court of Canada, Crown lands are held in trust by the federal and provincial governments for the benefit of all people, including those not yet born. - by Hillary Lindsay -

Maintaining habitats, establishing protected areas or community forests and protecting watersheds could require that government compensate corporations, if new agreements are signed.