Latest posts in Science Matters
Speak out for the environment and democracy on June 4
Environmental and other organizations are joining with Canadians from all walks of life for Black Out Speak Out, launched on May 7 and culminating in a website blackout June 4.
(Credit: ecojustice.ca)
Canada would be a different place without our 80,000 registered charities dedicated to everything from health to economic policy to the environment. We'd be much poorer without the two-million employees and millions of volunteers who devote their time to causes that strengthen our nation.
Recent efforts by the federal government and its backers in media and industry front groups like Ethical Oil to demonize and silence legitimate organizations ignore the important role charities play in Canada. That's why environmental and other organizations are joining with Canadians from all walks of life for Black Out Speak Out (blackoutspeakout.ca or silenceonparle.ca en français), launched on May 7 with ads in the Globe and Mail, La Presse, and Ottawa's Hill Times and culminating in a website blackout June 4.
The fundamental failure of environmentalism
With increasing catastrophes like oil and chemical spills environmentalists pressed for laws to protect air, water, farmland, and endangered species. (Credit: marinephotobank via Flickr)
Environmentalism has failed. Over the past 50 years, environmentalists have succeeded in raising awareness, changing logging practices, stopping mega-dams and offshore drilling, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But we were so focused on battling opponents and seeking public support that we failed to realize these battles reflect fundamentally different ways of seeing our place in the world. And it is our deep underlying worldview that determines the way we treat our surroundings.
Continue reading »Environmental rules should be better, not easier
Changes announced in the recent federal budget limit the ability of ordinary Canadian citizens to have a say in matters of national importance. (Credit: - POD - via Flickr)
Few people would argue against making environmental review processes and regulations more efficient — as long as they're effective. But changes announced in the recent federal budget don't do that. Instead, they make it easier for the federal government and industry to push through projects that could harm the environment and the economy, and limit the ability of ordinary Canadian citizens to have a say in matters of national importance.
Based on the budget announcement you'd think delays and duplication in the environmental review process are the biggest issues. They're not. As the Pembina Institute points out, the equivalent of one major oil sands mine has been approved in each of the past five years, and the pace is increasing. Some people, including former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed, suggest we'd benefit by slowing down — for economic and environmental reasons. When there are setbacks in the review process, they're often caused by industry's reluctance to provide timely data or by a lack of capacity within the government itself. The latter is getting worse as funding for basic monitoring and enforcement is subject to further cuts.
Continue reading »Green vision offers cure for plant blindness
Local efforts to restore wetlands, forests, parks, and public spaces provide great opportunities to get hands-on outside time and boost your community's natural wealth. (Credit: Matthew Burpee via Flickr)
A colleague told me his toddler was wandering through a neighbourhood park picking up twigs and sticks, brandishing them as tools for digging, poking, and tapping. Suddenly the boy stopped and pointed excitedly to the canopy of branches above. "Look papa. Sticks come from trees!"
Mentally reconnecting fallen branches to their home on the trunk is obvious to an adult, but many of us have lost our profound sense of wonder about the interconnected web of life that surrounds us. This is especially true when it comes to the plant world.
Gulf of St. Lawrence is important to Canadian identity
We must invest in science-based research and strengthen our knowledge before doing anything that could jeopardize the health of the Gulf's ecosystems. (Credit: Jgbernard via Flickr)
We Canadians love the wilderness. Whether we're talking to visitors here or people we meet in our travels, our conversations almost always end up about our great outdoors and pristine natural spaces. Caring about the environment is one of the ways we define ourselves.
But how good are we at protecting what's at the core of our identity?
Despite national parks that act as natural wildlife reserves, and bold policies adopted by some of our most progressive provinces to combat climate change, the fact remains that our environmental regulatory system is being downgraded by a federal government that gives some industrial interests priority over the environment and the overall long-term economy that depends on it.
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