Scott Hansen speaks with University of Toronto civil engineering chair Dr. Barry Adams about wastewater and stormwater runoff in Toronto (1 billion litres of it per day, or per inch).
Kevin Farmer and Jordan Poppenk speak about Canada’s coming lighbulb ban, and the new federal Conservative Green Plan.
The headlines in brief:
The federal conservatives have released their long-awaited green plan, with weakened emissions reductions of 20 percent of 2006 levels by 2020;
The federal government declared a country-wide ban on the sale of inefficient light bulbs by 2012;
Ontario will bring one of North America’s largest solar farms online by 2010;
Ontario’s environment commissioner says people’s health and the environment are at risk because of ongoing fiscal cutbacks at the provincial government;
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would restrict trash imports from Canada and other countries
Five US Senators have penned a letter demanding more information about a Bush administration plan to alter the Endangered Species Act.
3M turned over a report that suggests its scientists were worried about chemicals in products such as Teflon more than two decades ago.
The government of Brazil will split up its environmental protection agency into two separate units, which may speed up the licensing of projects such as dams and pipelines in the Amazon.
You can download the show here (right click, save as…), or listen in the player ** Note: player will close if you surf away from the page**
University of Toronto Forestry Professor Sandy Smith speaks with science correspondent Sapna Sharma about the impact of invasive species on Canada’s forests, coming as Alberta has declared a state of emergency over a widespread pine beetle infestation.
Simon Watson speaks with Tim Leduc from York University’s Environmental Studies program about Inuit communities and knowledge about the issues surrounding global warming.
.
.
.
The headlines in brief:
The provincial government announced Wednesday that Ontario will ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs by 2012;
A new study says zebra mussels may be changing the chemistry of water in the Great Lakes, spurring the growth of potentially toxic bacteria;
Ontario has suffered mysterious collapse of up to 90 percent of its bee colonies in some regions, reflecting a spreading and unexplained collapse worldwide;
According to a leaked document, Conservative government officials were recently considering weakening the promised cuts to cut greenhouse gas emissions;
Environment Minister John Baird presented an apocalyptic economical scenario of Kyoto Protocol compliance to the Senate environment committee;
Two NDP MPs have spoken out against Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, indicating that she should not be allowed to take part in the leaders’ debates;
Former US Vice President Al Gore will give a presentation on the effects and solutions for global warming at an invitation-only business event in Toronto next week;
For the first time in history, the UN security council met to discuss the assertion that climate change may be a potential cause of future wars;
The UN has backed a seed storage plan worth 37.5 million dollars to safe-guard crops vital for developing nations from global warming and other threats;
Scientific American reports that the number of amphibians is declining at astonishing rates, even in protected areas;
Leaked US documents confirm suspicions that power plants have been side stepping their responsibility to incorporate pollution control measures during plant upgrades for nearly three decades;
Home Depot is set to introduce the largest-yet green labeling program in American retailing.
You can download the show here (right click, save as…), or listen in the player ** Note: player will close if you surf away from the page**
** Whether you’re a live or web listener, your support is needed to keep Canada’s only all-environmental news hour on the air. Help us get green information out there: click here to pledge or call toll-free at 1-888-204-8976. Be sure to specify your donation is for The Green Majority. **
This week:
We run our very important spring fundraising drive. CIUT Program Manager Ken Stowar goes behind the scenes at TGM with team members Letitia Henville, Rosemary Mosco, Kevin Farmer and Jordan Poppenk.
The headlines in brief:
As part of a rare non-partisan agreement, the Liberal party will not run a candidate against Green Party leader Elizabeth May in the next federal election, and May will endorse and not run a Green candidate against Liberal leader Stéphane Dion;
CN Rail offices were searched by federal authorities as part of a major multi-agency investigation into a 2005 train derailment that spilled 41,000 litres of caustic soda into the Cheakamus River;
Alberta has declared a state of emergency over an attack of pine beetles on the province’s forests;
Environment Canada reports that only two per cent of batteries are being recycled in Canada;
Environment Minister Patterk Netser of the government of Nunavut is protesting the U.S. plan to list polar bears as a threatened species;
Canada is joining the international Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking;
The White House withdrew its nominations for two key positions at the Environmental Protection Agency in the face of strong congressional opposition;
At least four people have died in Uganda at a protest against plans to
turn over rainforest land to a sugar company;
There is new hope in the shrinking of the Aral Sea, which the UN has dubbed as the worst man-made environmental disaster;
Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has called on his Cabinet and local authorities to discuss the degradation of Galapagos ecosystems.
You can download the show here (right click, save as…), or listen in the player ** Note: player will close if you surf away from the page**
Jordan Poppenk talks environmental politics with Green Party LeaderElizabeth May at the University of Toronto’s Sustainable Energy Fair. Please note that The Green Majority is not politically affiliated and that our name is inspired by polls indicating that a majority of Canadians want to live a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle.
The clean air draft legislation has come back from its parliamentary committee, and while federal Conservatives are not happy with it, they are now forced to scrap it or allow it to pass;
A study by Canada’s Library of Parliament suggests that Canada’s $1.5 billion investment in biofuels will do little to cut dependence on fossil fuels or reduce greenhouse emissions;
Toronto officials are drafting plans to charge an annual garbage collection fee to residents based on the size of each household’s garbage collection containers;
The Ontario government is planning to join an emissions cutting program in the U.S. known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative;
The tax laws that affect properties with renewal energy projects in Ontario have been brought under scrutiny by The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation;
A coalition of environmental groups led by Sierra Legal has launched legal action in Canada’s Federal Court to overturn recent regulatory approval of Imperial Oil’s Kearl Oil Sands project in northern Alberta;
A new Canadian study indicates that the near extinction of several species of sharks is causing a dangerous ripple effect through the marine food chain;
The US Supreme court ruled that the Bush administration failed to follow the requirements of the Clean Air Act when it refused to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles;
A new opinion poll says that over two thirds of the world’s people are worried about climate change;
Scientists have identified a new danger from climate change: warming seas may lead to increased poisonous algae, making our seafood more toxic.
You can download the show here (right click, save as…), or listen in the player ** Note: player will close if you surf away from the page**
This week:
