This week:

• In the lead up to the October 10th Ontario Elections, TGM brings you The Environment Bosses, Ontario’s first cross-section of environment critics and Ministers from the various provincial parties. In part one of this feature, Jordan Poppenk interviews NDP Environment Critic Peter Tabuns about his accomplishments and vision from the opposition. Part two will feature Environment Minsiter Laurel Broten (Liberal), Frank de Jong (Green), and Laurie Scott (PC).
• Peter Stock continues his discussion with Local Food Plus founder and president Lori Stahlbrand, asking about how food retailers are going local, whether the local food movement is elitist, a recent study that debunks some food miles myths, and whether the public is really ready to abandon strawberries in January.

The headlines in brief:

• Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended a major climate change summit in Washington to promote a contentious international plan based on intensity targets;
• The Ontario Clean Air Alliance has released a study indicating that Ontario could shut its four high-polluting, coal-fired power plants as early as 2010 if it wished;
• A report has revealed that Ontario’s water mains leak as much as 30 per cent of the drinking water they carry;
• Nova Scotia has designated a new nature reserve to protect more of the area’s ecological features and wildlife;
• The Quebec government is planning to ban phosphates in dishwashing detergents to curb its growing blue-green algae problem;
• According to a federally funded panel of business and environmental experts, the Conservative government is overestimating the amount of greenhouse-gas reductions that will be achieved through its programs;
• Temperature records were shattered this week in Toronto, Halifax and other Eastern municipalities for the hottest fall day since record-keeping began in 1840;
• An international sting operation has broken up a smuggling ring and netted 27 tonnes of an endangered shellfish.

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TGM is supporting the 2007 Massey College Walter Gordon Symposium, which will be moderated by TGM host Jordan Poppenk. The title of the symposium is “Harnessing the Green Wave: Taking Action in an Era of Eco-Consciousness.”

The focus will be on what it takes to make environmental change happen, given the current swell in public interest in global warming. While the symposium will be played over a series of future episodes, listeners are encouraged to attend the lecture to participate in the event.

Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance by calling 416-978-6896.

A PSA promoting the symposium is being played on CIUT. You can download the promotion here (right click, save as…), or listen in the player.

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This week:

• In part one of a two-part series on local food, Green Life reporter Peter Stock speaks with Local Food Plus founder and CEO Lori Stahlbrand about why LFP got started and how local food gets certified.
• Theological correspondant Simon Watson speaks with Nawal Ammar, who addresses Islam and the environmental crisis from a social justice feminist perspective.
• Kevin Farmer speaks with Streets are for People about World Car Free Day, taking place this Saturday, Sept. 22 in Kensington Market.

The headlines in brief:

• The Federal Government has again slashed the budget of Environment Canada, reducing the budget of some programs to zero to pay for previously announced climate change initiatives;
• Legal action was launched against the Federal Government by Ecojustice Canada and Friends of the Earth Canada to force the government to fulfill its legally-binding Kyoto obligations;
• Environment Minister John Baird was greeted by a crowd of anti-nuclear protesters on a visit to a town-sponsored BBQ event in Hinton, Alberta;
• Amnesty International has released a report stating that the Grassy Narrows First Nation in northern Ontario has suffered repeated human-rights violations due to logging activities;
• Environment Canada meteorologists have confirmed that the Elie, Manitoba tornado of this summer reached F5 intensity, making it the strongest documented tornado in Canadian history;
• The National Energy Board has approved EnCana Corp.’s proposed Deep Panuke natural gas project off of Nova Scotia;
• Thousands of rig workers are being laid off in Western Canada as the drilling industry deals with a big slump in natural gas exploration;
• This Thursday marked international Car Free Day, with 1500 cities around the world participating;
• One of the scientists who discovered the Antarctic ozone hole says that more progress is needed to repair the hole;
• A doctor’s report indicates the widespread use of pesticides in banana plantations in French Caribbean islands has caused a health disaster;
• Ukrainian authorities have approved a giant steel covering for the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site;
• A Hungarian professor has asserted that biofuel production and use contributed to Hungary’s severe drought this year.

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TGM was featured in the Fall 2007 edition of University of Toronto Magazine. We’re grateful for the coverage and hope the article will encourage new listeners to tune into the program.

U of T magazine – Fall 2007 issue

This week:

• Kevin Farmer returns from vacation to join Jordan Poppenk for a “summer summary” of the season’s top ten news stories. The categories and winners are, in no particular order:
• Best-fought action by a community group: Community Monitoring Committee on Site 41 (Tiny Township).
• Most influential science: A study from Environment Canada that provided the first confirmation that global warming is already affecting world’s rainfall patterns.
• Biggest canary in the coal mine: Fires and flooding in Greece
• Most underrated environmental news story: Tainted pet food scandal
• Most unlikely environmental cheerleader: Pope Benedict
• Most brazen propaganda: unprecedented spending of $1.2 million of public funds by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) on the promotion of nuclear power.
• Most colourful urban incident: Alberta industrial-gas-in-the-dump-truck accident.
• Best legislation: Toronto City Council’s bill to double the city’s tree canopy by 2050 ($1 million has already been allocated).
• Worst environmental message: David Suzuki’s commercial about changing light bulbs.

The headlines in brief:

• The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board was the subject of a report from the province’s privacy commissioner indicating the regulator spied on landowners opposing its development plans;
• The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) met in Winnipeg this Wednesday to talk about air and water quality;
• According to a report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, development of the biofuel industry is pushing up food prices and damaging the environment;
• Parties to the 1987 Montreal Protocol will gather again in Montreal next week to hasten a ban on the use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons and protect the ozone layer;
• According to a new poll, half of Canadian adults indicate that they would give up 10 percent of their salary for a greener environment;
• The World Conservation Union has released its Red List of Threatened Species for 2007, showing that the rate of biodiversity loss is increasing.
• A district court in the US state of Vermont upheld a state law that
• called for major reductions in the amount of carbon dioxide released
• by road vehicles.
• The former head of an oil field services company said that he gave money to former Alaska House Speaker Pete Kott to help keep him in office and advocate for the construction of a natural gas pipeline.
• Cyprus is seeking to reduce household energy consumption by distributing free energy-saving lightbulbs.

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