We feature a lecture by NOW Magazine columnist Adria Vasil, who presents her views on the ins and outs of getting by in good health and good ecological conscience in this age of dodgy consumer products. A compilation of her weekly column is available in her recently published book, Ecoholic.
Technical producer Alex Nursall joins host Jordan Poppenk to announce our new partner, CKLU 96.7 FM in Sudbury.
The headlines in brief:
Alberta has rolled out a CO2 emissions reduction plan that places a weak but real cap on industry, requiring a stop to the rise of emissions in 12 years;
A Statistics Canada report indicates that from 1992 to 2005, auto-dependency among Canadians rose from 68% to 74%;
An independent government panel has sided with former federal Environment Commissioner Johanne Gelinas over keeping the EC report separate from that of the Auditor General;
Federal Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn has called for a change in the mandate of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to include production, which some say is a conflict of interest;
Alberta has signed an agreement to work with 11 aboriginal communities on issues affecting the environment The US Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that it will not develop a recovery plan for the endangered jaguar.
The Brazilian government has announced an unprecedented loss in Amazon rainforest, only months after it celebrated a drop in deforestation.
Thousands of protesters devastated by an oil spill have taken to the streets in central Seoul, South Korea.
A study released by the University of Exeter highlights the problems of programs designed to reintroduce carvivorous animals to the wild.
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CKLU, hailing from Laurentian University, has been broadcasting since 1984, and is the third community station to join the TGM project. We’re excited about the opportunity to bring environmental news to the good folks of Sudbury, Ontario!
You can now tune into the program in the Sudbury area on 96.7 FM on Mondays from 1-2pm EST.
Political correspondent Danny Leskiw speaks with Gerry Sklavounos, parliamentary assistant to Québec Environment Minister Line Beauchamp, as well as John Bennett, Executive Director of ClimateForChange.ca. They discuss the stringent auto emissions standards proposed by Quebec and the challenges that stand in the way of their implementation.
Andrew Nisker, director of Garbage! The revolution starts at home, speaks with Host Jordan Poppenk about his film, family consumption habits and a new eco-friendly and community-friendly film distribution model.
The headlines in brief:
During a US energy summit, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach implored business leaders not to buy into the “myth” that tarsands production takes too much of a toll on the environment;
The Harper government has committed to consultations with environmental groups regarding national auto emission standards;
Native groups have stated they will ignore a court order restricting protest over a uranium mine North of Kingston;
A new national warning system is in the works to alert Canadians to natural disasters;
The Waterkeeper Alliance is taking US commercial power generator DTE to court in Canada over its mercury emissions;
US President George W Bush overrode a federal court order that required the US Navy to minimize harm to marine mammals during sonar training exercises;
Outbreaks of a species of starfish are wreaking havoc on coral reefs in Indonesia, and pollution is to blame;
India’s Tata Motors unveiled the world’s cheapest car, much to the dismay of environmentalists.
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Science correspondent emeritus Sapna Sharma returns to interview Marty Krkosek, a graduate student at the University of Alberta and the lead author of a headline article in the journal Science on the contribution of fish farming to the collapse of wild salmon populations in British Columbia.
We feature coverage of the D8 rallies held across the country in December in protest of the Federal government position taken on climate change at the international UN climate change summit in Bali. This segment includes speakers and interviews including, in order of appearance:
Jen Hassum, Ontario Chairperson, Canadian Federation of Students
Jack Layton, NDP Party Leader [interview]
Bruce Cox, Executive Director, GreenPeace Canada [interview]
Shamez Amlani, Streets are for People [interview]
Misha Hamou, student, age 12
The headlines in brief:
A advisory group commissioned by the federal government, NRTEE, has recommended a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system to fight climate change;
Federal Environment Minister John Baird and Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner renounced the proposed carbon tax but not the suggested cap-and-trade system;
Energy audit rebates promised to homeowners by the Ontario government have now been delayed by nearly a year;
Huntingdon became the first Quebec municipality to implement a retail ban on plastic bags;
A provinicial uranium moratorium in Nova Scotia, Canada’s only ban on uranium, is at risk;
A new report from the Pembina Institute and World Wildlife fund ranked 10 oil sands companies in order of their sustainable practices, with Albian Sands Muskeg at the top and Syncrude and Synenco at the bottom;
Strange weather patterns have swept the country for the first week of 2008, including heavy snowfall, balmy temperatures, heavy fog and dangerous winds;
US officials say they will need more time to decide whether to list polar bears as threatened;
The World Economic Forum says that the focus on climate change must not waver despite economic and geopolitical turmoil in the coming year;
China will ban the production and distribution of thin plastic bags beginning on June 1st.
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Environmental pundit Kevin Farmer and host Jordan Poppenk declare 2007 to be “The Year of Buy-In” and discuss the ten most important environmental news stories of 2007:
Most significant buy-in: The Canadian Council of Chief Executives, a group of Canada’s top business leaders, acknowledged global climate change is a reality and called for potentially painful government intervention.
Best international policy document: Parties to the 1987 Montreal Protocol hastened a ban on the use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).
Most dubious international distinction: China overtook the U.S. as the world leader in carbon dioxide emissions.
Most nefarious politics: The Federal Government funded its climate change initiatives using internal funding Environment Canada, reducing the budget of some core programs to zero.
It’s later than you think: 2007 was the hottest year on record in the Northern Hemisphere and the decade 1998-2007 was the warmest decade on record.
Most important legal challenge: Legal action 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.
Most shameful: Canada’s obstructionist position at the Bali/Commonwealth conferences.
Most hopeful turn of events: Kevin Rudd won the Australian federal election, replacing key U.S. ally against climate change John Howard. Rudd subsequently signed the Kyoto accord.
Scariest precedent: development of plans to build a nuclear power plant on the Peace River in Alberta to power extraction of the tar sands.
Best nod to the movement: The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to both Al Gore and the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Simon Watson asks about eco-spiritual life in an interview with Seyyed Hossein Nasr, who speaks about Islamic Science and nature (originally aired June 15, 2007).
The headlines in brief:
Residents of Atlantic Canada are digging out from the fourth winter storm in a week;
Harvey Mead, Quebec’s first sustainable development commissioner, says Quebec’s sustainable development strategy is not ambitious enough;
The Globe and Mail reports that global warming is causing an increasing abundance of stray cats in Canada’s major cities and Toronto in particular;
Hydro-Québec says that its only nuclear power plant will remain offline until late this month because of technical problems;
Oil prices briefly topped $100 per barrel;
The US Minerals Management Service will sell oil and gas exploration rights to the Chukchi Sea off northwestern Alaska;
The Italian city of Milan has introduced a “pollution charge” for vehicles in an attempt to tackle a serious smog problem;
Three German cities are tackling vehicle pollution by introducing “environmental zones”;
A new study says warmer autumn temperatures are reducing the ability of Canada’s northern forests to remove carbon dioxide from the environment.
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**
We feature a lecture by NOW Magazine columnist Adria Vasil, who presents her views on the ins and outs of getting by in good health and good ecological conscience in this age of dodgy consumer products. A compilation of her weekly column is available in her recently published book, Ecoholic.
Science correspondent emeritus Sapna Sharma returns to interview Marty Krkosek, a graduate student at the University of Alberta and the lead author of a headline article in the journal Science on the contribution of fish farming to the collapse of wild salmon populations in British Columbia.