We feature the first section of a three-part series on the Massey College Walter Gordon Symposium, Harnessing the Green Wave: taking action in an era of eco-consciousness. The series features experts in business, government and international policy who speak about what it’s going to take to make environmental change happen. Part One features Dr. André Potworowski, an expert on technology transfer and a contributor to the 1977 Conserver Society study.
TGM pundit Kevin Farmer and host Jordan Poppenk discuss recent statistics regarding compliance with household hazardous waste disposal procedures.
The headlines in brief:
Ontario did pledge to spend a billion dollars on public transit;A major gasoline spill leaked out of Ultramar Limited’s plant near Quebec City on Sunday, spilling 175,000 litres of gasoline;
Canada has recently become home to another invasive species, with findings of the “bloody red shrimp” in three of Canada’s great lakes;
Statistics Canada reported Thursday that most Canadians still aren’t properly disposing of household special waste;
British Columbia plans to invest more than $1 million to support water and fisheries resources;
New Brunswick forestry giant J.D. Irving Ltd, has challenged Canada’s laws protecting migratory birds;
The latest Ontario budget invests in green technology and transportation but critics say it comes up short on climate change mitigation;
The Ontario government say it will spend $56 million clean up an industrial site in London;
Scientists are closely watching a chunk of ice shelf on the Southwest Antarctic Peninsula that has started to collapse;
During a brief period of high winds last weekend, wind power in Spain accounted for an all-time high of more than forty per cent of all the electricity consumed in the country.
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CKUW has been a going concern since the 1960’s and broadcasts from the University of Winnipeg. Their 450 watt signal covers an population base of 700,000 in Manitoba. CKUW is the sixth community station to join the TGM project.
You can now tune into the program in the Winnipeg area on 95.9 FM on alternating Saturdays from 8-9am EST.
According to a major federal study, climate change is already affecting every region of Canada;
$50,000 was paid to choreograph the study’s release, but the study was instead quietly posted online;
Canadian National Railway is facing federal charges alleging a train derailment in 2005 of 800,000 litres of oil destroyed bird and fish habitat;
Legislation is being revived that would slow down big trucks on Ontario roads;
Parents of children with head lice are being urged to avoid treatments containing the pesticide lindane;
The Montreal Climate Exchange will begin trading carbon futures as of May 30, subject to regulatory approval;
Sarnia residents were advised by police to close their windows and stay indoors for a few hours last Friday following a benzene vapour leak at Imperial Oil;
Vancouver company Green Island Energy are planning a system to convert municipal waste into energy on Vancouver Island before the end of next year;
The United Nations Water for Life Decade Foundation declared that Canada will soon be facing more demand for fresh water than supply;
Observers at the United Nations conference in Geneva are accusing the Canadian federal government of stalling talks to make access to water a ‘basic human right’;
The earth has experienced its coldest start of a year in more than a decade. But scientists are warning that these cold months might not indicate an overall cooler 2008;
The recent cold weather hasn’t prevented an unprecedented loss in older Arctic ice;
New data from the United Nations Environment Program suggests that glaciers are melting faster than ever.
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Peter Stock speaks with Jack Graves, Chief Cultural Officer of the US-based quick-service restaurant Burgerville, about sustainability initiatives in business domains that are not traditionally considered green, in this case, drive-thru take-out restaurants.
Environmental pundit Kevin Farmer joins host Jordan Poppenk in conversation about recent proclamations from the Vatican that belie a changing spiritual ethic of environmental stewardship.
The headlines in brief:
The federal Conservative government released an update to its much-touted “Made in Canada” plan that included:
several additional details on an announced national carbon trading scheme
a ban on the construction of certain types of coal plants by 2012
a requirement for tarsands operations initiated after 2012 to utilize carbon sequestration
The federal Competition Bureau is preparing to launch a crackdown on companies that make false or misleading environmental claims about their products.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Loblaws Inc. warned that certain pear juices may be contaminated with arsenic.
Bruce Power has bought out Energy Alberta Corporation and has doubled the number of reactors at its proposed Peace River nuclear energy station;
Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank ranked at the top of an enviromental survey of Canadian banks, while the Bank of Montreal ranked at the bottom;
The nonprofit group Conservation International says that Madagascar has achieved a severe reduction in forest destruction.
The Vatican is warning of several new forms of sin, some of which have environmental implications.
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Simon Watson interviews Michael Reynolds, a biotect who for 35 years has researched and developed self-sufficient housing made from recycled materials like pop cans and tires. His concepts of community living are both Earth friendly and people friendly, requiring little to no mortgage payment and no utility bills.
Danny Leskiw speaks with Dr. Alex Bucknea, a nuclear physicist and consultant to the government on waste disposal, about how nuclear waste processing works.
The headlines in brief:
Canada’s federal environment commissioner Ron Thompson released a highly critical review of government policies that gave the government a grade of unsatisfactory in nine of 14 areas;
Alcoa Incorporated has agreed to invest $1.2 billion dollars to upgrade its 50-year old smelter in Baie-Comeau;
Another CN Rail freight train derailment took place in Burlington, Ontario;
A federal appeals court has rejected the exemptions that President Bush awarded to the Navy for sonar tests that might harm whales;
On Wednesday, President Bush addressed an energy conference hosted by the US government, asserting that his country is in the lead when it comes to climate change;
A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says that the world must respond to climate change and other environmental challenges now while the cost is relatively low;
South Korea and parts of Japan and Taiwan have experienced the first major storm of the annual “yellow dust” spring storm season, closing schools and prompting people to wear surgical masks.
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Host Jordan Poppenk speaks with Patrick Bond, a leading international environmentalist who is touring Canada with the to promote his book, 
