On August 8, Collingwood council will “consider” a proposal to spend “up to $100,000 to retain a consultant to inform the next council on how Collingwood can better protect [our] tree canopy,” according to a story in CollingwoodToday. The article says, “With Collingwood’s population rapidly increasing, the town is behind
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Writings of J. Todd Ring: My Dream Homestead Garden – Or, Healing The Earth, One Carrot At A Time
A dream homestead garden? Ok, so this is not a subject to everyone’s taste or interest, clearly. Nor is it my usual domain, but it is related. I tend to write about politics, philosophy, social issues and social commentary, with forays into economics and finance, green living, health, and green
Continue readingThings Are Good: Be Conscious of Wild Animal Pictures with Tourists
It’s a sad truth that animals are caught in the wild and are then subsequently forced to entertain tourists against their will. Too often “influencers” and regular tourists take pictures alongside these animals to show how pleasant their travel experience has been, but this ignores the plight of the animals.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Way We Were
At the risk of being accused of “old-fartism,” I offer the following which a Facebook friend posted. While I don’t agree with the implicit and explicit denigration of the young in the post, it does serve as a reminder of certain advantages Western lifestyles of yore possessed. Checking out at
Continue readingEarthgauge News: Earthgauge News – Nov. 5, 2017
Edition #5 of the Earthgauge News podcast for the week of Nov. 5, 2017. A weekly Canadian environmental news podcast featuring stories from across Canada and around the world. Join me here every Monday or subscribe in iTunes or your favourite podcast catcher. On the show this week: Parts of
Continue readingScripturient: 552 kWh? We can do better
I received a report in the mail from Collus PowerStream giving me an overview of my electricity usage for the one-month period of August. A hot, humid August that no doubt had us running the air conditioner and ceiling fans more often than we normally do (we actually like it
Continue readingEnvironmental Law Alert Blog: Celebrating Canada’s 150th Birthday with a Deep Blue Sea Legacy: Nominating New Canadian Marine World Heritage Sites
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Next year Canada turns 150. What better present than a gift to the futur…
Continue readingreeves report: Climate change could boost visitation to US National Parks by 2060
In silver lining news: the latest report from the U.S. National Park Service has found that increases in global temperature could boost tourism traffic to national parks from Alaska to Guam. The report, released this week in the open access journal PLoS ONE, compared historical monthly mean air temperature information with
Continue readingThings Are Good: Norway Pays to Protect Liberia’s Forests
Deforestation is killing the planet and has been linked to the current ebola outbreak. Still, many places (Canada included) cut down hectares of land as if it’s nothing. Norway is apparently sick of tho attitude and has made a deal with Liberia to protect their woodlands. “We have funded efforts
Continue readingWhy is the environment considered primarily a left-wing concern?
Conservative and conservation are almost the same word, both deriving from the Latin conservare, “to preserve,” and differing only by two letters. We might expect, therefore, that conservatives would be great conservationists, deeply concerned about preserving the natural world, foremost stewards of the environment. Yet that doesn’t seem to be
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: The Challenges of Sturgeon Stewardship
A sturgeon rearing facility in Allegan County Park, in New Richmond on the Kalamazoo River. Photo: Mark Brooks Thanks to a fellowship from the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources, I was able to join a group of journalists on a learning expedition in Michigan last year. One of the
Continue reading350 or bust: Saturday At The Movies
Wow. Don’t try this at home! * Man Tries To Hug A Wild Lion, You Won’t Believe What Happens Next!
Continue readingPembina praises Ontario’s new energy plan
The Pembina Institute, one of the country’s leading environmental advocacy organizations, has good things to say about Ontario’s new long-term energy plan. In a press release this week, the Institute praised the province for wisely investing in conservation. According to Tim Weis, Pembina’s director of renewable energy and efficiency policy,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Mexico City: A study in impermanence, and a lesson to us all
pablo lopez luz photographs the concrete waves (or carpet, as he puts it) of Mexico City The unbelievably sprawling concrete carpet of Mexico City seen in these photos make me think… Gorgeous country, beautiful culture and people, horrible government, amazing capital city – but utterly unsustainable, as most cities
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Are we alone? More importantly, are we even awake?
The “man the life boats and head for the stars” answer to our present human dilemmas is simply delusional. We can and should explore space, but if we don’t get our act together here on this planet immediately, we’re dead – extinct: plain and simple. A recent book seems once
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: Arctic expedition radio doc airs on CBC Ottawa
Download: soiarctic2013-cbc-final.mp3 I was fortunate to participate on the Students on Ice 2013 Arctic Expedition this year, which was a tremendous experience. We traveled up the west coast of Greenland by ship and across the Davis Strait to the Eastern Canadian Arctic. I produced a short audio documentary based on
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: EG Radio April 25: The Future of Cities | Bike to Work month | Thomas Lovejoy
Download: earthgauge-podcast-april25-2013.mp3 This week on Earthgauge, we have a veritable green medley with a jam-packed show covering everything from urban sustainability, climate change, biodiversity, biking to work and even the latest green news. I have 4 features today: Presentation by Alex Steffen called The Shareable Future of Cities Alex Smith’s interview
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: EG Radio April 11, 2013: Our 50th show! EcoBricks, Ontario Home Comfort and Rachel Carson
Download: earthgauge-podcast-april11-2013.mp3 This week marks our 50th program since Earthgauge Radio was launched in the fall of 2011! So we’re celebrating a big milestone today and are sending out our thanks to all the guests we’ve had in the past year and a half, the numerous people who have contributed
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: EG Radio this week: EcoBricks, Ontario Home Comfort and Rachel Carson
On Earthgauge Radio this week, Xerez Bridglall will bring us her interview with two Carleton University undergraduate students who participated in the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program this year. ASB is an immersive year-long program that culminates with a week of cultural exchange and community service over reading week in
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