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Canadian perspectives on “The Death of Environmentalism” The Death of Environmentalism is an essay by American authors Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus that, amongst other things, states, "modern environmentalism, with all of its unexamined assumptions, outdated concepts and exhausted strategies, must die so that something new can live." CBC Sunday Edition interviewed Ted Nordhaus in Berkeley, California. Canadian environmentalists, Elizabeth May, Ralph Torrie and Rick Smith responded. Listen to the interviews and responses here (CBC Real Audio link) Sustainable Development: Rhetoric and Practice SCC presentation to the Senate Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee / Présentation au Comité sénatorial de l’énergie, de l’environnement et des ressources naturelles Why has the integration of sustainable development thinking and practice lagged behind the rhetoric?” Pourquoi la mise en oeuvre des concepts du développement durable est-elle toujours en retard par rapport aux discours? SCC Eco-Olympics SCC reviewed federal political party positions on the environment – and identified politicians who had made a difference – in the days leading up to the June 2004 federal election. more Film Review: The Day After Tomorrow "The Day After Tomorrow is a surprisingly engaging disaster movie... At its core the film is about human indifference to the mounting evidence of the destruction to our climate." more Day After Tomorrow Factsheet Separating the Science from the Science Fiction (pdf) Ten Popular Myths: About the Kyoto Protocol. Beginning with the myth that Canada’s economy will suffer About Global Climate Change. Beginning with the myth that there is no scientific consensus ToxiCanada: 13 Good Reasons to Establish a Clean Canada Fund A Report by Miningwatch Canada and Sierra Club Canada (PDF file, 190K) Address to the Canada-Tibet Policy Seminar Address by Elizabeth May, Executive Director of Sierra Club Canada, to the Canada-Tibet Policy Seminar, in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, April 23, 2004 Wuskwatim Generation And Transmission Projects (Manitoba) Read Sierra Club of Canada’s submission to the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission Public Hearing on the Subject of the Wuskwatim Generation and Transmission Projects (pdf, 300K) Montreal Protocol at Risk The Montreal Protocol is an international agreement which was designed to regulate and phase-out the use of chemicals that deplete stratospheric ozone, including CFCs amd Methyl Bromide. The presence of ozone in the stratosphere (the ozone layer) helps to block harmful levels of uv radiation from reaching the ground. The Bush Administration is threatening the future of what has been described as “the Most Successful Environmental Treaty”. Footprints in the forest Current practice and future challenges in forest certification Footprints in the forest provides information about the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) standard and certification requirements developed by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). Sierra Club of Canada reviewed several SFM plans from operations certified to the CSA SFM standard – in particular the objectives and targets that are the key field components subject to audit. Read the report here (pdf file, 460K) GMOs on Trial – Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto “In August 1998 I received a lawsuit document from Monsanto. Up to that time I never had anything to do with Monsanto’s GM canola. .... When we were sued my wife and I immediately realized that 50 years of research and development on our pure canola seed that was suitable and adaptable to certain conditions on the Prairies, climatic and soil conditions and especially diseases that we had in canola, could now be contaminated. ... It took two years of pre-trial and in those two years Monsanto withdrew all allegations that I had ever obtained seed illegally. They even went so far as to admit the allegations were false. But, they still found that the fact that they had found some of Monsanto’s GM canola plants in the ditch along my field, not even in the field, meant I violated the patent.” From a December 2003 speech by Percy Schmeiser. Read more about the case and Percy Schmeiser’s pending appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada. Also read the SCC GMOs on Trial Fact Sheet Sacrifice Zones Are Not Acceptable Incineration of toxic waste is an unacceptable solution The proposed Bennett incinerator, Belledune, New Brunswick. Sprawl Hurts Us All Suburban sprawl development is hazardous to Ontario taxpayers’ pocket books and to the environment. Over the next 25 years in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) alone, costs will be over $70 billion, or more than $14,000 per person, if sprawling housing development continues. (pdf, 190K) The Environmental Consequences of War “The looting of Iraqi nuclear facilities in 2003, which occurred after U.S. led forces entered the country, has offered another blow to social and environmental security in the region. The most troubling of cases concerns the Tuwaitha nuclear plant, located 48 kilometres south of Baghdad, where an estimated two hundred blue plastic barrels containing uranium oxide were stolen. After dumping the radioactive contents and rinsing out the barrels in the rivers, poverty-stricken residents used the containers for storing basic amenities like water, cooking oil and tomatoes. Extra barrels were sold to other villages or used to transport milk to distanced regions, thus making the critical problem increasingly widespread.” Excerpt from The Environmental Consequences of War. A letter concerning Dams and Development The World Commission on Dams was formed in 1998 after a realization that the construction of large dams was consistently highly contested, and often resulted in irreparable harm to ecosystems and communities. Read the letter from representatives of over 30 countries that was sent to the International Commission on Dams Kyoto Forests? Fast-Growing Plantations are Not the Answer There is increasing interest in meeting some portion of Canada’s Kyoto commitment through “afforestation”, or creating new forests for the purposes of sequestering carbon emissions. In particular, some are pressing for government programs to support the establishment of plantations of fast-growing species. However many experts have expressed strong skepticism about the advisability of such a scheme, citing a number of concerns. Nuclear is not a "solution" to Climate Change - Canada's disastrous experience demonstrates that nuclear power is not sustainable, and not the solution to climate change - The Federal Government is Wrong: Nuclear Power is not a "Solution" to Climate Change. (CNP web site) The Castle Wilderness: A Missing Link Although the entire Castle Wilderness in southwestern Alberta is public land and two major public hearings by provincial agencies have each previously recommended its legal protection, a park has not come about. This is largely due to the sub-surface petroleum leases held by Shell Canada. Conservation groups from Alberta, other parts of Canada and the US are urging Shell to drop its interest in drilling and prove its environmental concerns by helping protect the Castle Wilderness. (pdf file, 300K) Sierra Club of Canada’s Wild Salmon Strategy Calls for Major Federal Policy Overhaul The federal government’s attempts to articulate a “wild salmon policy” for Canada’s west coast collapsed in 1999 after advice from departmental scientists was ignored and a draft policy resoundingly rejected by conservationists, scientists, and the public. SCC’s report, A Strategy for the Conservation of Pacific Salmon, proposes a major rededication of the federal government’s constitutional authority over west coast salmon runs. Report (pdf, 1 MB) Media Release Depleted Uranium Depleted Uranium (DU) weapons were first used extensively by the United States during the 1991 Gulf War, and again during the 1999 Kosovo conflict and 2003 attack on Iraq. Their use has been described as a form of nuclear warfare. On impact, DU weapons produce uranium dioxide dust which is both chemically toxic and radioactive and can readily be carried in the wind. These airborne particles are small enough to be inhaled. Click here for information on depleted uranium Cape Breton Island Background on the Coastal Oil and Gas Development Moratorium Crude Costs A Framework for a Full-Cost Accounting Analysis of Oil and Gas Exploration Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Available in PDF format (large download, 2.2 mb) SCC National Board Resolution concerning Iraq Read the Iraq resolution from Sierra Club Canada National Board of Directors meeting Sierra Club of Canada Responds to DFAIT Discussion Paper Read Sierra Club of Canada’s response to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade’s “A Dialogue On Foreign Policy” discussion paper. The Kyoto Debate: Separating rhetoric from reality An article by Elizabeth May, December 2002 The Trial of the Kyoto Accord SCC Executive Director Elizabeth May, put forward the case for ratification on CBC Radio's 'The Trial of the Kyoto Accord' Why was Alberta's plan rejected? On May 21, 2002, the Alberta government’s climate change plan was rejected by the federal government and all the other provinces and territories. Was this a case of the rest of Canada ganging up on Alberta or were there valid reasons for moving forward within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol? Review of "The Skeptical Environmentalist" Elizabeth May reviews the recently published book, The Skeptical Environmentalist -- Measuring the Real State of the World and finds that it would "take another book of equal length to correct all its errors". Climate skeptic misinterprets global warming by John Bennett The published claims of a “climate skeptic” fail to hold up to scrutiny How to be an Activist by Elizabeth May. "There is no formal school for activists. No university degree qualifies the graduate to practice grassroots organizing. Environmental activists, like many other practitioners of social change, come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life, and even from all political parties." From the introduction to How to be an Activist. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act SCC Brief to the House of Commons 'Standing Committee on Environment And Sustainable Development', regarding Bill C-19, An Act To Amend The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, February 2002 (PDF download, 100K) Healing the Land On May 25, 2001, Sierra Club of Canada Executive Director, Elizabeth May, delivered the Keynote Address at the Diocese of British Columbia Environment Commission Conference, "Healing the Land". Audio recordings of the Keynote and follow-up questions are available in MP3 format Green Report Card on Electricity Restructuring in Ontario The Ontario government is now in the final stages of preparing for competition in electricity supply and services. Restructuring of electricity markets have been premised on the hope that competition among electricity generators will control prices. In Ontario and elsewhere there have also been promises of improved environmental performance. However, significant problems in recently deregulated jurisdictions such as California and Alberta have lead to concerns about whether such promises can be kept. Sierra Club Canada and the Toronto Environmental Alliance have produced a report which examines the government’s progress to date on its promise of improved environmental performance as a result of electricity restructuring . Click here to view the full report (PDF download, 100K) Click here to view the Report Card Summary (PDF download, 25K) Transcript of an address given by Sierra Club of Canada's Executive Director, Elizabeth May upon receiving an honorary doctorate in the humanities from Mount Saint Vincent University. Information about Nigerian environmentalist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa. Read "The Nasty Game": The Failure of Environmental Assessment in Canada by Andrew Nikiforuk.

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