Author: Fraser

Around the Web

Quirks & Quarks, 1975

Hear the first four episodes ever broadcast, hosted by David Suzuki from the CBC Digital Archives….

Is science just a subject for academics and geeks? Not according to the CBC Radio program Quirks & Quarks. When it debuted in 1975, Quirks
set out to show Canadians that science is exciting, interesting and
relevant to our daily lives — and the program has pursued that same
goal ever since. The first host of the show was outspoken geneticist
David Suzuki, at the helm from 1975 to 1979. Jay Ingram hosted from
1979 to 1991, and Bob McDonald has been host since 1992. The CBC
Digital Archives features the first four entire episodes from the
program’s inaugural year of 1975, plus a broad selection of shorter
clips from throughout the show’s history.

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Uncategorized

It’s all about the biosphere

Here’s your weekly Science Matters column by David Suzuki with Faisal Moola.

It’s all about the biosphere

All life exists is the biosphere, the zone of air, water and land that
envelops the planet. We often think of the atmosphere as extending to
the heavens when in fact, it is only about ten kilometers thick. The
biosphere, astronomer Carl Sagan used to say, is as thick as a layer of
varnish painted on a basketball.  That is where all life flourishes.
Beyond it, there is only space.

Humanity
has become so numerous and powerful that we are now altering the
biological, physical and chemical makeup of the biosphere. Everything
we do has repercussions throughout it because everything is
interconnected. If, for example, we pour toxins into air, water or
soil, it’s clear that these same toxins will end up in us. This is
exactly what we learned from Rachel Carson when she wrote her
influential 1962 book Silent Spring, about the effects of the pesticide
DDT in the biosphere. Carson explained how DDT, sprayed onto farmers’
fields, killed insects as it was supposed to. But the pesticide also
had unintended effects, such as ending up in fish, birds and
mammals–including humans.

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Sustainable Communities

[Green Communities News] GCNews #573

CHIP TELLS THE TRUTH. Chip Olver, a GCC Board member and
Banff municipal councillor, is one of 200 Canadians chosen to
train with Al Gore to present
An Inconvenient Truth.
Chip trains in Montreal in April, then commits as a volunteer to
deliver eight presentations over the next year. Three presentations
are already lined up, she reports.

CONSERVATION FAIRS. Several Green
Communities received small (up to $5K) grants to help hold Community
Conservation Fairs before 31 March. Participants, funded by the
Ontario government’s Community
Conservation Initiative, include Durham SustainAbility, Greening Nipissing, and
St. Catharines
Climate Action Now. Peterborough Green-Up organizes
an Energy Conservation Fair for Business, on 20 March.

EARTH WALK. Green Communities are
promoting neighbourhood walkabouts as a great way to celebrate Earth Hour, 29 March. In a
recent Toronto
Star article, Jacky
Kennedy and Mandy Johnson
of GCC’s Canada Walks
program said Earth Hour is the perfect time to rediscover our
neighbourhoods and what is within walking distance. We need to leave
home, they said, to get a “sense of being part of something big …
something that our city is involved in, our country is involved in,
the world is involved in.”

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Food and Health

Pesticides in our produce



Fugi apples?

Originally uploaded by thegreenpages

While washing and rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) published a list based on a 5 year analysis (completed in 2005), that shows which food consistently scored the highest in pesticide levels and toxicity and which scored the lowest.

Even though it is based on U.S. information, it is still relevant to Canadians as 80 percent of our produce is imported – where the majority of it comes from south of the border.

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Community Stewardship and Living

Green Living @ CanadianLiving.com

Canadian Living magazine now has a Green Living section of useful tips and informative articles. Here are some of the articles as of today’s date.

Healthy home: How to improve indoor air quality

Indoor air quality can suffer when homes are shut up tight and built with the wrong materials. We can make it better…

Green gardening: eco-friendly lawn and garden ideas

Want to make your lawn and garden more eco-friendly? Read on for tips on greener gardening.

6 green celebs and their eco causes

Want to know the top issues of the day according to Leonardo, Brad and their red-carpet pals? Here are 6 green celebs..

Natural stain removers

Natural, homemade stain removers can be extremely effective. Here are tips on how to remove stains from clothing,…

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Around the Web

A walker’s paradise – Walk Score

walkscore.gifWant to live in a walker’s paradise? Looking to find a house where you don’t have to get in your car every
time you want to get a litre of milk? Introducing Walk Score @ http://walkscore.com. 

All you have to do is enter your address, and it finds the distance to the nearest
grocery stores, post offices, restaurants, libraries, movie theaters
and other useful destinations, and then assigns a score based on the
walkability of your location. Walk Score is the perfect tool for anyone
looking to find a home or office in a walkable neighborhood.

Walk Score is powered by Google Maps.

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