Alternatives Journal - Environmental Ideas + Action

Latest Issue: New Energy 36.1

Nicola Ross

In the mid 1980s, I was involved in one of those touchy-feely weekend retreats along with individuals from Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB). Among other things, we completed the Myers-Briggs personality test. My most vivid recollection of that meeting was when Vern Millard, the ERCB’s highly respected chair at the time and an economist by training, blurted out, “You mean that after all these years of tabulating statistics, numbers, and cause and effect, what people really want is warm and fuzzy assurances that the gas plant being built nearby won’t affect their kids?”

Kulturträger: Blinded by Ecoporn

Mark Meisner

Pretty nature pictures stimulate desire, but misrepresent reality.

Ah, the new year. Time to change the wall calendar. By October, our household had already acquired Greenpeace’s latest offering, a Group of Seven issue, and one of those generic versions that hardware stores and real estate agents give out for free. All of them feature beautiful scenes of pristine landscapes, robust ecosystems and healthy wildlife. I used to like these sorts of images for predictable reasons: they celebrate the beauty, wonder and sacredness of nature. They’re nice to look at and calming reminders of days spent outdoors.

Digesting Energy

Faith D'Aluisio, Peter Menzel

The Hungry Planet photo exhibit shows that food miles, processing and packaging make for an energy-intensive journey to the dinner table.

What the World Eats

Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio put the world’s eating habits on full display in their 2008 book, What the World Eats. Their innovative photographic exhibit Hungry Planet has been touring the world since 2007.

Shower With a Friend

Carol Maas

How conserving the wet stuff cascades into megawatt savings.

For most Canadians, energy efficiency is synonymous with light bulbs. Switching to compact fluorescents might be simple and inexpensive, but it is not the only cost-effective way to reduce energy use in homes, businesses and utilities. Reducing water use, especially the hot stuff that flows from showers and cleans our clothes, also cuts the amount of energy we consume in myriad ways.