TIGblogs TIG | TIGblogs GROUP TIGBLOGS LOGIN SIGNUP
Sustainable Solutions Community
Sustainable Solutions Community
« previous 5


Call For Submissions - "A Question of Scale" (Due: May 28th)

Call For Submissions
A Question of Scale
Due: May 28, 2008

Is small always beautiful? Small-scale industry is often functional and sustainable, but sometimes it seems to be limited to a peripheral role. Where and to what extent can it be dominant? When is small best, and when do we need to involve major players in order to achieve substantial change? 

Alternatives Journal is looking for examples of successes and failures in artisanal mining, small-scale forestry, agriculture or other sectors in an attempt to discover whether, when and how small-scale and sustainable development are merry bedfellows.

Ideas include, but are not limited to:

  • Should sustainable forestry certification programs, such as FSC, prefer small-scale logging operations?
  • With the current push for local food, can there be sufficient sustainable supply from nearby farms?
  • Is there a role for small scale mining operations in developing countries, and are they necessarily better for the environment and nearby communities?
  • Can we achieve sustainability without engaging large scale industrial operators?
  • To what extent do we need provincial, national or even global government or governance initiatives to support attractive small scale operations in the face of the advantages already won by global corporations?

Alternatives combines the learned rigour of an academic journal with the breezy style of a magazine. We aim to publish the best environmental writing in the country – writing that is engaging, thought-provoking and insightful.
Before responding to this call for submissions, please read several back issues of the magazine so that you understand the nature of our publication. We also suggest you go through the detailed submission procedures to understand the types and lengths of articles we accept.

Queries should explain, in less than 300 words, the content and scope of your article, and should convey your intended approach, tone and style. Please include a list of people you will interview, potential images or sources for images and the number of words you propose to write. We would also like to receive a very short bio. And if you have not written for Alternatives before, please include other examples of your writing. Articles range from about 500 to 2000 words in length.

Keep in mind that our lead time is several months. Articles should not be so time-bound that they will seem dated once published.
 
Alternatives has a limited budget of about 10 cents per word for several articles. This stipend is available to professional and amateur writers and students only. Please indicate your interest in this funding in your submission.

Send submissions electronically to Nicola Ross, Executive Editor (editor @ alternativesjournal.ca) by May 28, 2008.

For submission procedures, please visit:
http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/content/view/368#procedure

May 21, 2008 | 7:05 AM Comments  0 comments


NOS for Environmental Employment - Call for Participants

ECO Canada invites environmental professionals with 5 years or more of environmental experience to update the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Environmental Employment.

The standards are important to our sector's evolution as they define and communicate: what environmental work is, how it is growing and changing, and what people, knowledge and skills are needed to conduct the work competently.

The project will run until October 2009 and your expertise is needed via focus groups, interviews and survey participation. 

Your contributions will serve to ensure that the Canadian environmental sector continues to grow and demonstrate its leadership in environmental protection, conservation and sustainability. Focus group participants will receive $50 while survey participants are eligible for a prize draw. All participants will be chosen based on regional and sector representation. 

Please take 1 to 2 minutes to indicate your interest and level of participation by visiting:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=x_2fMXQT9_2fiozM_2f_2fYC56elzA_3d_3d 

Thank you in advance for your collaboration.

ECO Canada was established in 1992 as part of Canada's sector council initiative. With a solid reputation in the field of human resource management, ECO Canada's services reach all participants of the environmental sector including employers, practitioners, educators, and students.

For more information, please visit:
www.eco.ca

May 15, 2008 | 8:05 AM Comments  0 comments


Events: Doors Open & Green Toronto Festivals...plus more (May 23-31)
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

-----------------------
Friday, May 23
4:30pm-9:30pm
-----------------------
Doors Open Toronto Kick Off
Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen's Park)

Speakers: Mayor David Miller, ROM CEO William Thorsell and other VIPs
at 6 p.m., plus performances by Tafelmusik and the Toronto Consort.

------------------
May 23 & 24
12pm-8pm
------------------
Green Toronto Festival

Toronto’s annual celebration of all things green takes to the streets of Yonge and Dundas on Friday and Saturday, May 23 and 24, 2008. This year’s line up is bigger, and better than ever!

Check out hundreds of green products and services to help you live green at home, work and on the road. Everything from bees, worms and bikes, to green fashions, renewable energy, local foods and more. Come on down and see all the exhibitors!

http://www.toronto.ca/greentorontofestival/pdf/gtf_flyer.pdf
 
----------------------------------------------
Saturday & Sunday, May 24 & 25
10am-4pm
----------------------------------------------
Doors Open Toronto

Join Toronto Culture and renew your faith in Toronto architecture!

Multicultural places of worship and Toronto’s National Historic Sites will be in the spotlight during this year’s event, which gives visitors an opportunity to explore over 140 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural and/or social significance; admission is free. Many of the city’s finest churches, chapels, temples, synagogues and mosques are among the featured buildings this year, as well as green buildings and structures never before open to the public.

http://wx.toronto.ca/inter/culture/doorsopen2008.nsf/Search?OpenForm

----------------------------------------------------
Monday to Saturday, May 26 to 31
----------------------------------------------------
Green Screens at National Film Board

Monday, May 26
6:30 pm : The World According to Monsanto (Toronto Premiere)
Directed by Marie-Monique Robin, prize winning French journalist and filmmaker and the author of a new book, Le monde selon Monsanto. (Image & Compagnie/Productions Thalie/ARTE France/NFB/WDR). 

Wednesday, May 28
7:00 pm : Up the Yangtze
The Three Gorges Dam — contested symbol of the Chinese economic miracle — provides the epic backdrop for a dramatic feature documentary on life inside modern China. (EyeSteelFilm/NFB)

Thursday, May 29
5:00-7:00pm :  Green Screens in the Secondary Classroom: A Screening & Resource Session
This workshop will provide educators with an integrated media education approach to using the NFB collection of environmental titles in secondary-level Language Arts, Media Studies, Global Issues and Social Studies classrooms.  Includes an overview of the NFB Mediatheque's Green Screens for Teens Workshop and the new NFB Web site FOOTPRINTS: Environment and the Way We Live.

For more information: www.nfb.ca/greenscreenseducation

7:30 pm : Refugees of the Blue Planet
An award-winner at Toronto’s Planet in Focus Film Festival, Hélène Choquette and Jean-Philippe Duval’s documentary sheds light on the little-known plight of environmental refugees. (Point du Jour/Les productions Virage/NFB)

Friday, May 30
7:00 pm : Weather Report
Director Brenda Longfellow takes us to the front-lines of climate change. (Sienna Films/NFB)

8:00 pm : The World According to Monsanto

Saturday, May 31
3:00 pm : Toxic Trespass
Barri Cohen launches an investigation into the health effects of the chemical soup that surrounds us. (If You Love Our Children/NFB) * Also premiering May 14 at 10 pm on TVO.

http://www.nfb.ca/footprints/ 

May 15, 2008 | 8:05 AM Comments  0 comments


E-Coli as Renewable Energy Source?

It seems that what doesn’t kill you can make you greener.  Researchers at Texas A&M University are experimenting with the infamous food-borne bacteria E. coli to see if it can be used as a new renewable energy source.

Thomas Wood, a professor of chemistry at the school, says that specially modified E. coli bacteria can actually produce substantial amounts of hydrogen, something the organisms already produce in trace amounts when they feed upon sugars.  Wood’s specially-bred E. coli pump out more than 140 times the regular amount of hydrogen, which is the key ingredient of fuel cells – an emerging technology that many hope will soon produce the world’s energy without causing pollution.  Currently, most fuel cell technology relies on water for its hydrogen.  The problem is the process of “cracking” hydrogen from water is expensive, thus preventing the widespread adoption of fuel cell technology.   Wood admits that more research is needed to see how viable E. coli can be as a fuel source, but he hopes that one day the bacteria could power appliances, electronics, entire homes and even cars – just make sure you wash your hands after filling up.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.net/rea/news/story?id=51292

May 15, 2008 | 8:05 AM Comments  0 comments


Zerofootprint Toronto & Go Blue

The City of Toronto has partnered with Zerofootprint to develop a new campaign called "Zerofootprint Toronto", the first-ever community-wide initiative aimed at engaging citizens in the fight against climate change.  The program, which provides free access to the Zerofootprint Toronto web-based carbon calculator and social network, launched in February 2008 and will run over the course of two years.

Zerofootprint is a registered Canadian not-for-profit. Our goal is to mobilize and empower large groups of individuals and organizations worldwide, to reduce their collective carbon and ecological footprint.

"You can click on your neighbourhood and compare yourself with other people in the area," said Deborah Kaplan, executive director of zerofootprint.

The site's calculator allows people to find their carbon footprint in a minute or so.

A questionnaire lets people plug in details about how they get to work, how often they fly and even what kind of food they buy.

They can post their information and compare their environmental impact with others in the city and, eventually, around the world.

Although the site is called toronto.zerofootprint, officials said people in Mississauga, Oshawa, Barrie and areas outside Toronto will be able to take part.

The site will feature links to environmental meetings and activities, like Earth Hour, and places where people can sign up for car pools.

To learn more about Zerofootprint Toronto, please visit:

http://toronto.zerofootprint.net

------------------------------------------------------
Go Blue & One Minute Water Calculator
------------------------------------------------------
Zerofootprint has developed an online application that helps individuals and organizations measure and modify their water consumption. The new One Minute Water Calculator is the first of its kind and has been designed to address risks to the world's supply of potable water. Zerofootprint is a Canadian not-for-profit software innovator that pioneers carbon calculators for corporations, governments and individuals around the world.

Zerofootprint is now applying its software expertise to help people understand their water footprint. "Even in Canada people are generally unaware that in many parts of the country we are using drinking water at a rate that is faster than nature can renew it," explained Ron Dembo, the Founder & CEO of Zerofootprint.

"Water shortages and carbon emissions are two of the greatest threats to our environment", commented Deborah Kaplan, the Executive Director of Zerofootprint. "Our unique calculators engage individuals and organizations directly in these challenges to our environment by empowering them to measure and make adjustments to their consumption patterns."

"Our challenge here in Toronto from a water perspective is how to live with a growing population...with the same water infrastructure," Councillor Adam Giambrone told the group at City Hall.

He noted Toronto's system dates to the early 1900s and its age is a "constraint" on upgrades. He added Toronto's water conservation policies, which began about a decade ago, stem from an environmental and a fiscal concern.

"Toronto's (water department) is the highest user of electricity in the city," he said. 

To calculate your water usage footprint & learn more about the Go Blue campaign, please visit:

http://www.goblue.org/

---------------------------------------------
Related Links:

Start A Wave Project - Share Your Story of Creating Positive Changes in Communities
http://www.startawave.ca/startawave.html

May 14, 2008 | 8:05 AM Comments  0 comments


« previous 5


Sustainable Solutions Community's Profile


Latest Posts
Call for Paper: More...
Toyota Earth Day...
Dream It. Do It....
Urban Skyfarm Concept...
Events: Waste...

Monthly Archive
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008

Change Language


Tags Archive
activism canada ecologicalfootprints educational energy energyproduction energysaving environmentalassessment environmentaldesign environmentaldevelopment europe event healthrisks news nonprofit(ngos) ontario policy politics renewableenergy research sustainabledevelopment sustainableenergy sustainableliving toronto urbanplanning wastemanagement water watersoftpath world zerowaste

Links
30KM - R U in the Zone?
CCEE
Corporate Knights
ECO Canada
Electrolux
Jimmy Carter
Kids' Create Your Future!
London Sustainability Ex
Renew Magazine
STDC
Sustainable Solutions
TEV
The Lean Economy
Zerofootprint Toronto


4594 views
Important Disclaimer