Green New Deal for Oshawa? ~ December 30, 2019
On Friday December 20, 2019 the last vehicle rolled off the assembly line at the GM Oshawa Plant throwing 5,000 direct employees out of work as well as eliminating an additional 10,000 indirect supplier jobs across Ontario.
On September 13, 2019, in the middle of the federal election campaign, Green Jobs Oshawa and the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation released a feasibility study supporting the conversion of GM Oshawa into a publicly-owned centre for green vehicle production.
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we interview the principal author of that study, Russ Christianson, about what the proposal contains, how it’s been received and its future prospects.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, December 30, 2019
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton December 30, 2019
SIRCHING for an Alternative to Throwaway Culture: Repair Cafe in the Highlands~December 9, 2019
Ever get frustrated when told that you need to get rid of something because it’s cheaper to trash it than repair it?
Repair Cafes, active in 1500 locations across 33 countries, bring people together with a communities of local “fixers” to provide an alternative to just junking stuff that breaks down.
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we’re joined by Chris Varga, the Repair Café Co-ordinator for SIRCH Community Services in Haliburton, to discuss plans to bring Repair Cafe to Haliburton County, beginning in January 2020.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, December 9, 2019
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton, December 9, 2019
The Climate Crisis and Climate Change Planning in the Highlands ~ November 25, 2019
With senior levels of government repeatedly failing to meet their own voluntary targets under international climate change agreements, the call has gone out for political and economic leaders at the municipal and community level to step into the breach.
In Haliburton County, the Four Townships have each opted into a County-wide Climate Change Planning process that’s gathering steam with the recent hiring of a climate chang co-ordinator to guide the County and Townships through the planning process.
The County’s climate change planning framework and timeline was developed by Charlsey White, the Director of Planning/Deputy CAO for the County of Haliburton and Greg Douglas, the County’s Director of Public Works.
Both Charlsey White and Craig Douglas join us in the next episode of Planet Haliburton to discuss the planning process that will produce both greenhouse gas emission reduction and climate change adaptation plans for the County and all four Townships.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, November 25, 2019
- Background Resource list for Planet Haliburton November 25, 2019
The Climate Crisis and Human Health~November 11, 2019
Climate scientists have become increasingly more aggressive with their public pronouncements on the need for political and economic leaders to take urgent measures to dramatically reduce future greenhouse gas emissions as well as preparing people and communities for the impact of the inevitable warming to come from past emissions.
To help identify the threats to human health posed by climate change, as well as assessing and recommending improvements to existing adaptation efforts, Public Health Units across Ontario have been mandated to undertake Climate Change Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments within their respective jurisdictions.
Sue Shikaze, a Health Promoter with the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge Health Unit, is in charge of that study in this neck of the woods and joins us on the next episode of Planet Haliburton.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, November 11, 2019
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton November 11, 2019
The Federal Election Results and the Climate Crisis~ October 28, 2019
The dust has barely settled from the October 21st federal election and the battle over what the results actually mean is just cranking up.
The political right claims that popular vote and seat totals are a repudiation of the Trudeau carbon tax and demand more action to get TMX pipeline built and increased support for the oil and gas sector.
On the other hand, the political left and environmental organizations argue that two-thirds of Canadians support carbon taxes and want further aggressive action to address the climate crisis.
To help separate political rhetoric from fact, the October 28th episode of Planet Haliburton features another discussion with University of Alberta Political Economist, Professor Gordon Laxer, author of the 2015 book, “After the Sands: Economic and Environmental Security for Canadians”.
- Background Resource List For Planet Haliburton October 28, 2019 Rev 1
- Link to Planet Haliburton, October 28, 2019
Green Burial: An After-Death Environmental Legacy That Keeps on Giving ~ October 14, 2019
Ever wonder about the ecological footprint of traditional burials with all those heavy-duty embalming chemicals, cement, steel or fiberglass vaults and finished caskets? Or the amount of carbon emitted if you choose to be cremated?
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton, we focus on the growing interest in Green Burial with PH co-host Terry Moore, chair of Environment Haliburton’s Green Burial Working Group.
That’s “Green Burial: An After Death Legacy The Keeps On Giving”, airing on Monday October 14th, 7 - 8pm and again Saturday October 19th, 7 - 8am.
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton October 14, 2019
- Link to Planet Haliburton, October 14, 2019
The October 21st Federal Election: The Politics, Economics and Environmental Concerns of TMX and other Energy Projects ~ September 9, 2019
Despite on-going legal challenges, lingering questions regarding its economic viability, as well as damaging environmental impacts, construction of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) has started.
To help us sort out the many controversies surrounding TMX and other energy projects, we are joined, on this episode of Planet Haliburton, by Gordon Laxer, Political Economist and author of, “After The Sands: Toward Energy and Environmental Security For Canadians”.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, September 9, 2019
- Background Resource List, September 9, 2019
Science In The Forest ~August 26, 2019
The privately-owned Haliburton Forest covers some 100,000 acres within Halliburton County, an area just under half the size of the City of Toronto with 100 lakes within its boundaries.
The Haliburton Forest is not just a premiere four-season tourist attraction and one of the largest employers in the County, it’s also home to dozens of scientific research projects studying everything from the extent and impact of invasive earth worms to climate change.
In fact. there’s so much science going on in Forest that a Research Institute was created in 2018 to co-ordinate all those projects and communicate the results more effectively to the larger community.
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton join us for an interview with Adam Gorgolewski, the Forest’s first Research Coordinator.
“Science in the Forest” airs Monday August 26, 7 - 8pm and again on Saturday August 31st, 7 - 8am.
Background Resources For Planet Haliburton August 26, 2019
Local Food: Building Alternatives to Industrial Agriculture ~ August 12, 2019
In today’s world we have come to expect that when we go to our local grocery store we will be able to get almost any fruit or vegetable that the world has to offer, even though they are not in season where we live. We also expect fruits and vegetables that would never be grown here in Canada.
Conversely, there is a growing interest in buying local produce and there has been a proliferation of farmers’ markets, as seen here, in Haliburton County. This means a much smaller carbon footprint and much less packaging.
Join hosts Terry Moore and Greg Roe and their guest Andrew Graham of Graham’s Farm in Minden for Local Food: Building Alternatives to Industrial Agriculture.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, August 12, 2019
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton August 12, 2019
Lake Health in the Highlands: Sobering Realities and Future Prospects~July 29, 2019
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we feature a full length interview with Paul MacInnes, Chair of the Coalition of Haliburton Property Owners’ Associations (CHA), the driving force behind the Love Your Lake Healthy Shorelines Project and the newly issued Lake Health Report.
Increased shoreline development, phosphorus from septic tanks, declining calcium and oxygen levels and climate change all challenge Haliburton’s famous water quality and healthy lakes.
Join us for a conversation about how our lakes are doing and how we can all help protect them for generations to come.
That’s Lake Health in the Highlands: Sobering Realities and Future Prospects” with Paul MacInnes airing Monday July 29th, 7 - 8pm and again Saturday August 3rd, 7 - 8 am.
Comments and programme suggestions are welcome and can be sent to Terry and Greg at planethaliburton@canoefm.com.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, July 29, 2019
- Background Resource List for Planet Haliburton , July 29, 2019 plus two links below
- CHA Presentation to County Council on Love Your Lake Shoreline Assessment Results, June 27, 2018
- CHA Presentation to County Council in Shoreline Protection, March 27, 2019
From Fireworks to Herbicides to Climate Change: Tackling Environmental Challenges in Dysart~July 8, 2019
Dysart Township’s Environment and Climate Change Committee, chaired by Ward 4 Councillor, John Smith, has been taking on some hot local environmental challenges recently, ranging from a new Fireworks Control Bylaw to Ontario Hydro’s herbicide spraying program along electrical transmission corridors.
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we talk with Smith about a wide range of ecological challenges from septic system reinspections to the plastics and organics choking our landfills to our Climate Change Crisis.
That’s “From Fireworks to Herbicides to the Climate Crisis” with John Smith airing Monday July 8th from 7 - 8pm and again on Saturday July 13th, from 7 - 8am.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, July 8, 2019
- Background Resource List For Planet Haliburton July 8, 2019
The Trans Mountain Pipeline: Separating Fact From Fiction~June 24, 2019
Confused by all the conflicting claims about the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) Project?
Few people have dedicated as much time and effort to exposing the economic and environmental realities associated with the TMX Project as independent economist, Robyn Allan - former President of the Insurance Corporation of BC, Senior Economist with the BC Credit Union Central and Expert Intervenor with the National Energy Board’s Review of the TMX Project.
Robyn is also the author of the just published novel, “When They Came for The Beach”, a fictionalized account of the facts behind all the TMX politics and corporate PR.
That’s “The TMX: Separating Fact From Fiction” with Robyn Allan on the next episode of Planet Haliburton, airing Monday, June 24th from 7 - 8 pm and again on Saturday, June 29th, from 7 - 8am.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, June 24, 2019
- Background Resource for Planet Haliburton, June 24, 2019
“Waste Free Ontario” Under Doug Ford~June 10, 2019
While most environmental legislation passed by the former Liberal government has been unceremoniously trashed, the Waste Free Ontario Act has survived ... so far.
Has this latest attempt to dig ourselves out from ever-growing mountains of waste made any difference so far? What are the prospects going forward under a government fixated on unfettered economic growth?
Join us on the next episode of Planet Haliburton as we put the “Waste Free Ontario Act” under the microscope with Dave Gordon, Senior Advisor on Waste Diversion with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
- Link to Planet Haliburton June 10, 2019
- Background Resources for Planet Haliburton, June 10, 2019
Ford’s Hard Reverse on the Environment~May 27, 2019
With the one-year anniversary of Doug Ford’s election as Premier coming up on June 8, 2019, the next episode of Planet Haliburton takes a hard look at Ford’s environmental agenda and growing legacy, with Dianne Saxe, the former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario.
With scientific and popular pressure for urgent action to address our climate and other ecological crises rising, the gap between the need for that action and our political leadership’s willingness to actually deliver it has never been wider.
Join us on Monday May 27th, 7 - 8pm or Saturday June 1st, 7 - 8am for a conversation with Dianne Saxe on Ford’s environmental impact one quarter of the way through his term.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, May 27, 2019
- Background Resources for Planet Haliburton, May 27, 2019
Green Burial - Environmental Stewardship After Death~April 29, 2019
Ever wonder about the ecological footprint of traditional burials with all those heavy-duty embalming chemicals, cement, steel or fiberglass vaults and finished caskets? Or the amount of carbon emitted if you choose to be cremated?
The next episode of Planet Haliburton puts traditional burial practices and their greener alternatives under the microscope in conversation with Ellen Newman, of the Good Green Death Project and Mark Richardson, Manager of Cemetery Services with the City of Niagara Falls.
If reducing your environmental footprint while you’re alive is something you care about, join us to learn how you can continue that good work even after you die.
“Green Burial” airs on Monday April 29th, 7 - 8pm and again on Saturday May 4th, 7 - 8am.
- Link to Planet Haliburton April 28, 2019
- Background Resources for Planet Haliburton April 29 2019
Local Climate Change Planning Under FordNation~August 8, 2019
Re-aired from July 30, 2018
With Doug Ford’s election as Ontario’s new Premier on June 7th, public policy on climate change has been thrown into disarray. While Ford claims to be a carbon tax denier and not a climate change denier, the first official act of his new cabinet was to kill the previous government’s entire cap and trade system for putting both limits and a price on carbon pollution.
What are the implications of these changes at the provincial level for climate change planning by municipal governments in Ontario?
To discuss why local climate change planning is more urgent than ever and how municipalities can share information and expertise, we’re joined by Brian Kelly, the Manager of Sustainability for the Regional Municipality of Durham.
That’s Local Climate Change Planning under FordNation on the next episode of Planet Haliburton.
- Link to Planet Haliburton July 30. 2018
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton July 30, 2018
All the Poop on Septic Re-inspection Programs~March 25, 2019
Re-aired from August 28, 2017
Thousands of seasonal and permanent residents of Haliburton County rely on private septic systems to handle their "human waste" or "humanure". But malfunctioning or poorly maintained systems can have serious negative impacts on both the ground and surface water quality for which Haliburton is famous.
While septic system re-inspection programs are finally getting off the ground in each of the four Townships, they vary tremendously and will have very different on-the-ground impacts. Informed public discussion about the specifics of the various programs and their potential to help limit our personal and collective impact on surface and ground water quality is now more important than ever.
To shed some light on the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly septic system realities in Haliburton County, Rob Davis and Mike Rahme, two of the most knowledgeable, respected and experienced septic system inspectors in the County, join Planet Haliburton for a wide ranging discussion about the potential for septic re-inspection programs to help us clean up our act.
- Link to Planet Haliburton August 28, 2017
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton For August 28, 2017
Your Diet, the Industrial Meat Industry and the Climate Crisis~March 11, 2019
Re-aired from April 24, 2017
Ever wonder about the ecological impact of industrial agriculture? How about the energy and other inputs going into the industrial livestock industry as well as the massive and growing levels of organic waste and greenhouse gas emissions generated in the process?
Join co-hosts Terry Moore and Greg Roe for a conversation with Professor Tony Weis, industrial agricultural critic and author of two books on Big Ag: "The Global Food Economy: The Battle for The Future of Farming" in 2007 followed in 2013 with "The Ecological Hoofprint: The Global Burden of Industrial Livestock.
If you're concerned about the relationship between your diet and the health of our planet you won't want to miss this show.
Click on the links below to listen to the program or for background resources:
- Link to Planet Haliburton April 24, 2017
- Background Resources for Planet Haliburton April 24, 2017 (Part 1)
- Background Resources for Planet Haliburton April 24, 2017 (Part 2)
Peter Sale on What the Heck is "The Anthropocene" and Why Should We Care? ~February 25, 2019
Re-aired from July 31, 2017
There's a growing scientific consensus that earth has exited from the "Holocene" geological epoch ushered in by the end of the last ice age 11,700 years ago and entered into a brave new world called "The Anthropocene" - or "time of humans".
Human civilization, from our agricultural systems to our economic, political and cultural institutions, were all created during the relatively stable Holocene but our species is now become so dominant that we're altering, and important ways, undermining the biogeophysical systems that support all life on the planet.
Join Planet Haliburton co-hosts, Greg Roe and Terry Moore on February 25th from 7- 8pm for an exploration of both the character and consequences of the Anthropocene with marine biologist, ecological author, and former Chair of the Muskoka Watershed Council, Peter Sale.
Our "Ask Adria" (AKA "The Ecoholic") segment also returns on February 25th for a discussion of the ecological hazards associated with the use of pressured treated wood, whatever the colour.
- Link to Planet Haliburton July 31, 2017
- Background Resources for Planet Haliburton July 31, 2017
Is Capitalism Killing Our Climate?~February 11, 2019
Re-aired from November 13, 2017
Never-ending economic growth on a finite planet is unsustainable and sooner or later will put humankind on a collision course with environmental realities. However, despite clear evidence that we are undermining crucial ecological systems that support all life on earth, virtually all our economic and political leaders keep promoting policies and practices that demand more and more from a biosphere already in crisis.
Why are we/they so hooked on growth? Is it because our economic system, capitalism, has never-ending growth hard-wired into its DNA?
Join Planet Haliburton co-hosts Greg Roe and Terry Moore on February 11, 2019 at 7pm - 8pm for a conversation with Ian Angus, editor of the Climate and Capitalism website, about the relationship between capitalism, incessant growth and the climate crisis.
- Link to Planet Haliburton November 13, 2017
- Background Resources Planet Haliburton November 13, 2017
Climate Change: Plan Now or Suffer Later~January 28, 2018
Originally aired on January 30, 2017 & February 28, 2018
Join hosts Terry Moore and Greg Roe for a conversation with Peter Sale, marine ecologist, coral expert and author of “Planning for Climate Change In Muskoka."
Click on the links below to listen to the program or for background resources:
- Link to Planet Haliburton February 28, 2018 Part 1
- Link to Planet Haliburton February 28, 2018 Part 2
- Link to Planet Haliburton February 28, 2018 Part 3
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton February 28, 2018
Your Diet, the Industrial Meat Industry and the Climate Crisis~January 14, 2019
Re-airing of the April 24, 2017 program
Ever wonder about the ecological impact of industrial agriculture? How about the energy and other inputs going into the industrial livestock industry as well as the massive and growing levels of organic waste and greenhouse gas emissions generated in the process?
Join co-hosts Terry Moore and Greg Roe for a conversation with Professor Tony Weis, industrial agricultural critic and author of two books on Big Ag: "The Global Food Economy: The Battle for The Future of Farming" in 2007 followed in 2013 with "The Ecological Hoofprint: The Global Burden of Industrial Livestock.
If you're concerned about the relationship between your diet and the health of our planet you won't want to miss this show.
Click on the links below to listen to the program or for background resources:
- Link to Planet Haliburton April 24, 2017
- Background Resources for Planet Haliburton April 24, 2017 (Part 1)
- Background Resources for Planet Haliburton April 24, 2017 (Part 2)