Building Back Better From the Pandemic and Climate Emergencies~December 10, 2020
Join me, Terry Moore, for a conversation with Annamie Paul, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, on how the Green Party would tackle the two key crises of our time.
- PH Resource List For “Building Back Better From The Pandemic And Climate Emergencies”December 10, 2020
- Link to Planet Haliburton December 10, 2020
Doug Ford Environmental Impact Assessment ~ November 26, 2020
Ontario Green Party Leader, Mike Schreiner, calls the Ford government …”one of the most anti-environmental in generations”. Join us for part 2 of our continuing Environmental Impact Assessment of the Doug Ford government with Dianne Saxe, Ontario’s 3rd and last Environmental Commissioner and the Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Ontario
- PH Resource List Doug Ford Environment Impact Assessment With Dianne Saxe Nov 26 2020 Rev 1
- Link to Planet Haliburton November 26, 2020
A Good War:Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency ~ November 12, 2020
Canadian political and economic leaders say they accept the science establishing that climate change presents a real and present danger to all life on the planet. But their actions really do speak louder than their words.
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we take a look at the growing gulf between what our leaders say about the climate crisis, what they’re actually doing about it, and how citizens can mobilize to change all that.
Join me, Terry Moore, for a conversation with academic and climate activist, Seth Klein, author of the new book “A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency”.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, November 12, 2020
- PH Resource List For “A Good War Mobilizing Canadians For The Climate Emergency" Nov 12 2020 Updated
Pension Fund Capitalism And The Covid-19 Pandemic ~ October 29, 2020
On this episode of Planet Haliburton we probe the connections between Covid-19, for-profit long term care, and public sector pension funds with Kevin Skerrett, a researcher with the Canadian Union of Public Employees and an author/editor of the 2018 book “The Contradictions of Pension Fund Capitalism”.
- Resource List for “Pension Fund Capitalism and the Covid-19 Pandemic”, October 29, 2020
- Link to Planet Haliburton,October 29, 2020
Climate Change Planning In Haliburton County ~ October 8, 2020
Scientists have never been so insistent that preserving a liveable climate requires immediate action to drive deep cuts to our carbon emissions. With national governments failing to get that job done, local level climate change planning has taken on a new sense of urgency.
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we discuss the possibilities and limitations of local climate change planning with Korey McKay, the County’s Climate Change Coordinator.
- Background Resource List For Climate Changing Planning In Haliburton County with Korey McKay October 8 2020
- Link to Planet Haliburton, October 8, 2020
The Climate Emergency and Local Climate Change Planning Activism ~ September 24, 2020
Climate Scientists have never been so insistent that preserving a liveable climate requires immediate action to drive deep cuts to our carbon emissions. But national governments have failed to get the job done and local level climate activism is gathering steam.
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we take a look at local climate emergency declarations and local climate change planning activism with Tamsen Tillson and Linda Mathers of Climate Action Muskoka (CAM).
- Resource List For “The Climate Emergency And Local Climate Change Planning Activism”, September 24, 2021
- Link to Planet Haliburton,September 24, 2020
The Green New Deal and Beyond: Ending the Climate Emergency While We Still Can ~ August 27, 2020
Climate Scientists have never been so insistent that immediate action is required to drive down greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid runaway climate disruption. Is the Green New Deal a means to achieve that end?
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we have a conversation about the prospects and limitations of the Green New Deal with Plant Scientist Stan Cox, Author of “Beyond the Green New Deal: Ending the Climate Emergency While We Still Can”.
- Background Resources “The Green New Deal And Beyond" August 27, 2020 for Planet Haliburton
- Link to Planet Haliburton, August 27, 2020
Covid-19 and the Guaranteed Basic Income ~ August 13, 2020
On our next episode we have a conversation about the need and prospects for a guaranteed basic income in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Crises have a way of highlighting the fault lines in existing systems and Canada’s income security programs are no exception.
Join me, Terry Moore, for a conversation with Elaine Power from Queen’s University and Jamie Swift, journalist, author and activist on why the time has come to get serious about a guaranteed basic income.
- Background Resource For Planet Haliburton August 13, 2020 Rev 1
- Link to Planet Haliburton, August 13, 2020
Doug Ford’s Environmental Impact at Half Time ~ July 30, 2020
Ontario Green Party Leader, Mike Schreiner, calls the Ford government … “one of the most anti-environmental in generations”. For an environmental assessment of Ford’s impact halfway through his 4-year mandate, join us for an eye-opening conversation with Dianne Saxe, the 3rd and last Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
- Resource List For Planet Haliburton July 30, 2020
- Link to Planet Haliburton, July 30, 2020
How the Rich Are Stealing Canada’s Public Wealth ~ June 25, 2020
From the “Public Power” of Ontario Hydro to the “Public Pharma” of Connaught Labs, public enterprise has achieved great outcomes for Canadians only to be privatized and sold off to those more interested in making profit than serving people.
Join us for a conversation about Canada’s fascinating public enterprise history and post-pandemic prospects with award winning author and activist, Linda McQuaig.
- Background Resource for Planet Haliburton, June 25 2020
- Link to Planet Haliburton, June 25, 2020
PPE and Covid-19: Political Rhetoric vs On-The-Ground Reality ~ June 11, 2020
- 4800+ front-line healthcare workers in Ontario infected by the virus
- more than 1 in 6 of all those who’ve tested positive in Ontario
- 30% of those infected under age 60 are front-line health workers
- one of the worst national records in the world on a per capita basis
Join us for a conversation about PPE and Covid-19 with Michael Hurley, President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Council of Ontario Hospital Unions (OCHU), and Rebecca Keetch, an auto worker at the GM Oshawa Plant and Organizer with Green Jobs Oshawa (GJO).
- Resource List For Planet Haliburton June 11, 2020
- Link to Planet Haliburton, June 11, 2020
Vaccine Resistance and the Covid-19 Pandemic~ May 28, 2020
Many argue that a return to pre-pandemic personal and working life will have to await the development of an effective and safe vaccine - something that’s by no means guaranteed as we have seen with other recent coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS.
But, even if a safe, effective and affordable Covid-19 vaccine becomes widely available, will it be embraced by a sufficient percentage of the population to ensure widespread public immunity from Covid-19?
To help us understand why a growing number of people have become “vaccine resistant” if not “vaccine hostile”, join me, Terry Moore, for a conversation with Jennifer Reich, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Denver and the author of the 2016 book entitled “Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines”.
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton May 28, 2020
- Link to Planet Haliburton May 28, 2020
Shoreline Bugs and Lake Health~ May 14, 2020
It turns out that the presence of tiny creatures making their homes at the water’s edge can tell us a lot about water quality and the health of adjacent shorelines. And, as we know healthy shorelines are essential to the water quality of Haliburton’s incredible lakes, streams and wetlands.
Recently, The U-links Centre for Community Based Research, headquartered in Minden, partnered with six Lake Associations across Haliburton County to study shoreline aquatic invertebrate populations. Over time, a database of the results will provide another means of assessing and tracking changes to shoreline health and water quality.
To hear more about “benthos biomonitoring” and its use in protecting and improving lake water quality, join me, Terry Moore, on the next Planet Haliburton episode for a conversation with Brendan Martin, the Aquatic and Biomonitoring Project Co-ordinator with U-Links and Jim Prince, the Vice-President of the Kennisis Lake Cottage Owners’ Association.
Healthy Septics and Healthy Lakes in Haliburton:The Politics of Municipal Reinspection ~ April 30, 2020
Three of the four townships in Haliburton County have established septic reinspection programs and the 4th, Minden Hills, is about to launch its variation in the near future.
Programs vary tremendously from one township to the next and some inspectors and waste treatment experts question the capacity of the majority of the county’s programs to actually identify key structural failures that can undermine lake health.
The most comprehensive program in the County, in Dysart et al, is under pressure to reduce its scope, raising fears that political support for protecting lake water quality is waning.
To discuss how septic systems work and fail as well as the problems with the programs we rely on to identify and fix malfunctioning systems, we’re joined on the next episode of Planet Haliburton by Mike Rahme and Rob Davis, two people with many years of waste water trouble-shooting and septic inspection experience.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, April 30, 2020
- Background Resources For The Politics Of Municipal Reinspection, April 30, 2020
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Ontario's Care Homes ~ April 9, 2020
As of April 6th, 26 residents of the 65-bed Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon have died from covid-19. The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care says that 50+ nursing home residents have died across the province with 44 homes reporting active covid-19 outbreaks.
Clearly, Long Term Care facilities, which are home to significant numbers of elderly residents with underlying health conditions and compromised immune systems, are pandemic hotspots. But does the way work is structured and organized within nursing homes create special or increased risks to residents, workers and the larger community?
To help us answer this and related questions we interview Pat Armstrong, Research Professor of Sociology at York University and the author of two recent books on Long Term Care sector work: entitled “Wash, Wear, Care: Clothing and Laundry in Long Term Residential Care” and “The Privatization of Care: The Case of Nursing Homes”.
- Background Resource List For “Covid 19 And Ontario’s Long Term Care Homes
- Link to Planet Haliburton, April 9, 2020
The Science and Politics of Shoreline Preservation ~ March 30, 2020
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we examine the science and regulatory issues related to natural shoreline protection.
Natural shorelines perform a range of important ecological functions essential to the environmental and economic health of Haliburton County. But they’re are under increasing pressure due to shoreline development and redevelopment.
Can we protect those natural shorelines from ongoing decline without undermining shoreline landowner property rights or the shoreline landscape industry?
To shed some light on this and other questions related to the draft County Shoreline Preservation By-law, we speak with shoreline naturalization expert, Julia Sutton, and environmental planning consultant, Stephen Fahner.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, March 30, 2020
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton March 30, 2020
Robyn Allan on Canada’s Fossil-Fuelled Follies ~ March 9, 2020
Ever wonder about how taxpayers, like me and you, end up subsidizing large carbon-intensive and climate disrupting projects, like the Trans-Mountain and GasLink pipelines, across this country?
And just how much demand really exists for more pipeline capacity to get Alberta’s tar sand bitumen to tidewater?
To lift the rug on these and other fossil-fuelled follies, join us for an ear-popping conversation with independent energy economist, Robyn Allan.
That’s “Robyn Allan on Canada’s Fossil-Fuelled Follies”, airing on Monday March 9th, 7 - 8pm and again on Saturday March 14th, 7 - 8am.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, March 9, 2020
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton March 9, 2020
Saxe on Ford: One Year Later ~ February 24, 2020
On the February 24th episode of Planet Haliburton we examine what Doug Ford has been up to since he eliminated the independent Office of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, almost one year ago.
Why did Doug Ford go to the extraordinary length of passing legislation to fire Ontario’s public environmental watchdog 2 years before her 5 year term of office was set to expire?
Join us for a candid conversation about Doug Ford’s ever-expanding environmental footprint with Ontario’s 3rd and last Environmental Commissioner, Dianne Saxe.
That’s “Saxe On Ford: One Year Later”, airing Monday February 24th, 7 - 8pm and again on Saturday February 29th, 7 - 8am.
- Background Resource For Planet Haliburton February 24, 2020
- Link to Planet Haliburton, February 24, 2020
The Greening of Death ~ February 10, 2020
Ever wonder about the environmental footprint associated with what happens to your body after you die? How does the carbon intensity of a conventional burial in a finished casket surrounded by a concrete vault, for example, compare to the carbon emissions caused by cremation?
The Green Burial Movement has been at the forefront of raising inconvenient questions about everything from the use of embalming chemicals to the mountains of carbon-intensive materials embodied in the caskets, cement, fibreglass or metal vaults buried along with humans remains in the typical grave in a conventional cemetery.
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we interview Suzanne Kelly, author of the 2015 book entitled “Greening Death: Reclaiming Death Practices and Restoring Our Tie to the Earth”.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, February 10, 2020
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton February 10, 2020
Haliburton Highlands Wetlands and Climate Change ~ January 27, 2020
On the next episode of PH we take a close look at the role Haliburton’s wetlands play in limiting future climate change as well as adapting to the
warming already in the pipeline.
Ontario is home to an astounding 25% of Canada’s and 6% of the world’s wetlands.
Haliburton’s almost 20,000 acres of wetlands, sequester a huge amount of carbon, filter our lake and drinking water, and limit the impact of flooding by slowing surface runoff and channeling it into the water table.
Covering 25% of Haliburton’s land area, wetlands have nominal protection under all five Municipal Official plans across the County, but are still being eroded by increasing site alteration and development pressure.
The Haliburton County Land Trust has recently obtained two wetland mapping and evaluation grants which it hopes will greatly enhance the capacity of municipal governments to stop further encroachment and lay the groundwork for improved future wetland protection and restoration actions.
That’s “Haliburton’s Wetlands and Climate Change”, with the Land Trust’s Sheila Ziman and Paul Heaven airing Monday January 27th, 7 - 8-pm and again on Saturday February 1st, 7 - 8am.
- Background Resource List For Planet Haliburton January 27, 2020
- Link to Planet Haliburton, January 27, 2020
The Climate Crisis and Ontario’s Boreal Forest ~ January 13, 2020
On the next episode of Planet Haliburton we take a hard look at the climate crisis and the health of Ontario’s Boreal Forest.
Discussion about slowing down, stopping, or even reversing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere place a lot of faith in the world’s forests as virtually inexhaustible carbon storehouses.
But are Canada’s and Ontario’s forests really the carbon sinks we think they are?
To begin answering that question join me, Terry Moore, for a conversation with Dave Pearce, Forest Conservation Manager for the Wildlands League, about the League’s recent bombshell report entitled “Logging Scars”.
- Link to Planet Haliburton, January 13, 2020
- Background Resources For Planet Haliburton January 13, 2020