The Great Green North

Working Bibliography on the History of the Environmental Movement in Canada

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:25:00 +0000

To view an updated version of the working bibliography click on "Bibliography" on the top left of this website, or by going here. Do let me know if there are any books, chapters, dissertations, or articles that I should include.

The Environmental Movement in Quebec (part two)

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:29:00 +0000

In an earlier post I provided a link to Jane Barr's 1995 MA thesis, "The Origins and Emergence of Quebec's Environmental Movement: 1970-1985." For those wishing to learn more about the movement in la belle province I would recommend the work of Jean-Guy Vaillancourt. A sociologist by training, Vaillancourt has published on a wide variety of subjects, including environmentalism. Luckily for us, much of his work is now available for free online. To access this open source scholarship, click here. Don't forget to bring out your Larousse, because the work featured on this website is in French.

Population Control and the Environment

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:10:00 +0000

I have a post on the Active History website on the topic of "Population Control and the Environment." You can read it by going here.

Advertising the Environmental Movement: Vickers and Benson’s Branding of Pollution Probe

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:31:00 +0000

This summer I'll be participating in the Eco-images: Altering Environmental Discussions and Political Landscapes workshop hosted by the Rachel Carson Center in Munich, Germany. Below is a copy of my abstract. If you have anything to share, do feel free to let me know. While the advertisements produced by Vickers and Benson did wonders for establishing Pollution Probe's reputation, there was the occasional misstep. The image depicted above, the Probe Superhero, was rejected by the group because it was at odds with the idea that we are all responsible for resolving our environmental problems. As I've been told, a banner bearing this image was subsequently presented to Marshall McLuhan, who posted it in his office.

Abstract: "Advertising the Environmental Movement: Vickers and Benson’s Branding of Pollution Probe"

In 1969 Vickers and Benson, Canada’s leading advertising agency, struck up a unique relationship with Pollution Probe, an upstart environmental activist group based out of the University of Toronto. Having read of the anti-pollution group’s early exploits, Vickers and Benson’s creative director was inspired to provide his agency’s services pro bono to help spread Pollution Probe’s message. Over the next two years a steady stream of full-page advertisements were placed in the Toronto Telegram, which in turn provided space at no cost. This advertising campaign would have a significant effect on the development of Pollution Probe. The slickly produced advertisements presented the appearance of a highly professional group that operated at ease with government officials and industry leaders. In reality, at this point Pollution Probe was operating on a minute budget, relying upon the work of volunteers and makeshift office space provided by the university.

This paper examines the Vickers and Benson advertising campaign. It highlights how the campaign influenced the public’s perception of Pollution Probe, a group that would become, in the early 1970s, Canada’s most renowned and reputable environmental activist organization. While the public visibility afforded by the campaign was important, this paper also argues that the advertisements presented Pollution Probe as a highly knowledgeable, authoritative organization that was well equipped to address Canada’s environmental woes. These advertisements also provide a precious window into the environmental movement’s past. As such, this paper will also consider the significance of the issues addressed in the campaign, as well as the manner of their visual depiction.

Protect Strathgartney Provincial Park

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:22:00 +0000

One of my favorite spots on Prince Edward Island is Strathgartney Provincial Park. Home to a wonderful nature trail and a rare stand of beechwood trees, it is one of the province's most beautiful areas. Now it appears that Premier Robert Ghiz intends to redirect the Trans-Canada Highway through the park. Why would he do that? No reason has been given publicly, but it appears to be motivated purely by a desire to tap into federal infrastructure funding in order to provide some local short-term jobs.

Please consider signing this online petition. If you're on Prince Edward Island, there are plans to hold a rally at Province House this Tuesday (October 25th) at 12:15 PM.

For more information, please read this article.

Spread the word and show your concern!

The Keystone XL Pipeline Protests

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:13:00 +0000

Recent protests in Washington have raised the profile of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, which would ship oil from Alberta to the United States. In the past couple weeks over 1200 protesters have been arrested in the American capital in an effort to create awareness of this potentially devastating project. Rachel Mendleson, a business writer at the Huffington Post, wonders why the issue has gained considerable traction among environmentalists in the United States but not in Canada. In her article, which you can find here, she spoke to Naomi Klein, myself, and some industry representatives.

John Fraser and Conservative Environmentalism

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:32:00 +0000

In June 1984 John Fraser delivered an address at the annual convention of the Indiana Division of the Izaak Walton League of America. (The IWL, founded in 1924, is one of the oldest environmental groups in the United States.) A former federal Minister of the Environment – he held this post during the brief Joe Clark government – Fraser’s address focused on the transnational threat posed by acid rain. I was particularly interested in what he had to say about the relationship between conservatism and environmentalism. As Fraser noted:

If it is a conservative instinct in America to defend the Constitution - because within it are found the great laws that maintain and secure the community, how conservative it then is to defend the environment - because without that life itself is at risk. I say these things because sometimes here in the United States there seems to be a misunderstanding of what conservatism really is: too often those who would destroy the environment are labeled conservative - and sometimes those destroyers attach to themselves a conservative label. The real conservatives are those whose instinct is conservation. You are all the custodians of a tradition of American conservation and it is in both your great national parties.

Pierre Trudeau meets Pollution Probe

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:07:00 +0000

When Toronto’s Pollution Probe emerged in 1969 it had a knack for gaining support from the general public. It also had a unique ability to make friends with those in positions of power. On the one hand, this meant it was able to forge ties with members of the Toronto business community. On the other, it was able to gain favour with key political figures. While Pollution Probe was able to establish a meaningful relationship with Premier Bill Davis of Ontario, it had less success with the Prime Minister of Canada.

In August 2008 I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Ralph Brinkhurst, who was one of Pollution Probe’s early faculty supporters at the University of Toronto. When the subject turned to Pierre Trudeau, Dr. Brinkhurst had the following to say:

We didn't get along with Trudeau …. He got away with being sort of arrogant and smart-assed at times. One perfect example: he looked at the same young man [Tony Barrett] we'd been talking about, and he was wearing one of Pollution Probe's 'Do It' buttons …. And there was this Trudeau, looked very archedly at this young man, and sort of cocked an eyebrow and said, 'Oh, what does that mean?' with obvious innuendo. And the guy instantly reported 'It means think clean, sir.' [laughs] We were dealing with some smart kids …. It really took him aback.

I later came across this picture in the 5 March 1970 edition of the Globe and Mail. In it Trudeau is being handed one of Pollution Probe’s ‘Do It’ buttons by James Karfilis, a city lawyer who did some early work with the group. Whether this occurred on the same night as the aforementioned anecdote is unclear.

Brian Mulroney and the Environment

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:43:00 +0000

Shortly after being sworn in as the Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands, Elizabeth May urged Prime Minister Stephen Harper to take a lesson from his Conservative predecessor Brian Mulroney and to show some leadership on environmental issues. While the current administration's disinterest in the environment is widely known, in 2006 Mulroney was named Canada's Greenest Prime Minister by Corporate Knights magazine. As May pointed out, Mulroney was the last Prime Minister whose party received a majority of the popular vote, a fact she attributed to his willingness to listen to public concern.

One of Mulroney's key legacies is his work on acid rain. While he was quick to address the issue in Canada, he had considerable difficulty prodding President Ronald Reagan to pursue a similar course in the United States. (Roughly half of the pollution causing acid rain in Canada came from sources south of the border, meaning a bilateral solution was necessary.) It wasn't for lack of trying. While considerable lobbying occurred behind the scenes, you can get a sense of Mulroney's dedication to the issue through his public statements at the time. In March 1985 the Prime Minister appeared on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour on PBS. When asked if he was pleased with Reagan's recent admission that acid rain was an important issue to consider -- part of the President's grand scheme of delaying action -- Mulroney replied that "I hope that we will be able to do better than that. In point of fact the United States and Canada have inflicted great savagery upon our common environment. You know this is not something that we own. This is a trust that we must pass on undiminished to our children. And I think that we've done great damage over the years to our environment. We have been thoughtless. We have been careless.”

Nonetheless, Reagan continued to delay action, citing the need for further study of the issue. Two years later, when Mulroney was introducing Reagan to a Special Session of the Canadian Parliament, he once again returned to the theme. As he eloquently stated, "I urgently invite the U.S. Administration and the American Congress to join with this Parliament and the Government of Canada in concluding a firm bilateral accord which will provide a North American solution to acid rain. In this matter, time is not our ally but our enemy. The longer we delay, the greater the cost. For what would be said of a generation that sought the stars but permitted its lakes and streams to languish and die?"

In 1991 Mulroney and Reagan's successor, George H.W. Bush, signed the Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement, obliging the two countries to reduce their sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions.

Deep Throat Does The (Toronto) Environment

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:08:00 +0000

Ah, the old student newspaper…

I recently found myself sifting through back issues of the University of Toronto’s Varsity, in an on-going effort to understand the campus community’s burgeoning environmental consciousness. Along the way I’ve come across an assortment of articles showcasing the best in student journalism. Lawrence Clarke’s “Can Linda Lovelace really be ‘just the girl next door?’” (March 14, 1975, pages 16-17) is one such piece. Lovelace, who rocketed to infamy with her starring “performance” in the 1972 pornographic film Deep Throat, was in Toronto the Good to promote her forthcoming feature Linda Lovelace for President.

I hear it had a clever plot.

In between the occasionally awkward questioning (“What would you do if you met the head of the Roman Catholic Church?” did not spark the insightful response the interviewer apparently hoped for), Lovelace’s stinging critique of simulated sex in mainstream cinema (her thoughts on the racy Last Tango in Paris? “The sex was so obviously faked it was stupid.”), and the obligatory defense of her line of work (shoot ‘em up films, she argued, are the real pornography), it turns out Lovelace was deeply concerned with the state of Toronto’s environment.

Sitting in her room on the 29^th floor of the Hyatt Regency hotel, Lovelace began critiquing the pollution outside. “Toronto’s air isn’t that much better than New York City or Chicago….In five years children will be dying from this air, but no one cares.” And, while she believed the air problems could be solved, she wasn’t optimistic that the present political structure would allow for the necessary changes. Predicting catastrophe, Lovelace announced her intention to go back to the land: “I’d like to buy a farm soon either in the U.S. or in Scandinavia. Then I’d like to learn how to farm just for survival, not to make money or anything. It’s people who do this who are going to have a chance to go on living when something does go wrong.”

I wonder if Traci Lord s gave any interviews on acid rain?

The Things You Learn Digging Through The Archives ...

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:33:00 +0000

You may be familiar with Garrett Hardin. Best known for his 1968 essay "The Tragedy of the Commons" and an outspoken proponent of coercive population control, Hardin's work was central to the branch of the early environmental movement that focused on overpopulation as the root of all societal ills. After coming across the note listed above, I must admit that I'll always associate him with his apparent appreciation for a good "peanut butter sandwitch (sic)."

You can click on the picture above to get a closer view.

History of the Environmentalist Movement (History 483) Syllabus

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:32:00 +0000

This summer I'll be teaching a fourth year seminar on the history of the environmental movement at the University of Prince Edward Island.

The History of Earth Day in Toronto

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:46:00 +0000

Last year I appeared on The Green Majority - "Canada's first environmental newshour" -to discuss the first Earth Day in Toronto. You can find the interview here.

If you liked what you heard you may want to consider listening to The Green Majority on a regular basis. I subscribe to the weekly production via iTunes, and if you live in the GTA you can find it on the dial at 89.5 FM.

The Adventures of a Postdoctoral Fellow

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 21:24:00 +0000

Every so often I'm asked what life as a postdoctoral fellow entails. As far as my three-plus months of experience indicate, it isn't much different from grad life, insofar that, while the focus is on researching and writing a new project, there's a plethora of activities on the go. (Of course, there's the wonderful benefit of having your dissertation behind you and no tuition fees to pay.) While postdoctoral positions take a number of forms, the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship that I hold is two years in duration. I've spent the past month and a half researching my topic - the Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain - at the University of Waterloo archives. I've also begun work on my latest oral history project, which focuses on the stories of children of back-to-the-landers on Prince Edward Island. These interviews will form the basis of a chapter that I will co-author with Alan MacEachern in an edited collection on counterculture and the environment in Canada. (These interviews may also be used to expand our digital exhibit, "Back to the Island.") On top of this I'm revising an article, based on a chapter from my dissertation, for publication, and preparing to teach H483: The History of the Environmentalist Movement, which begins next month at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Things won't slow down this summer. In addition to teaching the aforementioned course I'll be revising my dissertation for publication, preparing a book chapter on the Is Five Foundation's recycling efforts, and, hopefully, completing my long-promised digital exhibit on the small party, which is the predecessor to the Canadian Green Party. Somewhere along the line I hope to put some more work into my history of the Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain, although I suspect writing won't begin in earnest until I relocate to Peterborough in the fall.

I have a few more projects in mind, but I'm hoping to cross a few items off of my "to do" list before beginning anything else. So, if you think life as a doctoral candidate is complicated, I suggest you learn to juggle projects. The truth is, if you're fortunate enough, it's only going to get busier.

Matt and Malachy

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:12:00 +0000

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my sixth grade science fair project examined the effects of acid rain. Turns out that was a fairly popular topic for children to study. While researching the role of the Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain I've come across hundreds of requests for information, many of which came from youth working on school projects. The letter posted above came from Matt and Malachy - no surname was provided - of Kansas City, Missouri. As they note, "We are kids and we are writin (sic) to you because were (sic) doing a science project on acid rain. It is such a big proplem (sic) that we don't now (sic) where to start. Please send us some imformation (sic) on acid rain and give us an idea how to start and set it up. PLEASE DOM'T (sic) PASS IT UP". This letter was addressed to Michael Perley, executive coordinator of the Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain, and co-author of two books on the subject. His reply, posted below, included a small kit to test the acidity of rain in Kansas City, bumper stickers, buttons, and some literature "to show how Canadians are trying to get the message across to industries and governments in both Canada and the United States that acid rain is a serious problem and needs a solution soon." I'm not sure how Matt and Malachy's project went, but I'm sure they were delighted with all the free stuff they received.

Fire on the Don River

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:36:00 +0000

It shouldn't have happened. But at some point during the night on February 2, 1931, a fire started on Toronto's Don River.

City waterways have long been used as dumping grounds by industry and the general public. The Don is no exception. Sufficiently polluted with flammable compounds, the river caught fire when a spark from a passing train landed on an oil patch. Thanks to an eagle-eyed watchman, the fire department was promptly dispatched and the fire was tamed. No injuries were reported, but the Eastern Avenue footbridge was sufficiently damaged that the structure had to be torn down.

No doubt things could have been worse. A strong wind raised concern that the fire might spread to the neighboring industrial area. Likewise, tragedy was narrowly averted when bridge planks gave way beneath two firemen. They fell, but managed to scramble to safety.

Truth be told, river fires were not uncommon features on the industrial landscape. The Cuyahoga River fire of 1969 has gained a somewhat mythic spot within the lore of the emergent environmental movement, with many claiming that this fire helped spark concern throughout the United States in regards to ecological degradation. Well, yes and no. As Mark Hamilton Lytle notes in The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise of the Environmental Movement (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), the same river had been on fire numerous times over the years. In fact, the fire that gained infamy in 1969 was of relatively minor scale … it did not last long enough for journalists to snap photographs, which led newspapers to utilize more dramatic photographs of river fires from years prior. Why, then, did this 1969 event strike an interest in the general public? According to Lytle, “Timing, more than the fire itself, made the Cuyahoga a symbol of environmental abuse.” In other words, the general public was sufficiently ready in 1969 to be concerned about such matters.

Of course, the story of the Don River and environmentalism doesn’t end with the 1931 fire. In 1955 the municipality of Richmond Hill was sued by a resident for polluting the river with sewage. When Pollution Probe arrived on the Toronto scene in 1969, one of their first projects concerned raising awareness about the sickly state of the Don. They proceeded to hold a funeral for the river, which gained considerable publicity. While the Don River remains a toxic dumping ground, at least there is a widespread understanding that such is the case. Of course, recognizing a problem is the easy part. If we could only find a way to clean it up ....

History of the Environmentalist Movement at the University of Prince Edward Island

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:18:00 +0000

This summer I'll be teaching History 483: History of the Environmentalist Movement at the University of Prince Edward Island. The course will run during the First Summer Session, from May 9 until June 21, and we will meet each Monday and Wednesday from 7:00-9:30 PM. For registration information, please see the website of the University of Prince Edward Island's Registrar's Office here.

Does Pollution Make Us Drink?

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:14:00 +0000

Smog. Dirty water. Escalating cancer rates. Loss of wildlife habitat.

These are some of the problems that we typically associate with pollution. According to a paper presented at the Ontario Pollution Control Conference, we can also blame environmental degradation for increased alcohol consumption.

Held December 4-6, 1967, at the Inn on the Park in Toronto, and funded by Ontario taxpayers, this conference brought together interested parties from agriculture, industry, and the various levels of government to discuss what could and should be done in regards to pollution. While there were many noteworthy presentations, it was Dr. Norman Pearson, head of the University of Guelph's Centre for Resource Development, that managed to grab my attention with his "pollution = boozin'" thesis.

Sure, the idea may sound far-fetched at first. Dr. Pearson, however, was able to view a direct relationship between the two. As he asked those in attendance: "Have not water pollution, soil pollution and air pollution played a key role in the decline of such Canadian sports as crosscountry skiing, enjoyment of the beaches and shores of the rivers, streams and lakes of the Southern party of Ontario?" Unable to pursue traditional avenues of enjoyment, more people, according to this theory, resorted to alcohol consumption. "Gin has always been the fastest way out of problems in urban areas," he noted. "Few would agree it is the best."

An interesting idea. However, I'm not so sure that I'm sold on it. Dr. Pearson suggested that sociologists and philosophers would do well to explore this question. I have no idea if anybody took him up on this.

On a side note, thus far I've been unable to locate the proceedings from this conference. If anybody happens to know their whereabouts, please feel free to let me know.

A Working Bibliography for the History of the Canadian Environmental Movement

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:45:00 +0000

I occasionally receive emails from students asking if I can recommend sources on the history of the Canadian environmental movement. These emails have made me realize it might be useful to compile a working bibliography on the subject. You can find my first effort at accomplishing that task here.

No doubt I'm missing some sources. If you've read an article or book on the subject that you think should be included please feel free to send me an email with your suggestion. Currently the list is divided into three sections: Conservation, Government and Environment, and Environmental Movement. That division may remain, or it may not. It is, after all, a work in progress.

If you have any sources you think I should include, or any other feedback, please feel free to send me an email at thegreatgreennorth@gmail.com. Thanks!

Nyle Ludolph and the Blue Box Program

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:00:00 +0000

The recent passing of Jack McGinnis has resulted in an upsurge in interest in the origins of the blue box. While McGinnis has been dubbed the "Father of the Blue Box" it must be remembered that the program wasn't the work of a lone individual. Rather, it was the product of a partnership between Resource Integration Systems [RIS], which is a group co-founded by McGinnis, and Laidlaw. Laidlaw's interest in recycling was largely attributable to Nyle Ludolph, the company's former manager of special events. A newspaper interview with Ludolph appears in this past Monday's edition of the Kitchener Record, and you can read it here.

One of the projects I'm currently working on is an article about the origins and development of the blue box. It touches on the Is Five Foundation, RIS, and their partnership with Laidlaw. I'll let you know when I receive details of its publication.

Marshall McLuhan's Critique of the Environmental Movement

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:51:00 +0000

A frequent critique of the environmental movement is that the message is often lost amidst an overly-preachy tone. People are told that they must recycle, they must consume fewer resources, and that they must have fewer children. This demanding approach has alienated a certain segment of the population because, let's face it, people don't like being bossed around.

Marshall McLuhan, the celebrated media guru, foresaw the perils of this approach. As former Pollution Probe employee Ann Love told me, one day in the 1970s she and a number of her co-workers bumped into McLuhan in the University of Toronto parking lot they shared. After some small talk, McLuhan left the young environmentalists with one of his patented turns-of-phrases:

"Well boys, I think you are doing a good thing. But remember -- don't should on me."

The Legacy of Jack McGinnis

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 05:07:00 +0000

A year ago I wrote a brief entry about Jack McGinnis, one of the figures behind the creation of the iconic Blue Box program. I interviewed Jack while researching my dissertation, and found him to be a rather fascinating individual. Despite his important role in the development of the environmental movement -- he was a founder or co-founder of such groups as the Is Five Foundation, the Recycling Council of Ontario, and Durham SustainAbility -- I never detected a sense of egotism.

Jack and I kept in contact following the interview. He had numerous projects on the go, as well as plans for the creation of a recycling museum. Today I was going to email him and ask if he'd comment on the section of my dissertation that addressed his work. Before I could do so, however, I stumbled across news that he passed away on January 29.

Personally, I'm disappointed that I never had the opportunity to meet Jack in person. At the same time, I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to interview him about his extensive work in the field of recycling.

For more information on Jack McGinnis you can check out this announcement from the Recycling Council of Ontario, his obituary at the Solid Waste & Recycling website, and this article in the Toronto Star. You can also learn more about his work in the Pollution Probe report "'We Recycle': The Creators of the Blue Box Programme."

Timelines and the Environmental Narrative in Canada

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 23:56:00 +0000

A while back I wrote about the apparent lack of a timeline covering the history of the environmental movement in Canada. Well, I recently stumbled across one, which you can find here. Beginning one million years ago and moving forward to 2002, this timeline is heavy in international context. However, it does mark many Canadian milestones, including the founding of Pollution Probe in 1969, the restriction of DDT's usage in 1974, and the closing of the Newfoundland cod fishery in 1991. The timeline, hosted on The Sustainability Report website, also features links to a chronology of the Great Lakes environment and an environmental history timeline, as well as "The Environmentalists' Narrative," a compelling essay by Dr. Stuart Schoenfeld.

One point that Dr. Schoenfeld makes in his essay is "that in the early years of the 21st century it is not all that easy to tell what the environmentalists' narrative is." I find this to be a rather interesting observation, given that we tend to equate the term "narrative" with re-telling the story of the past. Part of the problem, as Dr. Schoenfeld explains, is that environmental activists in the years after the first Earth Day were confronted by an increasingly complex series of issues that made earlier concerns, such as the high level of phosphate in detergents, seem rather simple in comparison. Another problem, as I see it, is that many current activists have little understanding of their predecessors' work. I recall a conversation with one Canadian environmental activist who took great glee in telling me that he knew the movement's backstory. "It all started with Silent Spring, then there was Earth Day, then it was the ozone layer and global warming." As wonderful as Rachel Carson's work is, and as popular as the first Earth Day was in the United States (note: the first Earth Day barely cracked the Canadian consciousness), they didn't instigate environmental activism in Canada. To suggest they did does a great disservice to the movement's pioneers here in Canada.

Anyhow, before I come off as a grumpy academic berating modern day environmentalists for not knowing their history, I have to admit that I bear a partial responsibility for this. As a historian of the environmental movement in Canada it is my responsibility to expose the public to the past. While I hope that this blog helps spread some insight on this wonderful topic, I also recognize that I have to transform my dissertation into a book so that it will be available to the broader public. I'm working on it ... just as I'm working on a history of the acid rain issue and a couple other projects.

By the way, it looks like I'll be teaching a course on the history of the environmental movement this summer at the University of Prince Edward Island. While much of the course focuses on events in the United States, I will incorporate aspects of the environmental movement's history in Canada. More details on that course will be posted as they become available.

Dissertations, postdocs, and acid rain

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:38:00 +0000

When I was in grade six I created a science fair project on the topic of acid rain. That was back in 1990, when acid rain was a constant in the news media. At the time there was great concern that acid rain would destroy our forests, waterways, and buildings, and that it would also have a deleterious effect on human health. I thought it would be interesting to see how acidic properties would influence the development of radish plants. (I'm not quite sure why I picked radishes, but I did.) The project went over well at my school's science fair and I was invited to participate in the provincial fair. All told, I got to take three or four days off of classes to hang around with my friends and talk about acid rain.

This past month I successfully defended my PhD dissertation, "Toronto the Green: Pollution Probe and the Rise of the Canadian Environmental Movement." This month I began work on my latest project, which is a study of the Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain. While I didn't realize it as an eleven year old, the Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain played a major role in lobbying the Canadian and American governments to address this pressing issue. It is widely regarded to have led one of the greatest environmental lobby campaigns ever orchestrated, and I intend to unravel the story behind it. This work is funded by a SSHRC postdoctoral fellowship.

My interest in the subject of acid rain was originally spurred by a discussion of it in the wonderful Canadian Junior Green Guide, which my parents gave me in 1990. By the time I started work on my dissertation this book was a faded memory. One day I was in the midst of a tour of Pollution Probe's current headquarters when I saw a copy of that book on a shelf. I mentioned to the executive direct that I had that book as a child, to which I was told, "Yeah, we did really well with that book." As it turns out, Pollution Probe played an important role in shaping my environmental consciousness as a child, but I never quite realized it until that moment.

Donald Chant in the International Journal of Acarology

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:45:00 +0000

I just stumbled across a rather interesting article in, of all places, the International Journal of Acarology. Donald Chant, who has been mentioned numerous times in this blog, was a renowned acarologist (ie somebody who studies mites and ticks). Following his death in 2007 Vikram Prasad composed an article about their personal and professional relationship. While copyright prevents me from posting the article, you can find out more about it here.