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magazine / mj05
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May/June 2005 issue |
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EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
Sharing an ecological landscape
Our habitat is in flux. That's not new or abnormal. The world is ever in transition. Forests
are renewed by fire or ravaged by infestations. Coal seams run out. Trade barriers fall,
and entire industries collapse. The stories our writers and photographers present in these
pages are about how we inhabit this country and the larger world. We chronicle how our
fellow citizens, and the non-human communities that share our common ecological landscape,
adapt. Or fail to do so.
This is our 10th annual environment issue. The features we select for it generally focus
on the effect of human activity on the natural world, whereas in our regular issues, we
tend to do the reverse: explore how our geography shapes our communities, culture and economy.
There is, of course, no neat division between the two. Environmental reportage appears
in other issues, and more conventional geography articles do make their way into this annual.
We chose May/June for the environment issue for strategic and seasonal reasons. It comes
on the heels of Earth Day, overlaps Canadian Environment Week and coincides with the outbreak
of spring. It is also the moment when we announce the finalists for the Canadian
Environment Awards, profiles of whom appear in the accompanying supplement. The winners
will be posted at online after
the awards presentation on June 6.
This year also marks my 10th anniversary as editor. Looking back over the decade, the
high points for me were the profiles we commissioned of people such as Sanford Atwood,
the Nova Scotia fisherman who is on a campaign to convince scientists and governments that
deep-sea coral beds are vital fish habitat and must be protected. Or Donna Mergler, the
Montréal-based scientist who is researching the impact on human health of the gasoline
additive MMT, and Tom Hutchinson, the biologist at Trent University in Peterborough, Ont.,
who is studying the effect of Toronto’s smog on downwind communities. I admire all
three for employing their skills and knowledge to respond to our common concerns.
This year, with energy prices spiking yet again, we commissioned Elaine Dewar, one of
Canada’s most resourceful and diligent magazine journalists and non-fiction authors,
to examine the conundrum of Ontario’s nuclear future. The province is home to 20
nuclear power reactors, one of the largest assemblies in any single jurisdiction in the
world. Sometime in the next few years, the Ontario government will be obliged to make a
decision that will commit Canada’s industrial heartland to either more nuclear energy
or less. Dewar’s story explores the costs and risks of the limited options on the
table.
Also in this issue, Alanna Mitchell and Kendra Toby sum up a decade of environmental
innovations and environmental problems that have stagnated and imagine what environmental
advances are possible in the next decade. Allen Abel meets Canadian
bioprospectors on a
hunt for naturally occurring chemical compounds that might be the next miracle cure for
disease. Patricia Pearson investigates the disappearance of her cat and discovers a hungry
predator that is slipping back into neighbourhoods across the northeastern United States
and Canada. Philip Jessup presents a portfolio of photos he took while hiking the creeks
and rivers that course through Toronto.
These stories are about the dazzling, unpredictable complexity of life. Spend some time
with Jessup’s seductive images. They reveal a beauty and natural harmony that inspires
a sense of protective affection. The more we care for the fate of these places, for our
environmental commons, the more engaged we will all become in making the difficult choices
about how we should inhabit this country.
— Rick Boychuk
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