[Editor’s note: this series of blog posts on the bombings of natural gas wells in Northern B.C. will run over three days, starting today. Look for part two on Tuesday morning and the final part on Wednesday.] When I agreed to take a job as the editor of a small newspaper in Chetwynd, B.C., I […] More »

It’s official, folks: males are the weaker sex. Toronto-based physician Ken Walker—perhaps better known as nationally syndicated medical columnist Dr. Gifford-Jones—points out in a recent article that life’s cards are unfavourably stacked against those with a Y chromosome, and he attributes social conditioning to be a primary culprit. Males live an average of 5.3 years […] More »

We love it when health concerns are taken seriously… The last time you talked to your doctor about a strange set of symptoms, he or she probably didn’t write a book about it. But when Dr. Nina Pierpont of New York State got wind (pun intended) of dozens of residents living near wind turbines who […] More »

[This is the first in a three-part series on the Alberta tar sands. Also note: EcoChamber will be moving to Mondays starting today.] There is a sense of progress in the air. For the first time in over a decade, G8 countries and developing nations, including China and India, have agreed to reduce their emissions […] More »

A growing number of Canadians are extolling the virtues of the urban chicken. And why not? They’re an affordable source of fresh, local, organic protein; eat lawn-destroying insects; produce nitrogen-rich fertilizer; and are fun to have around. Intrigued? Here are some key steps toward taking on your own personal flock. 1. Look before you leap. […] More »

The buzzword around Toronto for the past two weeks has been “garbage.” The garbage that is pilling up around public canisters into miniature CN Towers. The garbage that is filling parks and arenas a quarter full arousing smells and attracting pests to local neighbors. And the garbage Torontonians left behind after the celebratory mess of […] More »

Advocates for ‘permaculture’ say it can improve our diets, heal our environment, and improve our lives. Meet a new generation of farmers with some radical ideas for untangling our food chain (and saving the world in the process) Trent Rhode looks great in a suit. The 27-year-old resident of Peterborough, Ont., seems perfectly comfortable standing […] More »

It seems like everything has “gone green” these days. From retailers to celebrities, airlines to hotels, banks to even runway fashion, the environment is sexy in the marketplace for the first time. But is all the publicity really helping Mother Nature? When consumers are being “greeenwashed” in their attempt to fit into a petite size […] More »

I grew up in Saskatchewan, so I’m not accustomed to being on the receiving end of the country’s resentment of Toronto. For this reason, I never thought I’d publicly acknowledge, let alone write about, problems created by the ongoing garbage workers’ strike. But the strike did get me thinking about new work applying “social proof” […] More »

A war broke out this month. A war not to the east but to the south, that has been little covered by the media. It comes complete with human rights violations, murder, and corruption caused by the exploitation of the Amazon. The blood of this war is on Canada’s hands. On Friday, June 5, an […] More »

[Editor’s note: Every month, Eco-Chamber profiles an environmental activist from Canada or abroad, called “Eco-Warriors.” These profiles are a collection of stories Emily is working on for a book called The Next Eco-Warriors.] In a matter of 10 months, she went from eco-nobody to climate justice crusader. Attempting to put island nations back on the […] More »