Pollution Probe at Carleton University

A while back I wrote about the way many successful environmental organizations have inspired the creation of affiliates. (See that post here.) I recently came across a newspaper article that covers the launch of Pollution Probe's affiliate group at Carleton University. The article, printed in the Ottawa Citizen back in December 1969, provides some interesting insight into the minds of early Canadian environmentalists. You can read the article here.

(For those of you keeping track, the original Pollution Probe, formed at the University of Toronto, was formed in February 1969.)

A Timeline of the Environmental Movement in Canada?

Over at Rex Weyler's website there's a handy chronology covering the early history of Greenpeace. You can check it out here. A companion piece to his authoritative Greenpeace: How a Group of Ecologists, Journalists, and Visionaries Changed the World, it is a wonderful tool for clarifying who was involved, as well as the relationship between Greenpeace and pre-existing groups such as the Sierra Club of British Columbia and SPEC. 

In the past I've received emails asking whether there are any timelines available that cover the environmental movement in Canada. I haven't seen any, but there are many online that document the movement in the United States. (One that I think is particularly well done is this one, put together by the folks at the PBS television program American Experience.) I'd like to put together a timeline documenting the environmental movement in Canada, making specific reference to important events, individuals, and organizations. The only problem is that my own research is focused on what's happening in Ontario, particularly Toronto. As such, at present I don't think I could do justice to the project. However, if there are some folks across the country that would be interested in sharing their expertise I think this would be a wonderful collaborative project. Send me an email if you think you'd like to participate in such an endeavour.  

Earth Day Hits Toronto

Over at the CBC Digital Archives there's an interesting radio interview featuring Bruno Gerussi and Wayland Drew. Held on 22 April 1970 -- the first Earth Day -- it discusses Toronto's rather lackadaisical response to the event. You can check it out here.

The Zero Population Growth Canada Advertising Fracas

 

[click on the picture to see a larger version]

I wrote about Zero Population Growth Canada in an earlier post, available here. As it turns out, the group had a rather limited operating budget. The above ad, created pro bono, was the only one the group ever placed in a newspaper. Run in the 24 April 1975 edition of the Globe and Mail, it immediately encountered controversy. On the day of publication Ursula Appolloni, the Liberal representative from York South, described the advertisement as "heavily sexist and distastefully anti-feminist .... As a woman and an immigrant, I find it extremely offensive." As letters poured in to the Globe and Mail, Zero Population Growth Canada's national coordinator, Christopher Taylor, was given an opportunity to defend the advertisement. As he explained, "We believe there is a deep current of sympathy in Canada for the idea of controlling immigration and we hope that the advertisement will draw enough financial support for us to run it elsewhere." Taylor also noted that his group was not xenophobic since "we are talking about cutting back immigration right across the board. We're not talking about cutting back any race or class."

While this advertisement did spur considerable discussion of Zero Population Growth Canada and its controversial objectives, it did not succeed in increasing its base of support. It would soon thereafter fade from the public eye, and dissolved altogether in 1982.

Quote from Don Chant

"We have seen many emotional issues that became fads in our society and it seems true that our collective attention span is short. Never before, however, have we been confronted with an issue of such profound significance to our future, so continuously with us, and of which we are so constantly reminded, breathing the air, listening to the constant din of noise around us, fighting crowds and traffic, wrinkling our noses and averting our glances from the creeks and lakes that border our cities. If, in the face of these constant and insistent reminders of our plight, we 'turn off,' lose our intent, and flit on to the next sensation without ensuring the solution of our environmental problems -- then, truly, we will deserve what we get."

I just came across this statement from Dr. Donald Chant, Pollution Probe co-founder and provost at the University of Toronto, in the May 1978 edition of the Probe Post magazine. The statement may be thirty-two years old, but I suspect that it is just as relevant today, if not more so, than the day he first wrote it down.

Jack McGinnis and the Blue Box

 

One of the many interesting people I've interviewed while researching  my dissertation is Jack McGinnis. Presently with Durham Sustain Ability, he's been involved with a number of influential environmental groups, including the Is Five Foundation and the Recycling Council of Ontario, both of which he founded, and Resource Integration Services Ltd., which he co-founded. All of these groups factor into the chapter I am currently working on about the recycling movement in Toronto. If you head over to YouTube there's an interesting video of Jack talking about the origins of the Blue Box. It's  well worth the four and a half minutes, and you can find it here.

"Whose Community Is It Anyways? A Prince Edward Islander's View of Banff"

In October I participated in an environmental history workshop in Banff. The event was put together by the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta, and my participation was funded by the folks at NiCHE. I wrote a short article based on my experience, titled "Whose Community Is It Anyways? A Prince Edward Islander's View of Banff," and it is now available here. While not particularly about the environmental movement, I do believe that there are some important dynamics at play in Banff that need to be addressed.

You can check out NiCHE's original call for applicants here.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Drs. Liza Piper and Zac Robinson for leading this event. It was a real eye-opener.