Smearing paper packaging seems to be fashionable these days. What are the facts?
The paper packaging industry is coming under increasing scrutiny as paper alternatives begin to replace many plastic formats. Are paper products a better alternative? That usually depends on what you mean by “better.” Because there are literally hundreds of ways of...
Journalists do not like to admit they are wrong, period.
The goal of journalism is supposedly to search for the truth, and journalists are meant to both research and present as many sides of a story as possible. This sometimes does not happen. A case in point is the article I commented on back in March[i] When does...
How do I get my fresh fruit and vegetables home?
It seems like we will be debating the relative environmental impact of paper, plastic, and reusable shopping bags forever. But we still need something to transport those goods home somehow. I have been using reusable cloth bags to carry all my groceries for years now....
Good-bye to Doug Symington
I said goodbye to an old friend and colleague this month. It was hard entering the room with both of us knowing that this would be the last time we would trade insults and crack bad jokes together. And even harder closing with a couple of final strong handshakes and a...
When does “investigative’’ journalism become a smear campaign?
When a four-part series of articles by Stefan Labbé of Glacier Media popped into my inbox recently, I was intrigued. Here was “a months-long investigation into Paper Excellence, a B.C.-headquartered pulp and paper company that has quickly grown to control (his word)...
Towards honesty in recycling rates
People and organizations define and interpret “recycling rate” differently, and it is causing a lot of unnecessary greenwashing. Calculating the rate depends on two numbers, both of which can be contentious. How much total material is “out there” available to be...
Woohoo! Nice to be recognised
I have just learned that I have been inducted into Pulp & Paper Canada’s Hall of Fame, alongside some really impressive people, David McDonald and Alain Lemaire. This is much appreciated, and a tribute to the work of many people who have worked through the paper...
Is there “good” deforestation and “bad” deforestation?
Two Innu communities, one in Québec and one in Labrador, are suing Québec’s provincial crown corporation, Hydro-Québec, for over $6 billion, claiming that the reservoirs and transmission lines of hydro-electric development have flooded and destroyed part of their...
The real face of deforestation in North America
I am going to ask you to do something that no self-respecting writer should ever do. And that’s to momentarily take your eyes off these wonderfully crafted words and do a Google search. I am so sure of your loyalty that I know you’ll come back. See, you’re still...
The facts behind logging’s GHG emissions ‘conspiracy’
Two environmental groups have teamed up to accuse the Canadian government and the forest industry of being involved in a cover-up of logging’s greenhouse gas emissions. Logging’s emissions, they claim,[1] are equivalent to those from the oil sands, and Canada needs to...