Andrea Charron: Arctic Sovereignty By: Henry Hawkins, Regular SpF Contributor

Dr. Charron is a research fellow with the Carleton Centre for Security and Defense Studies, and has written a number of papers on Arctic Sovereignty, . . . → Read More: October 7, 2010: Arctic Sovereignty]]> The multiple routes of the northwest passage, whose potential opening plays a major role in discussions of Arctic Sovereignty.

Andrea Charron: Arctic Sovereignty
By: Henry Hawkins, Regular SpF Contributor

Dr. Charron is a research fellow with the Carleton Centre for Security and Defense Studies, and has written a number of papers on Arctic Sovereignty, and is a presenter at an upcoming forum hosted by the Canadian Associations of Defense and Security Industries. Focusing on the controversy of the Northern Passage, continental shelf exploration, and the use of force in the area, she talked to Henry this past week about Canada’s role and how the Inuit people can play an active role in the possible opening of the North.

Buying Local Foods Discussion
By: Robyn Penney, Veronica Tang, Chris Mineau, & Special Guest Host DJ Diggs

We also had a spontaneous discussion about local foods, spurred by an upcoming donation of $10,000 dollars to local farmers by the Royal Bank. The conversation went off on a few tangents along the way, about ethical business, motivations for donations, and briefly on where to buy local organic foods on campus.

The Environmental News
By: Veronica Tang

In this week’s news toxic sludge is released in Hungary causing at least 4 deaths, acidifying waters, and possibly contaminating the Danube, Europe’s second largest river.

The elimination of the mandatory long form census was announced this June, and has since caused a considerable amount of public outcry, with the resignation of the head statistician of Statistics Canada, as well as over 300 organizations formally coming out against the . . . → Read More: September 9, 2010: The 2011 Canadian Census]]> The 322MW Whitelee Wind Farm on the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland.

The elimination of the mandatory long form census was announced this June, and has since caused a considerable amount of public outcry, with the resignation of the head statistician of Statistics Canada, as well as over 300 organizations formally coming out against the voluntary census. This week, Henry spoke with Ernie Boyko, Adjunct Data Librarian and former Director of Census Operations at Statistics Canada, and Wendy Watkins, head of the Data Centre at the Carleton University Library about the changes. They discussed the effects of the change, who relies on the information generated by the census, and what the future might hold for census information collection.

We also heard from Henry and Robyn about their recent travels to Malta, Scotland, and Newfoundland, focusing on some sights of a geographic interest; The Hagar-Jim temples in Malta, the Whitelee Wind Farm outside Glasgow, and the introduction of moose and wolves in Newfoundland.

In the Environmental News, Alberta Minister Ed Stelmach is meeting with US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi about the future of the oil sands, bird deaths have been found to be at least 30 times higher than government and industry estimates, and a tanker has run aground in the Northwest Passage.

This week on the show we heard a report from Matt Street and John Wall on their participation in the Canadian Association of Geographers Conference. They both made the trip to Regina a . . . → Read More: June 24, 2010: The C.A.G Conference Report]]> A 14 MW solar power plant in Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, formerly the largest photovoltaic installation in North America.

This week on the show we heard a report from Matt Street and John Wall on their participation in the Canadian Association of Geographers Conference. They both made the trip to Regina a couple of weeks ago, talked to some people from Carleton who were also attending the conference. We heard about their own experiences, as well as some of the projects other participants were working on.

We also heard a Science Moment about the science of Solar Cells. The Science Moment is one of our first recurring features here on SpF, last done just over three years ago. We’ve brought back the feature, and will be in the future, having a look at some of the science behind geographic trends and topics. This one looks at the technology behind solar cells, different kinds for home and use in power plants, as well as the future of the industry.

In this week’s Environmental News we heard about the latest in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a senior government scientist retracts defamatory remarks made about scientists skeptical about the oilsands, two stories about solar technology, and the Earthquake that struck the Ottawa region just north of Gatineau on June 23rd.

Today on the show we heard from Henry Hawkins with a recap of the first 50 days of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Of Mexico. He explained what happened to cause the . . . → Read More: June 10, 2010: The Deepwater Horizon Spill, Day 50]]> A satellite image of the oil spill from the former Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Today on the show we heard from Henry Hawkins with a recap of the first 50 days of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Of Mexico. He explained what happened to cause the explosion, the spill, and all the attempts to stop the flow so far. With bp suffering extreme fallout from the US government, from plummeting share prices, the environmental damages rising rapidly, and fallout being felt in the tourist and fishing industries, the oil spill is expected to continue until at least August.

We also heard from Robyn with another update from her 4th year Honours Field Course in Oxbow Park. This week she spoke with Leanne and Leslie about their contributions.