You might remember a while back I wrote about my plastic pet peeve. One pervasive plastic product which really gets my goat is cutlery. Sure it’s convenient and affordable but it’s also an incredible waste of petroleum resources, and polluting to produce to boot.

In an effort to green my department at the Central Library I purchased some cutlery from Value Village. For a 12 piece set it's $3 to $4. I bought four sets and brought them prepared to say goodbye to plastic cutlery.

Nothing is ever so simple. Within two weeks most of our blue handled (read very distinctive) cutlery was gone. Vanished. Vamoose. Sucked into the bowels of the building. The trouble spot might be the communal dishwasher that all departments share. Where did they go after going through the rinse cycle?

What’s a greenie to do? Storm through Accounting and say “Stick ‘em up!?” Snoop in Human Resources to attempt to catch people red-handed? Raid Arts & Recreation’s office in balaclavas? Send out a whining email to the entire Central staff list? So many options... but no good ones.

I might break and buy more silverware, but I will not bend and buy plastic, even if my dinner depends on it!

Environmental issues by their very nature are complex. Whether we are talking climate change, food systems, the impacts of globalization or species at risk, there are layers upon layers of social, political, scientific and economic factors that form the environmental issue.

Where do you go to get informed? Mainstream news sources often point at a problem, (if they cover it at all) but fall short of delivering any in-depth discussion.

That’s why I love Alternatives Journal. Created in 1971, Alternatives is an independent refereed journal of the Environmental Studies Association of Canada and their mandate is to provide critical and informed analyses of environmental issues.

Instead of skimming the surface, the articles dive deep into the heart of the matter and are written by activists, academics, and community leaders from across Canada and the world. The topics covered are broad. Recent issues discuss nuclear energy in Ontario, building with salvaged materials, resilience theory, and the spiritual journey of an environmental professional.

It’s a refreshing, and … alternative breath of fresh air, in a world where thoughtful, intelligent analysis is too often drowned out by Twitter feeds and TV sound bites.

You can find Alternatives at the Central Library in paper format, electronically through our E-Library (in Expanded Academic ASAP, Environment Complete, and Greenr databases) and at bookstores across Calgary.