 
|
)
Since the 1970s, Dr. David Suzuki
has been synonymous with popular science in Canada, thanks to his
long-running CBC television and radio shows, The Nature of Things, Suzuki
on Science, and Quirks and Quarks. Such popularization of science did not
always hold him in good stead with his colleagues. According to The
Canadian Encyclopedia's Donald. J.C. Phillipson, "Some academic colleagues
criticized Suzuki's broadcasting as a waste of his talents, but Suzuki was
convinced that public awareness of science would contribute to both better
science policies and an enriched culture."
One of his shows, Discover, would be found on CKUA during the 1980s, when
the station's programming had more of an educational focus. In 1985, his
television special on CBC, A Planet for the Taking, was one of the
most-watched shows of any genre on television.
 |
||
 |
Speaker of the Week #37 |
|
 | ||
During that decade, the trained geneticist - he began his post-secondary
education studying the fruit fly at the University of Alberta in Edmonton
- Suzuki turned to the written page to exert influence as both a scientist
and an environmentalist. In fact, since 1999, he has written or co-written
five books: Good News for a Change: Hope for a Troubled Planet
(2002), The Sacred Balance: A Visual Celebration of Our Place in Nature
(2001), From Naked Ape to Superspecies: A Personal Perspective on
Humanity and the Global Ecocrisis (1999), Metamorphosis: Stages in
a Life (1999) and The Other Japan: Voices Beyond the Mainstream
(1999).
In 2003, Suzuki will publish two books, a science book for children,
Salmon Forest, and Genetics: A Beginner's Guide co-written with
Anthony Griffiths and Tara Cullis.
