Contents
- 1 September 30, 2014
- 2 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 2.1 Pesticide Guidelines Unacceptable - The Guardian Editorial
- 2.2 Making Some Sense of the Schwarcz Lecture - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 3 September 29, 2014
- 3.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 3.2 Suzuki’s last tour promises to be a good one - The Journal Pioneer article by Brett Poirier
- 4 Blue Dot Tour stops in Summerside Monday
- 5 September 28, 2014
- 5.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 6 September 27, 2014
- 6.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 7 September 26, 2014
- 7.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 8 September 25, 2014
- 8.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 9 September 24, 2014
- 9.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 9.2 Pesticide Free P.E.I. Deserves Support - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 10 September 23, 2014
- 10.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 10.2 Fair comment on pesticide story - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 11 September 22, 2014
- 11.1 Cindy Richards Environmental Report
- 11.2 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 11.3 A walk in the right direction - The Guardian article by Maureen Coulter
- 12 September 21, 2014
- 12.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 13 September 20, 2014
- 13.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 13.2 Dr. Schwarcz delivers balanced, fair presentation on nutrition - The Guardian Guest Opinion by John Jamieson
- 13.3 Slate' Criticizes the 'Home-Cooked Family Dinner': Joel Salatin Responds - Mother Earth News article by Joel Salatin
- 14 September 19, 2014
- 14.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 15 September 18, 2014
- 15.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 15.2 Leaving to experts got us in this mess - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 16 September 17, 2014
- 16.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 17 September 16, 2014
- 17.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 17.2 Gasoline prices a big tax rip-off - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 18 September 15, 2014
- 18.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 19 September 14, 2014
- 19.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 19.2 What will be the 2014 legacy for P.E.I.? - The Guardian article by Dave Stewart
- 19.3 The Souris bridge says a lot about us - The Guardian column by Alan Holman
- 20 September 13, 2014
- 20.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 21 September 12, 2014
- 21.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 22 September 11, 2014
- 22.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 22.2 Local Fisherman Express(es) Concern Montrose Water Quality Unacceptable - The West Prince Graphic article by Cathy Chant
- 22.3 The Party is Over and the Foundation is Crumbling - The Eastern Graphic article by Paul MacNeill
- 22.4 Doug Sobey to Give Public talk on Early Forests - The Guardian article
- 23 September 10, 2014
- 23.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 23.2 CABINET TOUR HIGHLIGHTS POTATO INDUSTRY - Press Release from the PEI Premier's Office
- 24 September 9, 2014.02
- 24.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 24.2 Charlottetown mayor calls for ban on cosmetic pesticides in city - The Guardian article by Dave Stewart
- 24.3 Math Out of Sync for This Province - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 25 September 8, 2014
- 25.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 25.2 Potato Farming Not Only Industry - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 25.3 Criticism Follows Fracking Decision - The Guardian Lead Editorial
- 26 September 7, 2014
- 26.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 26.2 The price of cheap shrimp - Island Tides article by Elizabeth May
- 27 September 6, 2014
- 27.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 27.2 Montrose water unacceptable - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 28 September 5, 2014
- 28.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 28.2 Announcement by Andrew Younger, Energy Minister - The Chronicle Herald
- 28.3 No Energy Leadership in NS Fracking Fumble - The Chronicle Herald Editorial
- 29 September 4, 2014
- 29.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 30 September 3, 2014
- 30.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 31 September 2, 2014
- 31.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 32 September 1, 2014
- 32.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 32.2 Fish Kills in 2013 Remain a Mystery - The Guardian Letter of the Day by Mike Redmond
- 33 August 31, 2014
- 33.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 34 August 30, 2014
- 34.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 34.2 Mount Polley: A Wake-Up Call to the Realities of Tailings Ponds - Ecowatch article by David Suzuki
- 35 August 29, 2014
- 35.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 35.2 Justin Trudeau wrong on fracking, NB Premier David Alward says - CBC news
- 35.3 N.S. fracking moratorium should continue, panel recommends - CBC news
- 36 August 28, 2014
- 36.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 36.2 Tawdry Private Sponsorships Hang Over Premiers' Conferences - The Ottawa Citizen article by David Reevely
- 37 August 27, 2014
- 37.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 37.2 Memories of a Good Farmer - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 37.3 Verbal Attacks are Unjustified - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 37.4 Pattern on Water a Concern - The Guardian Lead Editorial
- 38 August 26, 2014
- 38.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 38.2 Documentary Shows Fish Kill Impact - The Guardian article by Mary MacKay
- 39 August 25, 2014
- 39.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 39.2 Council of Canadians, CUPE Plan Town Hall Meeting on Health - The Guardian article
- 40 August 24, 2014
- 40.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 40.2 Costs of using pesticide less than benefits of ridding lawn of chinch bugs - The Guardian Guest Opinion by Roger Gordon
- 40.3 Comments unfair against Diamond - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 41 August 23, 2014
- 41.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 42 August 22, 2014
- 42.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 42.2 Sierra Club supports call for pesticide-free buffer zones on P.E.I.- The Guardian Guest Opinion by Tony Reddin
- 42.3 California offers drought example - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 43 August 21, 2014
- 43.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 43.2 Irvings will walk off into sunset - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 43.3 Another fish kill, another ministerial failure - The Eastern Graphic article by Paul MacNeill
- 44 August 20, 2014
- 44.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 44.2 Is industrial farming acceptable as necessary economic engine? - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 44.3 No one cares about dead fish? - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 45 August 19, 2014
- 45.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 46 August 18, 2014
- 46.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 47 August 17, 2014
- 47.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 47.2 The Good News on National Honey Bee Day - Bayer CropScience Celebrates Positive Trends in Bee Health
- 47.3 It costs a pile to grow a potato - The Guardian columnist Alan Holman
- 48 August 16, 2014
- 48.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 49 August 15, 2014
- 49.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 49.2 It all starts from maintenance of a healthy planet - The Guardian Guest Opinion by Peter Bevan-Baker
- 49.3 McCains closing sign of the times - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 49.4 Recent application part of strategy - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 50 August 14, 2014
- 50.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 50.2 Minister Launches Offensive - The Guardian Editorial
- 51 August 13, 2014
- 51.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 51.2 If want votes, then earn them - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 52 August 12, 2014
- 52.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 52.2 Federal finance minister endorses shale gas development in N.B. - CBC online news
- 52.3 What we know we don’t know about fracking - The Coast article by Geoff Davies
- 53 August 11, 2014
- 53.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 54 August 10, 2014
- 54.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 54.2 P.E.I. residents using social media to challenge farm activity - The Guardian article by Steve Sharratt
- 55 August 8, 2014
- 55.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 55.2 Cavendish Farms warns it faces same challenges as McCain Foods - The Guardian article
- 56 August 7, 2014
- 56.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 57 August 6, 2014
- 57.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 57.2 P.E.I. guidelines much too lenient - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 58 August 5, 2014
- 58.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 59 August 4, 2014
- 59.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 59.2 Moratorium Needs to Remain - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 59.3 Morell River Heating Up - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 60 August 3, 2014
- 60.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 61 August 2, 2014
- 61.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 62 August 1, 2014
- 62.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 63 July 31, 2014
- 63.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 64 July 30, 2014
- 64.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 64.2 The Truth About Natural Gas: A "Green" Bridge to Hell - ecowatch article by Naomi Oreskes,
- 65 July 29, 2014
- 65.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 66 July 28, 2014
- 66.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 66.2 Cost of perfection may be unhealthy - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 66.3 Fracking in Nova Scotia should be put on hold to allow for more study: expert - The Guardian article
- 66.4 Tackling sustainability challenges - The Guardian Guest Opinion by article Dr. Palanisamy Nagarajan
- 66.5 Taxpayers on financial hook - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 67 July 27, 2014
- 67.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 68 July 26, 2014
- 68.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 68.2 Hope in a Book: Michael Pollan’s Foreword to Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey through Carbon Country, by Courtney White
- 69 By Michael Pollan December 2013
- 70 July 25, 2014
- 70.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 71 July 24, 2014
- 71.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 71.2 Don’t blow the Water Act - The Journal-Pioneer Editorial
- 71.3 P.E.I. government an arrogant one - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 72 July 23, 2014
- 72.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 72.2 Pesticides now a political issue - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 72.3 CETA’s pro-trade plan of great benefit to P.E.I. - The Guardian Guest Opinion by Gail Shea
- 72.4 On P.E.I., parents should know when it’s safe to use playground - The Guardian Lead Editorial
- 73 July 22, 2014
- 73.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 73.2 Announcing David Suzuki’s Blue Dot Tour
- 74 July 21, 2014
- 74.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 74.2 Group calls for pesticide ban near schools, seniors homes - The Guardian on-line article by Mitch MacDonald
- 75 July 20, 2014
- 75.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 76 July 14, 2014
- 76.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 77 July 13, 2014
- 77.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 77.2 Putting families ahead of lawns - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 78 July 12, 2014
- 78.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 78.2 Fracking's long-term impacts still poorly understood - Cape Breton Post article by Jim Guy
- 79 July 11, 2014
- 79.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 80 July 10, 2014
- 80.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 80.2 Chemicals Damages Many Life Forms - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 81 July 9, 2014
- 81.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 82 July 8, 2014
- 82.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 82.2 Farm tour not balanced? - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 83 July 7, 2014
- 83.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 83.2 Another kind of media tour? - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 83.3 Farmers fight back against unfair attacks - The Guardian main editorial
- 83.4 More lessons on pesticides - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 84 July 6, 2014
- 84.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 84.2 Bill Trainor's Presentation to The Standing Committee on High Capacity Wells
- 85 July 5, 2014
- 85.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 85.2 Party getting out of hand - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
- 86 July 4, 2014
- 86.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 86.2 A Twenty-First Century Water War Erupts in Texas - Earth Island Journal article exerpt by James William Gibson
- 87 July 3, 2014
- 87.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 87.2 Toxic economic farming model done on P.E.I. - The Guardian Guest Opinion by John Hopkins
- 87.3 Time to fight back - The Journal-Pioneer Letter to the Editor
- 88 July 2, 2014
- 88.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
- 88.2 This Canada Day spread the word that environmental laws matter - Ecojustice article by Darcie Bennett
- 89 July 1, 2014
- 89.1 Chris Ortenburger's Update
September 30, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A bit of a name adjustment -- we are not stopping "Stop
Plan B", but smoothing out the title of this daily(ish)
mailing. If you are new to the list, welcome!
At any time if you wish to unsubscribe, just let me know.
----------
David Suzuki and Friends was lots of fun last night in Summerside, wonderful
people attending, and sending a powerful message -- if enough people want
environmental rights constitutionally protected, we can do that. When you
think about it, it's the only way to go forward. We all, locally and
nationally, are still figuring out the better ways to go about this.There will
be lots of ways to get involved! For now, please keep our first AGM,
special speaker Todd MacLean, and a "Plan Beyond" Social date in
mind, Saturday, October 11th, 7PM, at the Farm Centre.
CBC Maritime TV news at 11 did an interview featuring the Blue Dot Tour,
starting about 8:15 into the program:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/PEI/ID/2536018525/
and CBC Island Morning will play Robyn Miller's interview with David Suzuki in
the 8AM half-hour. Already I can sense a bit of "That's a tough
sell. Sounds like a lot of work to enshrine something in the
Charter." (subtext that it might not be good for business,
either) But hearing Suzuki and all the positive changes we have made in
our human society and environment and in our Charter, it's worth it.
"We have no greater need than for clean air, clean water, and clean
food."
I have a lot of thoughts about the evening that will bubble up in the next few
weeks :-)
Lots of background information at
http://bluedot.ca/the-plan/
Some
news items from yesterday's Guardian regarding pesticides: Lead editorial
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Editorials/2014-09-29/article-3886131/Pesticide-guidelines-unacceptable/1
Pesticide Guidelines Unacceptable - The Guardian Editorial
Published on September 29th, 2014
Province needs urgent strategy to rid water supply of any trace toxin
amounts
“Based on Health Canada guidelines” was a phrase
used repeatedly by P.E.I. Environment Minister Janice Sherry last week in her
arguments that the province’s drinking water is safe from pesticide
contamination. She used those benchmarks to say that detected pesticide levels
range from 10 to more than 100 times lower than the Health Canada drinking
water guidelines.
The data was contained in the most recent
pesticide monitoring program conducted across the province.
Ms. Sherry says the department monitors
pesticide levels in groundwater on a regular basis and makes the results
available to the public. That is partly correct. The results are made available
on an irregular basis and apparently only when data appears favourable.
Testing has been carried out annually for the
past 10 years with some 100 groundwater samples collected from private wells,
seniors’ housing facilities, municipal systems and schools. Yet this is just
the first time since 2008 that such complete results have been released.
There is good news and bad news in the data. Ms.
Sherry noted that no pesticides were detected in groundwater from the majority
of wells across the province. And it’s reassuring the department is doing
regular testing at a large number of private and public institutions. But those
results should be released each year. There is no reason to wait six years
until the next group of statistics are released. Withholding annual data
suggests just one obvious conclusion — bad news.
While no pesticides were detected in a majority
of wells, it means that toxins were detected in a minority of wells, including
persistent positive tests at Cardigan Consolidated and L’Ecole Evangeline.
The centre of the argument depends on whether we
can accept Health Canada guidelines as reliable. To hear the federal agency say
that low amounts of pesticides are acceptable in our drinking water is just not
very reassuring.
This would not be the first time we got such
assurances which later turned out to be vast mistakes. So Ms. Sherry and Health
Canada will have to accept the fact that Islanders will be a little skeptical
to take those assurances at face value.
Obviously, no one wants to see any pesticides in
any wells. But that is a remote dream, especially for schools and other
facilities in rural areas of this largely agricultural province. Anyone
familiar with Cardigan school is well aware it’s surrounded by fields under
cultivation, including potatoes.
Ms. Sherry cannot be satisfied and presume that
all is well. To suggest that her department is content to solely monitor water
quality and be satisfied if it remains below the guidelines is disappointing.
Her department should be working hard to
eliminate any pesticide amounts from the water supply, especially in schools.
Pesticides are deadly synthetic toxins designed
to kill insects, fungus and weeds. They are not designed to break down easily
in soil, air and water and it’s inevitable they will enter the drinking water
system.
Health Canada is expected to produce guidelines
that set out basic requirements for every water system to achieve in order to
provide the cleanest, safest and most reliable drinking water possible,
explains Dr. Heather Morrison, the province’s chief public health officer. She
also seems willing to accept Health Canada assurances that any detectable
levels of pesticides are well below guidance levels.
Dr. Morrison and Ms. Sherry should join forces
and tell Islanders that while pesticide levels are below benchmark guidelines,
they won’t be content until all traces are eliminated from our water supply and
that a strategy is urgently needed to accomplish that goal. It won’t be
achievable right away and maybe not for many years, but it should be a
permanent guideline and ultimate goal for P.E.I.
And
a great letter:
Making Some Sense of the Schwarcz Lecture - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published September 29th, 2014
Editor:
I attended Dr. Joe Schwarcz’s Science, Sense and Non-sense public lecture
hosted by the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture. Ironically, in his quest to
quell myths, I was left mystified from what appeared to be conflicting
statements concerning synthetic pesticides. I disagree with his statement that
he has no conflict of interest. He is a chemist who does not seem to adequately
remove this bias consistently from his evaluations.
As I recall, he said buy organic food if it is
the same price as conventional. If it costs more, buy conventional. Plants
absorb pesticides. Organic produce has lower levels of pesticide residues. Nutrients
are dependent on seed quality, weather, and soil fertility. Farming organic
uses natural occurring pesticides, versus conventional which uses synthetic.
The major concern with using synthetic is the environmental harm they cause
such as poorer soil fertility, killing of fish and other vital life/plants, and
they produce more pollutants. While he stated major concern for food grown by
these pesticides in developing countries and their improper use by migrant
workers in the US, he indicated no real safety concern for those approved and
used in Canada.
He failed to acknowledge our government does not
provide a guarantee of safety. Synthetic Pesticides DDT, Alachlor, and
Fenitrothion, not to mention lead, mercury, PCBs, and asbestos, are only a few
of the chemicals which received government approval in the past, only to be
banned because of severe health problems, as well as, tremendous ecosystem
damage. Many additional hazardous synthetic pesticides are banned in numerous
other countries but not in Canada. Increasingly, findings from scientific
studies indicate their significant harmful effects to human health and our
ecosystem. Conversely, he did state the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, who is
responsible for monitoring pesticide levels in all the food we buy, cannot
possibly test everything, which results in allowable levels being exceeded.
It makes sense to buy organic food, regardless
if it costs more. The true cost of food is not necessarily the price listed on
the grocery receipt. If we have to pay more, it is a small price to pay for
food that is overall safer and healthier for us, and our precious ecosystem.
Maria Eisenhauer, Charlottetown
September 29, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Tonight
David Suzuki, with Catherine MacLellan, Paper Lions, and poet Shane Koyczan,
will be at Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside for the PEI stop on the Blue Dot
Tour. If you are going from Charlottetown, or another location, consider
using social media to carpool with friends. (We tried to charter a small
bus for the drive to and from Charlottetoen, but unfortunately didn't hear back
from the bus company.)
The event is sold out, I think, but a young volunteer with the Citizens'
Alliance has gotten the green light to record David Suzuki's speech to be able
to show later to environmental groups, community organizations, WI groups,
etc., to help send out information about environmental rights, straight from
what he said in PEI. So stay tuned for that if it all works out.
Suzuki’s
last tour promises to be a good one - The Journal Pioneer article by Brett Poirier
Published on-line on September 28th, 2014
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-09-28/article-3885201/Suzuki%26rsquo%3Bs-last-tour-promises-to-be-a-good-one/1
Blue Dot Tour stops in Summerside Monday
SUMMERSIDE — Even David Suzuki says it won’t be
easy, but it’s a challenge he’s ready to face.
David Suzuki talks to a sold out crowd in St. John's, N.L.
during his Blue Dot tour. Suzuki recently began a 20-stop Canadian tour
encouraging everyday citizens to demand clean air and water from government.
In an exclusive interview with the Journal
Pioneer, the environmentalist said his last tour is a meaningful one. “We
have to get out of the old way of thinking and realize how dependent we are on
nature for our air, water and soil,” said Suzuki.
Organized by members of the David Suzuki
Foundation, the seven-week trek began in St. John’s, N.L., and wraps up in
Vancouver, B.C. The sold-out Blue Dot Tour stops at Summerside’s Harbourfront
Theatre Monday night.
Suzuki will give the audience a simple message:
take action. “We need grassroots involvement at the municipal level, then
provincial and finally federal support.” The goal is to amend the
Canadian Constitution so it includes a standard for residents to live in a
healthy environment. But that’s not an easy feat, said Suzuki.
To make a change, the House of Commons and the
Senate would need to approve. That’s not all. Two-thirds of the provinces would
have to agree with the revision. If the campaign is successful, it could
mean harsher penalties for people who spray harmful pesticides, for example.
But, said Suzuki, this tour isn’t just about the
environment. “We’re looking for a future that is truly sustainable, and I
believe that comes from clean air and clean water. Social justice is just as
important to us as the environment.”
Suzuki, now 78, has tackled dozens of
environmental and political issues in the past. However, the award-winning
author and broadcaster doesn’t think any of his previous projects measure up to
the importance of this one. “If you don’t have air for three minutes
you’re dead, and if you don’t have clean air you’re sick. If you don’t have
water for three days you’re dead and if you don’t have clean water you’re
sick.” At any given moment there are more than 1,000 boil-water
advisories in Canada, and nearly half of the country is living within limits of
unsafe air pollution, according to Suzuki’s foundation.
“Canadians really think we live in this great
place,” said the environmentalist. “Canada is really failing in many ways to
protect these important things.” Taking a step away from the harsh
reality, Suzuki is making the best of his last tour. While in Halifax he was
spotted by locals swimming in the harbour.
Realizing he’s not as young as he once was,
Suzuki now finds humour out of his age. “All old people feel like young
men and women but every time I look in the mirror I go ‘Jesus Suzuki you’re an
old man’,” he laughed.
Suzuki wanted to make clear, this isn’t the last
Canadians will see of him. “As long as I’m still healthy I’m not going to
pull away from everything. I’ll be around.”
Suzuki takes centre stage at the Harbourfront
Theatre at 7 p.m. Special guests include Shane Koyczan, Danny Michel,
Jeremy Fisher, Paper Lions, and Catherine MacLellan.
----------
Nova Scotia environmentalist Silver Donald Cameron will be the emcee,
and I think Mary Boyd, who has worked tirelessly to bring out positive change
will be speaking, and I will be making a short hello, too.
David
Suzuki may also be interviewed on CBC Radio today, likely during Mainstreet,
but I am not sure.
Tomorrow:
Tuesday, September 30, 7-9PM, Greenhouse Building Workshop, Farm Centre.
from:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1489504297985223/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
"Do you want to get involved in the design, building and
management of a community greenhouse in the Legacy Garden? Join this workshop
to learn more about greenhouse design and management. Lessons will be
applicable to greenhouses in general, but will focus on our efforts to build a
community greenhouse in the Legacy Garden. What do you want from a communal
greenhouse?! Speakers include Darcie Lanthier and Phil Ferraro. Optional
potluck at 6pm."
September 28, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Farm Day in the City is
today, 11AM to 5PM, along Queen Street by the Confederation Centre area.
----------
How the PEI Department of Transportation packages their communications:
From the Bonshaw Hills Public Lands Committee webpage, updated last week:
On Crosby "Road" (now a ravine), which used to go from the old TCH
near the go-cart place to the footbridge, and is now bisected by Plan B:
http://www.gov.pe.ca/tir/index.php3?number=1051970&lang=E
The local watershed group and some TIR staff worked really hard on installing
measures to reduce sediment flow.
It is apparent the department's communication people worked really hard on
packaging the message they want to send on Plan B, and on their unwillingness
to address underlying effects of transportation and infrastructure decisions on
our waterways.
from Michael Redmond,
leader of the NDP-PEI
The only thing worse than
the minister's response is his ignorance (or complete incompetence) when it
comes to the environment. Mr. Vessey, a sign of poor water and soil management
is indicative when rivers run red. Just because it happens "all over the
island" does not mean that it is normal. In fact, it is a sign of poor
soil management practices, such is the case with the Plan B site.
----------
On the two pedestrian bridges that just got tendered in the Plan B area, from
the Department's website:
http://www.gov.pe.ca/tir/index.php3?number=news&newsnumber=9841&dept=&lang=E
Work picked up on replacing the footbridge that
crossed the Bonshaw (West) River by Green Road and where Crosby Road used to
be. The old footbridge was lost in the big melt around the middle of April of
this year. Though replacing the footbridge is mentioned in the department's
horn-tooting posting, they don't mention that the project will be done in
two stages, with two bridges. But the first bridge is not for mere
residents, unless you are Authorized.
unable to upload :( Please check our facebook page for photo. https://www.facebook.com/groups/220834614673617/
Temp bridge on right, pad for new bridge
starting at left and center. Bonshaw River at Green Road and Crosby
ravine. September 27th, 2014
unable to upload :( Please check our facebook page for photo.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/220834614673617/
Sturdy-enough, but off limits: the sign says, "Notice: Authorized Personal
Only"
-----
Work will begin on the walkway under the TCH West River bridge sometime soon,
but not sure of any plans regarding new parks.
----------
And another thing the province is moving ahead on -- the provincial garage
project. Some Islanders wonder at the costs when there are other needs,
and wondering about clearing the space of the old garage on Riverside for a new
arena with (wait for it) 2017 Celebration monies.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/new-government-garage-going-up-near-airport-1.2778763
Hope you enjoy your Sunday,
September 27, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Many Farmers' Markets are open today, and it's a good time
to get extra to save for winter.
There is a free canning demonstration and workshop, funded by Bernardin canning
supplies company, at 2PM at the Culinary Institute in Charlottetown.
Facebook link here.
"Come join Executive Chef Emerie Brine from Bernardin,
Canada's leading provider in home canning products for over 100 years, for the
ultimate demo. Emerie will demonstrate the simplicities of making the perfect
pickles and an apple pie in a jar! Sample some and bring a free jar home!
FREE WORKSHOP (First-come, First-Serve)
Located at the Culinary Institute of Canada @ 4 Sydney St,
Charlottetown."
and tomorrow is Farm Day in the City.
11AM to 5PM, Queen Street from Grafton to Sydney and around Victoria Row.
"Farm Day in the City is back and it's bigger than ever.
This year join farmers, producers, artisans and a great line-up of
entertainment for some old fashioned fun. Farm Day 2014 will take you back to
everyones favourite blue ribbon fair, with heritage demonstrations,
reenactments, and home-style cooking. This free open air market takes place on
Queen Street."
Sunday evening is also the Bonshaw monthly ceilidh, from
7-9PM at the Bonshaw Hall. Proceeds going to the Arthritis
Society. Facebook info here.
More regarding Transportation Minister Vessey's assertion Thursday, in a news
article about Plan B sediment, that "You're gonna have water running red
anywhere in our province." (from this CBC on-line article yesterday )
(Is that like, some schools' drinking water always have a little pesticide in
it?)
These are just the normal price to pay for how we use our land?
Hmm.
A very observant Islander wrote:
I
think what he meant to say was that they (rivers) always run red after we cut
down old growth Acadian forest, bulldoze down a hill to fill in a valley, build
a 30 million dollar, 6 km hwy that was for "safety reasons", and
ignore all environmental studies that
would contradict our own regarding how to protect the lands and waters we have
damaged forever. I am pretty sure CBC probably edited down to just the 10
second sound bite. :|
--Mitch MacKinnon
Our
sense of humour and perspective prevails. :-)
September 26, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Compass TV news last night --
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/PEI/Compass/ID/2531042083/
Starts with released report of where pesticides have turned up in drinking
water (which I cannot find on the Department of Environment's website), then a
story on attempts to reduce sediment running into the Bonshaw River from Plan
B.
It shows structures that the watershed group, assisted by the province, has
installed to filter the (now copious) runoff from Plan B and trap the
sediment.
Minister Vessey, standing but spinning, says the area had issues with runoff
from the road before Plan B. Perhaps small grown-in-old-clay-road issues,
but Plan B made it a big issue.
A printed article:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/plan-b-highway-realignment-causing-west-river-runoff-problems-1.2778391
CBC
Radio is conducting a short interview with me sometime around 8:15 about the
Blue Dot Tour with David Suzuki Monday. In an odd bit of timing, they
gave away the pair of free tickets in the first hour, instead of at the end of
the interview. I heard from the David Suzuki crew (now setting up for
Halifax Saturday night) that they had some tickets on hold for "tour
purposes" for Summerside, and have released them for sale to people on the
waiting list.
Here is a four minute film, narrated by Morgan Freeman, made to inspire the
United Nation leaders to move on climate change:
http://billmoyers.com/segment/whats-possible/
September 25, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
David
Suzuki's Tour started in St. John's last night, the first of about thirty
stops.
Here is a seven minute video that pretty encompasses the whole idea of The Blue
Dot Tour -- that is it time for the people of Canada to have the right to live
in a healthy environment, that getting this into the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms is doable, and that it would start (ironically) from the bottom up
with Canadians talking to each other and at their local government levels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D43PJOBLcJI&feature=youtu.be
It's very beautiful and poignant.
Even though Summerside's Harbourfront Theatre is sold out for Monday's David
Suzuki and Friends, the Citizens' Alliance gets a free pair (or two, still
finding out details) for being the community host. We will be talking to
CBC Radio Island Morning likely on Friday and they can give away the pair, and
I will pass on any information about any tickets that become available.
--------------------------------------
The Island Nature Trust AGM is tonight at 7PM at Beaconsfield Carriage
House, with very interesting reports on their projects and guest speaker Gary
Schneider talking about forest renewal. All are welcome!
Also,
The Master's Wife performances on the road
This is the production that was at Orwell this summer.
To purchase tickets, please call (902) 651-8515/651-2789 at Orwell Corner, or
at the Homestead at (902) 651-2789.
Thursday, Sept. 25th, Orwell Hall
Friday, Sept. 26th, Cotton Centre, Stratford.
Saturday, Sept 27th, Courthouse Theatre, St. Peter’s Bay
Sunday, Sept. 28th, Presbyterian Church, Summerside
Thursday, Oct. 9th, Beaconsfield Carriage House, Charlottetown.
Friday, Oct. 10th, Britannia Hall, Tyne Valley.
Saturday, Oct. 11th, Bonshaw Hall, Bonshaw
The last date is the same night as our
Citizens' Alliance first AGM at the Farm Centre, if that helps you plan your
dates.
September 24, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Pesticide
Free P.E.I. is meeting tonight at the Sobey's in Summerside, and those in
Charlottetown wishing to carpool are meeting at the Sobey's on Allen Street at
5:30PM. More info here.
Karlo Hengst's thoughtful letter in yesterday's Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-09-23/article-3879182/Pesticide-free-P.E.I.-deserves-support/1
Pesticide Free P.E.I. Deserves Support - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on September 23rd, 2014
My concern is the extensive, unnecessary and avoidable pesticide applications —
lawn and potato field — on this not any longer so gentle island. I have no
flashy credentials, nor am I connected to, or have financial gain from,
industries connected to GMO, agriculture or pesticide production/distribution,
like some opposing contributors have. While I am no expert, I did hear some
scientific facts, and I do see illness and fish kills and governmental
unwillingness.
I have a strong desire to protect the health of
my own and all fellow men — of air, water, soil, crop and each and every
creature and plant on Mother Earth. In my conviction and desire it is I alone
who is the expert.
P.E.I. is being contaminated by pesticide and
pesticide-contamination-related illnesses here exceed the national average.
I cannot expect any help from the provincial
government, for their Health Department is silent re the obvious correlation
between excessive spraying on P.E.I. and excessive illness on P.E.I. — the
Environment Department appears equally indifferent. No surprise, their agenda
is not serving the people, but re-election.
Health Canada’s wisdom on pesticide safety is questionable
since they once decided that DDT was safe.
I cannot trust the good stewardship of
struggling farmers, who seek desired contracts with the large grower/pesticide
industry, including stringent demands for spraying. These farmers are also
victims, not culprits.
I cannot expect understanding of my concerns
from the growing and pesticide industry, for their agenda is profit, not
compassion.
I cannot trust some residents, who proudly sport
an immaculate lawn, but in the process contaminate the soil and groundwater and
air around their (and neighbours’) houses.
I trust the self-help groups like
“Pesticide-Free P.E.I.” and “Citizens’ Alliance of P.E.I.” and others, and I
applaud Joan Diamond for her quick and up-front outspokenness. Obviously, she
has no favours from the above-mentioned industries to lose.
Health exceeds economy as a value basis for all
reasoning! Un-contaminate P.E.I.! The upcoming lecture by Dr. David Suzuki will
provide great clarification for us all.
Karl Hengst, Summerside
P.S. Also, the Kimchi workshop is tonight at 6:30PM at the Farm Centre.
September 23, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Despite
all the electronic voting glitches, it does appear that David Alward has been
defeated in the New Brunswick provincial election. He billed the election
as a vote on fracking.
New Brunswickers elected NB Green Party Leader David Coon as MLA for
Fredericton South. The rest of the districts seemed nearly split,
and therefore the vote will appear skewed, something which proportional
representation of some kind would diminish.
----
In today's Guardian are a couple of letters from note, including a very
thoughtful one from Karl Hengst.
More comments on comments, but elucidating:
From yesterday's Guardian:
Fair comment on pesticide story - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on September 22, 2014
In response to John Jamieson’s letter to the editor: A shill, by definition, is
one who publicly helps a person or organization without disclosing that they
have a close relationship with the person or organization. A search of ‘Dr. Joe
Schwarcz and Monsanto’ brings up plenty of articles citing that the The Council
for Biotechnology Information has funded McGill University’s Office for
Chemistry. Who, one might ask, is on this council? BASF, Bayer
CropScience, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, Monsanto Company and Syngenta. As such,
it isn’t hard to understand why anyone would assume him biased. In reality, his
department is funded by far more biotech companies that just Monsanto.
There are innumerable studies on the harm caused
to humans by pesticide use. There are as many scientists who will argue against
their safety as there is who will argue for it. The Canadian Cancer Society
states that ‘If chemical spraying is needed, people must be warned about the
risks and helped to protect vulnerable family members such as infants, elderly
people and people with weak immune systems.’ And that ‘Widespread chemical
spraying should be used only as a last option to protect human health and
safety.’ The Society believes that when pesticides are needed to protect our
health, safety or food supply, they should be part of a plan that includes pest
prevention, using pesticides in the lowest amounts possible and using safer
choices.
To be fair, Ms. Diamond was commenting on an
article The Guardian has published. I see no reason that anyone needs to attend
an event to do so. Unless he feels the article unfairly represented the speaker
he brought in, (in which case, his issue is with the paper, not Ms. Diamond)
I’m not sure what his objection is. Incredulously, John Jamieson followed up a
personal attack on her with the line ‘When people do not like the message and
can’t come up with a scientifically based response, they attack the
creditability of the messenger.’ I find this incredibly pharisaical, and I
suspect I am not the only one.
Lynne Lund, Clinton
-----------------------------------------
Events:
Wednesday night, September 24th, has the Pesticide Free PEI meeting
in Summerside, 7PM, at the Sobeys, in their community room.
from:
https://www.facebook.com/events/356167621226087/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
Our bi-weekly meeting will be held in The City of Summerside,
next Wednesday evening. Items up for discussion are: strategies on how to
eliminate cosmetic pesticides, educating the general public on the harmful
effects of pesticides and alternatives to chemical pesticides.
Pesticide Free PEI is also starting an Indiegogo crowd-sourcing funding for
future projects:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pesticide-free-pei
----------
Also, in Charlottetown, on Wednesday evening, a Kimchi workshop:
from:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1474227612852214/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
In this workshop we will review the basics of fermenting
vegetables, learn how to make different kinds of kimchi to suit your taste and
discuss how you can use kimchi in your everyday meals.
The kimchi we are making is suitable for vegans.
Sometimes called Korean saurkraut, kimchi is finding its way
into the American diet as we become more aware of the benefits of probiotics.
Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria that aid in maintaining the balance of
microorganisms in our body's intestinal tract.
There are hundreds of different varieties of kimchi using
various combinations of vegetables and other foods. The most common kimchis are
based on napa cabbage, radish, or cucumber, with a pasty sauce of crushed chili pepper, garlic, and salt.
Sharon Labchuk, a self sufficient homesteader who
has fermented food for many years, has volunteered to show us how to make
kimchi. Sharon facilitated the very popular “Introduction to Fermenting
Vegetables” in 2013 and we are honoured she is returning to share more of her
knowledge.
This is a hands on workshop so bring any of the
items listed below that you can so you can make your own:
sharp knife
cutting board
1 litre wide mouth glass jar (to take your share
home)
2 litre mixing bowl (any material - glass,
plastic...)
scissors (to cut green onions)
vegetable peeler (for ginger and carrots)
microplaner
rubber gloves (your hands will get messy mixing the
paste with the veg).
You are invited to bring along samples of any
ferments you have made to share or get advice.
There is no charge for this workshop, donations are
gratefully accepted to help ensure we can continue providing food skills
workshops.
If there is any extra Kimchi, you may take some
home for a donation. (So bring some cash if you might like to have this
option).
The workshop is co-hosted with the PEI Farm Centre.
We thank the Legacy Garden farmers for providing the produce for this workshop.
The Food Exchange is a grassroots food security
initiative that seeks to enhance local food systems and improve access to fresh
produce with dignity.
For more information about the Food Exchange log
onto http://peifoodexchange.weebly.com/
and join the facebook group Food Exchange PEI for current happenings.
----------
Thursday, September 25th, is Island Nature Trust's AGM, at 7PM at
Beaconsfield Carriage House.
from:
http://www.islandnaturetrust.ca/island-nature-trust/contact-us
Annual General Meeting
The Island Nature Trust’s Annual General Meeting
will take place on September 25th at 7:00 PM at the Carriage House behind
Beaconsfield at the corner of Kent and West Streets. Gary Schneider of
Macphail Woods will speak on “Bringing Back Our Native
Forests”. The presentation of the Hon. J. Angus MacLean Natural
Areas Award will also take place. Everyone is welcome to attend!
September 22, 2014
Cindy Richards Environmental Report
https://www.facebook.com/groups/220834614673617/695999647157109/?notif_t=group_activity
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Many
people came out on a gorgeous, windy day to yesterday's PEI International Day
of Peace and Climate Change Walk:
unable to upload :( Please check our facebook page for photo.
Jordan MacPhee, part of the future that's giving all of us hope for the
future, speaking at the rally, Sunday, September 21, 2014
Quoted from the article (below):
Jordan MacPhee turned 24-year-old Sunday and he
said there was no place he would rather be than at the Climate Justice March.
MacPhee said he comes from the generation that is going to inherit the
consequences of the environmental destruction that has happened over the past
few generations.
“Stay active, stay involved stay political and transform yourself into the kind
of individual that the world needs.”
MacPhee addressed the crowd in hopes of reaching to people his age and younger.
“I think we just need to recognize that it’s a fallacy to believe that we are
powerless. We have a responsibility to ourselves and to our future generations
to heal some of the damage that has been done.”
Other great comments (from Facebook):
from
primary organizer, Kathleen Romans:
Thank you all so much for gathering today in the spirit of peace and
commitment. It was really wonderful to be with you and my thanks to our
speakers Eliza Knockwood, Jordan MacPhee (happy birthday!), Nouhad Mourad, Leo
Cheverie, Sharon Labchuk, Ann Gillis and Leo Broderick. Special thanks to
Teresa Doyle for the Water Song and Chant. And very special thanks to Ron Kelly
for sharing a song with me, arranging the sound system and being so supportive.
I so appreciate all of these caring, community minded 'wonders' who put so much
heart into this province.
To which Ron Kelly made the best comment:
Congratulations,
Kathleen, on the success of your event and on such a positive outcome from your
initiative. Kudos, too, to Leo Broderick and the other organizers of the
Climate Change March. Nice to see the Global Peace Meditation and Climate
Change March combine efforts -- world peace and a healthy environment are
inextricably linked so it makes sense that both efforts should combine
resources wherever possible.
While the crowd was somewhere between 50 and 100, and the one in New York City
swelled to 310,000. The parade of students, just students, was 10 blocks
(over 2km) long.
What happens now? The week has the United Nations Climate Summit, the one
Barack Obama but not Stephen Harper is going to.
http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/
350.org has a petition for anyone to sign to send a message:
http://act.350.org/letter/ready-for-action
The recap of yesterday's event in today's Guardian:
A walk in the right direction - The Guardian article by Maureen Coulter
Published online Sunday, in print September 22nd, 2014
A Climate Justice
March was held at Province House in Charlottetown Sunday giving Islanders a
chance to join in solidarity and to voice their concerns of climate change.
Sunday was International Peace Day and across
the world several peace walks took place with the biggest one in New York City.
The march on P.E.I. was put on by The Council of
Canadians, the Island Peace Committee and Earth Action.
Eliza Starchild Knockwood of Abegweit First
Nations said individuals have a huge responsibility in this lifetime to be at
peace with what’s going to happen in the future.
“Walk with peace within ourselves and to know
that our Mother Earth is here to provide everything we need to survive.”
The march started off with a 10 minute
meditation followed by Knockwood playing her drum and singing a Mother Earth
song.
Jordan MacPhee turned 24-year-old Sunday and he
said there was no place he would rather be than at the Climate Justice March.
MacPhee said he comes from the generation that
is going to inherit the consequences of the environmental destruction that has
happened over the past few generations.
“Stay active, stay involved stay political and
transform yourself into the kind of individual that the world needs.”
MacPhee addressed the crowd in hopes of reaching
to people his age and younger.
“I think we just need to recognize that it’s a
fallacy to believe that we are powerless. We have a responsibility to ourselves
and to our future generations to heal some of the damage that has been done.”
Leo Broderick of the Council of Canadians said
he believes climate change is the issue of the century.
“We need renewable energy and we need to stop
giving billions of dollars to the oil and gas industry in this country and
concentrate on renewable.”
Broderick said it can be done because the
technology is there.
“I think today is an extremely significant day
around the world. It does indicate that people are very concerned about the
climate change issue.”
After several people take the microphone to talk
about climate change a sheet with lyrics with Imagine and Get Together was
handed out. At the end, the group walked around the block for their march.
----------
With all the coverage of the Scottish referendum and such, the New Brunswick
election coverage has not been too overwhelming. It's turning into a jobs
vs. the environment referendum, many have said.
Tonight is journalist's Gwyn Dyer talk on World War I, at 7PM at the MacDougall
Business Building at UPEI. Parking may be a bit of challenge, but there
are visitor spaces off the University Avenue entrance nearest the business
building.
September 21, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A
big thing today is the PEI climate gathering at about noon, on the Grafton
Street side of Province House. This is in solidarity with the big climate
change gathering in New York City. If you have any amount of time, head
over to it.
Event link from the 350.org site:
http://act.350.org/event/peoples_climate_attend/9744
or from Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/742096965845103/permalink/744167485638051/
Here is a wonderful quote from a young woman who is tweeting from the Climate
March this weekend:
from:
https://twitter.com/Greenpeaceca
unable to upload :( Please check our facebook page for photo.
If you are not able to get to town, due to transportation, responsibilities, or
mobility issues, or just want to see what is happening in New York City,
EcoWatch is live-streaming from New York, starting at 11:30AM our time, here. (I hope the link works!)
----------
Also, today has Farm and Forest:
Open Farm Day, over 20 farms participating, sponsored by the PEI
Agriculture Sector Council, which is a rather diverse lot. Farms and maps
here:
http://www.peiagsc.ca/openfarmday/index.php
and Macphail Woods, 2PM, Autumn Forest Walk (you can go to the Climate
March in Charlottetown on your way to Macphail)
www.macphailwoods.org) or look us up on Facebook.
or
Sunday afternoon is the first of three
performances of Fading Away, tickets to benefit the Alzheimers's Society
on PEI
An Afternoon of Music &
Drama in Victoria, 3PM
https://www.facebook.com/events/255030184707960/
September 20, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Please
bear with these definitions:
The noun "shill" does not necessary imply a monetary relationship:
from
Merriam-Webster.com:
shill
(noun)
a : one who acts as a decoy (as for a pitchman or
gambler)
b : one
who makes a sales pitch or serves as a promoter
Ad hominem is "new" Latin for "to the person" and
usually means attacking the traits of a person arguing something in order to
discredit him or her.
also from Merriam-Webster.com:
ad hominem (adjective)
1:
appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect
2:
marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an
answer to the contentions made
While Ms. Joan Diamond in her letter to The Guardian earlier this week
did discredit arguments made by Joe Schwarcz and called him a "shill for
Monsanto", my memory is that she did not attack him as a person.
----------
Friday's Guardian contained this:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-09-19/article-3875344/Dr.-Schwarcz-delivers-balanced%2C-fair-presentation-on-nutrition/1
Dr. Schwarcz delivers balanced, fair presentation on nutrition - The Guardian Guest Opinion by John Jamieson
Guest opinion by John Jamieson, executive director of the Federation of Agriculture
Published Friday, September 19, 2014
It is not often
that I feel compelled to respond to a Letter to the Editor but Joan Diamond’s
letter on September 17th attacking the credibility of Dr. Joe Schwarcz has
changed my mind. Ms. Diamond’s reference to Dr. Schwarcz as a “so-called
expert” and “well-known shill for Monsanto” is completely false. Dr. Schwarcz
has impeccable credentials. He has a PhD in chemistry and is the only
non-American ever to win the American Chemical Society’s prestigious
Grady-Stack Award for demystifying science.
He also won Canada’s premier prize for lifetime
achievement contributions to chemistry in Canada. Dr. Schwarcz has taught at
McGill University for many years and currently teaches, among other courses,
nutrition to McGill medical students. In the spring of 2014 his group at McGill
offered an online university course on food that saw 32,000 people from around
the globe take it. Dr. Schwarcz has authored many best-selling books and his
current project is a collaboration on a healthy eating cookbook with the
proceeds from the book being donated to cancer research in Canada.
As far as being a “well-known shill for
Monsanto”, Dr. Schwarcz has not received any funding or payment from Monsanto
and if Ms. Diamond has evidence of this I challenge her to produce it.
Had Ms. Diamond bothered to actually attend Dr.
Schwarcz’s public lecture at UPEI she would have heard a very balanced and fair
presentation on nutrition that did indeed dispel many myths on fad diets,
cleanses, and miracle cures.
When asked about pesticides, Dr. Schwarcz noted
that both organic and conventional farmers use pesticides that are approved by
Health Canada through rigorous processes. This is the same organization that
approves the medications Canadians take every day. He noted that all pesticides
are dangerous but when properly and legally used do no pose a threat to humans.
There is no doubt that P.E.I. has environmental
challenges that relate to farming but farmers and the industry continue to
improve practices. Ms. Diamond would have you think that organic and
conventional farmers spray for fun in an effort to make people sick. An
absolutely ridiculous assertion. All Islanders have an impact on the
environment and we all need to make improvements in our environmental
stewardship.
If anyone’s credibility needs to be questioned
it is Ms. Diamond’s. This is a lady who claims to be afraid of pesticides and
was on the front page of the Guardian complaining about her farm neighbour. Her
neighbours are sixth-generation family farmers who call her every time they
apply a spray. She had no problem trespassing onto the farmer’s field for a
photo op. And guess what, she brought her daughter with her and allowed her
daughter to walk in the supposedly pesticide-laden potato field with shorts and
flip flops. Does this sound like someone who is credible?
When people do not like the message but can’t
come up with a scientifically based response they attack the credibility of the
messenger. This is exactly what Ms. Joan Diamond did when she attacked the
credibility of award-winning Canadian scientist Dr. Joseph Schwarcz.
John Jamieson is Executive Director, P.E.I.
Federation of Agriculture
I did
not go to the talk last week. I do appreciate someone who can break down
complex concepts into easier-to-understand parts, which is why I enjoy
listening to Dr. Peter Lin's weekly health chat on CBC Radio Island
Morning. Saturdays are for farmers' markets, getting local food or
learning what more to do with it, enjoying sitting outside if possible and
chatting with bright people who don't need to tell me they are the smartest
person in the room.
But I did read these two articles on food, which are not as
acrimonious as they sound, perhaps. We are all trying to feed our
families, and most of us have some choices about how we go about doing that in
relation to everything else.
The first was by blogger Amanda Marcotte and published
online in Slate:
full article:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/09/03/home_cooked_family_dinners_a_major_burden_for_working_mothers.html?wpsrc=fol_tw
excerpt:
The
researchers quote food writer Mark Bittman, who says that the goal should be
“to get people to see cooking as a joy rather than a burden.” But while cooking
“is at times joyful,” they argue, the main reason that people see cooking
mostly as a burden is because it is a burden. It's expensive and
time-consuming and often done for a bunch of ingrates who would rather just be
eating fast food anyway. If we want women—or gosh, men, too—to see cooking as
fun, then these obstacles need to be fixed first. And whatever burden is left
needs to be shared.
----------
Joel Salatin, a farmer from Virginia, writes what he feels, in his earnest,
opinionated way.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/slate-family-dinner-zb0z1409zsie.aspx#axzz3CkF4c7Xt
Slate'
Criticizes the 'Home-Cooked Family Dinner': Joel Salatin Responds - Mother Earth News article by Joel Salatin
Victimhood escalates to stratospheric whining with Amanda
Marcotte's recent Slate post titled "Let's Stop Idealizing the
Home-Cooked Family Dinner."
The piece concluded more often than not family
members (especially the male ones) were ingrates and, generally, home-cooked
meals were too stressful, expensive, time-consuming, and utensil-dependent to
be worthy of the trouble.
Marcotte's indictment of what she considers a
romanticized cultural icon certainly speaks volumes about where our cultural
mainstream food values reside. Indeed, the average American is probably far
more interested and knowledgeable about the latest belly-button piercing in
Hollywood celebrity culture than what will become flesh of their flesh and bone
of their bone at 6 p.m.
In the circles I run in and market to, the
home-cooked meal is revered as the ultimate expression of food
integrity. The home-cooked meal indicates a reverence for our bodies'
fuel, a respect for biology, and a committed remedial spirit toward all the
shenanigans in our industrial, pathogen-laden, nutrient-deficient
food-and-farming system.
I would imagine most of the ungrateful males in
these families watch TV or see a lot of food ads on their computers. You won't
find integrity food advertised on TV or pop-culture web sites. It'll be a
steady brainwash of junk food, convenience, highly processed food-like
materials. That we can physically chew and swallow the stuff does not
make it desirable for our bodies.
Further, since when are women the only ones who
are supposed to shoulder the burden for integrity food? Why doesn't Marcotte,
rather than whining about unappreciated women, write instead about
families who seem to think sports leagues and biggest-screen TVs are more
important than health? Who think pharmaceutical companies are responsible
for wellness? Who think no difference exists between factory chickens and
pastured chickens?
Here's the question I would like to ask these
families: "Are you spending time or money on anything
unnecessary?" Cigarettes, alcohol, coffee, soft drinks, lottery
tickets, People Magazine, TV, cell phone, soccer games,
potato chips . . . ? Show me the household devoid of any
of these luxuries, then let's talk. Otherwise, you're just unwilling to do
what's more important, which is provide for the health of your family and your
environment. That's a personal choice, and one that's entirely within your
control.
I'm amazed at the difficult situations I hear
about in which people do indeed rise to the occasion. Whether it's sprouting
mung beans or alfalfa seeds in a quart jar on the windowsill or buying grain by
the bushel, resourceful, can-do people committed to changing their situation figure
out a way to do it.
For Marcotte to accept irresponsibility this
easily underscores a profound courage deficiency. Turn off the TV, get out of
the car, get off the phone and get in the kitchen — men, women and
children. The most expensive potatoes in the nation are cheaper by the
pound than the cheapest potato chips. Ditto healthful ground beef from pastured
cattle versus fast-food burgers.
With slow cookers, indoor plumbing, timed-bake
and refrigerators, today's techno-enabled kitchens allow busy people to cook
from scratch and eat with integrity far easier than during Great Grandma's
time. She had to fetch water from the spring, split stove wood, start a
fire and churn the butter and she still managed to feed a large family very
well. If our generation can't do at least as well with our 40-hour work
week and kitchen tech, then we deserve to eat adulterated pseudo food that
sends us to an early grave. I don't know that anyone's children deserve this,
however.
While extreme hardship does certainly exist —
and my heart breaks for impoverished people who truly have no resources — let's
not excuse the other 98 percent from their responsibility on that
account. If everyone who could do something would do it,
perhaps we would all have enough left over to help the egregious hardship
cases. Soccer moms driving their kiddos half a day one way to a
tournament, stopping at the drive-by for "chicken" nuggets, and then
dismissing the kitchen as "too stressful" is an upside-down value
system. And how many of the men whining about not liking what they're
being fed spend their Saturdays on the riding mower managing a monoculture,
fertilized ecological-dead-zone of a suburban lawn, rather than using their
resources to grow something nutritious for their families and wholesome for the
planet? When do we start talking about them? Hmmmmm?
Joel Salatin raises pastured poultry and
grass-fed beef at Polyface Farms in Swoope, Va.
----------
Have a good Saturday,
Chris O.,
Bonshaw
PS Zucchini workshop at 1PM at the Farm Centre.
September 19, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Lots going on tonight and this weekend!
Friday, September 19th, 7PM, Cooper Institute's BIG Concert for
Social Justice, Carrefour de I'll-Saint-Jean, 5 Promenade Acadienne,
Charlottetown, advance tickets (today!) $10, or $15 at the door
The event is
being held as part of a celebration of Cooper Institute’s 30 years history as a
community development & education group on the Island, and to honour the
memory of one of the group’s founders, Father Andrew Macdonald. The
concert will include performances by some of the Queen’s County Fiddlers,
Caroline Bernard, Teresa Doyle & Patrick Bunston, Claire Byrne, the Singing
Fathers, Dion Bernard, Louise Arsenault and the Nieces.
Tickets cost $10.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door and are
available from Cooper Institute members and at the Voluntary Resource Council,
81 Prince St.
For more information, please call 894-4573, email cooperinstitute@eastlink.ca
or contact us on FaceBook. Our website is www.cooperinstitute.ca.
https://www.facebook.com/events/811038712263674/
Saturday, September 20, 1-4PM, Zucchini Workshop, Farm Centre,
free
Join the Legacy
Gardeners for an introduction to growing and cooking with zucchini! We will
take a walk in the garden, prepare three recipes, and enjoy the fruits of our
labour. All of the produce used will be from the production area of the Legacy
Garden. Donations will be accepted toward the future of the Legacy Community
Garden. Preserves made by Legacy Gardeners will be for sale as an additional
fundraiser. Everyone is welcome!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1514319952148772/
Saturday, September 20, 1-4PM, Cooper's Institute's 1st Annual
Social Justice Symposium, Holland College CAST Building, Kent Street,
Charlottetown
Cooper
Institute will hold its 1st annual Social Justice Symposium in memory of Father
Andrew Macdonald on Saturday, September 20th at Holland College, 305 Kent St,
in Charlottetown. The invited guest speaker will be Chandra Pasma, an
Ottawa-based policy analyst, who will explore Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) and
how it might affect work, and democracy. Panellists Marie Burge (Cooper
Institute), Marcia Carroll (PEI Council for People with Disabilities) and Jane
Ledwell (PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women) will share their
perspectives on BIG as well.
Everyone is welcome - and it's free. For more information, or
to register please call or email Cooper Institute: 902.894.4573
https://www.facebook.com/events/760470630679919/
Sunday, September 21st, noon, in conjunction
with People's Climate March in New York City:
International Day of Peace and Climate Change Walk
noon, Grafton Street side of Province House
People's Climate
March & International Day of Peace
Co-sponsored by Council of Canadians, Island Peace Committee,
& Earth Action.
Together we mobilize through the unification of two global
movements- World Peace Moment and the Peoples Climate March.
Join us Sunday at noon for globally synchronized meditation,
speakers, singing and a unity march!!
"To change everything we need everyone!"
https://www.facebook.com/events/778124018917155/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular
Sunday, 2PM, Macphail Woods, Autumn Walk at Macphail Woods
from
their press release:
Woodlands are wonderful places at any time of
the year but a forest in autumn is always special. There are still lots of birds around, the
witch hazel is blooming, and many plants are showing their fall colours. On Sunday, September 21, staff of the
Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project will be leading an Autumn Woodland
Walk through the trails on the Macphail Homestead in Orwell.
The
walk will be an excellent opportunity to learn about the natural history of Prince
Edward Island and develop an appreciation for woodland
communities. It begins at the Nature
Centre at 2pm.
Over
the past years, hundreds of people have taken part in the walks and workshops
at Macphail Woods and become more observant of the natural world around
them. Registration is not required and
there is no charge for the workshop. For
more information on this or upcoming tours and workshops, please call 651-2575,
check out our web site (www.macphailwoods.org) or look us up on Facebook.
Sunday
afternoon is the first of three performances of Fading Away, tickets to
benefit the Alzheimers's Society on PEI
An Afternoon of Music &
Drama in Victoria, 3PM
Sunday, September 21 is World Alzheimer's Day and we are
excited to launch the first of our 3 performances of Fading Away and treat you
to the magical sounds of Amy
& Rachel Beck Music
The Alzheimer Society of PEI in partnership with Dr. John
Gillis Memorial Lodge present: Fading Away traces the story of an individual
with Alzheimer's disease, the struggles of both the individual and the family
as they come to terms with this devastating disease.
https://www.facebook.com/events/255030184707960/
And the 11th Annual Organic Harvest Meal is Sunday, 6PM, at the PEI
Brewing Company.
Island Green will be shown after guest speaker Ian Petrie.
Tickets are available on line at The PEI Fall
Flavours Festival, or by contacting the office 894-9999, or email@organicpei.com.
Monday, September 22nd, 7PM
Journalist Gwyn Dyer to speak at room 232 of UPEI Business Building,
MacDougall Hall
And in case your planning a walk or bike ride in the Bonshaw Hills this weekend
(screenshot from today's Guardian page A2):
unable to upload :( Please check our facebook page for photo.
Take care this weekend,
September 18, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Todd
MacLean will be on CBC Radio Island Morning around 8:15AM, talking about the
recent publication of the book he edited, Global Chorus. Todd will
be the featured speaker at the Citizens' Alliance AGM next month (October
11th).
Joan Diamond's letter in yesterday's Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-09-17/article-3872542/Leaving-to-experts-got-us-in-this-mess/1
Leaving to experts
got us in this mess - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published
on Wednesday, September 17, 2014
I found the article in Monday’s Guardian ‘Pesticide patrols best left to
experts,’ to be condescending and dismissive. Dr. Joe Schwarcz, a well-known
shill for Monsanto, among others, was brought to the Island by the P.E.I.
Federation of Agriculture to “dispel myths.” I wonder how much Schwarcz knows
about the situation here in P.E.I.
For instance, does he know that we have only two officers assigned to deal
with pesticide-related issues for the entire Island? Has he been made aware of
the serious problem we have with ongoing fish kills? Is he aware of just how
many of our island waterways are dying due to an overload of nitrates? Is he
aware the eight violations that are being brought up on charges this year are
the direct result of citizens calling these very things in, and not the result
of citizens turning a blind eye to the problem and ‘leaving it up to the
experts?’
In fact, Islanders know the so-called experts have failed us miserably
insofar as protecting our land, water and air. Leaving it to the so-called
experts is what got us into this mess. I dare say that this year, the amount of
violations that would have been prosecuted would be zero had it not been for an
informed and educated public.
He deflects from the issue at hand by comparing our situation with that of
people in developing countries, saying, “They have the real issues, not the
residues we have here.” In a recent pesticide monitoring study 15 to 33
pesticides were found in almost half the wells tested across P.E.I. Those
“residues we have here,” have been responsible for rapidly accelerating nitrate
level across the island, for fish kills too numerous to number, and many
Islanders long-suffering with a plethora of health issues, all of which have
been connected time and time again to pesticide exposure.
So, no, we will not leave it to the experts. We will, instead, do our utmost
to work with them to make the environment a priority and in turn protect the
health of Islanders. It is our right and responsibility.
Joan Diamond, Fairview
September 17, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
David
Suzuki is launching his Blue Dot Tour in about a week, stopping in St. John's
and Halifax before coming to PEI on Monday, September 29th.
from the website:
http://www.harbourfronttheatre.com/?p=4218
The Blue Dot Tour with David Suzuki and Friends
Be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
join David Suzuki, a singularly inspiring speaker, on his last national tour.
It’s all in celebration of a simple yet powerful idea, and it starts with you.
During this special evening, David Suzuki will share the wisdom of a lifetime
full of action as he and other Canadian icons and thought leaders celebrate the
capacity of Canadians to protect the people and places they love.
Special guests include: Shane Koyczan, Danny Michel, Jeremy Fisher, Paper
Lions, and Catherine MacLellan.
And hosted by Silver Donald Cameron.
The "simple yet powerful idea" is that of environmental rights.
Visit:
http://bluedot.ca/
Tickets are still available, mostly towards the back, but as they say
about Summerside's Harbourfront Theatre, every seat is great.
Tickets can be purchased through Harbourfront's website or the tour site's.
**There is a contest that the David Suzuki Foundation is putting on for
people to win a pair of tickets and backstage passes**:
http://bluedot.ca/stories/go-backstage-david-suzuki/
September 16, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Some
climate change updates:
The organization 350.org is "building a global climate
movement....The number 350 means climate safety: to preserve a livable planet,
scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its
current level of 400 parts per million to below 350 ppm."
A quick video illustrating this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5kg1oOq9tY
And about the People's Climate March, Sunday, September 21st in New York City
(I believe Stephen Harper is skipping the UN Climate meeting).
http://peoplesclimate.org/
Some other communities are having events, too.
----------
This news story from EcoWatch is from the spring, but worth a reread:
"A
news report shows that nearly all of the 1.1 million barrels a day of crude oil
the proposed Energy East pipeline would carry would be exported unrefined. The
report, TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline: For Export, Not Domestic Gain,
shows eastern Canadian refineries would process only a small amount of crude
from Energy East, given that they already rely substantially on two other North
American sources, with a third source imminent."
rest of the story:
http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/18/transcanadas-pipeline-export-tar-sands-unrefined/
----------
On interesting letter to the editor from last week on gas tax money:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-09-13/article-3867669/Gasoline-prices-a-big-tax-rip-off/1
Gasoline
prices a big tax rip-off - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on Saturday, September 13th, 2014
I often hear people complain about the high cost of gasoline and how the oil
companies are ripping us off. Hold on – there is another culprit here as
well – our federal and provincial governments. I’m sure most people have no
idea how much the government rakes in every time we put gas in our vehicle.
Would you believe 45 per cent? The dealer base price (the cost per litre
delivered to your gas station) of regular unleaded gasoline on August 15th,
2014, with a pump price of 132.9 was 88.0 cents. How does the price go
from 88.0 cents to 132.9? The federal government imposes an excise tax of
10 cents per litre, while our benevolent and caring provincial government
imposes a 13.1-cent levy. The dealer gets a mark-up of 5.5 per cent. After all
this is calculated, add the HST of 14 per cent which is added on top of all
other taxes.
When
I purchased $55.04 in fuel on the weekend, $16.30 was taxes. I’m sure our
government officials have no idea and really don’t care how most Islanders
struggle on fixed incomes and pensions in order to have a decent living. A
vehicle is really a necessity on the Island for work, day-to-day errands and
necessary appointments. We don’t have the luxury of government credit cards and
perks. Unlike Ron MacKinley, I can’t bill the government for my Tim Hortons or
McDonalds purchases. We are also unfortunate to have a premier who has totally
lost touch or just doesn’t care about how much most Islanders are struggling
financially. I can’t afford to golf at Crowbush or buy Shania Twain tickets and
I resent the fact that our premier accepts $450,000 from large corporations to
treat his fellow politicians. Let’s speak up Islanders – enough is enough….
Morley LaBelle, Long Creek
September 15, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
From
the front page of this morning's Guardian:
"Joe
Schwarcz, an award-winning chemist, best-selling author and television
personality, spoke on pesticides and genetically-modified organisms (GMOs)
during a public lecture hosted by the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture in
Charlottetown Sunday."
Actually, I think the talk was Saturday.
Article link and pasted below:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-09-14/article-3869070/Pesticide-patrol-on-farmers-better-left-to-Health-Canada%2C-says-expert/1
Pesticide
patrol on farmers better left to Health Canada, says expert - The Guardian article by Mitch MacDonald
Published on Monday, September 15th
The encouragement and use of social media by the general public to hunt out
pesticide infractions by farmers is “utter nonsense,” says the director for
McGill University’s Office for Science and Society.
Joe Schwarcz, an award-winning chemist,
best-selling author and television personality, spoke on pesticides and
genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) during a public lecture hosted by the
P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture in Charlottetown Sunday.
In August, a group called Pesticide Free P.E.I.
encouraged Islanders to turn their cellphones on Island farmers and take
pictures of chores such as spraying and fertilizing.
Those pictures would then be posted on social
media websites to catch farming violations, such as spraying in high winds.
Schwarcz came to the defence of many
conventional Island farmers and said while there are some who don’t follow
regulations in place, the burden to catch those infractions should not be placed
on the general public.
“If you saw someone applying pesticides in a way
that shouldn’t be applied, that’s a different story, but how is some passerby
going to be able to judge whether or not the farmer is using that pesticide in
a proper manner,” said Schwarcz during an interview with The Guardian. “It’s
utter nonsense, and it sends the message you shouldn’t be using pesticides.”
Pesticides and genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) were just two topics Schwarcz touched on during the presentation and question
and answer session at the University of Prince Edward Island.
Much of the presentation focused on his office’s
work with personal nutrition and demystifying claims of fad diets, miracle
foods, detoxes, and supplements.
However, the Q&A session saw the focus shift
towards pesticides and organic vs. conventional farming, two hot topic issues
on P.E.I. as of late.
When asked by an audience member to go over the
pros and cons of both types of farming, Schwarcz said it is a complex issue
with a lot of misinformation.
Schwarcz said while arguments for environmental
concerns are strongly supported,
the main reason people buy organic produce is
because they believe there is no pesticide residue, which is not the case.
Farmers are able to spray pesticides on organic
produce if it comes from a natural source.
Schwarcz said while there are fewer organic
pesticides available than conventional, both are also approved by the same
group, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re going to be used
organically or conventionally, there’s no such distinction,” he said. “While
there may be somewhat more pesticide residue on conventional than organic
produce, according to Health Canada it doesn’t’ matter because everything has
been approved and the levels are monitored.
“When a pesticide is registered, these things
are all examined in excruciating detail.”
Schwarcz also acknowledged that while
regulations are in place, problems can be created when some do not follow those
regulations.
He also pointed to areas in the developing
world, where farmers don’t know how to dilute the pesticides, and even among
migrant workers in the United States.
“You see things you don’t want to see… they’re
out there with no equipment whatsoever spraying, they go back home to their
huts drenched in pesticides and transferring it to their kids,” he said. “Those
are real issues, not the residues we have here.”
Today starting at 10AM, tickets for this year's Symons Medal
Lecture, on Friday, November 21st, to be given by human rights activist
Stephen Lewis, go on reserve at the Confed Centre. They are free and
limited to four per person, but it sounds like phone and website are busy and
they recommend going to the box office, which you may or may not be able to do!
Box Office (902) 566-1267
and the website might work from here
Mr. Lewis will actually give a public talk related to Confederation and be
given the medal in a public ceremony (as opposed to Prince Charles getting a
special giving of the medal in a private ceremony last May). He seems to
have quite an interesting background and sounds like a great public speaker.
Background on the Lecture here
Lewis' daughter-in-law is Naomi Klein, who has written several books on
economics and the environment, and has a new book coming out, This Changes
Everything
http://www.naomiklein.org/tour-dates-2014
And
finally,
Today is International Democracy Day! In fact:
DEMOCRACY WEEK is September 15 to 20. If you haven't signed
onto Fair Vote Canada's Declaration of Voter's Rights, why not celebrate the International Day of
Democracy (Monday, September 15) by doing just that! You
can sign online at https://secure.fairvote.ca/en/declaration. Even better
get your friends and family to sign too! Fair Vote is looking to have 100,000
signatures by the time of the 2015 election!
Our team on PEI will be capping
off the Democracy Week by having a table at the Charlottetown Farmer's
Market this Saturday, September 20 from 9:00
am to 2:00 pm. Come by and see us or if you have a free hour or two,
contact me about volunteering. If we can get enough volunteers we'll look at
leafletting outside the market with derby hats to commemorate the 150th
Charlottetown Accord!
from
Brenda Oslawsky, PEI Fair Vote Team,
(902)
303-4278 or Brenda.Oslawsky(at)fairvote(dot)ca
September 14, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A
couple of workers set out to enlarge the sediment pond at Crosby's Ravine and
place rocks at the head of the ravine, in order to be ready for the next rain.
They worked from late this week and were still working later on Saturday.
unable to upload :( Please check our facebook page for the photo. https://www.facebook.com/groups/220834614673617/
A long-reach excavator and operator rest while an apparent supervisor or kindly
gnome checks the work.
Saturday's
Guardian was filled with odds and ends. Mostly odds.
Here, an apologist (rather than a reporter) writes the lead front-page
editorial (rather than a news story); the amount of advertising revenue the
paper made on 2014 ads is not mentioned.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-09-13/article-3867966/What-will-be-the-2014-legacy-for-P.E.I.%3F/1
What will be the 2014 legacy for P.E.I.? - The Guardian article by Dave Stewart
Published on Saturday,
September 13, 2014.
While 2014 isn’t going to leave a major piece of infrastructure,
people say it raised awareness about P.E.I.’s history and did a lot for Island
communities
Whether it was the Celebration Zone or Shania
Twain in Charlottetown, or the Rock the Boat concert in Tyne Valley, 2014 will
certainly leave Islanders with some lasting memories.
What it won’t leave Islanders with is a major
piece of infrastructure, a so-called ‘built legacy’ project.
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the
Charlottetown Conference cost close to $29 million — $18.5 million from the
province and the rest from the federal government, municipal governments and
some corporate sponsors.
That’s a lot of money to most people but not
nearly enough for a larger scale project, at least on the level of, say, the
Confederation Centre of the Arts, a legacy from the 1964 celebrations, or the
Eastlink Centre, a legacy from the 1991 Canada Winter Games.
Many have been clamouring for years for a
provincial museum but it wasn’t in the cards for 2014.
Premier Robert Ghiz says more opportunities for
a built-legacy component lie ahead.
“I think if you’re looking for a building legacy
like a museum we’ll probably look to 2017, to be quite frank,’’ Ghiz said,
referring to the 150th anniversary of Confederation when the entire country
will celebrate.
<< snip>>
And
our Premier embarrassing holds out his overturned top hat for more federal
taxpayer money for 2017 celebrations to spend.
(the rest of the article is on the link)
Alan
Holman criticize our willingness to let our government be unwilling to accept
criticism of its goals.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Columnists/2014-09-13/article-3867504/The-Souris-bridge-says-a-lot-about-us/1
The
Souris bridge says a lot about us - The Guardian column by Alan Holman
Published on September 13, 2014.
Now that they have started work on the replacement of the bridge
across the Souris River it is another reminder of how complacent we’ve become
about provincial expenditures and how bull headed the provincial government is.
The bridge replacement project is budgeted to
cost $5.5 million, who knows what the final cost will be. However, on the face
of things it seems that the government is going out of its way to make the
project as costly as possible.
<<snip>>
The main editorial Friday praised the Trans Canada Trail. An excerpt:
Laureen Harper, the honorary chair of the
TCT campaign and wife of our prime minister, will be joined by TCT Foundation
co-chair Valerie Pringle, a former well-known broadcaster, Premier Robert Ghiz,
the TCT’s first champion premier, and many other trail supporters and community
leaders.
In the photo of the story about it Saturday on page A4, footwear choices are
diverse - Ms. Pringle and the philanthropist are wearing serious hiking shoes,
the Premier is wearing dress shoes and Mrs. Harper is wearing open-toed
sandals. It is not like this was a surprise decision to walk the trail --
it was the reason for Mrs. Harper flying here.
Then
there were two ridiculous commentaries closing up the actual lead editorial
column Saturday (after the restaurant editorial):
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Editorials/2014-09-13/article-3867691/Restaurants-pay-the-price/1
Weekend thoughts
One widely accepted definition which appears on
the Canadian Cancer Society website reads: “Cosmetic pesticides are chemical or
biological substances used to destroy living things such as: insects
(insecticides), plants (herbicides), and fungi (fungicides) for the purpose of
enhancing the appearance of a lawn or garden . . .” Charlottetown and Stratford
are calling on the province to pass legislation enabling the municipalities to
ban all cosmetic pesticides while NDP P.E.I. and Green Party are calling for
the province to pass a province-wide ban. If homeowners are expected to accept
a less than perfect lawn or garden, how soon before the lobbying becomes
deafening that farmers be forced to accept a less than perfect crop in a
pesticide-free province?
Great. The Public Service Alliance of Canada
wants its members to be able to take off 10 paid grieving days for “aboriginal
spirit friends.” A spokesman for the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples said he’s
never heard the term before. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says it is stunned
with the request, suggesting the term appears to be a creation of a PSAC
committee. The name appears to be a reference to spirit guides that are
“commonly considered to be religious spirits or ghosts and can take human or
animal form.” One wonders if an inebriated member of that PSAC committee saw a
strange halo around the head of Rover while carrying on a two-way conversation
with the family pet?
September 13, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Some weekend notes:
Farmers' Markets are open and still have lots of just about
everything. As Stan Carew on CBC Radio just said, "If you can't
support a farmers' market, who can you support?"
It sounds like today is Cardigan's Farmers' Market last day (what will they do
with all the squash and potatoes that will be in season in a few more weeks??)
, 9:30AM to 2PM, with a closing breakfast and the Market:
https://www.facebook.com/events/828010377219085/
It is a great time of year to figure out what to get now that you can't get in
winter (certain tomatoes, peppers, herbs) and figure out how to preserve some
for winter.
Food writer and home economist extraordinaire Margaret Prouse is hosting
a preserving workshop this Sunday (1-4PM) at the Farm Centre:
from the Facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/699798546740562/
Putting away the harvest
has been a way of life for generations. Now it's your turn to preserve foods
from your garden or our Island farms.
Home Economist Margaret Prouse will provide hands-on
instruction on how to preserve a wide range of produce that can be safely
preserved in this home canning workshop.
Pre-registration is requested. Donations to the Legacy
Garden Fund are most welcome. Suggested donation $10.
Contact marie@peifarmcentre.com to register.
----------
Finally, sometime in August, this year's Department of Agriculture 2014
"Fresh Products' Directory" got put on-line:
http://peiflavours.ca/images/uploads/PEI%20Flavours%20Map%202014-WEB.pdf
------------------------------------------------
Today at 10AM, chemist and media-persona Joe Schwarcz will be speaking
at UPEI in MacDougall Hall, Room 242.
His visit is sponsored by the Federation of Agriculture, and is free.
from the Facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/570596526400574/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
Eat salmon. It’s full of
good omega-3 fats. Don’t eat salmon. It’s full of PCBs and mercury. Eat more
veggies. They’re full of good antioxidants. Don’t eat more veggies. The
pesticides will give you cancer.
These are the types of things we hear and read every day and
the PEI Federation of Agriculture is hosting a public lecture with one of Canada’s best known scientists
Dr. Joe Schwarcz. Dr. Schwarcz will give you the straight goods on the science
behind modern food production. Dr. Schwarcz, the expert who’s famous for
connecting chemistry to the modern world will be speaking on September 13th,
2014 on the UPEI Campus. The lecture will begin at 10:00am and will be held in
MacDougall Hall.
Dr. Scharcz (sic) is an award winning chemist, best-selling
author and Director for McGill University’s Office for Science & Society.
“Dr. Joe” has appeared hundreds of times on the Canadian Discovery Channel, TV
Ontario, Global Television, CBC-TV, CTV-TV and various radio stations. He hosts
the “Dr. Joe Show” on Montreal’s CJAD every Sunday from 3-4 PM. He also hosted
“Science To Go,” a series on the Discovery Channel that focused on common
foods.
----------
A
gorgeous mural with a honeycomb motif will be "unveiled" at
the Voluntary Resource Centre, 81 Prince Street, at 2PM today. It is
on the outside wall by their (newly improved!) parking lot. The artist is
Warren Christopher Reeson.
a partial snapshot here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1477543002500817/
----------
Sunday:
If you are seedy and near Summerside Sunday from
2-4PM, you can go to a Seed Saving Workshop and Seed Library Creation, at the
Summerside Rotary Library.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1692235154334312/
OR
if you want to think photos (and raindrops) and are
near Macphail Woods, 2-4PM, Beth Hoar from Green Thumb Photography is giving a
presentation about photographing nature and walk afterward. Beautiful
work.
http://macphailwoods.org/event/nature-photography-workshop-2/
September 12, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
please
mark your calendar now for next month's
Citizens'
Alliance of PEI first Annual General Meeting
and "Plan Beyond" Social
Saturday,
October 11th,
2014
7PM
Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue,
Charlottetown
All are welcome! Membership in the Citizens' Alliance is free.
The evening will have a short introductory/business meeting; keynote speaker
Todd MacLean, editor of the about-to-be-published Global Chorus; and a
social with music and refreshments. It will be great to get together.
----------
Thanks to Kathleen Romans
for the term "Plan Beyond" .
----------
Speaking of planning
beyond, here is my entry to a recent CBC contest, asking for Islanders' wish
for how Canada will look in 150 years:
My Bold Vision of Canada in 2164 would be:
--a country whose land is healthy and green, with strong rural agrarian
communities, smart land use choices, and clean energy for transportation,
mechanical work and communications.
--with our government evolved on all levels to one of much
more transparency, and direct citizen-participation in decision-making, with
initiatives and measures (like recall) being standard and effective.
--with good financial stewardship; living within our means
on all levels.
-and a healthy Society having the right
mix of personal responsibility, and support when people need it.
:-)
Dum spiro, spero.
(While I breath, I hope
--paraphrasing Cicero)
It would be great to hear others' thoughts.
September 11, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Something
to read from Paul MacNeill's West Prince Graphic, as his paper took the
bait, so to speak, and sent a reporter to talk to fisher Malcolm Pitre
about his observations on the local waterways:
http://www.peicanada.com/news/article_f5df05fa-3852-11e4-917f-0019bb2963f4.html
Local Fisherman Express(es) Concern Montrose Water Quality
Unacceptable - The West Prince Graphic article by Cathy Chant
Published Wednesday September 10th, 2014
Tignish resident and long time shell fisher
Malcolm Pitre has a lot of environmental concerns, but one in particular is the
water quality at Montrose. “I drove by last week and the colour of the water is
of concern to me,” said Mr Pitre. “I fish oysters on the Kildare River, which
is connected to Montrose and for that reason I need this government to deal
with these issues.”
Mr Pitre has been making a living off the water
for the last 14 years by fishing oysters, clams and quahogs. “I’ve seen oyster
and clam mortality more and more because of poor water quality. I have fished
(or should I say attempted to fish) through blankets of sea lettuce. It is no
fun.”
According to Mr Pitre, no one will ever know the
amount of money Island shell fishers have lost and will continue to lose
because of a government who fails to take this issue seriously. “There have
been round table meetings, letters, emails, phone calls, presentations, you
name it, but yet the fish kills, anoxic events, rotting sea lettuce, smelly
rivers, continue every summer in PEI,” said Mr Pitre. “I am fed up with the
attitude.”
Mr Pitre has been concerned since it was said
the province will not be removing the sea lettuce which was revealed by the
provincial surface water biologist Cindy Crane, at an April 9 Cascumpec Bay
Watershed Association’s annual general meeting.
“She says they must cut it off at the source
which is the amount of nutrients that are entering our waterways feeding the
sea lettuce which in turn causes it to grow at an alarming rate. I told her
that will not happen, so let’s remove the sea lettuce,” said Mr Pitre. “She
told me I was welcome to go and rent the machine and do it. The province has a
responsibility to Islanders and the environment and to deal with these issues,
not me. I don’t get paid to harvest sea lettuce.”
Mr Pitre admits he does not have an agricultural
background, but wants the province to step up to the plate when it comes to
talking to farmers about their farming practices. “I had over 2,000 names on a
petition to clean up the rivers and bays in PEI and had it tabled in the
legislature...What more do they need to know” They know it’s happening.”
Mr Pitre figured as many as 30 rivers every summer
in PEI go anoxic and nothing is being done to prevent it. “Wake up and take
care of our environment. Stop for a second and look around and see the
condition of our rivers and bays. Listen to someone who cares about what is
going on in this province. Do you think it is acceptable for children to be
swimming in water with zero oxygen levels?” said Mr Pitre. “My livelihood is at
stake here...This is unacceptable...If this is the attention you want, that is
what you will get.”
Mr Pitre figures he is doing what he should be
doing by contacting the government and expect action to be taken.
Members from the Department of Environment could
not be reached by press time for comment.
And something from the publisher, himself:
http://www.peicanada.com/eastern_graphic /article_47d54530-3859-11e4-9438-0019bb2963f4.html
By the way, The Graphic website (www.peicanada.com) allows you seven free articles a month.
The Party is Over and the Foundation is Crumbling - The Eastern Graphic article by Paul MacNeill
Published on Wednesday, September 10th, 2014, in The Eastern Graphic
The 2014 party is all but over. Tourists came in modestly larger numbers to be
treated to $28 million worth of free concerts, festivals and parties. We played
host to premiers and ambassadors.
2014 will be remembered as a big party with a
lasting hangover. There is no legacy to commemorate Charlottetown’s role in the
creation of the country. Fifty years ago Confederation Centre was built. Fifty
years later there is a sign at the foot of Hillsborough Bridge that stands as
testament to our visionless political masters.
And as Island life returns to normal the Ghiz
government continues to ignore the single greatest issue to our future
viability as a province – how do we chart a path forward to attract new
residents, build new business, revive rural communities and provide services
for a growing number of seniors?
Released in February, The Ivany Report is Nova
Scotia’s significant first prong in attacking the very same issues Prince
Edward Island faces. In contrast to the Ghiz government, Nova Scotia is
following a non-partisan path forward.
Every elected leader, municipal, provincial and
federal, on PEI should be forced to read the Ivany Report. It uses stark
language and a command of irrefutable data to argue that the Bluenose Province
is a mere 10 years away from reaching a tipping point of no return.
The issues, particularly in rural communities,
are that severe. Aging and declining population, increased demand for public
services, soaring health care costs which leads to centralization of services,
global pricing pressure on traditional industries, youth who see a future in
large regional centres or in western provinces, over-reliance on government
jobs to drive the economy and tiny pockets of power that only serve to benefit
those within the countless silos built up over decades.
Most importantly Ivany tackled a largely ignored
issue in Atlantic Canada: Attitude. Too many believe we are owed something. Too
many believe simply pouring more money at our issues will magically make them
disappear. Too many steadfastly refuse to ignore the demographic reality we
face.
Premier Robert Ghiz is one of those with his
head firmly stuck in the sand.
Since taking office in 2007 our premier has done
nothing to position PEI for the future. He has done nothing to tackle the issues
outlined in Ivany.
Contrast Ghiz’s do-nothing attitude with new
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil, whose follow up to Ivany is as important as
the report itself. A non-partisan commission, One Nova Scotia, is charged with
driving implementation of the report’s recommendations. It is chaired by the
premier, with co-chairs the Conservative Leader of the Opposition as well as
the Leader of the NDP, the party in power when Ivany was commissioned. It
includes union, business and academic leaders. It is an unprecedented show of
political non-partisanship.
Even One Nova Scotia is facing criticism for a
lack of urgency in moving forward and it has only been several months since the
province created the commission.
Prince Edward Island needs an Ivany-like kick in
the butt. We need non-partisan leadership as is being shown in Nova Scotia, a
similar economic basket case to PEI but in a much stronger position to move
forward given its natural resources, strong post secondary infrastructure,
promise of a $30 billion shipbuilding shot in the arm and the fact that Halifax
is the Maritime’s largest economic centre.
Robert Ghiz has wasted seven years. He routinely
uses catch phrases like ‘evidence based research’ but when confronted with the
most pressing issue in our provincial history he ignores all available
evidence. We have not even started to do the baseline work necessary to engage
Islanders in a real discussion about our path forward. Our premier would rather
ignore and hope the federal government miraculously turns on the funding tap to
bail the Island out.
It won’t happen.
The only certainty our province faces is future
calamity if our leaders - Liberal, Conservative and NDP - continue to play
partisan politics while ignoring that the foundation of our provincial economy
is on the edge of a cliff.
Paul MacNeill is Publisher of Island Press
Limited. He can be contacted at paul@peicanada.com
When I read his editorials, I usually want to write in the
comments: Would you just run for the Tory leadership, already? :-)
Two upcoming events, one tonight and one in about ten days:
Doug Sobey to Give Public
talk on Early Forests - The Guardian article
Printed today (September 11, 2014)
Doug Sobey, a research associate of
the Institute of Island Studies at UPEI and formerly at the University of
Ulster, will give an illustrated public talk titled Mapping the Pre-settlement
Forests of Prince Edward Island.
It will take place today at 7:30 p.m., in
the Wanda Wyatt Lecture Theatre, Room 104, K.C. Irving Chemistry Centre of
UPEI. Sobey will report on the results of a study carried out by himself
and William Glen ( formerly of the Forestry Division) into the forest
descriptions found on historic manuscript maps in the P.E.I. Public Archives.
Sobey notes that the archives houses a
collection of more than 4,500 maps, most of which are unique and hand-drawn,
and range in date from the late 18th to the 20th century. A small number of
these maps, mostly from before 1840, have labels on them describing the type of
trees or forest on specific areas, as well as, sometimes, the precise location
of a particular tree of a named species that had been blazed during a survey
(i.e. cut with an axe), usually to mark the corner-point of a township or the
mile-points along a survey-line.
Since almost all of the survey-lines were run
through areas that had not been settled, collectively these forest descriptions
constitute an important body of information on the composition of the forests
of the Island prior to settlement by Europeans.
Over the past several years Sobey has been
assembling these descriptions and with the assistance of Glen, has been
analyzing them to find out what they reveal about the pre-settlement forest.
At the talk, which
also marks the launch of a research report on the subject published by the
Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division of the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture and
Forestry, he will discuss what the descriptions on the maps reveal about the
Island’s forest-types before their destruction by clearance and fire.
----------
And a heads-up about a prolific syndicated columnist Gwynne Dyer coming
to PEI on Monday, September 22nd, 7PM, MacDougall Hall (business
building), Room 242, UPEI.
"Canadian journalist and author Gwynne Dyer will speak at UPEI on Monday,
September 22 as part of his cross-Canada university and college tour.
>>"Sponsored by the UPEI Faculty of Arts, Dyer’s lecture is entitled
What the First World War Taught Us. Admission is free and all are
welcome to attend."
September 10, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A
great day to go to...
Farmers' Markets, which are open in Charlottetown and Stanley Bridge
today -- lots of tomatoes, which can be frozen whole for cooking with another
time. Today's Guardian food columnist Margaret Prouse writes
about just this.
On a walk in the woods....
The Bonshaw Hills Public Lands Committee, which was formed to meet one of
Environment Minister Sherry's 11 conditions for approving Plan B in early
October 2012, finished the first part of its work by identifying land it wanted
to protect. The committee was pruned down (to TIR members, conservation,
watershed, and trails people listed here) and has continued to meet.
Brian Thompson, from TIR's Land and Environment Division director, provided
this update late last week <are my insertions>:
Jackie
Waddell replaced Todd <DuPuis, now Assistant Deputy Minister for
Environment> as Co-chair of the Committee, tenders are scheduled
to be opened late next week for the contracts for the (a) footbridge <at
Green Road and the Crosby ravine, which washed away in the spring melt of April
16, 2014> and (b) pedestrian underpass (under the Bonshaw Highway Bridge).
An application has been submitted to National Trails Coalition to
hopefully secure funding for trail construction. We are committed to
trail construction regardless, but these funds would be welcome. There
will be public consultation in some manner associated with the management plans
being developed by the committee for the bonshaw hills lands, and the
provincial NAPA process for the same includes public consultation. Please
monitor the website <http://www.gov.pe.ca/tir/bonshawhills> for
additional information and updates. Hard to control media and others
with respect to what they call the park; the committee does not refer to the
lands as a wilderness park and promotes others to do the same. Hope this
is helpful>>.
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Speaking of that ravine where the footbridge used to cross the Bonshaw River,
Last week the heavy, fast rain caused sediment to flow into the Bonshaw River
by the former footbridge. Cindy Richards, public environmental monitor,
documented the discharge and the cause up the hill, and besides on social
media, government folks were notified. Here is what we heard back from
Greg Wilson, manager of the Environment Department (ELJ)'s Environmental Land
Management section:
ELJ and TIR staff met on site Thursday and have confirmed that the main cause of the siltation events appears to be the accumulated
clay-silt in the ravine. A plan has been developed to deal with the issue and TIR hopes to get underway with remedial action next week.
Both
Greg Wilson of Environment and Brian Thompson of TIR, have *always* been very
communicative in the whole Plan B morass.
CBC Compass TV from last night discusses cosmetic pesticide ban now
supported by all three mayoral candidates in Charlottetown, and a bit about how
the City tends its gardens without pesticides.
It includes a good short interview with Maureen Kerr of Pesticide Free
PEI. The article is about 8 minutes in; at just before (14 minutes) there
is an extended interview with Dr. Roger Gordon about his research career and
the reasoning for a ban.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/PEI/Compass/ID/2513019513/
The Pesticide Free PEI meeting is tonight at 7:30PM at the Sobey's (University
Avenue and Allen Street) Community Room.
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Part of what the Premier and Cabinet did Tuesday:
from the Premier's office, though very similar wording to releases
from the PEI Potato Board....the bold is mine
http://www.gov.pe.ca/newsroom/index.php?number=news&newsnumber=9810&dept=&lang=E
September 9, 2014
CABINET TOUR HIGHLIGHTS POTATO INDUSTRY - Press Release from the PEI Premier's Office
CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI -- Provincial cabinet members met in Fox
Island today with the PEI Potato Board and local potato producers to discuss
the industry including opportunities and challenges associated with meeting
future consumer needs, says Premier Robert Ghiz.
“Prince Edward Island is the largest potato producing province
in Canada and the industry is an extremely important and valued sector,” said
Premier Ghiz. “Today’s cabinet tour was a great opportunity to learn more about
initiatives of the Island’s potato industry and to explore ways that we can
collaborate to move the industry forward.”
There are more than 300 potato farmers in Prince Edward Island
and 90,500 acres of potatoes were planted in 2014. The industry accounts for $1
billion in direct and indirect economic activity for the province which is nine
per cent of Prince Edward Island’s GDP.
Cabinet met at the Elite Seed Farm in Fox Island, a high
generation seed potato production facility owned by potato producers and
operated by the PEI Potato Board. The Elite Seed Farm ensures commercial Island
growers that a local source of clean seed is available to them. All of the seed
produced on the Fox Island Elite Seed Farm is sold within the province.
Approximately 20 per cent of the potato acreage grown on P.E.I. is grown to
seed certification standards.
During the meeting, cabinet members received a presentation by
the PEI Potato Board on the industry, its impact to the province and the work
being done related to environmental sustainability. While in West Prince,
cabinet members participated in a tour of the Barclay Brook area to see
first-hand the positive work being done in partnership between industry,
community and the local watershed group.
“Our potato producers should be extremely proud
of the work that they are doing to produce a high quality crop while staying
committed to being good stewards of the land,” said Premier Ghiz. “The Province
of Prince Edward Island will continue to work closely with the industry to grow
the sector and open new opportunities for Prince Edward Island potatoes while
keeping environmental sustainability at the forefront.”
----------
September 9, 2014.02
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Clifford
Lee says he is for a cosmetic pesticide ban in the City of Charlottetown, and
is calling on the Province to allow his city to be able to do this. The
article doesn't mention that *two* opponents, Phillip Brown and Keith Kennedy,
are already clearly in favour of a ban; with this kind of consensus, whoever
wins needs to keep this promise.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-09-08/article-3862337/Charlottetown-mayor-calls-for-ban-on-cosmetic-pesticides-in-city/1
Charlottetown
mayor calls for ban on cosmetic pesticides in city - The Guardian article by Dave Stewart
Published on September 08, 2014, on-line, in The Guardian
Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee says cosmetic
pesticides need to be banned in the capital city.
City council passed a resolution at its regular public monthly meeting Monday,
asking that the provincial government amend the Charlottetown Area
Municipalities Act to enable the city to regulate cosmetic pesticides.
"My position is cosmetic pesticides need to be banned within the city,''
Lee said following the meeting. "If I'm re-elected, regardless of whatever
approach we need to take to effectively do that, we'll do.''
In one other significant move at Monday's meeting, Coun. Rob Lantz, chairman of
the planning committee, said his committee is going to be looking very soon at
the possibility of changing the name of University Avenue, from Euston Street
to Province House, back to Great George Street. That's what that particular
section of street used to be called.
In terms of the pesticide issue, right now municipalities like Charlottetown
have no control over the use of pesticides. It's something that has to be dealt
with at the provincial level and until the provincial government makes changes
in legislation it will stay that way.
The Town of Stratford, for example, recently
launched an education campaign on alternatives to cosmetic pesticides and
stated that it doesn't use chemicals on its properties.
Coun. Rob Lantz, chairman of the planning committee that moved the resolution,
said there is always confusion as to who has the power to regulate pesticides.
"People look to the city to make a decision, one way or the other,'' Lantz
said. "Tonight we're not talking about judging the issue, we're simply
asking the provincial government to make the decision if they so wish to
regulate cosmetic pesticides.''
Rob Gallant, who owns Atlantic Graduate Pest
Management in Charlottetown, said he isn't surprised to hear the topic is back
on the agenda.
"It's an election year,'' Gallant said. "If they're so sincere about
the environment, so sincere about the use of cosmetic pesticides then why do
they start talking about it two months before an election?'
Gallant said cosmetic pesticides is a heavily regulated industry, with multiple
environmental officers out there on a regular basis making sure companies like
his are licensed, that the products are being applied properly, that the
products are registered, that neighbours are notified before an application and
that wind speeds and direction are taken into account before an application.
Gallant said the big risk in an outright ban is that it can create a black
market where property owners do it themselves without training or have
unlicensed companies taking care of it.
Former city councillor Philip Brown, who is
running for mayor, has made a ban of cosmetic pesticides a big part of his
campaign, too.
Lee said it should surprise no one that council has opted to go this route.
"I don't think this is an issue that should surprise anybody. Certainly,
the citizens of Charlottetown I believe, are asking for this ban, they've been
asking for it for quite some time.''
Lee acknowledged that the approach of asking the province to grant the city
legislative powers on the issue has not worked in the past.
"Quite frankly, if I'm re-elected as mayor I will be encouraging the next
council to come in with a ban of cosmetic pesticides within the boundaries of
the city and we will regulate that.''
Lee said he isn't sure how enforcement would
work if in fact the province does amend the municipalities act. The city would
need the resources to regulate the products.
"I'm certainly not in favour of having a bylaw but not the resources to
enforce that bylaw. We could probably have that discussion with the provincial
government to see if they have resources available to the municipalities for
that enforcement and, if not, then we'll have to look at other options.''
The next step is up to the provincial government but the legislature has to be
sitting before any changes can be made.
"That may happen later this fall or it may
happen in the spring. That's up to government. The time has come to move on
this issue. Let's deal with it and get it done.''
The Pesticide Free PEI meeting is tomorrow, Wednesday,
September 10th, at 7:30PM at the Sobeys at Allen and University
Avenue. All are welcome and I am sure there is lots to discuss and to
do. They have brought this issue forward for discussion.
A
letter to the editor that brings up some unpleasant truths:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-09-08/article-3861892/Math-out-of-sync-for-this-province/1
Math Out of Sync for This Province - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on Monday, September 8th, 2014
I was saddened, but not surprised by the article I viewed the other day
describing how things would be better on P.E.I. if Ottawa gave us larger
transfer payments and that voting would save us from this malady of decreasing
social funding. This has all the economic rigor of a gambling addict who has
lost all his money with his bad bets, then asks for a raise because he says he
cannot live on what he makes. That may sound like a harsh criticism, but
exactly who is to blame for our atrocious economic governance if not ourselves?
Yes it is always easier and often more
convenient to blame others for our faults, but some facts are facts regardless
of how inconvenient or unpleasant they may be. We are a province of 140,000
people (a town by others measures), which has a debt of over $3 billion. The
majority of which has been acquired in the past 7 to 8 years. In any
debt-to-GDP metric, this is an unsustainable debt load to carry and without
harsh cost saving measures, will end in bankruptcy. Yes bankruptcy, we think
often that is a word not applicable to a province or municipality, but I
suspect you could ask the good people of Detroit their opinion of it a year
before they filed for it and hear the same.
This province has shown its inability to govern
itself time and time again so why should Ottawa give the addict more money
until the addict shows that they are attempting to better their wasteful
habits? Does it ever do any good to create or through lack of understanding
place blame on a false problem.
The problem with the math these days is that
Ottawa has less then it used to and that our province is fast closing in on
insolvency, the bankruptcy mentioned earlier will come after the hand wringing
and blame game is over. Too bad we wouldn’t look to our own yard first for
solution before it is gone for the next generation.
Armond Naninni, Charlottetown
September 8, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
The
lead story in this morning's Guardian is on the Blue Whale Bash,
held yesterday to raise awareness about our vulnerable waterways.
----------
Some interesting thoughts from the editorial page of Saturday's Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-09-06/article-3859649/Potato-farming-not-only-industry/1
Potato Farming Not Only Industry - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on September 6, 2014
There really is no denying it. Pesticides have been the hot button issue this
year. In line at the grocery store, at the coffee shops, even at barbecues,
everyone seems to be talking about pesticide bans. People I’ve never heard
talking about these issues now are. People I never thought would be in favor of
a ban now are. What an amazing shift in public perception in just one year.
One concern that I have heard raised on the
topic of pesticide bans is the economy. What will happen to the economy if we
do end up banning pesticides? Let’s look at this for a moment. So far, we
haven’t banned pesticides and it’s Islander’s tax dollars that are propping up
the potato industry, not the potato industry propping up Islanders. McCain’s is
closing, Cavendish is threatening to leave and a lot of Islanders are now
without jobs or are wondering how secure their jobs are. Even with the
pesticides, we don’t have security, that’s for sure.
However, another point that is worth mentioning
is that potato farming isn’t our only industry. What about tourism and fishing?
These industries are big here, and unfortunately are both being severely
damaged in order to maintain this one failing industry. What will we do if we
allow the potato industry to destroy our image as a desirable tourist
destination, and poison the waterways, and then the potato industry collapses
anyway? It seems like we may collectively have been putting all our eggs in the
wrong basket.
Amanda Simmons, Summerside
And the lead editorial:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Editorials/2014-09-06/article-3859661/Criticism-follows-fracking-decision/1Criticism Follows Fracking
Decision - The Guardian Lead Editorial
Published on September 6, 2014
How did P.E.I. escape similar attacks?
Public opinion persuaded the Nova Scotia
government this week to place a moratorium on hydraulic fracking – a decision
that has quickly drawn a lot of criticism. Despite facing a massive deficit,
N.S. said it was following direction from citizens who appear strongly against
fracking.
The Fraser Institute fired a quick broadside
that the N.S. government has voted for higher taxes by curtailing oil and gas
exploration. A spokesman for Corporate Research Associates, a Halifax-based
polling firm, suggested it was hypocritical of N.S. to accept transfer and
equalization payments from fracking provinces while it remains content as a
have-not province.
Other criticism accused the N.S. government of
trying to influence the New Brunswick election where the governing,
pro-business, Conservative government of Premier David Alward has positioned
its campaign on a strong, pro-fracking platform.
Polls show the Liberals with a commanding lead
in N.B. The opposition party would require more study before allowing fracking,
which is what N.S. has done. It appears the majority of citizens in both our
sister provinces are not comfortable with fracking.
P.E.I. is in much the same position where
fracking is on hold. It begs the question how P.E.I. escaped accusations of
shirking its responsibilities since we are the province most dependent on
transfer payments.
There seems to be a new feeling afoot that
wealthier provinces think poorer ones should plunder their environment, if
necessary, to increase tax revenues.
Before fracking could even be considered here,
the government first has to make a decision on deep-water wells. Our water
table is considered at risk from those wells so fracking is hardly on our radar
screen right now.
----------
And someone representing the Fraser Institute, mentioned above, has a letter in
today's Guardian criticizing the Nova Scotia decision.
A
very tasty dinner and part of Fall Flavours tomorrow night at the Farm Centre, Feast
Alfresco, Lobster Tales in the Legacy Garden, 4 to 7PM. It is a
fundraiser for The Farm Centre, tickets $85 plus HST. Really
delicious-sounding dishes by Chef James Oja, folk songs and sea shanties by
Teresa Doyle and the Boys and Girls of Bedlam, and stories of the heritage of
agricultural and fishing presented by David Weale.
http://www.peifarmcentre.com/
September 7, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
The Environmental Rights workshop was a lot of fun
yesterday and very eye-opening. Please note that David Suzuki will explore
this topic on his Blue Dot Tour stopping in Summerside on Monday, September
29th, info here, we will
touch on this at the Citizens' Alliance AGM and Plan B Social on Saturday
night, October 11th. There are plans for more public events later in fall
and over the winter.
The main points are that about 170 countries recognize to some degree the right
of humans to live in a healthy country. Canada, the U.S., and about a
dozen other countries don't. In a country with environmental rights
legislation, usually the citizens have these rights and procedures to enforce
them. (This also delves a little into the responsibility of maintaining
the healthy environment.)
After an introduction to what the concept it, and where PEI is right now in
regard to environmental rights (not far at all), there was a discussion of
barriers to getting this kind of legislation going, and the next steps.
More to follow on that, one step being to help explain the concept to others.
The major point is that our environment needs protection and this is one way
that can have a lot of impact.
A huge thank-you to Cindy Richards for organizing and facilitating it, and to
Jamie Simpson from East Coast Environmental Law for bringing his knowledge of the
matter to the Island.
This
afternoon, 1-4PM, at the Farm Centre, the Blue Whale Bash, details here.
"Win a lobster, save a whale!" is the theme of the
upcoming Blue Whale Bash, being held at the Charlottetown Farm Centre Sunday,
Sept 7 from 1pm - 4pm.
Organized by Save Our Seas and Shores and the Sierra Club, this
event is free to attend and will include a lobster raffle, live music and
locally sourced food. There will even be a
life sized baby blue whale poster that kids can colour in and write messages
on.
Informative displays describing the incredible
marine life found in the Gulf of St Lawrence will round out the experience.
All proceeds from this event will go to support the
Blue Whale Campaign. To learn more about the Campaign, visit
bluewhale.causevox.com.
And finally, an article about what seems to be a staple in the Wednesday Guardian
syndicated articles recipes (and I am NOT talking about the wonderful
local, seasonal food ideas from Margaret Prouse), the frozen shrimp. Note
that there are graphic descriptions in the article:
http://elizabethmaymp.ca/price-cheap-shrimp
The
price of cheap shrimp - Island Tides article by Elizabeth May
Published on Thursday, September 4th, 2014 in Island Tides (presumably
her local constituency production)
The readership of Island Tides is, in
my experience, among the best informed and most conscientious about our
collective and individual ecological footprint of any people on the planet. However,
I keep encountering a blind spot. We wouldn’t touch farmed salmon but have very
little awareness of the monstrous damage done by shrimp aquaculture.
Vandana Shiva, brilliant scientist and
campaigner, once told me that she thought of all the industries that had ever
come to India—chemical factories, mining, industrial agriculture—shrimp
aquaculture was the worst. In fact, thanks to protests and a court challenge,
the Indian Supreme Court banned any expansion of shrimp aquaculture.
It has not met with effective opposition
elsewhere. Protesters in Bangladesh and Thailand have been murdered.
Korunamoyee Sardar, a heroic Bangladeshi woman who fought the industrial shrimp
industry, was beheaded in 1990; her head stuck on a pole to warn others.
To explain the multiple levels of human and
ecological devastation caused by the industry, we have to start with the
mangrove massacre. We have lost nearly one quarter of the mangrove forests of
the planet. Mangroves are remarkable habitat for creatures like the endangered
proboscis monkey and even the Bengal tiger. In 2010, a collaborative project,
involving numerous UN agencies, produced the World Atlas of Mangroves. Its lead
author, scientist Mark Spalding, described the multiple benefits to humanity of
this unique ecosystem:
‘Mangrove forests are the ultimate
illustration of why humans need nature … The trees provide hard, rot-resistant
timber and make some of the best charcoal in the world. The waters all around
foster some of the greatest productivity of fish and shellfish in any coastal
waters. What’s more, mangrove forests help prevent erosion and mitigate natural
hazards from cyclones to tsunamis—these are natural coastal defenses whose
importance will only grow as sea level rise becomes a reality around the world.’
We are losing mangrove forests to two major
developments—coastal tourism and shrimp aquaculture. The intensive shrimp
aquaculture in Thailand has essentially appropriated whole coastlines, with
fishpen abutting the next fishpen. With the loss of the mangrove forests, salt
water intrusion can also devastate local farms. The deforestation of mangroves
undercuts the local fishery. Salt water has also contaminated village water
supply, leaving them without potable water. The means people once had to feed themselves,
both through agriculture and small scale fishing, is destroyed.
The pens are stocked by stretching fine mesh
nets at the mouth of the river. Children are often used for this work, pulling
the tiny shrimp fry from the net. The rest of the small fish are by-catch, dead
and discarded. Once the fry are in the pond, pesticides and antibiotics are
routinely added.
The ponds tend to last between 10 to 15 years,
and then are left abandoned—a toxic, salty hole where a forest once thrived.
And the industry clears more mangroves to build more ponds. All so that we can
have ‘all you can eat’ shrimp specials at restaurants and buy cheap party
shrimp rings.
This is what I knew about shrimp aquaculture in
the 1990s when Sierra Club of Canada worked with small NGOs from India,
Honduras, Bangladesh, Ecuador and Thailand to raise awareness about the threat.
We organized speaking tours for activists from the global south to share their
stories with Canadians. I used to go to international biodiversity meetings
equipped with a small red ink pad and a rubber stamp featuring a shrimp in the
centre and the words, ‘Stop the Mangrove Massacre’ ringing the shrimp.
Inevitably at the cocktail receptions, farmed shrimp was served. I would
distribute the cocktail serviettes I swiped from the tables the night before,
stamped with the message. I didn’t think there could be a worse example of
human greed and stupidity trampling on the rights of people around the world,
destroying critical ecosystems.
And then in June of this year it got worse. An
exposé appeared in The Guardian: ‘Globalised slavery: how big supermarkets are
selling prawns in supply chain fed by slave labour.’
The shrimps in ponds are being fed with fish
meal. The fish meal in the Thai prawn industry is caught in a supply chain that
starts with stealing men and selling them to trawler companies. The Guardian
exposé is not easy to read. It makes your hair stand on end as the authors,
Kate Hodel and Chris Kelly, relate the brutality of the life on the trawlers and
the reports of routine murders at sea.
The article quotes Steve Trent of the
Environmental Justice Foundation: ‘The supermarkets know this is happening,’ he
says. ‘Everyone knows this is happening. From the boat to the shelf, the
supermarkets have an opportunity to stop this… They are actively supporting
slavery by not acting and, conversely, they could be actively working to get
rid of it if they really had the desire.’
We are blessed to have a local and sustainable
fishery in spot prawns. Small cold-water shrimp from Newfoundland and Quebec
are also good options, especially since new technology has reduced the
by-catch. But, please, never again buy Thai shrimp and let your supermarket
know why they shouldn’t either.
September 6, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Two
people making a difference:
Malcolm Pitre fishes from the western part of the Island and cares deeply about
the state of our water, for multiple reasons. Recently he kept tabs on
what passed for communications from the federal and provincial governments
about plans to test if chloropicrin, a chemical made basically by mixing bleach
with one kind of drag racing fuel (1), could get into groundwater if used for
fumigation of young strawberry plants. His pressure was likely
instrumental in having that "pilot study" set aside.
Malcolm has noticed a problem with water in his area and wrote to the
newspapers:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-09-05/article-3859153/Montrose-water-unacceptable/1
Montrose
water unacceptable - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on September 05, 2014
I am a shellfisher and also a concerned citizen when it comes to environmental
issues. I want to inform you all that the water quality at Montrose is
unacceptable. I drove by last week and the colour of the water is of concern to
me.
I fish oysters on the Kildare River which is
connected to Montrose and for that reason I need this government to deal with
these issues. I also spoke with a few cottage owners who are very concerned
about this condition because they have young children who swim in this water.
This is a worry to them. Also I spoke with an eel fisherman who said that the
first week of the eel season they didn’t open their nets because the eels would
be dead by morning.
The fisher told me that he was told the oxygen
levels were zero. This is not acceptable. I think this info needs to be out in
the public. Please send someone out to get to the bottom of this.
Malcolm Pitre, Tignish
And let's hope someone gets out there to do a story.
This from Bradley Walters, in New Brunswick, who has been
tirelessly sifting through news reports on fracking and passing on many
worthwhile articles and news bits on an e-mail list:
Please
consider writing to Andrew Younger, congratulating him on his decision to ban
fracking for shale gas. He is getting a lot of flack from industry, the media,
and the Federal Minister of Natural Resources, and needs to know he made the
right decision! energyminister@gov.ns.ca
unable to upload :( Please check out our facebook page for the photos. https://www.facebook.com/groups/220834614673617/
And if you are interested in the discussion on PEI about
environmental rights and being part of the steering committee that comes out of
it, you are welcome to attend the workshop with presenter Jamie Simpson, this
morning at 9AM, at the Farm Centre on University Avenue in Charlottetown.
It's a topic sure to be discussed this Fall, at David Suzuki's Blue Dot Tour in
Summerside September 29th http://bluedot.ca/
and at our Citizens' Alliance AGM and Plan B Social, Saturday, October 11th. http://www.citizensalliancepei.org/
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitromethane
September 5, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
The
first quote in the Wheeler Commission Report (Report of the Nova Scotia
Independent Review Panel on Hydraulic Fracturing) is from the Roman
statesman, Marcus Tullius Cicero:
"The
health of the people is the highest law."
Cicero (106 - 43 BC)
A week or so after the Wheeler Commission in Nova Scotia issued its final report recommending that hydraulic fracturing
not be allowed in our neighbouring province, Nova Scotia's energy minster,
Andrew Younger, announced Wednesday that the Nova Scotia Liberal government
"will introduce legislation this fall to prohibit the use of hydraulic
fracturing in shale oil and gas projects."
Many people breathed a sigh of relief, for now.
Here is his statement to the press, from the Chroncle-Herald, with the bold as
mine, to illustrate that:
- public comments and participation DO matter
- his government is not closing the door -- it still
appears that they believe fracking can be done safely, or at least
technologies developed in the future will make this possible. He
does mention renewable alternatives.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1233809-andrew-younger-statement-on-nova-scotia-hydraulic-fracturing-ban
Announcement
by Andrew Younger, Energy Minister - The
Chronicle Herald
Published September 3, 2014
Since becoming the
province’s minister of energy, I’ve read all the letters from Nova Scotians
which have reached my office both for and against high volume slick water
hydraulic fracturing. I’ve read numerous studies and reports commissioned by
various parties, including the Wheeler report, which was recently delivered to
our government.
Nova Scotians
have indicated that they are concerned about hydraulic fracturing and they do
not want it to be part of onshore petroleum development in Nova Scotia at this
time. Nova Scotians have put their trust in our government that we will
listen to those concerns and not allow a process that most Nova Scotians are
clearly not yet comfortable with. As a result, our government will
introduce legislation this fall to prohibit the use of hydraulic fracturing in
shale oil and gas projects.
The first
onshore petroleum well in Nova Scotia was drilled in 1869. More than 125 wells
have been drilled since that first well. Three of those wells were
hydraulically fractured in shale formations. Across North America, the Council
of Canadian Academies says “several tens of thousands” of shale gas wells are
currently in production. The majority of shale based wells are stimulated using
high volume slick water hydraulic fracturing, a process where, as its core,
water, sand, and chemicals are pushed into the rock formation to help release
oil or gas. There are numerous examples of this technique being used safely and
without incident. However, there are also examples of things going wrong.
Across North
America, the debate over hydraulic fracturing has turned to dueling
documentaries, and studies, all claiming to hold the absolute truth about the safety
and merits of using hydraulic fracturing. The Council of Canadian Academies in
its report for the Government of Canada summed up the reason for such a split
in opinions, stating, “Many of the pertinent questions are hard to answer
objectively and scientifically, either for lack of data, for lack of publicly
available data, or due to divergent interpretations of existing data.”
Nova Scotia
is an energy leader. Our decision will not change this. Our government is
actively working with the offshore industry to ensure the responsible and
sustainable development of those resources in a way that ensures the primary
benefit is to Nova Scotians. Onshore, coal bed methane projects in places like
Stellarton have received strong community support and show strong promise. We
are actively engaged in promoting our renewable energy industries, especially
in offshore renewables. We are becoming a world leader in tidal development
and will be one of the first to deploy a commercial scale tidal project,
harnessing one of our richest natural resources to the benefit of all Nova
Scotians.
Nova Scotians
have clearly indicated they are not yet ready for the use of hydraulic
fracturing in the development of shale reserves. Residents in communities
across Nova Scotia will have the time to consider new research and information
as it comes available without an artificial deadline. At the same time, new
extraction technologies are being developed which will likely minimize or
eliminate many risks and concerns.
We have
incredible potential for safe, sustainable, and large-scale resource
development in our province. Through a strong and fair regulatory environment,
our government will pursue resource development that advances our province and
local communities. Our government will also respect the clear views of Nova
Scotians that hydraulic fracturing not be included at this time as part of the
development of our onshore shale reserves.
Andrew
Younger is Nova Scotia’s minister of energy.
----------
Nova Scotia to Ban fracking (Halifax Chronicle Herald)
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1233818-nova-scotia-to-ban-fracking
and related:
High-volume fracking to be banned in Nova Scotia (CBC)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/high-volume-fracking-to-be-banned-in-nova-scotia-1.2754439
Note
that in the CBC *Radio* story, I could detect clear judgmental
inflection on the reporter's part, implying that the opposition to
fracking in N.S. stood in the way of progress and jobs.
Then there was written backlash -- a stinging criticism in an editorial in the ChronicleHerald.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/editorials/1233890-editorial-no-energy-leadership-in-ns-fracking-fumble
No
Energy Leadership in NS Fracking Fumble - The Chronicle Herald Editorial
Published on September 3, 2014
In a very disappointing decision, the Nova Scotia Liberal government has chosen to dump all
the Wheeler panel’s carefully balanced recommendations on fracking. Instead, it
will simply pass a law to ban the practice.
That’s a funny, even Orwellian, way to be an
“energy leader” — the mantle Energy Minister Andrew Younger claimed Wednesday
for his government.
By opting to try to make the fracking
controversy go away, the Liberal government has chosen peace and quiet over the
harder but ultimately more productive path laid by David Wheeler’s panel on hydraulic fracturing of
unconventional gas and oil resources in this province.
That report argued large gaps in information around key
issues connected to fracking — such as protecting water resources and
monitoring impacts to human health — still needed to be answered, but concluded
that didn’t mean fracking in Nova Scotia is impossible.
The panel said fracking shouldn’t be allowed for
now, but recommended the province move forward — without deadlines — on doing
more local research to fill the knowledge gaps while setting up community
consent mechanisms to consider such research and make decisions on fracking in
their areas.
Instead, the province has chosen to grandstand,
moving ahead on none on those recommendations, instead vowing to institute a
moratorium — a solution the Wheeler panel specifically did not propose.
There’s no obvious reason to entrench the
current policy of not issuing fracking permits into a law that Mr. Younger said
would have no mechanism for periodic review.
Mr. Younger has the strange view that leaving
out a mechanism for review will take the “heat” out of discussion and avoid “a
cycle of controversy.” Rather, it takes the relevance out of any such debate.
It’s wishful thinking that resource development can be made free of
controversy.
It’s disappointing to see a government choose a
“don’t worry, be happy” approach to a complex issue.
The decision sends a discouraging signal to
potential investors that Nova Scotia isn’t interested in fostering the kind of
open-minded period of learning and active inquiring into impacts and benefits
called for by the panel.
In the wake of the Ivany report’s sobering
warning that this province must embrace economic opportunities and find ways to
build its workforce, the Liberals have chosen to slam the door shut on an
industry the Wheeler report estimated, even in a low intensity scenario, could
mean billions in royalty revenues for the provincial treasury in coming
decades.
Challenged to “now or never” blaze a trail
toward balancing public consent, good research and resource development in a
province mired in debt and hobbled by a weak economy, the Grits have closed
their minds and effectively opted for “never.” It’s a sorry day for Nova
Scotia.
September 4, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Because
it's hard to give praise when the work was done so grudgingly, I haven't said
much about the times the Plan B mitigations for sediment run-off *have* held
with some rains this summer, even after 35mm of rain on Monday. But
yesterday, the sediment pond off Plan B (across from the connection to the
original TCH called "McManus Road") going down the hill in Bonshaw
was overwhelmed by a small amount falling fast yesterday in addition to
Monday's rain.
The result:
unable to upload :( Please check out our facebook page for the photos. https://www.facebook.com/groups/220834614673617/
Sediment rich water flowing down Crosby ravine into the Bonshaw River near the
old footbridge site along Green Road, Wednesday, September 3rd, about
1PM. Photo by Cindy Richards.
The photo shows the entry point the best.
Further downstream:
unable to upload :( Please check out our facebook page for the photos. https://www.facebook.com/groups/220834614673617/
Bonshaw River, 1PM, Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014, downstream of former
footbridge and upstream of TCH bridge. Photo by Cindy Richards.
The breach was recorded to TIR staff, who dismissed it at first until seeing
it, and to Department of Environment staff, who knew exactly why it
happened.
Cindy later followed the sediment, which just starts as rainwater coming off
all that asphalt along Plan B, going under Plan B through a culvert to the
sediment pond, and washing sediment down what was once a pretty little rocky
spring thaw ravine (and a long while ago a road), now a thick deep slick of
silt.
unable to upload :( Please check out our facebook page for the photos. https://www.facebook.com/groups/220834614673617/
Full sediment pond (Plan B uphill), with two images of silty ravine going
downhill. Late afternoon, Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014. Photos
by Cindy Richards.
A TIR person also walked around the silty area, and environment and TIR folks
will see the area when they are discussing the footbridge replacement today.
A bit on the fracking moratorium decision
tomorrow.
September 3, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Not
close to home, but affecting our home:
Sunday, September 21, all day, New York City, People's Climate March:
from the toronto350.org website:
"This
is an invitation to change everything."
In September, world leaders are coming to New
York City for a UN summit on the climate crisis. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
is urging governments to support an ambitious global agreement to dramatically
reduce global warming pollution.
With our future on the line and the whole world watching, we'll
take a stand to bend the course of history. We'll take to the streets to demand
the world we know is within our reach: a world with an economy that works for
people and the planet; a world safe from the ravages of extreme climate change;
a world with good jobs, clean air and water, and healthy communities.
http://toronto350.org/events/2014/nyc.php
https://www.picatic.com/to350pcm
Return Bus tickets from Toronto are $95.
Closer
to home:
Thursday, September 4th, 7PM, Haviland Club, Charlottetown
Fair Vote Canada and Leadnow are having their monthly
meeting (first Thursday of the month)
"We'll be discussing possible actions for Democracy Week (September 15 to
20) and the big Connect Event later this fall!"
Saturday, September 6th, 9AM to noon, Farm Centre, Charlottetown
Environmental Rights Workshop, sponsored by the Citizens' Alliance and
East Coast Environmental Law
This workshop is for people and representatives of organizations interested in
being part of a group working on environmental rights in PEI, with public
information sessions to follow later this year; anyone interested in being a
part of this, contact Cindy Richards <islert12@gmail.com>
Sunday, September 7th, 1-4PM, Farm Centre, Charlottetown
Blue Whale Bash
from the press release:
Blue Whale Bash fundraiser to raise awareness
of threats to Gulf’s marine life
A unique fundraiser featuring the endangered blue whale will take place at the
Farm Centre, 420 University Ave (beside CBC) in Charlottetown on Sunday,
September 7th from 1:00 - 4:00pm.
Organized by Save Our Seas and Shores and the Sierra Club and dubbed “The Blue
Whale Bash”, the free admission event will include a lobster raffle, live music
and locally sourced food, a life sized baby blue whale poster for children to
colour in, information, displays and free posters describing the incredible marine
life found in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Funds raised from the event will go
to a campaign for interprovincial protection of the Gulf’s precious marine
resources.
“The idea behind this event is to draw attention to the very real threats that
all marine life in the Gulf currently faces from planned oil and gas
development, climate change, shipping traffic and land based pollution”
according to campaign organizer Colin Jeffrey. "There is little doubt that
the rich marine life of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence is threatened. Climate
change is making the Gulf’s waters warmer and significantly more acidic,
putting pressure on shell fish in particular. Historic over fishing has changed
the role that species like cod play in the food chain while increases in land
based pollution are muddying the once pristine waters of the Gulf. In 1973 a
comprehensive panel review of potential impacts of oil drilling in the Gulf of
Saint Lawrence led by Dr. Loutfi concluded that such development should not
proceed in the Gulf. As environmental conditions in Gulf waters continue to
deteriorate, many people believe that a precautionary approach should be taken
with offshore drilling remaining outside the Gulf."
“Offshore drilling in this fragile enclosed sea tips the balance in terms of
risk to our commercially important marine species,” according to lobster
fisherman Ian Forgeron.
Save Our Seas and Shores and the Sierra Club are calling for a greater emphasis
on renewable energy development in Atlantic Canada and a new interprovincial
management strategy that safeguards the valuable renewable resources provided
by our Gulf.
For more information please go to the Facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/events/945730395443388/
, contact: Colin Jeffrey - Event Coordinator, (902) 213-2349, colinjef@hotmail.com
September 2, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A
story from away:
A giant fissure a half a mile long has opened up in the desert of northern
Mexico:
Eco-watch article on Fissure in Mexico
from the article by David Manthos, reposted in Eco-Watch:
"The chair of the geology department at the University of Sonora, in the
northern Mexican state where this “topographic accident” emerged, said that the
fissure was likely caused by sucking out groundwater for irrigation to the
point the surface collapsed.
“This is no cause for alarm,” Inocente Guadalupe
Espinoza Maldonado said. “These are normal manifestations of the
destabilization of the ground.”
I’m sorry, no. These are not normal
manifestations of natural activity, this the result of human activity run amok.
Just because Cthulhu isn’t clambering out of the breach to wreak havoc on
humankind does not mean we shouldn’t be alarmed by the fact we’ve sucked so
much water out of the ground that the surface of the earth is collapsing."
----------
The article includes a two-minute video taken by a camera drone, I think.
At about a minute you will see the green irrigated fields appear.
There is no audio but it really doesn't need translation.
from
the SkyTruth website:
If you can see it, you can change it
Seeing
> Believing > Caring > Acting
> Changing
SkyTruth is a
nonprofit organization using remote sensing and digital mapping to create
stunning images that expose the landscape disruption and habitat degradation
caused by mining, oil and gas drilling, deforestation, fishing and other human
activities.
Our vision is a world where all people can see and
understand the environmental consequences of human activity everywhere on
Earth, and are motivated to take action to protect it.
Our mission is to motivate and empower
new constituencies for environmental protection through illuminating
the issues that impact our planet.
We use scientifically credible satellite images
and other visual technologies to create compelling pictures that vividly
illustrate environmental impacts, and provide these pictures and supporting
data to environmental advocates, policy-makers, the media, and the public.
-
See more at: http://skytruth.org/about/#sthash.EkHxTTaq.dpuf
"Skytruth is a nonprofit organization using
remote sending and digital mapping to create stunning images that expose the
landscape disruption and habitat degradation caused by mining, oil and gas
drilling, deforestation, fishing and other human activities."
"Skytruth
is a nonprofit organization using remote sending and digital mapping to
create stunning images that expose the landscape disruption and habitat
degradation caused by mining, oil and gas drilling, deforestation,
fishing and other human activities."
It first came to notice covering the BP/Deepwater Horizon 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
September 1, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
With
the heavy rain that hit parts of the Island last night, thoughts turn to fish
kills. (And to Plan B mitigations, which likely need checking.)
Macphail Woods Ecological Centre compiled a "History of Fish Kills on
PEI" a few years ago.
http://www.macphailwoods.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/History-of-Fish-Kills-PEI-.pdf
It's pretty discouraging, and you may need to go for a walk in the soppy woods
or pet a golden retriever puppy or eat a grilled (Island) tomato sandwich to
right things. But farmers, conventional or organic, if needing to combat
a pest -- especially on this fungus-y little island of ours -- are left with
some pretty harsh stuff. A couple of products the organic people can use
like copper sulphate are toxic to aquatic life in certain concentrations, as of
course are many products used by non-organic farmers. However, most
information from respected sources indicates that there are major concerns
about these other pesticides causing many, many harmful effects.
A few interesting sites on pesticides:
An "Introduction and Toxicology of Fungicides"
http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/12734.pdf
Panna (The Pesticide Action Network of North America)
http://www.panna.org/issues/pesticides-101-primer
And about the NPIC (National Pesticide Information Center), which is a joint
effort of Environmental Protection Agency, and Oregon Stat University::
http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/index.html
http://npic.orst.edu/about.html
----------
Mike Redmond's letter from Saturday's Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-30/article-3852819/Fish-kills-in-2013-remain-a-mystery/1
Fish Kills in 2013 Remain a Mystery - The Guardian Letter of the Day by Mike Redmond
Published on Saturday, August 30, 2014
Thank you for your excellent editorial on August
26th in which you challenge the terrible record of the provincial Liberal
government in regard to the withholding of information concerning water
pollution issues.
You mention the absence of a report on the North
River fish kill from three weeks ago. You point out that the government will
not release the locations of groundwater test sites including those that show
increased levels of pesticide contamination.
And, you discuss the failure of the Ghiz
Liberals to release the information in the government advisory report on the
deep water wells.
Your editorial discusses the cosmetic pesticide
problem as a municipal issue but falls short of critiquing the Ghiz Liberals in
this respect.
In 2010, with Richard Brown as Environment
Minister the Liberal government talked about a ban on cosmetic pesticides and
then brought in some of the weakest legislation in the country. In the four
years since this act of failed leadership the provincial government has
continuously avoided responsibility on the cosmetic pesticide issue.
The biggest omission of the editorial is what
must be seen as one of the Island’s great mysteries — what caused the fish
kills in the Trout River and Mill River in 2013? Thirteen months later the
people of Prince County are no better informed or protected today then the
people of Queens County are in regard to the North River fish kill of three
weeks ago.
Consistently on this vital question of human
health — the pollution of our waterways — the Ghiz government has been an
absolute failure.
Mike Redmond, Leader, NDP P.E.I.
August 31, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
"Bees
at the Brink", a series of two articles by a Minnesota paper, The
StarTribune, about the state of honeybees in North America.
Both were written by Josephine Marcotty, and published this summer.
Part 1 ("America's Dying Migrant Workers") focuses on bees used as
migrant workers, pollinators for hire for almond trees in California, and the
concerns about the detrimental effects of neonictinoid pesticides.
http://www.startribune.com/local/264929101.html?site=full
Part 2 ("Bee Battle Seeks Hearts and Minds") is about lobbying
the general public - a young business woman wearing bee antenna on her bike
helmet vs. Bayer's new Bee Health Centre in North Carolina.
http://www.startribune.com/local/268611322.html?site=full
Excellent photos and graphs -- worth a look just for those.
Tonight is the Bonshaw Ceilidh at the Hall at
7PM.
August 30, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Farmers'
Markets open today in many locations. It's great to see the change of
colours, as one farmer put it -- now the reds and yellows and purples are
there, too.
----------
Many Island performances concluding this weekend -- tonight is the closing for The
Ballad of Stompin' Tom, in Summerside, in case you want to go in an
opposite direction from Charlottetown tonight, or north to the Watermark in
Rustico, or over to the opening of The Best Brothers in Victoria.
David Suzuki writes on the tailings pond blowout in British Columbia:
http://ecowatch.com/2014/08/26/mount-polley-tailings-ponds/
Mount
Polley: A Wake-Up Call to the Realities of Tailings Ponds - Ecowatch article by David Suzuki
August 26, 2014
When a tailings pond broke at the Mount Polley
gold and copper mine in south-central B.C., spilling
millions of cubic metres of waste into a salmon-bearing stream, B.C. Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett called it an
"extremely rare" occurrence, the first in 40 years for mines
operating here.
He failed to mention the 46 "dangerous or unusual
occurrences" that B.C's chief inspector of mines reported at tailings ponds in the province between
2000 and 2012, as well as breaches at non-operating mine sites.
This spill was predictable. Concerns were raised
about Mount Polley before the breach. CBC reported that B.C.'s
Environment Ministry issued several warnings about the amount of water in the
pond to mine owner Imperial Metals.
With 50 mines operating in B.C. — and many others
across Canada — we can expect more incidents, unless we reconsider how we're
extracting resources.
Sudden and severe failure is a risk for all large tailings dams — Mount Polley's
waste pond covered about four square kilometres, roughly the size of
Vancouver's Stanley Park. As higher-grade deposits become increasingly scarce,
mining companies are opting for lower-grade alternatives that create more
tailings. As tailings ponds grow bigger and contain more water and waste than
ever before, they also become riskier. The average height of a Canadian
tailings dam doubled from 120 metres in the 1960s to 240 metres today. Alberta
writer Andrew Nikiforuk likens increasing mining industry risks to those of
the oil sands.
Open ponds of toxic slurry aren't the best way to manage mining waste. Although
there's no silver-bullet solution, and more research funding on alternative
technologies is needed, smaller underground mines are finding safer ways to
deal with waste by backfilling tailings. Drying tailings or turning them to a
paste before containment are two other options. Safer solutions cost more,
making them less popular with profit-focused corporations. But surely B.C.'s $8-billion mining industry can afford to pay more for
public and environmental safety.
The government allows the mining industry to choose the cheapest way to deal
with waste, and companies often lack adequate insurance to cover cleanup costs when
accidents happen. Imperial Metals admits its insurance will likely fall far
short of what's required to repair the damage at Mount Polley.
The mining industry and provincial and federal governments must do a better job
of managing risks. But how can this happen when we're facing unprecedented
dismantling of Canada's environmental regulations and decreased funding for
monitoring and enforcement?
Although the B.C. government rightly appointed an
independent panel of three top mining engineers to review the cause of the
Mount Polley breach and report back with recommendations, the lack of an
environmental or cultural perspective on the panel makes it unlikely we'll see
meaningful industry reform. And even the most thorough reviews remain
ineffective without implementation commitments — a point made clear by the
federal government's failure to act on the Cohen Commission's 75
recommendations on the decline of Fraser River sockeye.
Canada's mining industry must also work more closely with First Nations, some
of which are challenging industrial activity in their territories.
The Tahltan blockaded Imperial Metals' nearly completed mine in the Sacred
Headwaters, and the Neskonlith Indian Band issued an eviction notice to an
Imperial subsidiary, which proposed an underground lead-and-zinc mine in
Secwepemc Territory in the B.C. Interior. With the
Supreme Court's Tsilhqot'in decision affirming First Nations' rights to land
and resources within their traditional territories, we're likely to see more
defending their lands against mining and other resource extractions.
The Mount Polley tailings spill threatens two of B.C.'s
most valued resources: salmon and water. As one of the largest sockeye runs
enters the waterways to spawn, we must wait to find out the long-term
repercussions for Polley Lake, Quesnel Lake and aquatic life further
downstream.
This disaster has eroded public trust in the mining industry and regulations
governing it. If risks are too high and long-term solutions unavailable or too
expensive, the only way to ensure that toxic tailings are kept out of our
precious waterways and pristine landscapes may be to avoid mining in some areas
altogether.
August 29, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Lots of things to mark on the calendar:
Today, Rally for Health Care, noon, beginning at Trinity United
Church, corner of Prince and Richmond Streets, marching to Convention
Centre.
Sunday, August 31st, Bonshaw Ceilidh, 7PM, Bonshaw Hall,
Bonshaw
With performers Emma Doucette and Diane Adams, and locals Jolene Willis, Phil
Pineau, Tony Reddin and Herb MacDonald. Proceeds to the Multiple
Sclerosis Society.
Monday, September 1st, 11AM to noon, PEI Federation of Labour's Labour
Day Picnic, Joe Ghiz Park, Charlottetown
Saturday, September 6th, Environmental Rights Legislation
Organizing Workshop, 9AM to noon, Farm Centre, 420 Univeristy
Avenue, Charlottetown
This isn't a public information session on environmental rights
legislation, but a chance for those interested in moving forward on this
concept to find out what it is about and ways to advance it. Jamie
Simpson from East Coast Environmental Law Association will be presenting, along
with Cindy Richards and Richard Baker. If you are interested in being a
part of this, contact me or Cindy Richards <islert12@gmail.com >
There will be a public information session at a later date.
Monday, September 29, Blue Dot Tour with David Suzuki and Friends,
Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside, 7PM, Also featuring Shane Koyczan, and
tentatively, Catherine MacLellan and Paper Lions, along with David Suzuki.
"Be
a part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join David Suzuki, a
singularly inspiring speaker, on his last national tour. It’s all in
celebration of a simple yet powerful idea, and it starts with you. During this
special evening, David Suzuki will share the wisdom of a lifetime full of
action as he and other Canadian icons and thought leaders celebrate the
capacity of Canadians to protect the people and places they love."
http://www.harbourfronttheatre.com/
Saturday, October 11th, Our first Citizens' Alliance annual
general meeting and Plan B social, 7PM, Farm Centre
featuring guest speaker Todd MacLean, with a social, music, refreshments
afterwards. All welcome, of course.
http://www.citizensalliancepei.org/
And
two news stories regarding fracking in the Maritimes:
Justin
Trudeau wrong on fracking, NB Premier David Alward says - CBC news
Takes issue with federal Liberal leader's call for freeze on development of
shale gas
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/justin-trudeau-wrong-on-fracking-nb-premier-david-alward-says-1.2749558
N.S.
fracking moratorium should continue, panel recommends - CBC news
More reasearch, implemneting public concerns into fracking considerations needed
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/n-s-fracking-moratorium-should-continue-panel-recommends-1.2749380
A
link to the study, a little weekend reading:
http://energy.novascotia.ca/oil-and-gas/onshore/hydraulic-fracturing-review
August 28, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Wonderful entertainment you have to pay for:
Several plays are finishing up runs this weekend -- The Ballad of Stompin'
Tom at Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside, the plays at the Watermark
Theatre in Rustico, and A Community Theatre production's of Shakespeare's Much
Ado About Nothing is at:
Robert Cotton Park
tonight, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 6PM
and a Labour Day Matinee 2PM
Tickets are $18/$16
http://www.theguildpei.com/about/
Not-so-wonderful
entertainment you and *somebody else* are paying for:
David Reevely writes for The Ottawa Citizen and wrote on how in addition
to money taxpayers spend for the costs of the Premiers' meeting, corporate
sponsors are obtained for all the more lavish events. And
representatives of these groups get to go meet the premiers at these certain
events. A list of "sponsors" is included, and it included
companies like Merck pharmaceuticals.
http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/reevely-tawdry-private-sponsorships-hang-over-premiers-conferences
Tawdry Private Sponsorships Hang Over Premiers' Conferences - The Ottawa Citizen article by David Reevely
Published on August 26, 2014
Canada’s premiers have raised $450,000 from
corporate sponsors for the politicians’ annual summer meeting in
Charlottetown this week.
This is money the companies couldn’t
legally give in such quantities to the leaders’ election campaigns
when they were only trying to become premiers, but apparently now
that they’re in office and actually have power, it’s OK.
The sponsors are a who’s who of corporations
whose interests are closely regulated by provincial governments. The most
generous, at the $150,000 “Fathers of Confederation” level, is the Insurance
Brokers Association of Canada — modern-day Macdonalds and Tilleys and
Tuppers. Platinum sponsors ($50,000 each) are Bell and Manulife.
Some selections from lower on the list:
The breweries that own the Beer Store in
Ontario, Labatt and Molson and Sleeman’s, whose
anachronistic near-monopoly Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa isn’t
interested in breaking.
Pipeline company TransCanada,
whose multibillion-dollar tubes run through almost every province. Perhaps
you’ve heard of Energy East (from Alberta to New Brunswick) and Keystone XL
(from Alberta to the United States).
Merck and AbbVie, which make drugs that
might, or might not, be covered under provincial health-insurance plans, a
distinction worth many millions of dollars.
Borealis Infrastructure, an investment arm of the Ontario municipal workers’
pension plan. Among other things, Borealis has or had pieces of private
nuclear company Bruce Power, the Confederation Bridge, school buildings in Nova
Scotia, the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and Ontario’s land-registry
system.
The Canadian Labour Congress, Unifor
and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represent
numerous workers whose salaries are paid in one way or another with provincial
money.
unable to upload :( Please check our facebook page for the photo.
Many of these companies and organizations have
sponsored premiers’ meetings for years. In the most benign interpretation,
it’s because they want premiers and their senior aides to think kindly of them
and their public-spiritedness. More harshly, they’re buying face time that’s
otherwise difficult to get with so many important people at once.
“I think there’s such a variety of different
sponsors that do this and it sort of takes away from saying there’s single
access, things like that,” said Guy Gallant, a spokesman for P.E.I. Premier
Robert Ghiz, the conference’s host. “They sponsor some social events during the
week, and end of the day that takes away from taxpayers having to spend for
that. And, you know, the access they do get is limited. They attend a few
functions where there is quite a large gathering of people.”
Functions like receptions, he said, where a
couple of representatives from each sponsor get to mingle with the 169 official
delegates. (When the 13 provincial and territorial premiers met in
Niagara-on-the-Lake last year, they accepted “in-kind” donations from the
Jackson-Triggs winery, Spirits Canada and the Wine Council of Ontario. Juice,
no doubt.)
It’s not a wholly unique circumstance, though
it’s arguably the ickiest of its kind in Canada. The Association of
Municipalities of Ontario had its annual meeting in London last week and sold
sponsorships worth as much as $20,000. That event is combined with a trade
show featuring something like 100 exhibitors, a somewhat odd assortment that
includes everything from streetlight-vendors to asphalt-makers to provincial
ministries, all of which pay to take part.
The gathering of councillors and mayors is more
like an industry convention than a summit of leaders, at least. The premiers
bill their collective selves as the Council of the Federation. That’s a
name they made up in 2003 to make ganging up on the federal government
sound dignified, but if they’re going to title themselves grandly they should
live up to the standard that implies.
When the prime minister meets with the premiers,
which hasn’t happened in five years because Stephen Harper doesn’t like
being ganged up on, the taxpayers pay. There’s even a whole national agency,
the lugubrious-sounding Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat, that
organizes these things and will help out even if the feds aren’t going. The
provinces have used it for dull-but-important meetings of agriculture ministers
and ministers responsible for local governments, just in the past few weeks.
Those lack the exquisite glamour of a premiers’ conference, though.
When our political executives meet to do
the people’s business, it should be on the people’s dime. If they can’t afford
to have receptions, or don’t want to be seen paying for them with public money,
they shouldn’t have them. The way the premiers have grown accustomed to
doing it is tawdry.
There is a rally for health care, starting at
Trinity United Church tomorrow at noon and heading towards the Convention
Centre were these meetings are taking place.
August 27, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Two
good letters and a pleasantly cogent editorial in The Guardian:
Memories of a Good Farmer - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on Saturday, August 23, 2014
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-23/article-3847142/Memories-of-a-good-farmer/1
I can remember growing up on the farm; my father worked very hard when it came
to cultivating crops. Often, the neighbors would come help out. We picked
potatoes by hand to take to our root cellar or for sale at the warehouse. We
had 13 cows, and he milked them and separated the milk from the cream. It was a
great place to grow up as a child. We were not rich but we were never hungry.
At one point, the government approached my father to expand his farm. They
offered him a large loan to build a milking parlor for his cows, buy more cows
and plant more potatoes. Now, my father never had much use for politicians, so
he told them where to go.
Even with a Grade 6 education, my father had the
sense that this was not a good way to run his farm.
So why is it that my father had the good sense
not to get in debt over his head to expand his farm the way the government
wanted. Yet our well-educated politicians and farmers cannot see the damage
they are doing. It is all about money. Politicians are supposedly the leaders
of our society yet how can you lead a society when you just don’t listen to the
people they represent. So since our politicians are not listening, I am
appealing to the farmers. If you are a young man or woman who is inheriting
your father’s potato farm, take a second look at what you are doing. Are you
going to expose you sons and daughters to the harsh chemicals their whole
lives? Are you going to continue the legacy of killing thousands of fish?
Look beyond the money and the politics at the
future of every child on P.E.I. What legacy are you going to leave behind?
Farmers are good people and most of them caught in a mess of corporations and
government politics. Take charge of your farm and stop polluting for the sake
of money.
Anne Gallant, Kensington
Regarding
the backlash to Joan Diamond's concerns about pesticide drift and exposure:
Verbal Attacks are Unjustified - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on Tuesday,
August 26, 2014
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-26/article-3848389/Verbal-attacks-are-unjustified/1
Pesticides in the media have been a hot topic lately, arguably even more so
than in previous years. I found the story ‘Under the Microscope’ to be an
interesting one. I specifically liked her quote about not blaming farmers and
understanding they need to make a living like everyone else. Her stance was
very objective and fair. She was not attacking anyone, and I admire that
position.
The way forward is through dialogue, not each
side (the citizens and farmers) blaming each other. At the end of the day, we have
the same goals. We all want a stable economy. We all want a healthy population.
We all want a healthy environment. Even those of us who would not identify as
being ‘environmentalists’ would agree with that. The farmers have nothing to
farm without good soil, and we at large have nothing to eat. We are on the same
side of this issue.
As such, I was quite disappointed to see a
letter from Reginald Walsh. No part of what she said indicates she has a
‘problem with the farming community.’ Nor do I see a quote that would insinuate
in any way that she feels she is a ‘chemical specialist.’ Moreover, one really
doesn’t need to be a chemical specialist to read the studies that are
extensively available on the harm of being exposed to endocrine disrupters or
carcinogens.
There are 1,000 dead fish in North River, and I
don’t need to be a specialist to know this is a problem. Considering the fact
that the article was about people using social media to voice complaints about
pesticides, I’m not sure why you think your family should have been
interviewed. I think every single person who reads your letter to the editor is
wondering if you might be the person who owns the field next to Ms. Diamond.
Because we all want to have healthy lives if we
worked together and were objective and fair we would all be better off. There
is no need for attacks on people who simply want to see positive changes.
Ateesha MacLeod, Summerside
Pattern on Water a Concern - The Guardian Lead Editorial
Published on Tuesday, August
26, 2014
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Editorials/2014-08-26/article-3848408/Pattern-on-water-a-concern/1
Lack of information suggests province busy trying to keep
details from Islanders
Government and the agricultural sector are
breathing a sigh of relief with no reports of fish kills following a series of
torrential downpours across P.E.I. early last week. Many people were expecting
the worst — news that some stream was affected by pesticides from a heavy
runoff. To date, remarkably, nothing has happened.
Early in August, isolated thunderstorms had
dumped heavy showers in various areas of the province and the result was 1,000
dead fish in the Springvale area. It is the only reported fish kill this year.
The province argues that conservation and protection measures are working and
the lack of dead fish last week would support that conclusion.
While Environment Minister Janice Sherry said
the obvious goal is zero fish kills a year, there have been a series of
troubling developments within the department that makes environmental lobby
groups in particular, and Islanders in general, suspicious of government
motives. A pattern of secrecy is developing.
To date, there is no information from an
investigation into the North River fish kill which happened almost three weeks
ago. The report would indicate if the fish kill resulted from pesticides
contained in a flash runoff, or some other cause. The clamour is already out
for charges against those responsible.
There is additional focus on that watershed
because of water safety concerns raised by Charlottetown city council since the
North River is a sub-watershed area adjacent to the city’s new wellfield being
developed in Miltonvale Park.
In response to that fish kill, the province’s
former chief conservation officer wrote a scathing letter to the editor
critical of the province’s lack of support and resources to prevent fish kills.
Besieged farmers now have to deal with a
citizens-on-patrol group which has announced plans to take photos and submit
reports of any suspected spraying or farming infractions.
Water safety and supply have been in sharp focus
since the issue of lifting a moratorium on deep-water wells convulsed the
province for the past two years. Most Islanders view those wells as a threat to
the province’s groundwater supply.
Ms. Sherry didn’t help matters when she refused
to divulge the recommendation on the moratorium from an advisory panel. Media
recently obtained a government document on the wells through access to
information. But officials blacked out significant portions of the report such
as all comments and draft policies on irrigation wells, which the document says
the government supports.
While government continues to wrestle with the
moratorium issue, McCains announced plans to shut down its major french fry
plant in Borden-Carleton, throwing more than 120 workers out of a job.
Cavendish Farmers has hinted any decision to follow suit could be affected by a
favourable decision on lifting the moratorium since it is pushing hard for
those wells to increase potato yield and assure size and quality.
The provincial government also didn’t help its case
when it refused to release the location of groundwater test sites, including
those that show increased levels of pesticide contamination, a fact confirmed
by an environment official.
Cosmetic pesticide spraying inside
municipalities is now an election issue, and continues to dominate the agenda
in both Charlottetown and Stratford. City mayoral candidate Philip Brown is
supporting a complete ban on cosmetic pesticides in Charlottetown while
countless letters and opinion pieces to the editor also support a total ban.
Despite assurances there is no cause for
alarm, there is a general perception the province is withholding important
information on water issues from Islanders. The government must put the health
of its citizens first. Secrecy only makes Islanders more suspicious.
Local farmers' markets are open in Charlottetown
and Stanley Bridge today.
And the Pesticide Free P.E.I. meeting is tonight, 7:30PM, Sobey's at University
and Allen Street, community room. All are invited!
August 26, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Yesterday's
Guardian has a green Page story about the 35-minute documentary, Fish
Tales P.E.I., which can be seen here in its entirety:
http://vimeo.com/103846460
and plans are to have some public screenings and discussions in the next couple
of months.
Here is the article:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-08-25/article-3847090/Documentary-shows-fish-kills-impact/1
Documentary Shows Fish Kill Impact - The Guardian article by Mary MacKay
Published on Monday, August
25th, 2014
Fish Tales P.E.I. is a short documentary produced about Island rivers.
After a third fish kill in
as many years, a quartet of creative and environmentally attuned Prince Edward
Islanders decided it was time rivers had a voice.
Now after a year in
production and a film launch at Macphail Woods Nature Centre in Orwell last
week, Fish Tales P.E.I. is available to watch online for free on Vimeo.
This short documentary,
shot on Prince Edward Island in the summer of 2013, captures how Islanders
interact with rivers and also their perspectives on the future of the
province's watershed heritage.
"It's been very much a
labour of love over the past year. We really just want people to see it, talk
about it and go from there with their own ideas and hopes and plans," says
Connor Leggott, who co-produced Fish Tales P.E.I. with fellow volunteer
filmmakers Adnan Saciragic, Ashley Prince and Hanna Hameline.
Last year's fish kill
spawned the idea for a video that would explore how local rivers and waterways
influence Islanders' views on social and environmental issues.
"We basically wanted
to tell stories about the human impact of fish kills and then to go beyond that
as well because if you want to talk about a problem we don't want to just hit
someone over the head with a hammer with bad news," Leggot says.
"I think for
socially-conscious PSAs that's a trap they can find themselves in. If you just
give bad news-bad news it's something people get tired of hearing, so we really
wanted to explore what are Islanders historic connection with rivers and what
are people's really personal stories and connections. . . whether it was
family, work or volunteering.
"And then we got into
what do you see in rivers today, what are the challenges you see? And what can
you see looking forward?"
The film crew team
interviewed people who derived their living from the waterways, such as shell
fishers and watershed group staff, representatives from the agricultural
industry and others.
"We also talked with
people who had really strong family connections (to rivers). One story that
opens up the documentary that is one of my favourites is a PhD candidate at the
university who studies rivers and river habitat but he talks about as a kid
walking along rivers and using a pussy willow branch as a fishing rod, how he
learned that from his dad and it was passed down. That's something really
special," Leggott says.
"He really typifies
what Fish Tales is all about. . . someone who has a really personal connection,
but someone who is also today really passionate about the scientific aspect of
rivers: protection, studying fish habitat, fish spawning patterns and things
like that."
In co-producing the film
Leggott got to delve a little deeper into the subject of "fish
kills."
"People described fish
kills as a big high-publicity event that the media really goes for, then after
a couple of weeks the talk about it dies off, but the effects of fish kills
lasts longer than that," he says.
"And there are also
other connected problems; the biggest one people mentioned was sedimentation,
which is dirt, especially topsoil from road construction, from agriculture that
runs into the rivers. And there are different problems from that that people
discuss; one of that is it disrupts the habitat of the trout, for example, they
need to lay their eggs in a gravel bottom bed and if there's too much sediment
going in then that disrupts their habitat and reduces their ability to spawn
for future generations."
The other river-destroying
culprit that goes along with the sedimentation is nitrogen fertilizer -
nitrates - that washes from fields into rivers as well.
"That's when we get
things like anoxic events and nitrification where the nitrogen causes a lot of
plants like sea lettuce, which grows and blooms in the water, and when it dies
off it sucks a lot of the oxygen out of the water. You get these stinky white
milky green estuaries and then you also have fish, shellfish and other critters
that are living in the water that die off from that as well," Leggott
says.
"Another interesting
point that a lot of people brought up was that people talk about fish kills but
the more appropriate term is river kills because it's not just fish that are
affected. . . ."
One common thread
throughout, Leggott says, whether the interviewees lived in watersheds areas,
were farmers or with the Federation of Agriculture, was that they all recognized
topsoil can't be leaving the fields and that better crop rotation and soil
management practices are needed.
Leggott hopes the film puts
the spotlight on rivers as being an important part of our heritage that needs
to be appreciated.
"And part of that
appreciation means knowing more about what's going on and caring about what is
being done with rivers, caring about the direction they're going in, and
whether that means just continuing the conversation and fostering that
understanding or whether it means speaking up to government or industry or
watershed groups or any other player in that, speaking up with them to let them
know what people want with their rivers."
August 25, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Tomorrow,
there is a forum on health care coinciding the the provincial and territorial
health ministers' meeting:
from Friday's Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-08-22/article-3843568/Council-of-Canadians,-CUPE-plan-town-hall-meeting-on-health/1
Council of Canadians, CUPE
Plan Town Hall Meeting on Health - The Guardian article
As the Canadian premiers meet in
Charlottetown from Aug. 26 to 30, the Council of Canadians and Canadian Union
of Public Employees will hold a town hall meeting on the current state of
Canadian health care and why Canada needs a new Health Accord.
The meeting is set for Tuesday, Aug. 26, at
the Rodd Charlottetown in Charlottetown, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Speakers will be Maude Barlow, national
chairwoman of the Council of Canadians; Paul Moist, national president of the
Canadian Union of Public Employees; and Michael McBane, national coordinator of
the Canadian Health Coalition.
I am forwarding this from Ellie Reddin and Save Our Seas and Shores
(SOSS) PEI, which has been working tirelessly to keep tabs on proposed
drilling and other projects which could affect PEI.
http://saveourseasandshores.ca/
She wrote it to the SOSS members, but if anyone else is interested in writing a
quick e-mail to Mr. Scott Tessier about the Old Harry Project:
Scott Tessier <stessier@cnlopb.nl.ca>
Below are the note from Ellie to the SOSS group, and three letters with
background (hers, one from Sylvain Archambault from the St. Lawrence Coalition,
and the final one is the one she refers to as an attachment in her note but I
put it as a cut-and-past). Bold is mine.
Hello
SOSS PEI group,
I am writing to ask each of you to take a few minutes to send
an email to Scott Tessier, Chair and CEO of the Canada-Newfoundland and
Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, urging the Board to initiate an extensive
public consultation on Old Harry before making a decision about this project.
To give you some ideas about what you could say, I am forwarding a short
email I just sent to the C-NLOPB, as well as an email Sylvain Archambault sent
on June 30, and the attached letter Colin Jeffrey sent recently on behalf of
SOSS-PEI.
The Old Harry issue is becoming urgent. Stopping the Old
Harry project before it is approved is our only hope to keep oil drilling out
of the Gulf. Please add your voice at this crucial time.
Thanks.
Ellie
---------- Forwarded message
----------
From: Ellie Reddin
Date: Fri, Aug 8, 2014 at 4:15 PM
Subject: public consultation on Old Harry
To: Scott Tessier <stessier@cnlopb.nl.ca>
Cc: Dave Burley, Sean Kelly,
Elizabeth Young, Ed Williams
Scott
Tessier
Chair
and CEO
Canada-Newfoundland
and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board
Dear
Mr. Tessier:
I
realize the C-NLOPB is considering how to proceed with a public consultation on
the Old Harry project. I urge you to initiate an extensive public
consultation, preferably by means of a well-publicized independent review with
open public hearings providing opportunities for meaningful input in each of
the five provinces bordering the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is very
important that the public consultation be held prior to any draft determination
on the Old Harry project.
Sincerely,
Ellie
Reddin
Cornwall,
PEI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Sylvain
Archambault
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2014 9:24 AM
To: Tessier, Scott
Cc: Kelly, Sean; Burley, Dave; Williams, Ed; Jean-Patrick
Toussaint; Danielle Giroux
Subject: Old Harry public consultation
Dear Mr. Tessier,
Subject: Old Harry "extensive
public consultation"
The Old Harry drilling project has
been under environmental assessment for more than three years now,
and the draft screening report is probably close to being released. The St.
Lawrence Coalition wants to share with you some of its concerns related to the
"extensive public consultation" that has been recommended by
ex-minister Peter Kent.
1. The recommendation for the
addition of an "extensive public consultation" in the screening
process has been reiterated many times by the Environment Minister.
2. The CNLOPB has also reiterated
that a public consultation will indeed be done on the old Harry project.
3. The CNLOPB has mentioned many
times that the format for this consultation has not been decided on, but that
an "independent review" is still being considered.
4, The CNLOPB has mentioned that it
will take a decision related to this public consultation after the end of the
SEA Update.
5. The legal 365-days deadline for
the production of the screening report seems to be over since late-May
As this "extensive public
consultation" has been waited for by a large number of
groups/communities/First Nations around the Gulf, could you confirm to us that
there will soon be a positive announcement on this "extensive public
consultation" prior to any draft determination on the Old
Harry project?
We are in the process of
submitting an op-ed on the subject to several major medias
in the Gulf provinces early next week, as can be seen in the attached
file. Of course, this op-ed would be substantially modified, or perhaps even
dropped, depending on any comment or announcement you would provide.
Thank you very much for your
attention on this important matter.
Sincerely,
Sylvain Archambault
St. Lawrence Coalition
Save Our Seas and Shores, PEI Chapter
c/o Voluntary Resource Centre
81 Prince St.
Charlottetown PEI
C1A 4R3
August 1, 2014
Scott Tessier
Chair and Chief Executive Officer
Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board
5th Floor TD Place, 140 Water Street
St. John's, NL A1C 6H6
Dear Mr. Tessier,
I am writing on behalf of Save Our Seas and Shores - PEI Chapter to request
information on the anticipated public consultation for the Old Harry environmental
assessment. In 2011, then Minister of Environment Peter Kent requested that the C-NLOPB include
“extensive public
consultation” in the screening environmental assessment for an exploratory well
at the Old Harry prospect. Since then the C-NLOPB has indicated several times that
it will undertake significant public consultation during this environmental assessment. It
appears that all involved federal departments completed their review of Corridor Resources’
Environmental Impact Study by the end of 2013. However, the C-NLOPB has still not
indicated how and when “extensive public consultation” for this environmental assessment will take
place. We would like to be informed as soon as possible of the nature of this public
consultation and be given
sufficient notice to adequately plan and prepare for its occurrence.
Save Our Seas and Shores - PEI Chapter would like to be specific about our
expectations for “extensive public consultation” as requested by Minister Kent. The public
consultation undertaken during the SEA Update was completely inadequate and there is no
indication that the comments made by Atlantic Canadians contributed to the conclusions of this
document in a meaningful way. Inadequacies include a lack of opportunity for citizens
to voice their concerns on the public record at the open house sessions and biases observed in the
invitation of organizations for private meetings. We do not therefore believe that
public consultation for the SEA Update was conducted in a rigorous, meaningful or democratic manner and
expect a much improved process for the Old Harry environmental assessment. To
ensure that extensive
public consultation on the Old Harry environmental assessment is conducted in a
rigorous, meaningful and democratic manner we call on the C-NLOPB to resume the
Independent Review it initiated in 2011. We now believe that an independent third party is
required to determine if there are social or environmental issues of a serious nature in the Western
Newfoundland offshore. As you must remember, the C-NLOPB itself recommended that the Old
Harry environmental assessment be referred to a mediator or review panel due to the
unprecedented level of public interest and concern expressed over the scoping document for
this project. We thank the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board for considering our
requests and look forward to receiving further information on the public consultation for
this environmental assessment.
Sincerely,
Colin Jeffrey
On behalf of Save Our Seas and Shores - PEI Chapter
cc
Edward Williams - Vice Chair
David Burley - Director, Environmental Affairs
Sean Kelly - Manager of Public Relations
August 24, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Today
the Town of Stratford is hosting a tour of naturally beautiful gardens, 1-3PM:
from the website:
http://www.townofstratford.ca/natural-stratford-tour/
Natural Stratford Tour
It’s time to hop on the bus gus! The Stratford Area Watershed Improvement Group and Town
of Stratford are hosting an exciting bus tour of beautiful places within the
municipality. The Town of Stratford has been asking residents to be more natural
when it comes to their lawns and gardens and now we would like to show these
natural spaces off. On Sunday, August 24th from 1-3pm,
we will be touring several chemical-free gardens and natural areas throughout
the town, ending off at the Stratford Community Garden for refreshments and
mingling. Please meet at the Stratford Town Hall by 12:45pm, located at 234
Shakespeare Drive.
We will be riding in style in a luxury 44-person bus; however, this means space
will be limited!
Please contact Kelley at 367-3605 or at KArnold@townofstratford.ca,
to book your spot(s). Reservation recommended but not necessary if seats
are available.
This event is open to all members of the Stratford community and Stratford watershed
area. We look forward to seeing you on the 24th.
----------
(It took me a second to figure out the reference to the 1975 Paul Simon song
as in "Hop on the bus, Gus, you don't need to discuss much...", and
to sigh at another example of the loss of the Comma for Direct Address.
;-)
http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/commas_with_vocative_case.htm
The idea and tour sound like a great idea, and it appears people interested
from outside Stratford would be welcome if space allows.
See resident (and hosts of one of the gardens on the tour) and retired
scientist Roger Gordon's letter, below
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-22/article-3843407/Carbaryl-spraying-poses-greatest-risk-for-fish%2C-oysters%2C-bees/1
Costs
of using pesticide less than benefits of ridding lawn of chinch bugs - The Guardian Guest Opinion by Roger Gordon
Published on Friday, August 22, 2014
As I’ve been walking around my neighborhood,
I’ve noticed that some homeowners (thankfully, a minority) have had their lawns
sprayed with Sevin (chemical name, carbaryl). The lawn spraying companies use
it primarily to control the chinch bug, though it is secondarily targeted at
the June beetle grubs. On a cost-benefit analysis, danger to human health and
the environment versus the much ballyhooed “perfect lawn,” this seems to me to
be a no brainer.
Carbaryl is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.
Acetylcholinesterase is an enzyme present in the nervous systems of all
animals, from a jelly fish to an Albert Einstein, that is essential for proper
nervous system functioning. This means that all animals to varying degrees are
affected by a compound such as carbaryl. It is non specific and therefore
detrimental to the ecosystem, let alone human health. The acute symptoms of
exposure to carbaryl, as declared on the Material Safety Data Sheet
(MSDS) supplied by the company that produces it, reads like a witches’ brew:
burns skin and eyes, causes nausea, cramps, diarrhea, salivation, vomiting,
sweating, blurred vision, lack of coordination, convulsions. Yet, it’s the
longer term effects of carbaryl exposure that are even more concerning.
In a landmark 2001 study done by a group of
French and American scientists, it was determined that carbaryl caused damage
to the DNA of human liver cells. In that same year, a study of 4,000 farmers in
four midwestern U.S. states revealed that those who had used carbaryl were
30-50 per cent more likely to contract Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a form of
cancer, than those who hadn’t used it.
Then, a group of U.S. scientists in 2010
concluded from studying 56,285 pesticide applicators, that people who
applied carbaryl on a routine basis were 1.7 times more likely to contract skin
melanoma than those who didn’t. I wonder why P.E.I. has the highest rate of
skin cancer in the country?
Two excellent, highly analytical (2010, 2012)
reviews of the literature by Canadian and U.S. scientists, respectively,
concluded that maternal exposure to insecticides (e.g. carbaryl) during
pregnancy, whether in an occupational or residential setting, significantly
increased the chances of the offspring developing childhood leukemia, as was
also the case if the children were exposed post partum. In the second of these
reviews, the authors concluded that “there is a growing body of literature that
suggests that pesticides may induce chronic health complications in children,
including neurodevelopmental problems, birth defects, asthma, and cancer.”
The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S.
considers carbaryl to be “likely to be carcinogenic in humans.” Even the
company’s own MSDS states “this product contains ingredients that are
considered to be probable or suspected human carcinogens.” The EPA also deems
carbaryl to be toxic to a wide array of animals. Of greatest concern to P.E.I.
would be fish, oysters, and honey bees. No wonder that several countries have
banned carbaryl: United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Iran and
Angola.
The costs of using carbaryl cannot be seen to be
greater than the benefits of ridding a lawn of chinch bugs. Most lawns, kept in
good condition by natural methods, recover from chinch bug damage. I use a mild
detergent solution to treat the chinch bug brown areas on my lawn. Then, I
overseed. For natural ways to combat this insect, go to the Nova Scotia website
(http://www.novascotia.ca/nse/pests/docs/chinchbug.pdf).
But, don’t spray with carbaryl.
Roger Gordon, Stratford, is a retired
biologist and former Dean of Science at UPEI who has published extensively on
biological methods for controlling insect pests.
On-line media articles instigate a variety of comments, and one that pops up in
stories about any loss of some animal or plant life is that "it is only a
small number."
Regarding the incident in the North River, it was reported that the episode:
<<killed
more than 1,000 rainbow trout, brook trout, stickleback and Atlantic
salmon">>
and several on-line comments were about it being *only* a thousand fish.
To which a knowledgeable person later wrote:
more
than 1000 fish were found but productive Island streams like this one may have
fish populations of over 300 fish/m2 of multiple age classes from young of the
year to adult 3-4 years old or more. It is safe to assume many more (10's
if not 100's of times what are found) were killed in the North River fish kill.
It is too bad the focus is always on the ones that are collected. A
thousand fish, that diminishes extent of the loss, and lets people say so as some
do, "It is only a thousand fish."
----------
and a letter worth repeating:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-22/article-3843396/Comments-unfair-against-Diamond/1
Comments unfair against Diamond - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on August 22nd,
2014
An article in The Guardian last week, ‘Under the Microscope’ has been under
criticism. I recently met Joan Diamond right before the article came out and I
was very impressed with all that she had to say. She was so diplomatic, and
understanding of the issues multiple sides have to face. It was quite obvious
that she was not against farmers.
She said she felt many had no choice with the
way agriculture is structured. I feel the comments made in regards to her are
unfair. I applaud Joan Diamond and anyone who speaks up. It’s not easy to do.
Everyone knows a farmer and it’s difficult to discuss agriculture without
mentioning farming practices.
The farmers that I know are good people. Some
are family. Some question the effects as well. They have a job to do which they
are forced to do a certain way. These issues will never be discussed in
government if the public isn’t paying attention.
I also find the “You should have thought of that
before moving to the country” rebuttals very frustrating. It’s such an ignorant
response we all commonly hear. We live in the country and were naive to think
fields were only sprayed a few times a year. Once I was actually out here every
day working from home, I realized each field is sprayed once a week or more.
We are surrounded by three different fields with
more next to those, and they are often sprayed on different days. I hate that
part of living in the country but I figure it doesn’t matter where you live.
The big ubiquitous sprayers driving back and forth in the fields next to our
house every other day, and the occasional glimpse of many workers dressed in
white suits and gas masks by night, just makes the sprays and their toxicity
perpetually visible to us country folk.
We are only a six-minute drive from Summerside,
there are also fields next to subdivisions in town and I know people getting
several cosmetic pesticide notices a summer. It doesn’t matter where you live.
We’re on a very small Island with wind farms because it’s windy 75 per cent of
the time. It’s everywhere.
Virginia Doyle, New Annan
August 23, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A lovely swath of farmers' markets are open today
(Bloomfield, Summerside, Victoria-by-the-Sea, Charlottetown, Stratford, Morell,
Cardigan, Montague, and Murray Harbour).
I think real Island-outside-grown tomatoes are available, and peppers.
The town of Stratford posts its vendor list on its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/townofstratford
----------
A very interesting article came out this week from the U.S.-based Organic
Consumers Association titled "What's Holding Back the Organic
Revolution?" by Ronnie Cummins.
Here are some excerpts, heavily snipped; full article link here:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_30703.cfm
and link also at bottom:
<<
But
it’s not just the impact of organic foods on personal health that concerns
consumers. Organic consumers express rising concern over the destructive
impacts of industrial agriculture and factory farms on the environment,
climate, animal welfare, farm workers and rural communities. Increasingly,
consumers are coming to understand that industrial agriculture and factory
farms are the leading cause of water pollution, soil
erosion, deforestation, wetlands destruction, desertification, reduced
biodiversity and, most important of all, climate-destabilizing greenhouse gas
emissions.
Good news: Organic farming and ranching can regenerate soils and reverse
global warming
<<
Bad news: Organic and climate-friendly food and farming are still a
relatively small niche market
<<
The life or death question is this: If the overwhelming majority of U.S.
consumers say they prefer organics and would like to buy and consume healthier
and more sustainable food, then why aren’t they doing so?
There appear to be several systemic, deeply embedded reasons why most Americans
are still buying and consuming junk foods rather than “going organic.” These
include the addictive nature and omnipresence of “chemically engineered”
processed foods; lack of money and time; rampant nutrition and cooking
illiteracy; and labeling fraud.
Let’s take a closer look at these problems.
<<
Chemically engineered foods and consumers. According to recent studies,
including the best-selling book by New York Times
columnist Michael Moss, Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us,
the bulk of the nation’s processed foods, beverages and restaurant fare have
been deliberately “chemically engineered” (i.e. laced with addictive, unhealthy
combinations of sugar, salts and fats) by a network of food technologists
employed by large food corporations determined to turn us into food addicts.
<<
Lack of money and time. The majority of Americans are victimized not only
by a powerful, shadowy network of food technologists, chemical companies and
mass media propagandists, but also by a corporatized and inequitable economy.
Even if you want to feed yourself or your children organic food, and serve up
healthy home-cooked meals, in today’s “Fast Food Nation” consumers face a host
of major obstacles, including the high cost of living, lack of free time, lack
of cooking skills, cultural distractions and sub-standard wages.
<<
Nutrition and culinary illiteracy. Most Americans say they’d like to eat
healthier foods, and cook more at home, but typically have learned little or
nothing about proper nutrition, the superiority of organic foods and grass fed
or pastured meats and animal products, or how to affordably purchase healthy
ingredients and cook tasty and nutritious meals at home.
<<
How do we move from ‘Fast Food Nation’ to ‘Organic Nation’?
<<
rest of article:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_30703.cfm
Have a good day, and remember Art in the Open
later this afternoon
http://artintheopenpei.com/english/
and the final day of the Jazz and Blues Festival
http://www.jazzandblues.ca/
August 22, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A
reminder that the first part of the Transition Movement workshop is open to the
public tonight at 6PM, for a suggested $5 donation (lunch) included, at the
Farm Centre in Charlottetown.
There were also two good letters in yesterday's Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-21/article-3842806/Sierra-Club-supports-call-for-pesticide-free-buffer-zones-on-P.E.I./1
Sierra
Club supports call for pesticide-free buffer zones on P.E.I.- The Guardian Guest Opinion by Tony Reddin
Published on August 21, 2014
The national environmental group Sierra Club
Canada announced Wednesday its support for pesticide-free buffer zones around
key public areas on Prince Edward Island. This is a minimum standard for
protection of public health. The citizens’ group Pesticide-Free P.E.I. has
asked the P.E.I. government to create pesticide-free buffer zones of at least
25 metres around children’s playgrounds, schools, preschools, bus stops,
hospitals, and senior citizens’ homes. We strongly support this request; and
those regulations should be written to clearly apply to all pesticides, not
just cosmetic urban applications.
Given the recent fish kill in the watershed for
the future Charlottetown water supply, reports of cosmetic pesticide
applications next to playgrounds, and reports of pesticides in many provincial
test wells, Sierra Club is calling on the P.E.I. government to put in place
province-wide buffer zones immediately.
The new school year will soon begin and some
rural P.E.I. school properties have potato fields right next to them. There
need to be large pesticide-free buffer zones to protect our children from
poisoning.
Government should release the test results for
those school wells, and conduct and assess tests of air quality at those
schools if and when pesticides are being sprayed nearby.
Sierra Club is also calling for a comprehensive
plan to be enacted as soon as possible to minimize pesticide drift and
contamination of drinking water, and other unconsented exposures to pesticides.
Cosmetic pesticides must be phased out. Rules
should require agriculture pesticide applicators to identify and avoid
sensitive areas within range of the area being targeted, such as homes,
businesses, recreation areas, water bodies, and wells. Other factors, such as
weather, topography, and proximity to places of particular sensitivity,
including those already mentioned, must also be considered and require
applicators to take additional measures, such as wider buffer zones, to
adequately protect public health and the environment.
Sierra Club believes that stronger pesticide
regulations will lower health care costs by removing environmental toxins that
affect people’s immune systems and resistance to diseases.
More and more Islanders are speaking out to have
our health care placed ahead of the profits of pesticide corporations.
It is the responsibility of the P.E.I.
government, not individual citizens, to provide leadership in promoting
preventative health care and protecting public health and the environment from
pesticides.
Tony Reddin is a Sierra Club of Canada P.E.I.
volunteer and national board member
And on high capacity wells:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-21/article-3842623/California-offers-drought-example/1
California offers drought example - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on August 21, 2014
A
few weeks ago, television viewers were informed on drought problems in the
state of California. Due to the scarcity of fresh water many orange groves are
being intentionally destroyed. Most interesting, for me, had to do with
deep-water wells being used to water and irrigate the orange groves during
drought periods.After the first lot of deep wells became
available and after that drought subsided, growers decided they had an
abundance of water and they increased their acreage. But this present existing
drought period, which started almost two years ago without letup, has resulted
in a race to drill more and more wells. Growers now realize the deepest wells
take away water from the surrounding not-so-deep wells, causing them to go dry.
To replace the dry wells, even deeper wells are drilled. A domino effect is
occurring.
I wonder if those same problems will be allowed
to develop here on our little stretch of red soil. In rural P.E.I., every
residence, every business and every farm each have their own relatively shallow
wells that provide for their fresh water needs.
P.E.I. doesn’t have snow-capped mountains to
provide snow melt water to augment our ground water table. P.E.I. doesn’t have
any large deep fresh water lakes that can be used as watershed fresh water
reservoirs.
If deep-water wells are used to water and
irrigate P.E.I.’s crops, what will happen to all the relatively shallow wells?
How many will run dry? Will there be a domino effect? Will each well drilling
company try to drill to a deeper depth every well they drill?
California orange growers didn’t look far into
their future. They were excited to benefit from short-term gain. Will such
ignorance, such lack of knowledge, such lack of foresight, be condoned here on
P.E.I., or like the orange growers, will we go for the short-term gain.
I, for one, hope not.
D.S. MacWilliams, Montague
Here's to our little stretch of red soil!
August 21, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
The Jazz and Blues Festival starts tonight and runs until
Saturday night. There are three main shows each night (one at
7:30PM at St. Paul's Church, one at 8PM at Brewing Company, one at 11PM at the
Brewing Company), plus a bunch of other concerts popping up everywhere.
It's a really eclectic line-up. There are a goodly number of sponsored
but I will spare you the list. :-)
More details of the shows here:
http://www.jazzandblues.ca/
and today's Guardian story here:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Living/Entertainment/2014-08-20/article-3841423/P.E.I.-Jazz-and-Blues-Festivals-marks-10-year-anniversary/1
----------
Friday evening all are welcome to the introductory talk about the Transition
Movement:
unable to upload :( Please check our facebook page for photo.
A good letter from yesterday's paper:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-20/article-3841228/Irvings-will-walk-off-into-sunset/1
Irvings will walk off into sunset - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on August 20, 2014
There
is a lot of demonizing going on lately. The farmers are being demonized for
their farm practices. The environmentalists for pointing out there are
many things wrong in the environment and something should be done. And the
provincial government for not taking action on either side of the issue.
I must admit I am as guilty as anyone for this
practice. It seems to be them or us. Maybe we should pause a minute. The farmer
wants to farm, support his/her family and provide us with food. It is not
his/her intention to harm the environment. The environmentalists are pointing
out things that have gone wrong or could. They are not out to destroy jobs and
ruin people’s lives. Not all modern advances in farming are bad, but there are
canaries not singing in the mine, like the honeybees and after what happened in
Toledo, Ohio, we must stop and think.
With the deep wells and Irvings, the provincial
government is between a rock and a hard place. If they say no they will oversee
a huge economic meltdown on the Island, if they say yes, perhaps an even bigger
environmental one. The Irvings have threatened us and it is a very big threat.
So now we are all fighting among ourselves. My thought is they are planning on
leaving away, whatever happens and when they do, Islanders will be very busy
blaming each other, and the Irvings will walk off into the sunset.
Carol Capper, Summerside
And
from Paul MacNeill in The Eastern Graphic family of newspapers (which
only allows six free articles a month):
http://www.peicanada.com/eastern_graphic/article_89d6c9ca-27da-11e4-8cd6-001a4bcf887a.html
Another fish kill, another ministerial failure - The Eastern Graphic article by Paul MacNeill
Posted: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 5:00 am
Once again PEI’s Minister of Environment is
stumbling her way through a crisis. Janice Sherry tried to put the best spin on
the North River disaster that killed more than 1,000 rainbow trout, brook
trout, stickleback and Atlantic salmon. She even called the latest kill
devastating.
That is an understatement.
Janice Sherry’s description, while appropriate,
will do nothing to bring back the dead fish or stop future kills. Hollow
political rhetoric rarely solves anything.
Government’s response to fish kills is a classic
exercise in duck, bob and weave. Frontline resources and action never match its
words of concern. Fear of alienating the farming community stops government
from doing what is necessary. Its primary objective is to appease the general
public while doing little to stop future kills from occurring.
This lack of urgency is the primary reason for
the annual blotch on our Island reputation. What government fails to grasp is
its lack of action not only enables fish kills but harms good farmers, and
there are a lot of them.
The vast majority of Island farmers are
conscientious stewards of the land. Every time a fish kill occurs good farmers
are convicted by association and the public’s confidence in our vital
agriculture sector is reduced. There is nothing like a fish kill to provide
easy ammunition to environmental zealots with little appreciation for the role
agriculture plays in our economy.
Hollow words of concern followed by a promise to
investigate and, if necessary, tighten rules and regulations is as predictable
as the kills themselves.
Sherry’s tenure as minister has been a miserable
exercise in mediocrity. Her handling of fish kills – and this marks the fourth
year in a row – and deep well irrigation are both marked by a lack of firm
leadership and attempts to dodge and mislead the public.
CBC reported that two separate requests were
made to the department for the deep well irrigation report produced by the
minister’s advisory committee. One response claimed no report existed. The
second response said the report existed but would not be released.
Even if you get past the unfathomable reality of
two separate answers for the same question, the department’s response is
clearly titled toward secrecy.
And Minister Janice Sherry is responsible. She is
invoking a section of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
that allows advice to a minister to be withheld.
Irony apparently is lost on the minister. While
slamming shut the doors of accountability, she is proclaiming the deep well issue
must be fully transparent.
Transparency apparently does not extend to the
office of the minister of environment.
The credibility of deep well science is of even
more importance with the announced closure of the McCain french fry plant and
the ratcheting up of rhetoric by rival Cavendish Farms, now claiming access to
deep wells could be a deciding factor in any decision to follow McCain out of
Prince Edward Island.
It is a serious threat. One that should not be
taken lightly, but also one that government should not cave to.
While the Ghiz government has continued to grow
the provincial bureaucracy, it has not invested in frontline environmental
services that could increase the public’s trust of the department and the
processes it utilizes.
Until the government is prepared to put money
behind its rhetoric we are only left with the minister’s word and from an
environmental protection perspective that is not worth much.
Paul MacNeill is Publisher of Island Press
Limited. He can be contacted at paul@peicanada.com
Two comments:
"environmental zealots" is rather unkind; and would any other
government member do anything differently than Minister Sherry?
August 20, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Tonight
is the screening of Fish Tales, a 35-minute documentary about Island
waterways, at Macphail Woods. The event will have a walk, the film, a
discussion and some entertainment by Island poet Deirdre Kessler and fiddler
Roy Johnstone.
The Pesticide Free PEI meeting has been rescheduled for next Wednesday, August
27th.
Last night's CBC Compass carried a feature on a revived initiative to bring
unsold produce and perishables from the Charlottetown Farmers' Market to others
who can't afford or gain access to them.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/PEI/Compass/ID/2492698954/
It is 21 minutes into the broadcast. Great working together by the Food
Exchange, the Charlottetown Farmers' Market and manager, the Salvation Army and
others.
Two letters of note in yesterday's Guardian:
From Island biologist emeritus Ian MacQuarrie,
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-19/article-3839739/Is-industrial-farming-acceptable-as-necessary-economic-engine%3F/1
Is
industrial farming acceptable as necessary economic engine? - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on August 19, 2014I
thank Alan Holman for his August 16 column “It costs a pile to grow a
potato.” He nicely describes P.E.I. agriculture for what it is: modern
industrial operations more closely related to things like mining or major
manufacturing than to our benign image of “family farms.” Thus, we should not
be surprised that the requirements for large-scale crop monoculture mean that
nothing much else can survive in the outdoor factories: bees, birds and most
mammals must go elsewhere or perish. In some cases, even the soil must be
killed in order to support such an industry.
I think it strange that we seem to get alarmed
only when farming is linked to fish kills or anoxic waterways. Why should we
worry about a few fish? Surely sports fishers can find something else to do;
perhaps they could go online for virtual fishing experiences. After all, what
matters is the economic engine that is modern farming, and all of the spinoffs
that come from it. We willingly sacrifice much natural capital in pursuit of
the ideal french fry, but I suppose our society must have some sort of
measurable goals.
We thus accept industrial farming as the
required economic engine without which our Island would somehow sink without
trace. At the same time, we have constant worries about this — will the weather
hold, will there be enough water, will the market let producers gain a profit?
And there are ominous signs; some consumers are becoming restive about
pesticide residues, and GMO foods, and exactly what is meant by ‘food safety.’
I have no idea where all of this is leading; I am quite content to leave the
prophesying to your editors and columnists.
Good luck to all.
Ian MacQuarrie, Hazel Grove
And from former Chief Conservation Officer John
Clements:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-19/article-3839706/No-one-cares-about-dead-fish%3F/1No one cares about dead fish? - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on August 19, 2014
Once again the silence is deafening on P.E.I. Another rain and
more red water. Why has society come to accept it to be normal to fear the rain
and what consequences come from it with dead fish floating and the estuaries
turning white with nutrient load?
Four
years have passed since leaving my home province and every summer since it continues.
While trying to lead enforcement to protect the precious water and fish in the
streams and rivers it became increasingly frustrating with the inability to
have politicians do anything more than lip service to the situation.
It is much easier to criticize the conservation
officers who lack resources and legislation to deal with this societal plague.
They are trying to save what is left with little ability or political
willpower.
So as I asked Premier Ghiz and his cabinet when
I last spoke to them in Tyne Valley in 2009, to explain why it was the opinion
of some ministers that I was targeting Liberal supporters in our enforcement
work . . . “why is it normal now that the rivers turn red and the bays turn
white?” The answer I got was "thanks John for coming to speak."
Does anyone care?
John K. Clements,
Former Chief Conservation Officer in P.E.I.,
Ancaster, Ont.
August 19, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Tonight is the keynote address by Art Eggleston, at 6:30PM
at the Canada Pavilion at the Celebration Zone, free, related to the Atlantic
Summer Institute.
http://www.asi-iea.ca/en/2014-keynote/
This Friday is a free talk by the two folks leading the Transition Workshop
taking place this weekend.
https://www.facebook.com/PEIFarmCentre/photos/a.280554795429310.1073741828.271236633027793/371438933007562/?type=1&fref=nf
temporarily unable to upload :( please check out our facebook page for the photo
Some notes on fracking, from near and far away.
Maine, from the National Wildlife Federation:
http://blog.nwf.org/2014/07/tar-sands-vote-in-maine-shows-communities-can-stand-up-for-wildlife-and-win-big/
New Brunswickers will go to the poll for a provincial election, set for
September 22. The Conservative government is basing their campaign
on being very pro-resource development. However, the government is
getting sued by Windsor Energy anyway:
From Don't Frack PEI:
Windsor Energy, a fracking company which was
prevented from conducting seismic testing in New Brunswick because the
government believed they were breaking the rules, is suing the NB government
for loss of potential revenue – for $105 million.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/windsor-energy-lawsuit-against-n-b-government-linked-to-election-1.2737266
A story about fracking in Denton, Texas; Texas being way "ahead" of
the game with fracking -- an object lesson for us? And maybe applicable
to other fields:
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/25429-fracked-on-their-own-petard-the-self-implosion-of-an-industry-on-the-ropes
an excerpt:
It's a pattern of almost
laughable desperation. As the industry clutches at straws - and threatens
lawsuits - they are alienating more and more people. At a recent City Council
hearing, with 600 people sitting in three overflow rooms, 85 percent of Denton
speakers supported the ban. When you've got mothers testifying about how living
at home has become a nightmare while industry representatives say we must
"fully and effectively" exploit mineral resources no matter what -
well, it becomes pretty clear who the real extremists are.
August 18, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Events
this week, not in chronological order:
Wednesday, August 20th, 6:30PM, Macphail Woods, free (but donations
likely accepted), sponsored by ECO-PEI
Fish Tales film premiere and event.
On behalf of the
production crew of Fish Tales PEI, we would like to invite you to join
us at the MacPhail Woods Nature Centre on Wednesday, August 20th, at 6:30pm for a river walk on the historic MacPhail grounds,
music and poetry by Island artists and an informative evening of discussions
followed by the premiere of Fish Tales.
Fish Tales is a short documentary film shot on PEI in
the summer of 2013. The film explores how rivers and waterways on Prince Edward
Island influence Islanders’ views on social and environmental issues. We look
at current realities and challenges in our rivers, including the human impact
of catastrophic events like fish kills.
Through interviews and storytelling with experts from all sides
of the spectrum, Fish Tales captures how Islanders interact with these
areas, and their perspectives on the future of our watershed heritage.
We want to highlight
that many Islanders, from all walks of life, are interdependent with, and have
a responsibility towards, the health of PEI's historic waterways.
To view a trailer for
the film, please visit www.vimeo.com/conorleggott/fishtalestrailer
The
1 minute trailer is utterly poignant.
(There are plans for another screening in Charlottetown in the next while, if you
can't make it.)
----------
And
because there are only so many nights in the week, Wednesday is also the
next Pesticide Free PEI meeting, 7PM, Haviland Club at the corner of
Haviland and Water.
from the organizer, Maureen Kerr:
It's astounding to me how much pesticides have been in the paper as of late,
and huge props go out to those who have put themselves out there in the media
to speak out against the harm being done by pesticides, both from an
agricultural standpoint and cosmetic. It takes a lot of guts and is not
for the faint of heart.
We are also grateful to Earth Action who has announced Operation
Pesticide Watch across PEI and on days like today, is encouraging people to
monitor the waterways for dead fish.
Very alarming is the news about the pesticides showing up in
wells throughout PEI: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/well-pesticide-detections-examined-for-changing-trend-1.2737494
and as scientist Roger Gordon says: Another way of expressing the Envt Dept data:
The
latest sampling showed 43 out of 44 groundwater sites contaminated with
pesticides. The # of pesticides detected in each site ranged from 2 to
6. In all, 15 different pesticides were detected among the 44 sites.
I know it's still summer, but we would love to have your support
so please let me know you if you can make it. The more the merrier. I
think we're getting somewhere!
----------
I think, but can't find the details, that the public information meeting is
tonight regarding the Tryon TCH work.
-----------
Tuesday -- something different at the Celebration Zone:
Tuesday, August 19th, 6:30PM, the Canada Pavilion, Keynote address by Art
Eggleston.
The Atlantic Summer Institute on Health and Safe
Communities is having their conference in Charlottetown next week. The
theme is "Renewing Democracy Though Social Justice: Adding New
Voices"
http://www.asi-iea.ca/en/asi-2014/
and Art Eggleston, a non-flamboyant former Mayor of Toronto, former MP, and
current Senator, is giving the keynote address on "The Great Divergence:
Income Inequality".
http://www.asi-iea.ca/en/2014-keynote/
FairVote and LeadNow Canada will be having a booth there, and you are welcome
to stop by.
August 17, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Here
is a cute video "Gives Bees a Chance", from
"GreenBees". It's about a minute long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaE7XIlZ2Ao
It uses humour to make a point, but it also makes me sad.
GreenBees is attempting to counteract "information" from the likes of
this:
from
April of this year:
http://www.politico.com/politicoinfluence/0414/politicoinfluence13662.html
CORNERSTONE TO HELP BAYER’S BEE PROBLEM: Bayer Corporation has
signed Cornerstone Government Affairs to help “pollinator
health and habitat promotion” after a growing campaign, which includes reports
from the European Union, has accused the chemical company of causing
large-scale harm to the bee population with its pesticides. The company opened
a $2.4 million North American Bayer Bee Care Center in Durham, N.C., on
Tuesday, to match a similar center in Monheim, Germany. Bayer is one of three
companies to sign with Cornerstone this week. American Traffic
Solutions is having the firm lobby for traffic cameras, and Brynwood
Partners is seeking work on supplemental nutrition programs for women
and children.
And rather creepy pages about the lobbying company:
http://www.cgagroup.com/practices/agriculture.html
----------
Apparently, we missed this celebration on Thursday:
http://www.cropscience.bayer.ca/News/2014/The-Good-News-on-National-Honey-Bee-Day.aspx
The
Good News on National Honey Bee Day - Bayer
CropScience Celebrates Positive Trends in Bee Health
<<snip>>
The fact that neonicotinoids can help control destructive pests while
protecting our needed pollinators, such as honey bees, is what makes them so
essential to pest management programs. There have been more than 100 studies
investigating neonicotinoids and pollinators, and, under conditions of
practical field use, these products are not harmful to bee colonies.
You
can do your part too! Plant a bee-friendly garden to give
honey bees food to eat and share the importance of honey bees with your
neighbors and friends. Keeping bees healthy takes everyone working together to
find solutions.>>
----------
Bayer Canada also gives generously to 4-H Canada.
I liked the Mousey columns better.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Columnists/2014-08-16/article-3836356/It-costs-a-pile-to-grow-a-potato/1
It
costs a pile to grow a potato - The Guardian columnist Alan Holman
By Alan Holman (printed on the right-hand columnists' page of
the paper)
Published on Saturday, August 16th, 2014
Following the announcement that the McCain
french fry processing plant in Borden-Carleton was closing, there was a
plethora of letters to the editor offering any amount of gratuitous advice. A
lot of it leaned towards abandoning the way potatoes are grown and turning
P.E.I. into a million-acre organic farm.
This may be a good idea. But, on the surface it
seems a tad idealistic and it ignores what many people forget, or wish to
ignore; farming, first and foremost, is a business, not just a way of life.
Organic produce is available in most Island
supermarkets. But, it is not a main stay. Most shoppers buy regular,
non-organic produce for a variety of reasons, including price and appearance.
Island potato farmers grow in excess of 2 billion pounds of potatoes a year,
even if they could grow 2 billon pounds of organic potatoes, finding a market
for them would be a challenge, and a huge gamble.
It is doubtful many Islanders understand what a
capital intensive business potato farming is. With exception of seed, and some
speciality growers, the rule ‘go big or stay home’ applies in spades to potato
farming. Hence, in the last 20-30 years there was a tremendous consolidation in
the industry. Fewer farmers are growing more potatoes today than were grown on
the Island 30 years ago.
A farmer growing 500 acres of potatoes isn’t
unusual on the Island. To grow 500 acres of potatoes requires a minimum of
1,500 acres, because of the need for crop rotation. Depending where it is, good
potato land sells for between $2,000 and $3,500 an acre. The means the cost of
the land for that size farm is somewhere between $3 million and $5 1/4 million.
Even if the farmer leases a portion of his land those leases will be based on
the value of the land.
There is also the cost of equipment. Modern
equipment requires large tractors which sell for approximately $1,000 per
horsepower. Most tractors of potato farms are in the 150 to 200 horsepower
range and about a half dozen are needed. Another million dollars. Then there are
plows, disc harrows, planters, tillers, sprayers, diggers, wind rowers,
harvesters, escalators, a fleet of trucks with potato boxes, graders, baggers,
fork-lifts, etc, etc. Easily another million or so. For the sake of argument
lets say $2 million for equipment.
A modern storage facility with computerized
climate control to hold 10 million pounds of potatoes will cost between a
million and a half, and two million dollars.
So without planting a single spud, the land, the
equipment and storage for the crop will cost approximately seven or eight
million dollars. Then add another million dollars or so, every year, to cover
the costs of seed, fertilizer, sprays and labour.
If you include the cost of land, equipment,
seed, chemicals, fuel, labour and the cost of money for working capital, people
involved in the potato industry feel that $3,000 an acre is a reasonable
ballpark figure to estimate the costs of planting, growing, harvesting, storing
and selling a crop. Costs for table potatoes may run a bit higher than potatoes
grown to supply the french fry plants.
If everything goes right and a grower is able to
produce a crop of 300 hundredweights, or 30,000 lbs., to the acre, he would
need to be paid 10 cents a pound, just to break even. But, yields vary from
approximately 250 hundredweight to 320 hundredweight per acre, depending on the
grower and on the variety of potatoes being grown.
And then there’s disease. Diseases can effect
the yield and the storage capability of potatoes. Because of soil conditions,
in some instances caused by poor rotation practices, and because of our damp
climate, potatoes grown on the Island need a lot of chemicals to deal with
blight and other problems.
The money potato farmers have tied up in their
land, storage facilities and equipment is a long-term investment that won’t be
paid off for years. But, they’re the ultimate optimists. If they don’t have a
contract with a plant, they don’t know what price they will get for their crop.
Even if a grower has a contract this year, it doesn’t mean he’ll have a
contract next year, as the growers that supplied McCain’s found out a few weeks
ago. But, the bank still expects to be paid.
Economics will dictate how the industry evolves.
However, the chances of P.E.I. becoming an organic garden won’t happen soon.
- Alan Holman is a freelance journalist
living in Charlottetown. He can be reached at: acholman@pei.eastlink.ca
August 16, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Farmers' Markets open in Bloomfield,
Bunbury/Stratford, Cardigan, Charlottetown, Montague, Morell, Murray
Harbour, Summerside, Victoria this morning.
Someone mentioned there is an organic farmer who sells his produce in Fort
Augustus from noon to 6PM on Saturdays, proceeds going to charities.
Photographer and blogger John Morris is going to be at the Farmers' Market in
Charlottetown with copies of his new book and scenic 2015 calendar. He
filmed some footage at Plan B.
Index of his YouTubes here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUSAvIgWDSpeE4teshnsgkUQ
Videos 36-57 appear to be some of his Plan B footage.
The one that makes me smile (with rue) is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuu0tkSR938&list=UUSAvIgWDSpeE4teshnsgkUQ&index=39
In early October 2012, Cindy Richards asking straight questions of The
Environmental Department Guy while others comes and go, and the project manager
smiles behind his beard.
----------
Other happenings:
This morning: Island Nature Trust is hosting a shorebirds identification
workshop, gathering at 9AM at St. Eleanor's Community Centre. from: https://www.facebook.com/events/618378094942179/
Saturday, August 16th, 9:00
AM
St. Eleanor’s Community Centre, Summerside
The annual fall shorebird migration is one of nature’s greatest
events!
In late summer and early fall, large flocks of
shorebirds are seen along PEI shorelines. This diverse group undertakes some of
the longest migrations in the natural world – sometimes flying non-stop for
days to reach a destination!
Dwaine Oakley (expert birder and learning manager
for the Wildlife Conservation Technology Program at Holland College) will lead
a shorebird identification workshop followed by a field trip to test out your
new ID skills! The field trip will highlight surrounding Important Bird Areas.
The workshop will begin at 9:00 AM.
Please bring your own lunch!
This is a free event! Everyone welcome!
For more information, please call (902) 892-7513
August 15, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Three
recent letters in The Guardian -- the last one from Kevin O'Brien is
*very* interesting.
----------
Provincial Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker took notice of the editorial
last Saturday criticizing the federal Green Party:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-14/article-3834634/It-all-starts-from-maintenance-of-a-healthy-planet/1
It all starts from maintenance of a healthy planet - The Guardian Guest Opinion by Peter Bevan-Baker
Published on Thursday, August 14, 2014
I remember the days when the political party
to whom I have devoted my life rarely got a mention in any political
discussions, never mind being referenced in an editorial, so it was with
a certain degree of delight that I read The Guardian editorial of Aug.
11 which was entirely about the Greens. That delight was tempered as I
read a version of the ole and entrenched misconception that the Green
Party is a "single issue" party. As the editorial stated "(The Greens)
are now trying to convince Canadians there is much more to the party
than meets the eye"
Combatting the myth that we are nothing more
than an environmental organization is an ongoing battle for those of us who
have spent decades talking about the economic and social policies of the
Greens. Finally it seems that Canadians are accepting that we are indeed a
fully fledged political party, worthy of wide support and representation in
legislatures across the country.
Certainly our federal leader, Elizabeth May is
in part responsible for this, as she has spoken eloquently and thoughtfully on
every issue before the House of Commons. Indeed she has stood out as an MP who
has, through her industry and integrity, won the respect of her peers in Ottawa
(twice in a row being voted as hardest working MP), and solidified support in
her own riding. It is now up to other Greens across Canada to carry this message
of a new and better way of doing politics to the public.
I have remained a Green Party devotee because I
have a deep belief that the values the Party espouses and the policies we have
developed represent a clear and welcome departure from politics as usual.
So many critical support systems upon which
human societies depend are in peril. Food, water and energy supplies are
becoming increasingly vulnerable; our climate and global economy more unstable;
our vulnerability to disease and social unrest increase yearly. Politics as
usual, far from alleviating these problems, seems more often than not, to make
them worse.
A new approach with a long-term vision and a
deeper understanding of our place within, and reliance on the natural systems
which make life for us all possible is desperately needed. Underlying the
unravelling of all these economic, social and environmental systems is one
thing — the health of our planet.
There is no economy and no society without clean
air, water and soil. So in a sense there is only one issue that really matters
when it comes to our continued successful inhabitation of this world, and that
is the maintenance of a healthy planet.
Maybe the Greens, as our name suggests are a one
issue party after all: the only political party with a full understanding of
our dependence on a robust and healthy environment. With increasing support for
the Greens, it appears that more and more Canadians are getting this too.
Peter Bevan-Baker of Hampton is leader of the
Green Party of P.E.I.
----------
And Martha Howatt is clear:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-14/article-3834624/McCains-closing-sign-of-the-times/1
McCains closing sign of the times - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on Thursday, August 14, 2014
I am not a farmer. I have a veg garden, flowerbeds and plant lots of trees. I
grew up with an extended family that farmed but that is the extent of my
knowledge. I have, however, managed my own business successfully. One of the
things I learned throughout that process is that the market is continually
changing and if I didn’t change to meet the demands I would become obsolete
quickly.
In my opinion the closing of McCains is an
indication that the market is changing. They have commented that the french fry
market is declining. Perhaps this would be a good time for farmers to look at
greater crop diversification. The weather is changing, as is the cultural
dynamic. Both of these indicate the need to investigate new and different crops
and markets. Perhaps this would also decrease the use of pesticides, herbicides
and neonicotinoids. It may also halt the need for deep-water wells and the
reliance on large corporations to buy Island products.
Martha Howatt, Summerside
----------
A final, sober analysis and a real "moving forward together" idea.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-13/article-3833323/Recent-application-part-of-strategy/1
Recent application part of strategy - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on Wednesday, August 13, 2014
The end of a recent uni-gendered focus group convinced me that Cavendish Farms
was considering leaving P.E.I. One of the other nine men was convinced that
Moosehead was leaving the Maritimes. The only other corporate names mentioned
were Hershey and McCain’s.
We were not asked to remain confidential so I
can tell you that the discussion was moderated by an intelligent young man with
excellent people skills who walked us through a variety of scenarios in which
it became abundantly clear that some major corporation was examining how to
protect its brand image while exiting a community of operations traditionally
associated with their brand.
And so I am given real cause to wonder if the
recent application to lift the moratorium on deep wells isn’t part of a
strategy. I see it two possible ways: perhaps they plan to leave regardless and
hope their application is rejected which gives them “cause” or a reason
to complain, or conversely, the focus group was intended to create a rumble so
that the application would have a better chance of approval. After all, for
$100 (cash) — rumoured to have been $75 for women’s groups — I can’t imagine
any of us would have refused a non-disclosure. Or, perhaps, Saint John, N.B.,
is headed for heartache.
If we, everyone, can stop denying that chemical
residues in the air (food, water, etc.) are causing real harm to health in
P.E.I., and that agriculture is part of that picture, and agree to face the
problem together, and do it with respect for our farmers, and if additionally we
have unfettered** access to the science about water resources, and if we have a
hearty discussion for a year or two, then perhaps we should consider Irving’s
application. Otherwise I think they should make do with their 33,000 pounds per
acre. What besides water gets us to that ridiculous 60,000-pound figure they
have? I’ll bet there are chemical companies seeing this as an opportunity.
Kevin O’Brien, Cornwall
----------
**I'll mention that fettered or not, there just is not much water research
done in this area that is recent, relevant and comprehensive.
----------
Cardigan Farmers' Market is open today, and in Charlottetown, the Farm Centre
is hosting a post-Gold Cup Parade barbecue with musician Mike Biggar, noon to
2PM, $15, rain or shine.
August 14, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
If
you didn't see last night's Compass, it was full of short segments of interest,
on-line version here:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/PEI/ID/2488078164/
At about 5minutes, an update on plans for the McCains' plant (right now they
are talking retraining workers, not anything innovative like encouraging the
workers to offer up plans for converting it to something else),
then there is a string of stories showing hard-working Islanders protecting the
land:
at 6min, coverage of Earth Action's Sharon Labchuk and Lynne Lund's press
conference regarding Operation Pesticide Watch, which will provide on-line
resources where people concerned about spraying and wind speed and buffer zones
can get more information. The report also talks with one of the hardest
working government workers on PEI, manager of investigation and enforcement
Wade MacKinnon.
(Guardian story here.)
After that is a report on a local watershed's concern about Charlottetown's new
municipal well being constructed in North Milton, and plans to continue to
monitor things. Cornwall and Area Watershed Group coordinator Karalee
McAskill, dedicated and talented, describes things stream-side.
(By the way, work is being done along the TCH in Cornwall on the Hyde Creek
culvert, the one that blew out a few years ago. I am not sure what the
reasons are or the plan is at this point.)
(Next is an article about new owners for the Bookmark at Confederaton Court
Mall.)
Then a story about federal Agriculture minister talking tough at the Canadian
Cattlemen's Association (CCA) meeting in Charlottetown about US rules wanting
(imagine!) to know Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). The CCA feels it
should be voluntary. There is footage of how some cattle are raised for
market. I also believe the reporter says the Canada-European Union trade
deal (CETA) has been approved, but I don't think that is the case.
(Back to hard-working, caring Islanders:)
After a break (just about 16 minutes), there is a story with Phil Ferraro at
the Farm Centre Legacy garden on the green roof on the shed building,
describing the benefits, and another roof at Holland College.
(Then there is a story about liquor stores, and the weather.)
----------
Here is the editorial from Wednesday's Guardian mentioned yesterday:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Editorials/2014-08-13/article-3833344/Minister-launches-offensive/1
Minister Launches Offensive - The Guardian Editorial
Sherry says fish kill devastating news; challenges farmers,
watershed groups
Published Wednesday, August 13th, 2014
Environment
Minister Janice Sherry has decided that the best defence is a good offence. The
minister says the latest fish kill discovered over the weekend is devastating
news, the same response we heard from three opposition parties. Ms. Sherry has
drawn a lot of criticism for her recent weak track record on the deep-water
well issue and cosmetic pesticides. She now subscribes to the theory that if
you can’t beat ’em, join ’em and has allied herself with Islanders aghast at
the fish kill.
While the investigation continues into the
deaths of approximately 1,000 fish discovered Saturday in the North River,
potato farmers have already been tried, convicted and sentenced to new careers
in organic farming. It’s likely that pesticides sprayed on nearby fields were
washed into the river by heavy showers and thundershowers which impacted the
Island from last Thursday into Monday. Farmers, lawns and watersheds all needed
rain, just not in a sudden downpour.
This was the first kill in the river in many
years, and the only one on P.E.I. thus far in 2014. Any fish kill is
unfortunate, and opposition parties were quick to heap criticism onto Ms.
Sherry as being personally responsible for allowing this to happen. A
provincial biologist said that samples from the scene showed oxygen levels and
water quality were OK so the list of suspects is rapidly narrowing to
pesticides.
No one wants to see fish kills, especially
farmers who know they will automatically receive most of the criticism. Ms.
Sherry said: “It’s not anything any of us want to hear about or deal with.”
That would be the understatement of the year.
The Action Committee for Sustainable Land
Management, which was established after a 2012 fish kill in Barclay Brook in
western P.E.I. made 18 recommendations, including soil conservation measures.
One could argue the group has been relatively successful with just the one kill
this year.
Fish kills should no longer be an annual
occurrence, any more than highway fatalities or residential fires. But
accidents or acts of God will happen and it’s doubtful we can ever reach the
point where there are no fish kills.
Sharon Labchuk, co-ordinator of the
environmental group Earth Action, thinks otherwise. She said the usual response
from government to fish kills is to improve regulations. Isn’t that a good
thing? Is she suggesting banning agriculture or just making the province a
pesticide-free, organic zone?
Earth Action is hoping to get the public to help
report pesticide regulatory violations through a new campaign it calls
Operation Pesticide Watch.
Ms. Labchuk will hold a news conference today
near the North River to launch that campaign. She argues that until P.E.I.
becomes an organic province, the public has a right to know what pesticides are
being sold and how much is being sprayed.
OPW sounds like the RCMP mantra of asking the
public to provide tips on suspected drunk drivers. Spray at your own risk.
It’s obvious that additional measures are needed
to protect streams and rivers from dangerous runoffs.
Ms. Sherry is placing more onus on industry to
better patrol itself and watershed groups to work on solutions since its
obvious that government won’t, or is unable, to do it all by itself.
It has to be a co-operative effort by all
parties to reduce the risk of fish kills as much as possible.
The minister has announced she will introduce a
Water Act which will address the problem, but not necessarily find the magic
solution some people thinks exists to prevent these fish kills.
August 13, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
It
is almost charming to see federal and provincial representatives, from
different major political parties, get together to make redundant announcements
(the only new part being which pocket the taxpayer is paying from).
It appears this smiley event took place at the CAT dealership.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-08-12/article-3832312/Build-Canada-infrastructure-money-will-help-pay-for-new-bridge/1
from the on-line article:
"The
upgrades to Routes 1 and 2 include improvements that will make it easier to
make left turns along the Trans-Canada Highway near Bonshaw, while a
1,350-metre segment of the highway near Tryon will be rehabilitated to meet
current safety guidelines."
It's a done deal!
----------
In the print edition editorial in today's Guardian, (which can't be
accessed on-line until later this morning), in discussing the recent fishkill
and defending Environment Minister Janice Sherry, the editors write,
"While the investigation <into the fishkill> continues, potato
farmers have already been tried, convicted and sentenced to new careers in
organic farming."
(even sarcasm fails me here)
----------
In Monday's paper, Lynne Lund spells out where we are headed:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-11/article-3830643/If-want-votes%2C-then-earn-them/1
with a horrendous headline:
If
want votes, then earn them - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on August 11th, 2014
Everything has a season, and it seems we are nearing the end of this one. No, I
don’t mean summer, or at least, not exclusively summer. We are nearing the end
of this phase in agriculture and you can feel it everywhere. It’s hard to deny
the fact that public opinion is changing. Letters pour in.
People are speaking out who never would have
done so in the past and social media is overflowing with stories, studies,
images and videos on the subject. Our soil is getting depleted. More and more
farmers are tired of jeopardizing their own health to meet the demands of a
french fry spec.
McCain’s is shutting down, the Irvings threaten
to leave and we are collectively sick of being poisoned. The story
line is clear and it all points in one direction: The current model of
agriculture doesn’t work. It doesn’t work for the land, and it doesn’t work for
the people. Indeed, it’s time for a bold new vision for P.E.I.
And as we near the end of summer, we know what’s
coming, right? Soon, many of us can expect politicians to be knocking on our
doors. So when opportunity knocks, answer it and take that opportunity to ask
your potential representatives if they will indeed be representing you, or big
business.
It’s time to start asking tough questions of the
people who hold seats in public office. Pesticides are a political issue and
you need to know what side of it your representatives are standing on. I for
one think if a candidate doesn’t at the very least take a strong stance against
cosmetic pesticides, they won’t have a chance this year. We’re looking to you,
candidates. If you want our votes, earn them.
Lynne Lund, Clinton
----------
Take care -- some Farmers' Markets open today (Stanley Bridge and
Charlottetown)
August 12, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Reports regarding fracking from our neighbouring provinces:
"Say yes to shale gas jobs and prosperity," said (New Brunswick
Premier David) Alward. "As premier, I think it would be irresponsible to
not take advantage of the natural resource opportunities we have before us
today."
from:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/federal-finance-minister-endorses-shale-gas-development-in-n-b-1.2730588
Federal
finance minister endorses shale gas development in N.B. - CBC online news
Joe
Oliver urges business leaders to consider industry's positive track record out
west
CBC On-line news, August 7th, 2014
Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver says
the national economy is in recovery and if New Brunswick wants to follow
suit, shale gas may be its best bet.
Oliver made the comments while addressing
business leaders at a Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce luncheon on
Thursday.
He spoke about negotiations for a free
trade deal with the European Union and outlined his government's economic
accomplishments.
But then strayed from his prepared speech to weigh in
on the contentious shale gas issue, following comments by Premier David Alward.
"As the premier mentioned, New Brunswick
has significant shale gas reserve potential. It's up to the province to decide
whether to develop them," Oliver told the crowd at the Delta Fredericton.
Speaking to members of the media later, Oliver
said that the provinces with the most prosperity are also the provinces
that have natural resources.
New Brunswickers should look closely
at the industry's track record in other provinces when deciding whether to
pursue the shale gas industry, he said.
"Environmental safety is, of course, a
precondition," said Oliver.
"If you look, however, at shale gas
development in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan, it's been going on for over 50
years. One hundred and seventy five thousand wells have been drilled using
[hydraulic] fracking. Not a single instance of drinkable water
contamination."
In January, Nova Scotia's Environment Minister
confirmed a leak of between 6,000 and 14,000 litres of fracking waste at that
province's only operation.
Randy Delorey said the wastewater escaped from a
holding pond in Kennetcook and some of it ran into a nearby brook.
Oliver stressed that developing shale gas
reserves remains a provincial decision.
"If the objective, scientific, independent
analysis says that there isn't going to be damage, then we're in a position to
approve it," he said.
The New Brunswick premier has said
repeatedly his government plans to pursue development of the shale gas industry
in New Brunswick.
He reiterated his stance during Thursday's
luncheon.
"Say yes to shale gas jobs and
prosperity," said Alward. "As premier, I think it would be
irresponsible to not take advantage of the natural resource opportunities we
have before us today."
----------
And more food for thought for The Wheeler Commission:
http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/what-we-know-we-dont-know-about-fracking/Content?oid=4384360
This was published recently in The Coast, a local weekly from Halifax.
From Wikipedia:
"Founded in 1993, The Coast has a generally left wing editorial policy. It focuses on local
issues, especially "people working for change" within the
community." The language can be a little salty at times.
What
we know we don’t know about fracking - The Coast article by Geoff Davies
Before
surveying the land and finding the gas, before boring the wells and breaking
the shale, questions must be answered.
The practice is called fracking. The province’s two-year
moratorium on it is almost up, and all the questions lie at the feet of Dr.
David Wheeler, president of Cape Breton University.
Wheeler and the panel he leads---at the behest
of the provincial government---are due to give their final report later this
month, but Nova Scotians got a taste during a two-week public-meetings roadshow
that ended July 29 in Whycocomagh.
Fans of “the good ol’ Canadian government study”
were not left disappointed: true to the genre, Wheeler’s is a study calling for
more study.
Study of community attitudes; study of health
impacts and environmental risks; study to learn where the resources are and how
much they’re worth---as Wheeler told a raucous crowd of three hundred at the
Halifax consultation, a “significant period of learning and dialogue” is the
panel’s prescription.
But the panel stopped short of advising any
course of action for the fracking moratorium itself---whether to lift it,
extend it, or ban hydraulic fracturing outright.
“It’s not our job,” Wheeler told the Halifax
meeting.
So, if now’s not the time for firm answers and
solid conclusions, let it be the time for pointing out answers that should be
questions, and conclusions that are shakier than they seem. Here’s what we know
we don’t know about fracking in Nova Scotia.
We know we don’t know whether Nova Scotian
communities have enough water to frack without going thirsty.
The Wheeler panel thinks we do, stating that
“water use for hydraulic fracturing would likely not lead to issues of water
demand for the majority of the province.”
Meanwhile, a team of Dalhousie scientists are
mid-way through a project to fix the fact we know dick all about our provincial
surface water supplies.
Just this spring, the researchers and the
provincial government published the Nova Scotia Watershed Atlas, calling it the
first high-level assessment of the health and stressors of the province’s
watersheds.
Dubbed the Nova Scotia Watershed Assessment
Program (NSWAP), they’ve been working together since 2010 to fill knowledge
gaps about the status of watersheds: which are the most at-risk, and what
patterns are happening at the provincial-scale, and so on.
What they’ve now completed---the first of two
planned stages---is the mapping and risk-factor ranking for about 250
watersheds.
What they’ve found is some of the watersheds
with the highest potential to be harmed are in Colchester, Pictou and
Cumberland counties---the same areas that are currently being explored for
conventional fossil fuels, and have been marked as being potentially frackable.
Summarizing their work in an article recently
accepted by the peer-reviewed Journal of Hydrology, the researchers specifically
call out Wheeler’s review of shale gas development in discussing the limited
knowledge surrounding our surface water.
The NSWAP researchers say there is a “critical
need” for water budgets in Nova Scotia---essentially hydrological cash flow
statements, accounting for water entering, leaving and staying in a watershed.
Until we have that, we can’t actually know how
much water there is in an area, and we can’t be sure, as Wheeler and friends
are, that there’s little risk of withdrawing too much.
“Without this information it is not possible to
conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the potential risks to surface water
supplies due to large-scale water withdrawal projects,” says the NSWAP.
The researchers also note that Nova Scotia is
unique for having a bunch of small watersheds draining to the coast, instead of
being dominated by a few large ones---like, say, New Brunswick.
“If you include all the islands and all the
small coastal watersheds, there's over 2,500 across the province ,” says
Kevin Garroway, a water monitoring expert with Nova Scotia Environment, and a
lead scientist on the project.
That means that not only is it misleading to
think of the province as having 40-some large watersheds, as conventionally is
done, but also that, due to their often small size, Nova Scotia’s watersheds
could be more delicate than we think. Just as a drop of poison in a glass is
more potent than one in a vat.
“In a smaller watershed a potential impact could
have a more detrimental effect to that watershed as a whole, because there's
less ability for that watershed to be buffered against a potential impact,”
says Garroway.
Wheeler and friends are also suggesting that the
province watch the example of fracking New Brunswick, which presents its own
host of unknowns.
In the McCully Fields around Penobsquis, near
Sussex in the province’s south, the 30 wells there make up about two-thirds of
the province’s total. But, says Dr. Brad Walters, a professor of environmental
studies at Mount Allison University, most of those are drilled into “tight
sand” deposits---a different beast from fracking in shale, because gas is
locked in low-porosity sand instead of bubbles within the rock.
Plus, underground wells from the local potash
mine existed before and during natural gas development in the Penobsquis area,
making it hard to disentangle the effects of the mine from the effects of the
fracking. And there have been effects aplenty.
“I believe some dozen households lost their
water, just like that. Literally overnight, water wells dried up, and what was
likely happening was that it was emptying out into the mine, because the mine
was flooding,” says Walters.
There were also reports of sewage leaking into
the ground around homes, and of houses slowly sinking into the ground. This led
to Penobsquis residents filing a legal complaint against the company,
Saskatchewan-based PotashCorp, seeking damages.
This is tied to another unique problem with
fracking in the Maritimes. As Walters explains in his written submission to the
Wheeler panel, the geography of Atlantic Canada is such that shale gas deposits
often co-exist with populated areas. Unlike in Northern B.C. or Texas, people
here would be living much closer to fracking operations.
“All these things were happening to these people
and to put it bluntly, the government just didn't give a shit, and they had to
basically hire a lawyer and force the government to the table,” Walters says.
More than two years into that legal battle, most
of those residents abruptly withdrew from the proceedings in 2012, with some
citing an unfair disadvantage and a broken process.
“There’s your Lesson Number One,” says
Walters. “It’s that all this talk about having regulations in place and how the
government is going to protect people's interests; the Penobsquis case is clear
illustration that that is just nonsense.
“When push came to shove it was clear where
the province placed its allegiance.”
The very starting point for considering fracking
is the notion that it’s more efficient and more effective than other means of
harvesting energy. That’s the root of the much-heralded “golden age of gas,”
and of that ever-tantalizing carrot---job creation.
It’s why “yes, but” can still follow the list of
fracking’s potential harms---methane in the air, chemicals in the groundwater,
mysterious ailments of nearby residents.
But fracking isn’t even as economical as many
think. When considering “energy returned on energy invested” (how much you get
for how much you put in), fracking doesn’t size up all that well.
Though it’s highly situational, and the field of
study is fairly new, the average EROEI for shale gas is five-to-one. That’s a
few points lower than the ratio championed by industry, and about on par with
the tar sands, and of course far below the EROEI of a conventional oil play
(25-to-one).
The efficiency of the whole process gives one
pause, too. The resources are often concentrated in “sweet spots”, which are
the first to be developed. When the wells are bored and the fracturing releases
the gas, the gas comes out fast (many wells see bumper production in the first
few years), followed by fast and steady decline.
To think that the United States has become a
golden land of cheap, fracked gas would also be inaccurate. While there are
about 30 shale plays across the country, 88 per cent of the country’s
production comes from just six of them. About a third of the country’s wells
are in decline, and another third have flat production.
To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, these are just
known unknowns. What riches Nova Scotia will gain from the controversial
process, and what we all could potentially lose, are still frustratingly vague.
As Nova Scotians have made clear, that uncertainty isn’t good enough.
“I’m terrified,” says Eleanor Kure, who attended
the volatile Wheeler panel meeting in Halifax. “[The panel is] basically just
saying ‘Don't worry about it. It's going to be all right. We'll be careful,’
and unfortunately there is not a way to be careful with something that's so
dangerous.”
----------
----------
A reminder the
Environmental Impact Assessment public meeting on the proposed new provincial
garage is at 7PM tonight at the Brackley Community Centre on Route 15 north of
Charlottetown.
August 11, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Monday morning news in
Summer:
The first "real" rain in weeks in Queens County fell last week, and
while it appears most of the mitigations at Plan B held back some of the
sediment, yesterday on-line news reported a fish-kill in the North River.
CBC, first about noon Sunday:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/dead-fish-pile-up-on-north-river-in-p-e-i-1.2732555
The poor fisheries biologist made a cautious quote that it is too early to tell
what caused it.
Another feature on the radio this morning is the PEI Potato Board's "I
(Heart) PEI Potatoes" program that's been printed on the polyethylene
white hay bale wrap and placed in prominent locations.
---------
and here is the Guardian's on-line story on the fish-kill:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-08-10/article-3829947/More-than-1%2C000-fish-found-dead-in-the-North-River/1
The Guardian printed edition this morning did not mention the story at
all, I don't think.
But The Guardian's main editorial (usually available on-line later in
the morning of the print date) is on the Federal Green Party, pretty much
kicking at it for a press release the Party issued which didn't mention the
environment, and deriding its goals for the next federal election.
One of those long opinion pieces on the right-hand page also takes aim at those
"radical NGOs" opposed to pipelines.
August 10, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
I am
back after a little trip, and hopefully bellaliant and sympatico are letting
all the mail through, unlike Thursday and Friday.
------------
Yesterday's front page story by Steve Sharratt in The Guardian featured
some people who are worrying about pesticide exposure, and some instances where
people have documented concerns on social media in addition to calling the
environmental officers:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-08-09/article-3828676/P.E.I.-residents-using-social-media-to-challenge-farm-activity/1
Mr. Sharratt, who often writes about rural issues, ratchets up the rhetoric by
using the terms "vigilante" and "posse" to describe
people posting concerns on social media. A resident sees a tractor with
spray drifting and shuts him or herself and family up; and has no idea what is
being sprayed, nor of any real measure of wind. The person calls out for some
sort of response, which some friends respond to. If you have kids
or a respiratory issue, you can imagine the concern at the lack of information.
Concern and the methods to document have produced a vesuvian reaction from some
promoters of the industry. Perhaps instead of shiny media campaigns, real
public information could be shared with residents affected: perhaps notices, in
the mailboxes or doorways of the adjacent properties, of the chemical and its
use (herbicide, fungicide, insecticide). That is required for applications
of certain lawn pesticides in subdivisions -- why should it be different
for agricultural pesticides?
In the article, former CBC journalist and Food Matters blogger Ian Petrie, as
usual, sees the whole picture and communicates it respectfully. (His blog is: http://foodmatters-petrie.blogspot.ca/
)
The bold is mine.
P.E.I.
residents using social media to challenge farm activity - The Guardian article by Steve Sharratt
Published on August 9th, 2014
Once upon a time, people would stop along the
roads of Prince Edward Island to wave and take photographs of farmers working
in their fields.
They still do, but today it’s sometimes for
reasons other than the pretty views and pastoral settings.
P.E.I. farmers are under the microscope,
especially when the cellphones come out. Photos are taken, and routine chores
like spraying the crop or even fertilizing the soil, appear on social media
sites like Facebook and Twitter.
There’s a pesticide posse sweeping across the
province these days, hunting down farming infractions and violations.
One recent incident was a video posted on
YouTube, under the title “Weak enforcement of pesticide regulations in P.E.I.,”
showing a Tignish area farmer spraying a crop in alleged high winds near
Kildare.
The Department of Environment investigated,
after the application had taken place, and found no violation.
A charge can only be laid if the pesticide
officer is on site to witness the infraction, but there are only two pesticide
officers covering the entire province.
According to some observers, people posting to
social media sites only reflects the lack of public confidence in the
province’s willingness - let alone ability - to enforce agriculture
regulations.
Joan Diamond prefers life under the radar.
But that all changed this spring when she took a
day off work to garden and the potato field next to her Fairview home, in rural
Queens County, was sprayed.
“I had to take all my clothes off the line and
go inside my house and shut the windows and doors for the entire day,” said
Diamond, who lives near Rocky Point. “When I checked the government website,
I discovered that I have no rights whatsoever. They protect the fish, but only
because of bad publicity from fish kills, and yet there is zero protection for
humans…how it that even remotely possible?”
The Island born mother - whose well water is
afflicted with nitrates - is now the page master of the new Pesticide Free
P.E.I. group on Facebook. It only started two months ago, but has more than 800
followers and increases daily.
“We are family friends with our farmer and we
don’t blame him…farmers are stuck between a rock and a hard place and have to
pay the bills,” she said. “But I’m
scared for my family to go outside and even drink my own water.”
Pesticide Free P.E.I. wants government to change
weak and unenforced pesticide regulations by offering incentives to farmers to
phase out what they describe as a pesticide addiction “that spreads poison” on
the land.
“Farmers know that people want pesticide-free
food, air and water…that’s our right,’’ she said. “Times are changing and the
P.E.I. government has to get behind it.”
Like police encouraging cellphone tips on drunk
drivers, so goes the public vigilance squad on the prowl for agricultural
infractions -- a situation farmers find frustrating.
“It has been said we are farming in a
subdivision in P.E.I., and with social media, farmers are subjected to all
sorts of harassment and misinformation spread by people who have no clue about
agriculture,” said John Jamieson, executive director of the P.E.I.
Federation of Agriculture.
Jamieson said one farmer had a neighbour make
three calls about spraying during alleged “high” wind conditions. The
subsequent investigation revealed wind speed was only 11 kilometres an hour -
well within provincial limits of 20 kilometres an hour.
“From some of the stuff you read (on social
media sites) you would think that farmers are out there spraying pesticides for
fun,” he said. “They also don’t realize that practically every farmer
(conventional or organic) uses pesticides.”
But some Islanders insist the P.E.I. government
-- through tacit approval of the status quo -- is creating the hot potato.
Former reporter Ian Petrie covered P.E.I.
agriculture for decades and is not surprised at the growing public scrutiny
over pesticides on social media.
“I think it is fair ball for the public to be
out doing this,” said Petrie, who blogs about food matters. “Government has
dropped the ball completely on enforcing such things as crop rotations. So,
yes, it’s very fair to take pictures of what’s growing where and what is being
sprayed.”
However, he regrets such a “vigilante”
environment is festering.
“It speaks to the public lack of confidence in
the province’s willingness and ability to enforce anything,’’ he said. “I have
concerns because farmers have told me they feel guilty when they're out
spraying and feeling judged as if they're doing something wrong.”
Petrie said there’s always been mistrust between
the general public and potato farmers.
“The Ghiz gestapo is what some farmers are now
calling conservation officers,” he wrote in a recent blog. “While many, many in
the general public think conservation officers only swing into action once the
fish are dead. This is really troubling.”
The cone of silence is so great that annual
pesticide sales data has not been released since 2008. And when the public gets
riled over pesticides, the complaints wind up on the desk of Wade MacKinnon.
“There is a definite increase in the number of
complaints,’’ said the manager of the Department of Environment investigation
and enforcement branch. “We had over 100 complaints last year primarily
concerned with wind speeds and spraying, and likely just as many will come before
the end of this year.”
The department was successful with two $1,000
convictions in a Summerside courthouse in 2013, and others are pending.
But with only two pesticide officers for the
entire province, it’s a busy job.
“It’s a very sensitive issue from both sides,”
he said. “But our job is to respond to the public…..and if we determine there
is a violation, it’s our job to proceed with legal action.”
While spraying infractions do occur, the
department does get some overzealous callers offering inaccurate claims. In one
case, a complaint turned out to be nothing more than a farmer fertilizing a
field with manure.
“To put it mildly, the public is very sensitized
to pesticides now.”
When asked, MacKinnon said it was not his role
to comment on whether the legislative teeth of pesticide rules and regulations
in P.E.I. were little more like dentures.
“We are driven by public complaints,” he said.
“And if we look at the increase of those complaints….we can only imagine there
will be more in the future.”
Rollo Bay potato farmer Alvin Kennan is the
chairman of the Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture. He says farmers
have always struggled to get their story across.
“People are trying to use social media to fit
their own agenda,’’ he said. “I am concerned that we are not doing our due
diligence as an industry to have the public more informed about how we are
looking after the crops, ensuring food safety and using crop protection in a
safe manner to prevent losses.”
Jamieson said he is dismayed at the activism and
inaccuracies posted by some groups such as the P.E.I. Food Exchange.
“Their view of agriculture is extremely narrow
and they seem to view any farmer who is not small and organic as a ‘factory
farm’. They also like to perpetuate the notion that P.E.I. has the highest
cancer rates caused by pesticides.”
Jamieson said the federation of agriculture
is trying to get the real story out about agriculture and has taken on a fairly
aggressive communications campaign to combat negativity. It also has its
own Facebook page and Twitter account.
Back in Fairview, Diamond said her group is
especially worried about glyphosate (Roundup), which was developed by Monsanto
and widely used even though there are concerns about the effects on humans and
the environment.
Pesticide Free P.E.I. plans to post more videos,
including some with testimonials from people affected by pesticides, and is
working to secure some celebrity endorsement as well.
“Islanders don’t want to offend anyone, but I’ve
had my head stuck in the sand far too long…..we are going to push this as a
major issue in the next election,” said Diamond. “There are plenty of examples
of people growing good organic food here…the only reason we use pesticides in
such quantity is to get a four-inch french fry.”
---------
(Those supporting Plan B for various particular reasons also had
"fairly aggressive communications campaign" , which didn't convince
too many people, either.) ;-)
August 8, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
I
saw a notice in today's Guardian that the Environmental Impact
Assessment meeting regarding the proposed $16.5 million provincial garage
didn't take place last night, and was moved to Tuesday.
----------------------
Also, in today's newspaper, Cavendish Farms looks at the McCain Foods
situation, and immediately calls for high-capacity wells, if Islanders want them
to stay (bold is mine):
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-08-08/article-3827333/Cavendish-Farms-warns-it-faces-same-challenges-as-McCain-Foods/1
Cavendish
Farms warns it faces same challenges as McCain Foods - The Guardian article
French fry giant says it is committed to
P.E.I., but without deep-water wells could face an uncertain future
Published August 8th, 2014
McCain Foods’ biggest competitor in the french
fry market says it is facing the very same challenges – currency, competition
and costs – as its rival.
Ron Clow, vice president of Cavendish Farms,
says his company remains committed to P.E.I., but he called on the P.E.I.
government to ensure it has access to deep-water wells to ensure its survival.
Cavendish Farms has warned its plants on the
Island could be in jeopardy if deep-water wells are not approved. The province
is currently studying the issue.
Clow said his company invests in its employees
and technology.
“We also need a sustainable source of water to
grow potatoes,” Clow said in a statement emailed to The Guardian.
“The fact is that the yield from P.E.I.
potato fields is lagging behind the rest of North America due to a lack of
certain water supply. This means less money for the farmer per acre, and
less potatoes for Cavendish to process.”
Cavendish Farms employs 600 workers and buys
potatoes from 92 family farms.
Clow said Thursday’s news that McCain is leaving
P.E.I. is very difficult news for many Island neighbours.
“We need to consider what this says regarding
the very real challenges facing the sector and what it takes to sustain good
paying food production jobs on P.E.I.”
Mr. Clow is choosing to ignore the host of other reasons
brought forth during the Standing Committee meetings regarding P.E.I.'s
relative lack of productivity -- a shorter growing season, lower levels of
organic matter in the soil, choice by the buyer of the potato variety,
etc.
The Premier appears to be in reactive mode: something like, "We
offered everything to get McCains to stay." It is time to think a
little farther down the road then the next election....
A very positive idea I read on social media
about what to do about the McCain's plant closure is to let the workers
organize the plant into a organic vegetable processing facility. Many of
us in the winter would be happy to have more sources of frozen Island vegetables;
Riverview Market and some of the rural convenience stores have some frozen
Island vegetables for sale.
August 7, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A
bit for everyone tonight:
Leadnow Connect meeting, 7PM, Haviland Club, is having a Connect meeting
at the Haviland Cub, corner of Haviland and Water Street, tonight at 7PM.
Discussion of events for informing and engaging the public regarding electoral
reform and other issues.
----------
Island Nature Trust talk, 7PM, Wheatley River Hall
from the news release:
The
Island Nature Trust will present an information session about Bobolinks
and Barn Swallows at Wheatley River Hall on Thursday, August 7th,
2014 at 7 in the evening. Jackie Waddell and Shaylynn Wallace are
conducting a summer survey about the declining numbers of these beautiful and
important bird species.
Everyone is welcome to come out and view their Powerpoint
presentation and hear the bubbling, metallic song of the bobolink and the
twittering warble of the barn swallow.
This is
hosted by the Wheatley River Women's Institute. For more information,
contact Trudy MacDonald at (902) 621-0718.
Map to Wheatley River.
----------
Public Meeting, 7PM, Brackley Community Centre, Brackley Point Road.
The public meeting to discuss the proposed government garage project and
on its environmental impact assessment (EIA) is tonight.
Here is a Guardian article on it:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-08-05/article-3824366/Province-holding-public-meeting-on-new-government-garage/1
The article has a pretty good map and a link to the EIA statement.
Minister Vessey repeatedly uses the word "efficiency" when talking
about this move, but the cost of $16.5 million (which presumably does
not include the generous above-market value paid for the land) is a pretty
steep price tag when there is such government financial mismanagement.
The map shows it pretty close to the Confederation Trail and the Sherwood
Cemetery, both places that people go for a little bit of solitude; there is an
asphalt plant nearby already. Whatever the purchase price, those
80-some acres of pretty nice farmland close to the city won't be growing any
kind of food again.
I do wonder, at first glance, about the idea of brine tanks (somebody mentions
the irony of making brine when we are surrounded by it) and where the fresh
water is coming from for that; I haven't really dug into the EIA document,
which was prepared by Joose Environmental and DEJardin Consulting.
Members of the public can submit comments on the EIA for the next ten days.
August 6, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
This
being Wednesday, the Stanley Bridge and Charlottetown Farmers' Markets are
open.
----------
Tonight is the Pesticide Free PEI meeting, 7PM, Sobey's community room, Allen
Street store.
----------
From yesterday's paper, short and pointing:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-05/article-3824022/P.E.I.-guidelines-much-too-lenient/1
P.E.I.
guidelines much too lenient - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on August 5th, 2014
Health Canada has guidelines on the safe use of pesticides. They state
"never spray a pesticide if wind speeds are more than eight km-h. On
Thursday, July 31, 2014, they made this the issue of the day using their
Healthy Canadians Facebook page.
Meanwhile, P.E.I. regulations state pesticides
may be sprayed as long as wind speeds don’t exceed 20 km-h.
I’m pretty sad that P.E.I. government is willing
to let farmers and cosmetic pesticide users do things that even Health Canada
says are not safe.
As an Islander, I ask that the government that
is voted in to represent me, you, our families, friends, farmers, farm workers,
and all Islanders bring our provincial legislation — in this case regulations
that fall under the responsibility of your department, Minister — in line with
the safety guidelines from Health Canada, and keep our Islanders safer from the
effects of pesticides!
Similarly, I request you introduce improved
measures that Islanders can trust to enforce these and related limits, not
people tied to the farming industry who find themselves unsympathetic to the
enforcement of regulations, and regular islanders concerned for their health
and that of the environment. I trust that your government has no interest, once
brought to your attention, in allowing the continuation of a conflict of
interest which puts the health of Islanders and our living environment at
unnecessary risk.
Angela Court, East Royalty
----------
On a completely different note:
And it's sometimes hard to
justify the costs of space exploration, but it usually promotes cooperation
between nations, and it's just so interesting for some of us. Today this
dear little European Space Agency probe named Rosetta (her last name,
presumably, is Stone, but perhaps she answers to "Hey, Rosetta"),
somewhere out around Jupiter, is finally -- after about a decade of economical
flight parameters -- meeting up with a comet, which she will tail (ha!) until
November, when she tosses a lander on the surface. The comet is
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, or 67P for short.
from:
http://rosetta.esa.int/
and a CBC story:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/rosetta-spacecraft-meets-comet-67p-churyumov-gerasimenko-1.2728228
August 5, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A
bit of this and that:
Tonight,
Transition Information Series Talk, 7PM, Farm Centre, free
from: http://www.peifarmcentre.com/#!farm-centre-events/c1lep
City
of Charlottetown Sustainability Coordinator Ramona Doyle joins us for the last
presentation in the Transition Information Series. She will be talking about
the City's commitment to water conservation.
The Transition movement has become one of the most promising ways of engaging
people and communities to take the far- reaching actions necessary to increase
economic equality, build local, renewable energy infrastructure, support a
healthy, regional food system and forge mutually- supportive connections.
Thousands of people from 44 countries around the globe are now engaged in
Global Transition Network activities.
There will likely be information about:
August 22-24th, "Transition Island: Training for Transition"
workshop, Farm Centre, registration fee
from: http://www.peifarmcentre.com/#!fc-more-about-this-event-2/c1z42
The global Transition movement began in 2005 when groups of
concerned citizens began meeting to discuss ways to encourage community
resiliency and develop solutions to the economic crisis, climate change, food
security and the imminent depletion of natural resources.
The Transition
movement has become one of the most promising ways of engaging people and
communities to take the far- reaching actions necessary to increase economic
equality, build local, renewable energy infrastructure, support a healthy,
regional food system and forge mutually- supportive connections. Thousands of
people from 44 countries around the globe are now engaged in Global Transition
Network activities.
What can you
expect?
A highly interactive event that will connect you to
neighbours who share your concerns for positive, effective action.
• Learn how to
describe the triple challenge of resource depletion, climate instability, and
economic deterioration and move people to action.
• Explore ways to
create and strengthen your local community.
• Connect with
others who share your concerns and are on a similar path.
• Become a part
of a rapidly growing positive, inspirational, global movement.
The course
teaches the fundamentals of setting up, running, and maintaining successful
Transition Initiatives. The trainers will delve into the theory and practice of
Transition that has worked well in hundreds of communities around the world.
The training is packed with imaginative and inspiring activity intended to
prepare community leaders, working group members and individuals who plan on
introducing and implementing Transition Initiatives in their communities.
Who should
attend? People
interested in learning about the Transition Movement in depth and leaders
already creating a Transition Initiative in their community.
Visit the link (above) for more information.
----------
James (Jamie) Larkin is running for a council seat in Charlottetown Ward 1
Councilor in the Fall. He has taken a stand against the use of cosmetic
pesticides.
https://www.facebook.com/VoteJamesLarkin
from his announcement:
Larkin is concerned about the spraying
of cosmetic pesticide within the City. This practice should be reduced
immediately and ended through regulation and an alternative pest management
program. “It is unconscionable that our seniors and young people are being
exposed to these chemical pesticides”, added Larkin.
----------
There is a Pesticide Free PEI meeting this Wednesday, August 6th, at 7PM, at
the Sobey's on Allen Street, Community Room, to discuss the call for a
buffer zone for lawn spraying and their other work. All welcome.
https://www.facebook.com/PesticideFreePEI
------------
And this Thursday, August 7th, is the regular monthly meeting of
Fairvote/Leadnow Connect meeting, at the Haviland Club, 7PM, to discuss events
in the late summer where FairVote and Leadnow will have displays to discuss
"nationwide civic education and electoral reform in Canada." August 4, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
"Plan B was stupid enough, lifting the moratorium on deep water wells
is just plain crazy."
That pretty much sums it up.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-02/article-3820924/Moratorium-needs-to-remain/1
Moratorium Needs to Remain - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published
on Saturday, August 2nd, 2014
I believe that those of us who love this Island and are not involved in the
corporate potato industry, or have the desire to get elected/re-elected, do not
want the moratorium on deep water wells lifted.
We do not want our government to allow the
depletion of this natural resource or other attacks on nature for any reason,
least of all personal profit.
Plan B was stupid enough, lifting the moratorium
on deep water wells is just plain crazy. Given the information we have from
community watershed groups, who could disagree with the fact that we need to protect
and care for our limited water resources.
Honestly, I get heartsick just thinking about
it.
M. Claire
Arsenault, Charlottetown
----------
Also from the weekend paper, a letter from Tony Lloyd very worth reading:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-08-02/article-3820917/Morell-River-heating-up/1
Morell River Heating Up - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on Saturday, August 2nd, 2014
Higher water temperatures on the Morell River has been in the news recently.
The Morell River watershed is a water drainage
system and consists of surface streams and subsurface conduits. The water table
aquifer forms the subsurface conduit, an underground river, which flows slowly
downhill just as does the Morell River.
Some of the underground river flows into the
Morell River as springs flowing into streams, bubbling springs in the river
itself, as well as diffuse discharge through the river’s bottom sediments. The
temperature of the underground water is about eight degrees Celsius and this
cools the Morell River in the summer and warms it in the winter.
The above-ground river and the underground river
share two properties: (1) they both flow downhill towards the ocean under the
force of gravity and (2) they both have bottoms. The bottom of the underground
river is exfiltration of waters flowing upward from the confined or pressure
aquifer which lies below the water table aquifer. In a very real way,
exfiltration is the bottom of the underground river and this is particularity
true at lower elevations.
When wells are drilled into the confined aquifer
its pressure is decreased and at higher elevations exfiltration becomes infiltration;
wells at lower elevations are particularly harmful. The waters at the bottom of
the underground river no longer move strictly laterally downhill but have a
downward component into the depressurized confined aquifer. With such wells,
the diffuse discharge upwards through the bottom of the Morell River is
decreased hence the river will be warmer in the summer and colder in the
winter, hence thicker ice; three more unintended consequences of drilling into
confined aquifers with far reaching consequences to aquatic life.
For the Morell River, bogs up river, in
particular Indian marsh which has a surface area of at least four square
kilometres, and the plants and animals that inhabit all watershed bogs will
also be at risk of extinction, another unintended consequence. The role of
deforestation must also be considered a factor in the Morell River’s higher
temperatures.
Tony Lloyd, Mount Stewart
August 3, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A hopscotch of links, none
about anything directly affecting the Island, but interesting.
First, a New York Times article by Paul Sullivan from last week about a
billionaire and how his yacht was actually good for job creation:
"Seeing a Supersize Yacht as a Job Engine, Not a
Self-Indulgence"
This prompted economist John Fullerton to write in EcoWatch on Thursday:
full article:
http://ecowatch.com/2014/07/31/john-lennon-living-easy-with-eyes-closed/
excerpt:
<<What floored me was
how he rationalized spending $34 million on his new yacht and how uncritically
the author Paul Sullivan bought into that rationalization. According to
Sullivan, “Mr. Jones said he wanted to encourage other wealthy people to think
about how their opulent lifestyles could provide jobs just as their charity
helps people in need.” The story goes on to report how his $34 million purchase
order in 2013 helped revive the North Western yacht manufacturer who had been
forced, out of necessity, to diversify into manufacturing wind turbines and smaller
vessels. I guess until Mr. Jones got his mojo back, the mega-yacht purchasing
crowd was still laying low following the Wall Street-induced economic collapse.
Now that’s the leadership we’ve been waiting for!>>
He goes to describe what
financial stewardship in the 21st century could look like, with climate change
in mind.
And some background bits:
"Living is Easy with Eyes Closed" is a line from the Beatles' song,
"Strawberry Fields Forever"; and there is a movie (same title, came
out in 2013) about when John Lennon wrote the song, while acting in a movie,
with the details here.
And back to Mr. Jones and his yacht. I was wondering what his former
company (Jones Pharma) manufactured to have been so successful. One of
the drugs was a form of levothyroxine, or artificial thyroid hormone.
From an article from a UK publication for general practitioners:
Third of patients on levothyroxine have no reason to take
drug, claim researchers
There are both patented and generic forms of levothyroxine. It is
manufactured as Levoxyl, by Pfizer, the giant pharmaceutical company that
bought out Jones' parent company a while back. Here is a website to get a
30-day free trial of the brand-name drug:
http://www.levoxyl.com/30dayfreetrial
Just to get brand-loyalty going.
August 2, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Unlike
yesterday, I think I have today's date correct.
Today is Canada Food Day, proclaimed by Anita Stewart and others, to encourage
eating foods produced in Canada.
Here is a message on the website
http://fooddaycanada.ca/
from the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, (an un-tasty word)
Gerry Ritz
On Saturday, August 2nd, I challenge everyone to
join in the celebration of Canadian food by eating at a participating
restaurant near you, or by creating your own all-Canadian meal right in your
own kitchen, backyard barbecue or around the campfire.
Our farmers drive our economy by creating jobs
and economic opportunities all along the value chain. I spend a lot of time on
the road with industry, and we always find that once our global customers get a
taste of Canada’s safe, high-quality, nutritious food, they come back wanting
more.
This annual mid-summer celebration of our
Canadian agriculture demonstrates what can be achieved when farmers, food
processors, retailers, and restaurants come together and deliver their
top-quality products to dinner tables around the world.
Congratulations to Food Day Canada for your
innovative approach to engaging Canadians.
Gerry Ritz, P.C., M.P.
----------
That seems pretty straightforward. He could be doing a lot
to support local food, all the time.
----------
Local food in PEI today -- farmers' markets open in *Stratford* (which I
forgot to mention last week), Charlottetown, Summerside, Bloomfield, Cardigan, Montague,
Morell, Murray Harbour, and Victoria-by-the-Sea.
August 1, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Today, the Cardigan Farmers' Market is open from 10AM to 4PM, and
I think the Farmers' Market upstairs at the Confederation Court Mall is
open, too.
Tonight, lecture on "Islands as Wetlands" at 7PM, UPEI's MacDougall
Hall, Room 243, free
from the press release:
Public Lecture: John R. Gillis,
"Islands as Wetlands"
Eminent scholar and environmental historian John R. Gillis, a
longstanding friend of Island Studies at UPEI, will be delivering a
lecture to which all are cordially invited:
"Islands as Wetlands"
Friday, 1 August, 7:00 p.m.
McDougall Hall, Room 243
University of PEI
Doctor Gillis is a Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University and spent time at UPEI while preparing his most recent book, The Human Shore:
Seacoasts in History (University of Chicago Press), a provocative
exploration of the rich history of humans' relationship with the the
seacoast, the vital ecotone where land and sea meet.
The lecture is sponsored by the NiCHE, the Network in Canadian History
and Environment.
----------
Sunday, August 3rd, Macphail Woods, 2PM, Forest Restoration Workshop, free
from their press release:
Macphail Woods hosts forest restoration workshop
Are you looking
for alternatives to clear-cuts and plantations?
Do you want other ideas on how to improve your woodland? The Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project
can help answer many of your questions.
On Sunday, August 3, Gary Schneider will host a “Forest Restoration”
slide show and walk on the grounds of the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead in
Orwell. Activities begin at 2pm in the
Nature Centre.
Forest restoration is attracting more and more attention
these days as people work to reverse the degradation they see happening all
across the province. The workshop will
look at the concepts behind restoring forests.
Participants will walk the trails and discuss ways to improve different
types of woodlands.
As part of its
work on restoring the native Acadian forest, the Macphail Woods project has
been using a variety of silvicultural techniques to improve and enrich stands
of old field white spruce or low-value hardwoods. The thinnings and small patch cuts are generally
followed with plantings that incorporate a mixture of native trees and shrubs
to improve diversity, enhance wildlife habitat and add value.
Rare plants such
as hemlock, red oak, white ash, witch hazel and hobblebush have been planted
throughout the forest, though more common plants such as yellow birch, white
birch, white pine and sugar maple have also been planted. Each area of woodland is looked at as a
separate unit to assess what plants will do best in the area and what cutting
practices would actually improve forest health.
The walk will
provide an excellent opportunity to not only learn more about woodlands but
also to share your knowledge. While
walking through the various forest types, participants will discuss the variety
of techniques that could be used to improve the sites, which may involve
cutting and/or planting. Bring your ideas
and your forest problems - there will be plenty of time for discussion.
Admission is free and registration is not required. The workshop is part of an extensive series
of outdoor activities at Macphail Woods.
For more information on this or upcoming tours and workshops, please
call 651-2575, check out our website at macphailwoods.org, or look us up on
Facebook.
The Tea Room at the Macphail Homestead is open Wednesday through Sunday
from noon to 1:30pm, and focuses on using local produce. Please call 651-2789 for more
information. And you can check out the
website at www.macphailhomestead.ca
for information on additional activities.
----------
This is the last weekend for
the Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun play at Victoria Playhouse.
http://victoriaplayhouse.com/calendar/
July 31, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
It has been a week since the David Suzuki Foundation
announced the Blue Dot Tour, his last cross-country trek to visit every
province and discuss the concept of environmental rights, bringing along some
Canadian talent to share the stage with.
The tour's launch date was set a while back, apparently, but the PEI location
wasn't set until much closer to that date; there has been some confusion and
some of their materials still have the default main PEI event location on
them. On behalf of the Citizens' Alliance, we will be in touch with the
folks on Vancouver to point out some inaccuracies and find out more details.
Blue Dot Tour home page:
http://bluedot.ca/
So the PEI stop is Monday, September, 29th, 7PM, at Summerside (Harbourfront
Theatre).
more info:
http://bluedot.ca/events/evening-david-suzuki-summerside/
So do plan to come, if at all possible -- it should be a great evening for
all. Tickets are still available and in the price range of about $60,
$40, and $25 for students.
Why "Blue Dot"?
The Apollo astronauts in the 1960s first called the Earth a "pale blue
marble", and astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan called it the
"pale blue dot", as he requested the Voyager unmanned planetary craft
turn, right before it left our Solar System, and take one shot back at
Earth. There, with a little sunlight distortion, was this tiny blue dot:

Earth (marked with arrow) is a tiny blue dot seen from the edge of our Solar
System. Photo credit: University of Hawaii
From The Planetary Society ("Empowering the world's citizens to advance
space science and exploration"), the text Sagan wrote:
http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/earth/pale-blue-dot.html
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's
home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever
heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate
of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and
economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every
creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young
couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer,
every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar,"
every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our
species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic
arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors
so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a
fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of
one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some
other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill
one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance,
the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are
challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the
great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is
no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to
harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our
species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the
moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling
and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of
the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me,
it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to
preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
-- Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994
Sagan's audio recording of his words have been
set to images; this powerful one is here (3 and some minutes):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=923jxZY2NPI#t=192
An aside, from The Atlantic on-line, editor Rebecca Rosen's writes:
"A peek into the evolution of a beloved passage."
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/02/an-early-draft-of-carl-sagans-famous-pale-blue-dot-quote/283516/
July 30, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Stanley Bridge Centre Farms
(9AM - 1PM) and Charlottetown (9AM - 2PM) both have Farmers' Markets open
today.
And tonight is "The Master's Wife" at Orwell Corner, 7:30PM. I think
tonight and next Wednesday are the final two performances at Orwell.
----------
This is yet another long read, but critically looks at the many of the
arguments made in North America that natural gas from fracking would be that
"bridge to renewables". It focuses on the U.S., but
reminds us what is at stake in our little corner of things.
http://ecowatch.com/2014/07/28/natural-gas-green-bridge-to-hell/
The Truth About Natural
Gas: A "Green" Bridge to Hell - ecowatch article by Naomi Oreskes,
An excerpt,bold is mine:
Albert Einstein is rumored
to have said that one cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that led to
it. Yet this is precisely what we are now trying to do with climate change
policy. The Obama administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), many environmental groups, and the oil and gas industry all tell us
that the way to solve the problem created by fossil fuels is with more fossils fuels. We can do
this, they claim, by using more natural gas, which is touted as a “clean” fuel—even a “green” fuel.
Like most misleading arguments, this one starts from a kernel of
truth. That truth is basic chemistry: when you burn natural gas, the
amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced is, other things being equal, much less than when you burn an
equivalent amount of coal or oil. It can be as much as 50 percent less compared with
coal, and 20 percent to 30 percent less compared with diesel fuel,
gasoline, or home heating oil. When it comes to a greenhouse gas (GHG) heading
for the atmosphere, that’s a substantial difference. It means that if you
replace oil or coal with gas without otherwise
increasing your energy usage, you can significantly reduce your short-term
carbon footprint.>>
<<What this means is that most of the benefit natural gas offers comes
not from the gas itself, but from how it is burned, and this
is mostly because gas plants tend to be new and use more efficient burning
technologies. The lesson, not surprisingly: if you burn a fuel using
twenty-first century technology, you get a better result than with late
nineteenth or twentieth century technology. This is not to defend coal, but to
provide an important reality check on the discussion now taking place in
this country. There is a real benefit to burning gas in America, but it’s less
than often claimed, and much of that benefit comes from using modern techniques
and new equipment. (If the coal industry weren’t so busy denying the reality of
climate change, they might publicize this fact.)>>
A little more from Naomi Oreskes and the TomDispatch.com "A Regular
Antidote to the Mainstream Media":
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175873/
July 29, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
European decisions, some
Canadian reactions:
A sigh of relief, for now:
Trade-wise, Germany appears ready to reject the Comprehensive Economic and
Trade Agreement (CETA), but it's not just about us, it's with any eye for
their future trade deals with the United States. The sticking point,
which has been repeatedly brought up by the Island groups critical of
CETA -- but not mentioned much by federal government people pushing it --
is about corporations suing a state.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canada-eu-free-trade-deal-to-be-rejected-by-germany-says-report-1.2718981
Applause from The Council of Canadians:
http://canadians.org/media/germany-rejects-ceta-and-ttip-council-canadians-applauds-germanys-decision
----------
A swift intact of breath:
U.K. going "all out for fracking"
http://www.cbc.ca/1.2720346
From their Business and Energy Minister, Matthew Hancock, "Ultimately,
done right, speeding up shale will mean more jobs and opportunities for people
and help ensure long-term economic and energy security for our country,.”
And if not "done right":
from an anonymous comment on the website article:
"Poisoning the water tables that have taken thousands of years to form and
causing unknown changes to pressure plates that balance the earth's stability.
We are like moths flying into the fire. Insanity, just plain insanity."
July 28, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Some
letters and an article from last week's Guardian, on various topics, but
worth a read:
On Cosmetic Pesticides:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-07-26/article-3813525/Cost-of-perfection-may-be-unhealthy/1
Cost
of perfection may be unhealthy - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on July 26, 2014
As a frequent visitor to your beautiful province I have noticed many aspects of
Island life which I think other jurisdictions could learn from — recycling and
courteous driving are the first two that come to mind.
However, this obsession with perfectly manicured
lawns has me puzzled. Almost without exception, the predominant landscaping
theme appears to be to remove all trees and shrubbery and replace it with
massive neatly trimmed expanses of grass.
The golf courses are equally complicit in this
regard. But we all know this comes at a price, and while it is heartening to
hear that there is a small but committed minority raising the alarms about
rampant pesticide use, their concerns aren’t being taken seriously.
While the rest of the country is waking up to
the clear environmental and health risks of this practice, I am afraid that the
local culture here seems a bit resistant to change. For those of us that just
pass through each summer, the effects are minimal.
But for everyone else who calls this lovely
Island home, and more importantly for their offspring, the desire for
perfection will come at a very high price.
I hope that a change will come before the effects
are irreversible and that P.E.I. will continue to be a healthy, peaceful place
for future generations of Islanders and tourists alike.
Ian Dobson, Thunder Bay, ON
An Update on the Wheeler Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing:
Dr. David Wheeler is saying he won't tell the government in Nova Scotia to
keep the moratorium, but he says fracking should not go ahead until a broader
public discussion is had and more research is completed. So the review is
not a rubber stamp, I hope.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Canada---World/Business/2014-07-25/article-3813594/Fracking-in-Nova-Scotia-should-be-put-on-hold-to-allow-for-more-study%3A-expert/1
Fracking
in Nova Scotia should be put on hold to allow for more study: expert - The Guardian article
Published on July 25, 2014
HALIFAX
- The head of a panel reviewing the potential for hydraulic fracturing in Nova
Scotia says the province should not allow the industry to proceed until a
broader public discussion is held and more research is completed.
David Wheeler, president of Cape Breton University, says the province needs
more time to get up to speed with the rapidly expanding unconventional oil and
gas industry.
Nova Scotia imposed a two-year moratorium on fracking in 2012 as public
concern grew over the potential impact of high-volume fracking.
Wheeler's comments come as his independent panel is about to wrap up a
series of stormy public meetings, where the vast majority of participants said
they were opposed to fracking.
The panel is expected to release a final report with recommendations next
month, but Wheeler stressed his experts won't tell the province what it should
do about the moratorium.
However, Wheeler says the panel will recommend that once the public has had
a broader conversation and more research is completed, it should be up to The
communities to decide whether to allow fracking within their borders.
Reasoned commentary on the world environmental status:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/2014-07-25/article-3813250/Tackling-sustainability-challenges/1Tackling sustainability challenges - The Guardian Guest Opinion by article Dr. Palanisamy Nagarajan
Published on July 25, 2014
With the purpose of expanding and strengthening the role of the present United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Environment Assembly
(UNEA), a new governing body of the UPEP, with representatives from all UN
member states, was conceived by the world leaders at the UN Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.
Subsequently, a landmark inaugural meeting of
the UNEA was convened last month in Nairobi, Kenya, from 23 to 27 June 2014.
Over 1,200 high-level participants attended this historic meeting —the
highest-level UN body ever convened to discuss environmental sustainability
issues.
“With its augmented role as a subsidiary organ
of the UN General Assembly, UNEA has the mandate and capacity to position the
environment alongside peace and security, poverty reduction, global health,
trade and sustainable economic growth as an issue of crucial importance to
every government,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at this momentous
meeting.
Also, Ban Ki-moon emphasized the need for
unwavering action to change humanity’s relationship with planet Earth.
Protecting our life-supporting system of the Earth is integral to sustainable
development.
He said forcefully and succinctly: “The air we
breathe, the water we drink and the soil that grows our food are part of a
delicate global ecosystem that is increasingly under pressure from human
activities. As our population grows, we have to recognize that our consumption
of the planet’s resources is unsustainable. We see the heavy hand of humankind
everywhere — from tropical deforestation to depleted ocean fisheries; from
growing freshwater shortages to increasingly polluted skies and seas, land and
water in many parts of the world; from the rapid decline of biodiversity to the
growing menace of climate change.”
The opening session of UNEA dealt with mounting
environmental problems such as illegal wildlife trade, chemical waste, air
pollution, and new development goals. Comprehending the fact that every
second around 200 tonnes of plastic wastes are dumped into the world’s oceans
is difficult. The fragile marine ecosystems are increasing jeopardized, despite
our growing awareness of the problem, and the financial damage alone amounts to
$13 billion a year, according to a recent UN estimate.
Environmental crime epidemic, such as
poaching and trafficking of a wide range of animals, illegal fisheries, illegal
mining and dumping of toxic waste, among other things, poses a shocking threat
to security and development, according to a recent report from the UNEP and
INTERPOL. The monetary value of all environmental crime is worth up to US$213
billion each year, compared with global Overseas Development Assistance of
around US$135 billion a year.
“Beyond immediate environmental impacts, the
illegal trade in natural resources is depriving developing economies of
billions of dollars in lost revenues just to fill the pockets of criminals,”
said UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim. “Sustainable
development, livelihoods, good governance and the rule of law are all being
threatened as significant sums of money are flowing to militias and terrorist
groups.”
Given ever more disquieting state of the global
environment, we have entered a new era in tackling the Gordian knot of
sustainability challenges of the 21st century. First and foremost, a transition
from inherently unsustainable development trajectory to sustainable development
trajectory requires a fundamental change in our socioeconomic system.
Surprisingly, four decades have gone by since the 1972 UN Stockholm Conference
on the Human Environment. Over the years, there has been no dearth of
international conferences, UN summits, and mountains of scientific reports that
have dealt with sustainability crisis of our time. Yet, the crisis has been
deepening. It is time to recognize the obvious fact that the root cause of the
sustainability crisis has not been addressed at all. We have been trying
to move towards sustainable development path without changing the system which
is contributing to the problem. At levels of decision-making, we continue to
think ‘inside the box’ rather than thinking ‘outside the box’ for taking bold
action to cut the Gordian knot of sustainability.
Human and nature dynamics (HANDY), a
mathematical model of developed by Motessarrie, Rivas and Kalny (2014),
published in latest issue of Ecological Economics, shows that unsustainable
exploitation of natural resources or increasingly unequal wealth distribution
can independently lead to collapse of modern societies. Societal collapse can
be averted if the rate of deletion of natural capital can be reduced to a
sustainable level, with an equitable distribution of resources. The validity of
this handy model lies in reproducing the irreversible collapses of past
societies.
Just two years ago, UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon reminded the world community, during his opening statement at Rio+20,
that our efforts in dealing with climate change and environment “have not lived
up to the measure of the challenge.” He said: “Nature does not wait. Nature
does not negotiate with human beings.”
Against the backdrop of what is going on in the
global environmental landscape, it is time to reflect and ponder whether
Homosapiens would be able to avert the possible collapse of modern societies
with wisdom and foresight. Will UNEA pave the way for taking a sharp U-
turn in moving towards sustainable development trajectory? Time will tell.
Dr. Palanisamy Nagarajan is emeritus
professor of economics and Island Studies Teaching Fellow, University of Prince
Edward Island.
And
just a give-your-head-a-shake letter:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-07-23/article-3810764/Taxpayers-on-financial-hook/1
Taxpayers on financial hook - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on July 23, 2014
Whose money was allegedly misappropriated by Senator Duffy?
Whose money was it that paid for the year-long
investigation by the RCMP? Whose money will be used for a very lengthy trial,
probably costing many millions? If the accused is convicted, whose money will
be used to pay for his incarceration and rehabilitation?
The answer is you, the taxpayer, will bear the
cost.
It is amazing that one citizen can
singlehandedly change the political landscape of a nation. Mr. Duffy may well
become the most important Islander in history.
Meanwhile, taxpayers’ money flows unrelentingly
down the 1864 drain — bread and circuses.
M. Raymond Moore, Charlottetown
July 27, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Tonight is the Bonshaw Ceilidh, 7PM, Bonshaw Hall.
More details:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1451999871717736/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
A couple of interesting articles, for Sunday reading:
From EcoWatch, a sobering article on how fracking is changing everything in
Appalachia, "How Fracking Changed the World."
-----
Labels that help a consumer make better environmental choices:
Eco-watch article on ecologically useful labels for
purchases
-----
From Nature PEI (Natural History Society), a blog entry from the Canadian
Wildlife Federation about bats and the Species at Risk list. Bats have been
decimated by White Nose Syndrome. I know I haven't seen any bats since
earlier this summer, and we were pretty batty here in Bonshaw.
Comments from the public are welcome and might help. Deadline is August
18th. Read
more here.
-------
And another "Could this possibly happen in PEI? -- some waters off
California are so polluted that fishing and tourism are affected. California businesses band together for environmental
protection of their livelihood connected with the ocean.
July 26, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Summer food gathering, as it is
Saturday, there are local farmers' markets open in:
Bloomfield,
Summerside,
Stanley Bridge (new for Saturdays, I think),
Victoria-by-the-Sea
Charlottetown
Morell
Cardigan
Montague Waterfront and
Murray Harbour Farmers' Market
There are still lots of salad and other greens, in addition to small beets and
new potatoes and such. :-)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Summer food reading...save for another day, if you have to, but it's
worth it.
There is an (superlatives fail me -- he's just extraordinary) writer named
Michael Pollan, whose most "famous" book perhaps is The Omnivore's
Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. The library and
bookstores have it. It chronicles the origins of four meals -- a
fast-food meal, an industrial organic convenience food, a home cooked meal at a
self-sufficient farm, and wild-caught (hunter-gatherer) meal, and revealed a
great deal about corn production and high-fructose corn syrup and such.
Pollan became one of the spokesman for responsible and local food production,
along with writer and chef Alice Waters.
So he gets asked to read and write forwards for others' books on
related-issues, as he did for Courtney White's book, Grass, Soil, Hope.
From the website about the book:
A former archaeologist and Sierra Club activist, (Courtney) White dropped out
of the 'conflict industry' in 1997 to co-found the Quivira Coalition, a
nonprofit dedicated to building bridges between ranchers, conservationists,
public land managers, scientists, and others around the idea of land health (www.quiviracoalition.org).
Today, his work with Quivira concentrates on building economic and ecological
resilience on working landscapes, with a special emphasis on carbon ranching
and the new agrarian movement.
His writing has appeared in numerous
publications, including Farming, Acres Magazine, Rangelands,
Natural Resources Journal, and Solutions. His essay "The
Working Wilderness: A Call for a Land Health Movement" was published by
Wendell Berry in 2005 in his collection of essays titled The Way of
Ignorance.
Courtney is the author of the book Revolution
on the Range: the Rise of a New Ranch in the American West, and he
co-edited, with Dr. Rick Knight, Conservation for a New Generation,
both published by Island Press in 2008.
(Chris's note: This Island Press is located in Washington, D.C.,
and deals primarily with environmental issues: http://islandpress.org/press/about.html
The website for the book: http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/grass_soil_hope/
And (finally) here is Michael Pollan's beautiful preface, originally posted on
the Organic Consumers Association website:
Hope
in a Book: Michael Pollan’s Foreword to Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey through
Carbon Country, by Courtney White
Hope
in a book about the environmental challenges we face in the twenty-first
century is an audacious thing to promise, so I’m pleased to report that
Courtney White delivers on it. He has written a stirringly hopeful book, and
yet it is not the least bit dreamy or abstract. To the contrary, Grass,
Soil, Hope is deeply rooted in the soil of science and the practical work
of farming.
Grass, Soil, Hope is at the same time a challenging book, in that it
asks us to reconsider our pessimism about the human engagement with the rest of
nature. The bedrock of that pessimism is our assumption that human transactions
with nature are necessarily zero-sum: for us to wrest whatever we need or want
from nature—food, energy, pleasure—means nature must be diminished. More for us
means less for it. Examples of this trade-off are depressingly easy to find.
Yet there are counterexamples that point to a way out of that dismal math, the
most bracing of which sit at the heart of this book.
Consider what happens when the sun shines on a grass plant rooted in the earth.
Using that light as a catalyst, the plant takes atmospheric CO2, splits off and
releases the oxygen, and synthesizes liquid carbon–sugars, basically. Some of
these sugars go to feed and build the aerial portions of the plant we can see,
but a large percentage of this liquid carbon—somewhere between 20 and 40
percent—travels underground, leaking out of the roots and into the soil. The
roots are feeding these sugars to the soil microbes—the bacteria and fungi that
inhabit the rhizosphere—in exchange for which those microbes provide various
services to the plant: defense, trace minerals, access to nutrients the roots
can’t reach on their own. That liquid carbon has now entered the microbial
ecosystem, becoming the bodies of bacteria and fungi that will in turn be eaten
by other microbes in the soil food web. Now, what had been atmospheric carbon
(a problem) has become soil carbon, a solution—and not just to a single
problem, but to a great many problems.
Besides taking large amounts of carbon out of the air—tons of it per acre when
grasslands are properly managed, according to White—that process at the same
time adds to the land’s fertility and its capacity to hold water. Which means
more and better food for us. There it is: a non-zero-sum transaction.
This process of returning atmospheric carbon to the soil works even better when
ruminants are added to the mix. Every time a calf or lamb shears a blade of
grass, that plant, seeking to rebalance its “root-shoot ratio,” sheds some of
its roots. These are then eaten by the worms, nematodes, and microbes—digested
by the soil, in effect, and so added to its bank of carbon. This is how soil is
created: from the bottom up.
To seek to return as much carbon to the soil as possible makes good ecological
sense, since roughly a third of the carbon now in the atmosphere originally
came from there, released by the plow and agriculture’s various other assaults,
including deforestation. (Agriculture as currently practiced contributes about
a third of greenhouse gases, more than all of transportation.) For thousands of
years we grew food by depleting soil carbon and, in the last hundred or so, the
carbon in fossil fuel as well. But now we know how to grow even more food while
at the same time returning carbon and fertility and water to the soil. This is
what I mean by non-zero-sum, which is really just a fancy term for hope.
It has long been the conventional wisdom of science that it takes eons to
create an inch of soil (and but a single season to destroy it). This book
brings the exceptionally good news that this conventional wisdom no longer
holds: with good husbandry, it is possible to create significant amounts of new
soil in the course of a single generation. The farmers and the scientists who
are figuring this out are the heroes of Grass, Soil, Hope.
The book takes the form of a travelogue, a journey to the grassy frontiers of
agriculture. Some of these frontiers White finds in the unlikeliest of places:
on Colin Seis’s “pasture cropping” farm in Australia, where annual grains are
seeded directly into perennial pastures; on John Wick’s cattle ranch in Marin
County, California, where a single application of compost has roused the soil
microbiota to astonishing feats of productivity and carbon capture; in the
tenth-of-an-acre “edible forest” that Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates
planted, according to the principles of permaculture, right behind their house
in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Each of these chapters constitutes a case study in
what is rightly called “regenerative agriculture.” Taken together, they point
the way to a radically different future of farming than the one we usually hear
about—the one in which, we’re told, we must intensify the depredations (and
trade- offs) of agriculture in order to feed a growing population. Courtney
White’s book points to very different idea of intensification—one that also
brings forth more food from the same land but, by making the most of sunlight,
grass, and carbon, promises to heal the land at the same time. There just may
be a free lunch after all. Prepare to meet some of the visionaries who have
mastered the recipe.
Michael Pollan Berkeley, California December 2013
You can purchase “Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey through Carbon Country,” by
Courtney White, at a 35-percent discount (good through Dec. 31, 2014). Go here and enter the discount
code: CGP35
-------------
What
a lovely, hopeful bit of writing.
July 25, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Midsummer Updates
What some groups of people like you have been watching and acting on this summer:
The Coalition for the Protection of PEI Water will watch how government
plans to work on the water policy announced last month. The Coalition
sent a letter to the Premier and Minister and others with suggestions on how
the process would be inclusive and transparent. Lots of background,
including various groups' submissions to the Standing Committee at http://peiwater.com/
Don't Frack PEI is keeping an eye on the Nova Scotia Expert Panel Review of
fracking, public meetings taking place this week and next. It bears
watching. Andrew Lush attended the meeting and published some thoughts
at http://dontfrackpei.com/web/
(On a side Plan B-note: He has also pointed out a few weeks ago some
problems with the not-so-realigned driveway from Plan to the Strathgartney
Equestrian Park, and how tricky driving to the Park with a horse trailer
is. TIR has had a crew out there to "mitigate" things
recently.)
FairVote/Leadnow is meeting regularly ("Connect" meetings, the
first Thursday of each month, usually in Charlottetown, usually at the Haviland
Club) to discuss raising awareness about proportional representation and making
that an outcome after the next federal election. Several events are
taking place in August which they are involved in.
Food Exchange PEI has been a big promoter of the garden plots at the
Legacy Garden behind the Farm Centre on University Avenue, and holds workshops
aimed at helping people enjoy food and be empowered to grow and process their
own.
The next thing is a Kale Workshop this Saturday, 10AM, Farm Centre, free.
https://www.facebook.com/events/714884871908023/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
Gary Schneider of Macphail Woods, in addition to hosting summer camps
for kids and workshops for everyone, went to the Atlantic Agrologists'
convention on day this week in Stanley Bridge, participating in a forum about
farming and the high capacity well issue. He felt it was a positive
session and that a lot of issues about farming today and in the future were
aired.
Pesticide Free PEI has called on the provincial government to -- at the
very least -- immediately implement buffer zones from cosmetic pesticide
spraying around places where children and seniors are. They continue to meet
regularly and encourage Islanders to write letters to the editor and copy to
their MLAs about this issue.
The NDP-PEI immediately endorsed the call for the buffer zones; they
also recently reminded Islanders and government that the details about last
year's fish kills were never released.
SOSS Save Our Seas and Shores has also been meeting regularly, and
recently followed up with a letter to Premier Ghiz about their meeting, with
additional questions about PEI's role in protecting the Gulf and additional
resources about sustainable energy production.
http://saveourseasandshores.ca/category/placespeoples/pei/
and is promoting The Blue Whale Campaign
http://bluewhale.causevox.com/
And what has our provincial government been doing?
the finished the Upton Road/Charlottetown Bypass this week, and announced plans
to move a church and reduce a curve in Tryon. Both projects were eligible
for use with the Atlantic Gateway money (the "50-cent dollars") and
this was confirmed by the chief engineer in a meeting with Premier Ghiz and
Minister Vessey two years ago.
Both projects appear to have had consultation about the actual plan chosen
*before* construction started.
To the Department of Tourism Parks' credit, they did deliver five picnic
tables and a few garbage cans back to Bonshaw Provincial Park, as all
"infrastructure" was removed before Prince Charles came along for his
stroll.
(Parks are inexplicably in a division called "Corporate Services" in
the department.)
-----------
And you probably know that David Suzuki is taking up the cause of
environmental rights legislation as his last major project across the
country. He is coming to PEI in Monday, September 29th, 2014, to
Summerside. Info and ticket link: http://bluedot.ca/the-tour/
Apologies for any errors in the updates above.
July 24, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Last
weekend The Green Party of Canada held its convention in Fredericton, NB, and
from The Green Party PEI press release:
The
Green Party of Canada honoured Darcie Lanthier with the 2014 Community
Involvement Award for her active participation in many community groups;
Pesticide Free PEI, Voluntary Resource Council, Coalition for the Protection of
PEI Water, Home & School Association, Women's Institute, Citizen's
Alliance, PEI Food Exchange, Legacy Garden, Green Drinks Charlottetown in
addition to serving at both the federal and provincial levels of the Green
Party.
She also is a fantastic cook, wife, mother and energy efficiency expert.
And she is a wonderful henkeeper.
The Journal-Pioneer weighs in, its lead editorial a breezy gust
not-from-Charlottetown:
http://www.journalpioneer.com/Opinion/Editorials/2014-07-23/article-3810936/Don%26rsquo%3Bt-blow-the-Water-Act/1
Don’t
blow the Water Act - The Journal-Pioneer Editorial
Published on July 23, 2014
For
many faiths water is a sacred element.
It has been used
in a thousand different ways since the dawn of human time.
Life cannot exist without it.
So how sobering a thought it is that we here on
Prince Edward Island are metaphorically floating on a raft of fresh water in an
ocean of salt.
P.E.I.’s fresh water supply is entirely supplied
by groundwater.
If something happens to that supply. Game over.
Islanders would have to either invest in hugely
expensive desalination plants to replace our supply or pack up shop and head
for the mainland.
This reminder of water’s importance is notable
because the government of Prince Edward Island is set to bring in a Water Act.
This act will, presumably, encompass any and all
rules and regulations for accessing and utilizing this shared resource.
Premier Robert Ghiz and his government should be
commended for doing this.
Frankly the fact this gaping hole in our
legislation has been overlooked for so long is stupefying.
Ah well, hindsight is a wonderful thing.
In any case, this act has now been proposed and
work on it will soon start, if that hasn’t happened already.
Those doing the writing need to keep some things
in mind.
They would have done well to be in Stanley
Bridge over the last couple of days, where a meeting of the Atlantic Province’s
agrologists were discussing all things water.
Many of the professionals in attendance,
scientists, environmentalists, business people, etc. were deeply concerned
about the future of the Island’s fresh water supply.
Some asked why current and past recommendations
by scientists have yet to be implemented, other’s questioned the validity of
what science has already been done and still more lamented the politicizing of
the issue.
Several people questioned whether or not this
water act will be a slapped together affair – a token move to kick the
proverbial can of debate further down the road.
One visiting businessman from the United Kingdom
commented that in his country, they’ve been fighting over water rights for 10
years.
So how is P.E.I. supposed to do that in a year?
Or however long the province expects to take to write this document?
These are all valid concerns.
We can’t afford to ignore them.
Our future on this Island depends on them.
F. Ben Rodgers writes very good letters, usually making me smile or grimace.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-07-22/article-3808854/P.E.I.-government-an-arrogant-one/1
P.E.I. government an arrogant one - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on July 22, 2014, in The Guardian
I believe the real arrogance of this government began on the night of the last
election when Robert Ghiz chastised the people of Souris over the airwaves for
not re-electing Alan Campbell. He stated Mr. Campbell was a great guy and would
have a job in the premier’s office tomorrow.
The present direction of this
government concerns me. I’m referring to the probable removal of the moratorium
on deep wells asked for by the potato industry.
Six months ago on CBC Compass, Environment
Minister Janice Sherry stated she had received reports dealing with the issues
concerning deep wells. The interviewer asked would she make them public? The
minister said no, they were for her info only. Six months later, still no info.
Such arrogance.
This minister needs reminding whom she works
for, who pays her salary. The last time I checked it wasn’t the potato
industry. Now it appears the lifting of the moratorium is a done deal. George
Webster is in the provincial cabinet, which will decide the issue. Strange,
isn’t Webster a potato farmer?
Then we have two defeated Liberals working on
behalf of the potato industry lobbying to lift the moratorium. It all seems a
little bit slanted in favour of a large industrial corporation.
The seriousness of this issue, if it becomes a
done deal, is we can’t go back. It’s not like the other issues such as Plan B
or the HST. This is about the survival of our Island, of risking the one
sustaining and precious resource life depends on.
If government goes ahead with this reckless and
irresponsible action it will be too late to reverse the damage. I ask the
question, is this really what government wants to do? What about future
generations, politicians have children/grandchildren too.
It’s difficult to understand why I have to write this
letter of protest. The interests of government should follow the same lines as
the majority of Islanders. They should share our concerns and act on the
promises made during election campaigns.
Remember the last election campaign, they came
to our doors smiling and promising to work on our behalf. Well, it is past the
time for Robert Ghiz and his government to do the right thing. The Island
can’t risk deep-water wells simply because a few greedy corporations can grow
more potatoes.
F. Ben Rodgers, Abram Village
PS I
am not sure of details, but I think tickets for David Suzuki's Blue Dot tour
are set to go on sale today at noon. http://bluedot.ca/ and go to "The Tour" choice on the top bar. However, the
website may not be caught up with the PEI stop details yet, which are Monday,
September 29th, 7PM, Harbourfront Theatre.
July 23, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Islanders
standing up on lawn pesticides:
Despite no promise of public consultations or of a timeline, the Department of
Environment is feeling public pressure and considering the call by Pesticide
Free PEI for buffer zones around areas where children and seniors are.
Pesticide Free meeting tonight, 7PM, Trinity United Church Hall, corner
of Prince and Richmond Streets, Charlottetown.
In
Monday's Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-07-21/article-3808230/Pesticides-now-a-political-issue/1
Pesticides now a political issue - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on July 21, 2014
Pesticides have been in the media a lot lately.
And it's not good news.
- National Geographic is calling them a
"Second Silent Spring," referring to biologist Rachel Carson's
groundbreaking book written 50-plus years ago about the harmful effects of
pesticides;
- The Globe and Mail released an article about
pesticides being linked to causing autism from a recent study in California;
- the Ontario government just announced they are
taking action by planning to reduce or eliminate the use of neonicotinoids - a
class of pesticides implicated in the mass deaths of bees.
And the problem on P.E.I. is that we use a
disproportionate amount of pesticides for such a small area. We spray our lawns
with cosmetic pesticides, we have a lot of golf courses that use large amounts
of pesticides and the biggest culprit of all is the 85,000 acres of potatoes
that are sprayed up to 20 times a season.
Let's hope the government of P.E.I. takes swift
action, especially given the recent onslaught of scientific proof of the
detrimental effects and bans cosmetic pesticides which so many people have been
asking for, for so many years. It's gotten old and tired, but now that the
media is picking it up maybe that will be the incentive for the government to
act. Kind of like how Premier Ghiz so quickly changed the legislation on the
order of P.E.I. issue.
Pesticides are a political issue, sadly, and
they are impacting the health of the people and the environment of P.E.I.,
possibly being responsible for our high cancer rates. I think most people would
say they believe there is a likely chance for this to be true. Being willfully
blind to this cannot continue, not with so much evidence. Who's going to be the
politician to step up to this issue?
Maureen Kerr, Pesticide Free P.E.I.
And even The Guardian's lead editorial on Tuesday was
about the issue.
"Kids,
seniors deserve our protection"
It's a bit winded, but starts with "On P.E.I., parents should know when
it's safe to use playground" and ends with:
In
the absence of agreement on a cosmetic pesticide ban, Pesticide Free P.E.I.’s
call for a buffer zone around playgrounds and senior citizen facilities seems
like a sensible one and something the province should ensure takes place.
The entire text is at the end of this Update.
Let me be clear -- Gail Shea is channeling her inner Harper:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/2014-07-21/article-3808227/CETA%26rsquo%3Bs-pro-trade-plan-of-great-benefit-to-P.E.I./1
CETA’s
pro-trade plan of great benefit to P.E.I. - The Guardian Guest Opinion by Gail Shea
Published on July 21, 2014
Trade has long been a powerful
engine for Canada’s economy. It is even more so in these globally challenging
economic times. Indeed, trade today is equivalent in size to some 60 per cent
of Canada’s annual Gross Domestic Product and one out of every five Canadian
jobs is dependent on exports.
When we trade, we become more competitive.
Prices for goods and services go down. Wages, salaries and our standard of
living go up, and businesses are able to hire more workers. All this is why our
government has put so much effort into expanding market access for business
people and investors here in Prince Edward Island as well as right across
Canada.
Our government’s pro-trade plan is about
creating economic growth and jobs in every region, rather than “advancing the
rights of businesses” as a recent letter to the Charlottetown Guardian
inaccurately suggested.
Since trade today can extend beyond the import
and export of goods to encompass a vast number of business connections,
Canada’s free trade agreements include provisions concerning foreign direct
investments – an important input into the creation of new jobs and business
innovation.
The Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA)
is no exception. CETA’s investment rules provide greater certainty,
transparency and protection to Canadians who want to invest in the EU and will
ensure that EU-member governments treat Canadian businesses no less favourably
than they do EU businesses.
These new investment rules will ensure that
markets remain open while protecting Canadian businesses against arbitrary
government measures that discriminate in favour of domestic companies.
Let me be clear, there is absolutely nothing in
CETA or any other Canadian trade agreement that restricts the ability of a
national, provincial or local government to regulate and legislate in areas
designed to protect the environment, public health and safety, our water
supply, our health-care system, culture and a myriad of other such fields.
Under CETA, foreign investors, like domestic companies, are subject to and must
abide by the laws and regulations of Canada and P.E.I..
Despite the fear-mongering of CETA’s anti-trade
critics, the reality is that this agreement will be of great benefit to P.E.I.
across all sectors of our economy.
For example, tariffs on Canadian exports in the
EU currently range from nearly 18 per cent for frozen French fries, to an
incredible 25 per cent for seafood. When this agreement comes into force, 96
per cent of tariffs for fish and seafood products will be lifted. In the first year
alone, the lobster industry stands to save $6.7 million. Seven years into the
agreement, the last of the tariffs will disappear, and our lobster products can
be sold completely duty-free. The long-term benefits of increased exports to
Europe mean more jobs, higher wages, and greater prosperity.
Gail Shea is Egmont MP and Minister of
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Lead Guardian editorial from yesterday:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Editorials/2014-07-22/article-3808865/Kids%2C-seniors-deserve-our-protection/1
On
P.E.I., parents should know when it’s safe to use playground - The Guardian Lead Editorial
The issue of
banning cosmetic pesticide use on Prince Edward Island has been a political hot
potato for some time now. And, as with all such controversial debates, the
devil is always in the details.
The issue is back in the news following some
weekend advocacy by a group called Pesticide Free P.E.I. It is a grassroots
organization that advocates for the prevention of what it terms
pesticide-related health risks. On the weekend, the group reiterated its belief
the provincial government should enact legislation protecting children and
seniors from the potential risks of cosmetic pesticides.
While the group would be made most happy by
seeing a complete ban on cosmetic pesticide use, for the time being it would be
satisfied if the province moved to protect some of society’s most vulnerable
citizens — children and seniors. It wants to ban spraying cosmetic pesticides
near playgrounds, day cares, schools, bus stops, hospitals and senior citizen
complexes.
Roger Gordon, a spokesman for the group and
former UPEI biologist, said the request for a 25-metre buffer zone near those
areas would be similar to a current requirement for homeowners. Residents who
spray their lawns with cosmetic pesticides must give advance notice to all
their neighbours within a 25-metre radius of when the spraying will take place.
Mr. Gordon and the group say it doesn’t make
sense that while residents get notice when spraying is about to take place, there’s
no provision to let children and their parents know when the area around a
playground is being sprayed. What parent hasn’t heard the call from the wee
ones in the back seat to stop at a colourful and fun looking playground. It
would be nice to know a spraying program had not just taken place. And when it
comes to children, Pesticide Free P.E.I. says there are studies that have found
children are at a greater risk for harm from cosmetic pesticides than adults.
P.E.I. doesn’t have a ban on cosmetic pesticide
use, but it does ban a key chemical ingredient that is used in many pesticides.
Of course, cosmetic pesticide use is only part
of the pesticide debate in the province. There is also the issue of
agricultural chemical spraying that is used to control pests. In the past,
runoff from agriculture chemicals has found its way into Island streams with
deadly results for fish. The industry has responded with better stewardship of
the land, which is designed to prevent runoffs from reaching our precious waterways.
At least when it comes to agriculture pesticide
use, the industry can argue the spraying is necessary to enable farmers to grow
their crops and make a living. Farmers will argue that given the choice, they
would just as soon not have to spray costly chemicals. Critics of cosmetic
spraying argue that having a nicer looking lawn isn’t worth the price of
causing health problems to neighbours or fellow citizens.
One of the areas where the call for a ban on
cosmetic pesticide use gets dicey is when it comes to controlling legitimate
insect or weed infestations. For example, is it realistic to expect homeowners
to stand by and allow their house to become overrun with ants or some other
undesirable visitor? Of course, there is usually more than one way to control
such things, and the answer doesn’t always have to come from a spray can.
So the debate goes round and round.
In the absence of agreement on a cosmetic
pesticide ban, Pesticide Free P.E.I.’s call for a buffer zone around
playgrounds and senior citizen facilities seems like a sensible one and
something the province should ensure takes place.
July 22, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Tonight the second of three free Transition Island Talks is
at the Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue, at 7PM. Tonight features Mike
Thususka from Summerside about their wind farm.
----------
And speaking of the Summerside, mark you calendars for Monday, September
29th, when David Suzuki is stopping in PEI for what's likely to be his last
cross country tour, to share the concept of environmental rights.
Things are still in the planning stages, which is why the location may be
listed on the tour page as Charlottetown instead of Summerside, but more
details will follow.
It's great timing as the Citizens' Alliance will be hosting a workshop in early
September for folks interested in being involved in a PEI working group on the
concept of environmental rights, in conjunction with East Coast Environmental
Law Association.
We have been invited to help host the PEI stop of David Suzuki's Blue Dot
Tour.
And the concept of environmental right is sure to be a focus of our Citizens'
Alliance first annual general meeting on Saturday, October 11th.
Take care,
Chris O.,
Bonshaw
from an e-mail:
Announcing David Suzuki’s Blue Dot Tour
The David Suzuki Foundation is excited to announce the
Blue Dot Tour, a cross country celebration featuring David Suzuki and a
star-studded line up of Canadian performers, artists and leaders.
Between September 24th and November 9th,
David Suzuki and the Blue Dot Tour will visit 20 communities from St. Johns,
Newfoundland to Vancouver, BC. From engaging community events to spectacular
concert experiences, this once in a lifetime experience is not to be missed.
The Blue Dot Tour is the celebration of a simple yet
powerful idea: that all Canadians should have the right to drink clean
water, breathe fresh air and eat healthy food.
(Suzuki
and other are touring) for one simple reason: they believe that by coming
together to take action locally, we can guarantee that all Canadians will have
the right to a healthy environment no matter who they are, or where they live.
Website for The Blue Dot Tour
July 21, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
In
today's print Guardian (and on-line over the weekend), is a story about
the call from Pesticide Free PEI to the Department of the Environment to create
buffer zones from cosmetic pesticides to protect the most vulnerable. My
understanding is that buffer zones would not call for new *legislation*,
just *action* by the Department of Environment.
Guardian
story:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-07-19/article-3807108/Group-calls-for-pesticide-ban-near-schools%2C-seniors-homes/1
Group
calls for pesticide ban near schools, seniors homes - The Guardian on-line article by Mitch MacDonald
Published on-line on July 19, 2014
A group of Islanders is calling on the province to enact
legislation protecting children and seniors from the potential risks of
cosmetic pesticides. Pesticide Free P.E.I., a grassroots group advocating
for the prevention of pesticide-related health risks, has made its dealings
with the government public after seeing little progress during private emails
and conversations made during the past year. The group has made a public
calling for the provincial government to ban spraying cosmetic pesticides
near playgrounds, day cares, schools, bus stops, hospitals and senior citizen
complexes.
Roger Gordon, a spokesperson for the group and
former UPEI biologist, said five provinces currently have a complete ban on
cosmetic pesticides. While the group would also like to see a ban on
P.E.I., Gordon said right now the focus is on protecting the most vulnerable
members of society. “We recognize the government is not likely to do that
(a complete ban) in the immediate future unfortunately. What we feel urgently
needs attention is protecting children and elderly people from cosmetic
pesticide spray,” said Gordon. “This is not an unreasonable request.”
Gordon said the group’s request for a 25-metre
buffer zone near those areas would be similar to a current requirement for
homeowners. Residents that spray their lawns with cosmetic pesticides
must give advanced notice to all their neighbours within a 25-metre radius of
when the spraying will take place.
“It seems inconsistent to us that if any of my neighbours
were to have their lawn sprayed we’d get a notice in the mail saying that
spraying is going to be done… but there’s no provision to advise children that
can come from all over the place visiting a playground,” Gordon said, adding
that some studies have found that children are at a greater risk for harm from
cosmetic pesticides than adults. “We think that is a dangerous situation and
the very least the province can do is to put in place a buffer zone around
these areas where children and elderly people congregate.”
Pressure for a ban on cosmetic pesticides
increased after a public forum in Stratford a little over a year ago.
Pesticide Free P.E.I. was formed out of that meeting and has remained active
since by lobbying members of government and holding another forum last month in
Charlottetown. However, Gordon said email requests and phone calls
between the group and environment department officials have not led to any
progress.
He said the group has been hitting a brick
wall. “We reached a point where we thought ‘we’re getting nowhere doing
things in private’,” he said. “That’s why we issued this press release, it’s
not because this is the first request we’ve made along these lines. We’ve
sincerely tried." The group sent an open letter to Environment
Minister Janice Sherry, as well as the department’s deputy minister, assistant
deputy minister and other high-ranking officials, earlier this week asking the
government to immediately create buffer zones near the areas.
The group said it hopes for the buffer zones to
be brought in ahead of the lawn spraying season for chinch bugs in August.
Pesticide Free PEI is meeting this Wednesday, July 23rd,
7PM, at the church hall of Trinity United Church, corner of Richmond and
Prince Streets, Charlottetown, and all are welcome.
An
excerpt from earlier this month in her naturapathic column in The Guardian, regarding
changes that would make major changes to Islanders' health:
Kali Simmonds' comment:
July
8th, 2014
<<I would like our government to become more involved in addressing the
concerns around cosmetic and agricultural pesticide use. Like the smoking
debate, before the impact on human health was so clear and could no longer be
ignored, we need to address the concerns around pesticide use and its impact on
our health and the environment. If an elementary school principal were to chain
smoke today in a school it would be ludicrous. However, I am 42 years old, and
that was my reality 31 years ago.
I suspect that eventually the perception of any
gain from routine pesticide use will be considered equally ridiculous. Anyone
who sprays their lawn I would say educate yourself about the reasons not to
continue such behaviour and farmers as well to consider the impact on their
health, those they love and the population at large. In my experience, many who
say that pesticide use is not a problem have failed to take the time to really
look at the evidence. For those who share these concerns speak up, avoid
pesticides and choose organic foods (especially local) whenever
possible.>>
Kali Simmonds, ND
July 20, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
If you wish to goof around
with a program that makes a little Lego-ish figure that shows you are unhappy
with Lego's partnership with Shell Oil, go here and follow the prompts:
http://minimaker.legoblockshell.org/desktop
You can choose to "register" it with the website and then share it.
unable to upload :( check facebook page for image
Not an accurate likeness.
Former Prime Minister Paul Martin is working on
something called Mission Ocean, which is proposing a new agreement to protect
the high seas and promote ocean heath.
Here is a Globe and Mail article with background and
graphics.
There are eight proposals listed here, along with the report, many having to do with
overfishing and pollution, but regarding oil and gas exploration, it's number 6
that caught my eye. It includes the line:
The Commission supports the
adoption of international binding protocols with safety and environmental
standards for offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation on the
continental shelf, including provisions for emergency response, and capacity
building for developing countries.
...which implies that
safety standards are enough. The whole endeavor of course is trying to
improve things, and is worth finding about a bit more.
July 14, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Three videos, the first two
being about neither the environment nor democracy issues in PEI, but worth
passing on.
"July 14th -- Malala Day": A friend passed on this link to a
one-minute YouTube celebrating the birthday of Malala Yousafzai and her wish
for access to education for all girls and boys.
http://youtu.be/ZrXVLN1kTtE
----------
A simplified, but concise -- and therefore violent -- cartoon history of the
conflict in the Middle East. 3:30 minutes. Below the film is a key which
shows the various groups throughout history who have battled for the scarce
resources of the region. The identification is *below* the character.
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/this_land_is_mine/#.U73ieonria4.facebook
----------
LEGO toys blocked the Greenpeace video that criticizes its partnership with
Shell.
Background story on Greenpeace's campaign:
EcoWatch summary of story
and the new location of the video, in case you wanted to see it again or share
it:
http://vimeo.com/100203987
July 13, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
This
is long, but very worth it; consider reading it one section at a time:
"Broken Ground: On the Frontlines of a Fractured Landscape."
http://brokenground.ca/
It interviews individuals with their experiences about fracking and other uses
of the land, and with the law, to highlight the idea of Environmental
Rights. There are both text and short videos.
“A campaign today to respect a clean and healthy environment — is that a good
thing? Does it make us as a country stronger? Absolutely. Go for it.”
--Svend Robinson, former NDP MP from British Columbia, interviewed about his
work getting environmental rights included in the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, and the response then.
The article is from the folks at the David Suzuki Foundation, which is solidly
behind the Environmental Rights movement.
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/projects/right-to-a-healthy-environment/
David Suzuki is going to be speaking about environmental rights across Canada
this Fall.
--------
From David Ing in Saturday's Guardian:
Putting families ahead of lawns - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published July 12, 2014
When are we going to put our families ahead of our lawns? The spraying of
noxious substances on our lawns has been denounced by the Canadian Medical
Society, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, the P.E.I.
Medical Society, the Ontario College of Family Physicians, the David Suzuki
Foundation and the Sierra Club of Canada.
Here are a few natural weed controls one can
apply to their lawns:
Dig dandelions manually with a Fiskal picker,
fertilize with 10-10-10 (Agro Co-Op) in the spring, over seed with new grass
seed at the same time, lime in the fall, always mulch the leaves and leave the
mulch on the lawn.
For spot treatment of weeds, use a vinegar-based
spray but not the whole lawn. Corn gluten (Phillip's Feeds) is supposed to
control dandelions from germinating but you have to apply it as soon as the
snow disappears, and it also stops new grass seedlings from germinating, so
you'd have to wait to overseed the barren areas with grass seed.
For controlling chinch bugs and June beetles use
a biological insecticide from Halifax Seeds. Look for “nematodes” or
“entomopathogenic nematodes” on their website.
For insect control on vegetables and
ornamentals, spray with soapy water. Crushed eggshells help to keep the slugs
at bay.
Dr. Roger Gordon, retired UPEI biologist,
presented this information in an article in the 2013 Stratford Town Talk
entitled “Why Cosmetic Pesticides Are A Bad Idea”:
Long-term effects include: impaired blood
clotting; impaired immune system; genetic damage; linked to non-Hodgkin
lymphoma and other cancers.
Lastly, cosmetic spraying has been used to
achieve perfection in our surrounding – but no one needs a perfect lawn. We
need clean air to breathe and clean water to drink in order to stay healthy.
Continued spraying will negate both of these.
Let's not be “P.E.I. The Pesticide Province”.
David Ing, Stratford
----------
Good people, near and far,
speaking out.
July 12, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
The
2014 Farmers' Market schedule, but today add Stratford, 9AM to 1PM, Cotton
Centre, Bunbury Road.
unable to upload :( check facebook for photo.
Until the government website gets the "2014 Fresh Products
Directory" on-line, here is a photo of the Farmers' Market schedule
from a paper copy.
Meanwhile in Nova Scotia....
Cape Breton University has been hired to conduct a review of some aspects of
the fracking issue for that province. Here is a link to the
"Hydraulic Fracturing Review" page with various subpages and other
links.
http://www.cbu.ca/hfstudy
Below is a published commentary, from last month; a look at what is *supposed*
to be an objective and critical look at some aspects of fracking in Nova
Scotia.
From it:
"Nova Scotia has had a moratorium on fracking since
2012, but wants to assess the public health and environmental risks to
communities before the industry is permitted to unlock natural gas trapped in
shale formations across the province."
Among those who have been around the block with these kinds of reviews
(especially for projects in the oil and gas industry), there is a feeling that
it's a "elaborate masquerade", to paraphrase Roy Johnstone's eloquent
assessment of the Environmental Impact Assessment process for Plan B.
http://www.capebretonpost.com/section/2014-06-17/article-3767269/Fracking%26rsquo%3Bs-long-term-impacts-still-poorly-understood/1
Fracking's long-term impacts still poorly understood - Cape Breton Post article by
Jim Guy
Published 17 June 2014
The
fracking panel led by Cape Breton University president David Wheeler has
published two draft reports confirming an anticipated conclusion — that
fracking should be permissible and is "safe" provided we watch it
very carefully.
Considering
the fracking industry’s history in Canada and elsewhere, this is not a
confidence-building message. In almost every part of the country where fracking
is licensed, this industry has been observed at least ignoring, if not
violating, government regulations to get oil or gas — come hell or high water.
The
impacts of other industrial practices that have threatened public health and
environmental integrity in Cape Breton over the years are known full well and
remain deep in the collective memory of families all over the island. All
communities need to take a penetrating glance at what fracking can mean for them
over the short term and long term.
Since the
announcement that the provincial government wanted an independent review panel
to examine fracking for all of Nova Scotia, there have been many strongly
expressed opinions reflecting doubts about this panel's objectivity and
impartiality. As its chair, Wheeler may well have achieved the independence and
credibility he wanted for the job at hand. But the optics on the panel's
impartiality have suggested otherwise.
For the
provincial panel to endorse hydraulic fracking as safe with the condition that
it be monitored is simply not supported as definitive by peer-reviewed
research. In fact, there is no way of saying that with either the confidence of
experience or of science. Monitoring shale gas exploration is different from
monitoring other industrial activities, such as mining.
The
Council of Canadian Academies, an independent research body that supports
rigorous study projects and conducts expert assessments on science matters, has
published reports on the fracking issue. Its panel's reports have pointed to
problems with hydraulic fracturing, highlighting risks to surface water and
groundwater quality, and threats to public health from air emissions and
ultimately to the climate.
Even if
fracking was "carefully monitored," the CCA observes that the
industry does not know how to do it so as to prevent well leakage. In fact, the
CCA observes that neither the industry nor governments claiming to monitor the
geology around fracking can answer questions about its long-term effects.
Nova
Scotia has had a moratorium on fracking since 2012, but wants to assess the
public health and environmental risks to communities before the industry is
permitted to unlock natural gas trapped in shale formations across the
province.
Without a
doubt, the policy implications on fracking will bring the water-energy nexus to
the fore in a province that currently has one of Canada's most extensive source
water protection programs. The political implications will also be significant
if fracking is endorsed; they will be controversial and likely divisive in
rural communities.
The
millions of litres of water used at any fracking site is not returned to the
hydrologic cycle. And unlike other water uses — in agriculture, privately or
commercially — the water used for fracking is considered a permanent toxic
withdrawal. The industry downplays these effects under the pretense of science,
pointing to little or no risks involved.
While one
of the draft papers presented by the provincial panel on fracking confirms the
integrity of well bores, and dismisses risks of contaminants migrating through
underground water, evidence in other provinces contradicts this position,
showing that well bores predictably leak and leak a lot.
University
of Waterloo professor emeritus John Cherry, a contaminant hydrologist who
chaired the expert federal panel on fracking in Canada, has called the shale
gas industry a "mess" and has criticized the lack of science on the
methods and technologies being used to gain access to natural gas.
The
business of fracking for natural gas is replete with contradictory evidence
about risks to public health and environmental damage.
The CCA
notes that many critical issues around fracking are still poorly understood. We
don't yet know how to improve hydraulic fracturing techniques to avoid the kind
of harm that might only become evident after decades of fracturing.
Jim Guy,
PhD, is professor emeritus of political science and international law at Cape
Breton University.
July 11, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
In the middle of the June
28 PEI newspapers was the 2014 "Fresh Products Directory". It
looks like a small sunny-coloured map, and it is a publication of the
Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
One side is a map with numbers and the other is a list of producers and what
they have. There are symbols for type of produce or products, farm-gate
or farmers' market, for U-pick, Community Shared Agriculture, and Certified
Organic. Unfortunately, the last two symbols are multi-coloured and
similar in shape (one is a basket of vegetables, the other a logo of some sort)
they really don't help the consumer. The letters "CSA" and
"ORG" might be clearer.
Anyway, I think the producer has to pay to be included in the Directory, and
it's late enough in the year that a lot of CSAs are full. But the box
listing of Farmers' Markets is great (Cardigan, Old train Station, today
from 10AM - 4PM). But it is a good effort.
It is also available at liquor stores, Access PEI centres, visitor
information centres, and the Department offices, or you can call 1(866)
PEI-FARM (734-3276).
It is supposed to be on-line (according to the "FarmNet" column in
June 30th's Guardian) at PEIFarmFresh.ca which immediate goes here:
http://peiflavours.ca/
and the selection for the Directory takes you here:
http://peiflavours.ca/index.php/whats-in-season
which only has last year's guide. :-/
Screenshot of website this morning with last year's directory:
temporarily unable to upload. Please check facebook for photo.
--------
Tomorrow the Stratford Farmers' market opens in the Robert Cotton Park off
Bunbury Road (it was supposed to open last week but was delayed due to
Hurricane Arthur).
The Mad Hatter's Tea Party is at the Farm Centre tonight:
https://www.facebook.com/events/492784584186618/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
July 10, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
A
mixed bag today:
Anne Gallant's hard-hitting letter from Tuesday's paper:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-07-08/article-3791774/Chemicals-damage-many-life-forms/1
Chemicals Damages Many Life Forms - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published July 8th, 2014
Re: The Need to Compete in Saturday’s paper, explains the good side of potato
farming to the media. I have yet to see anything positive about the large
potato industry we have here on P.E.I. We are told that in order to compete we
must have access to our deep-water well. Mr. Lawless, how about the survival of
our families and the environment?
How about giving the future generations a
healthy environment and clean water to drink. Giving the potato industry access
to our deep water will be just another step in the destruction of the living
environment on the Island. I am not a scientist; I am just a well-informed and
well-read Islander who tries to live life in a sustainable manner. I do not
understand the ins and outs of the production of potatoes, nor do I understand
the science behind the living environment.
But, I do know that chemicals damage many life
forms and it stays in our environment for a long time. Any person with a
conscience and average intelligence knows that spraying these chemicals in our
environment and on our food is terribly wrong for so many reasons.
Little P.E.I. has a cancer rate that is higher
than the national average. That does not surprise me because potato producers
are allowed to spray chemicals very close to our properties and our schools.
Buffer zones simply are not enough.
Finding the perfect cancer cure will never
happen because we are not doing anything about the cause. As long as we ignore
the cause, we will live with this illness for a very long time. Why doesn’t our
government or the potato industry do something about it? Money!
For them it is all about the bottom dollar and
not about the environment or people’s health. Producers and governments have
been brainwashed into believing that these chemicals are safe by the very
corporation that sells them these chemicals.
Anne Gallant, Kensington
And it's a Lewis Carroll time of year:
Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Friday, July
11th, 2014, 6PM, Farm Centre Legacy Gardens, 420 University Avenue,
Charlottetown. Call 892-3419 for more information or to reserve tickets.
Adults $10 Children $7 (5 and under free)
"While the Father's of Confederation were meeting in 1864
Lewis Carroll was putting the finishing touches to his enduring classic novel,
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Mad Hatter's Tea Party at the Farm Centre
Legacy Garden will feature fresh picked strawberries from Penny's Farm and
Garden and Cow's ice-cream, WI shortcake,
Purity Dairy chocolate milk, Caledonia House gourmet roasted coffees and Lady
Baker's Teas. 'We’re serving the best the Island has to offer to celebrate
strawberry season,” says Farm Centre GM Phil Ferraro. “People with thirsty
gardens will even be able to learn how to make nutrient rich garden teas!'
"
More details:
https://www.facebook.com/events/492784584186618/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
Coro
Dolce is
performing three times in the next couple of weeks.
Sunday, July 13th, 7:30PM, (not sure of price), Bonshaw Hall
Coro Dolce is the Island's classical choir under the direction of Carl
Mathis. Among the beautiful selections is an original piece by Terry
Pratt, a "setting of JABBERWOCKY from ALICE IN WONDERLAND."
The same concert can be heard in Charlottetown on Thursday, July 24, at St.
Peters Cathedral, and on Sunday, July 27, at St. John's Anglican Church in Milton,
both at 7:30.
"Lego: Everything is NOT Awesome" is the title of this one-minute,
45-second film-message from Greenpeace regarding Shell Oil's partnering with
children's block maker Lego, packaged with a bit of a background article from
EcoWatch. The actual YouTube link is below the EcoWatch, but the YouTube
comments are pretty pathetic.
http://ecowatch.com/2014/07/08/lego-shell-everything-is-not-awesome/?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=661b037ccb-Top_News_7_9_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-661b037ccb-85885837
http://youtu.be/qhbliUq0_r4
If you anthropomorphize little Lego people, and animals, just beware things
don't go well once Shell Oil starts digging in the Lego Arctic.
July 9, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Last
summer, many people who gave *so* much fighting the Plan B highway got busy
with their "other" jobs of being fantastic actors or musicians or
artists. I was thrilled and humbled by their talents. This summer
it is no different, and I am giving a bias and incomplete listing of a few
productions.
The art exhibit is free; the performance productions require tickets. There is
so much going on this summer, and so many free offerings from 2014-related monies,
that it's likely hard to fill the seats. But worth supporting local artistic
endeavors, to help keep them here next year and the next, when the 2014 Gravy
Train is gone.
----------
Sarah Saunders' exhibit Salt is at the Farmers' Market (and a reminder
that the Charlottetown Farmers' Market is open today!).
Cathy Grant stars as the mother of one of the leads in Kiss the Moon, Kiss
the Sun, playing in Victoria. Patricia Stunden Smith has ably
taken the reins as Managing Director.
Tonight and the next four Wednesdays is The Master's Wife: A Theatrical
Celebration, at Orwell Corner Hall. Harry Baglole has been a
driving force behind this, and Roy Johnstone is in the musical chorus.
Story sounds so evocative -- it has been created by some folks whose
love of this place and concern for its future fill my heart near to bursting.
"Writer/Storyteller, David
Weale and Musician/Producer, Colin Buchanan collaborate to marry stories, song
and film to create a storytelling show like you've never seen before; an
intergenerational portrait of the inherent spirit of Islanders."
I was given a free ticket to The Ballad of Stompin' Tom, but would have
gone regardless; and may go again. (Cam MacDuffee is fantastic as Tom
Connors; no matter how you feel about Stompin' Tom's music, MacDuffee makes it
enjoyable.) Catherine O'Brien directs. And what theatre lets you
walk right outside on a boardwalk on the harbour at intermission?
And because tables are fun:
How some Plan B People Spend Their Summer 2014; info for the rest of us:
Production
Title
|
What
|
When
|
Where
|
Until
When
|
More
info
|
Salt
(this town is small)
|
art
exhibit
|
Wednesday
and Saturdays, 9AM to 2PM
|
Charlottetown
Farmers' Market
|
July
19
|
https://m2.facebook.com/events/1417689551840173?_rdr
|
Kiss
the Moon, Kiss the Sun
|
play
|
daily
except Monday (Sunday matinee, other evenings)
|
Victoria
Playhouse, Victoria
|
August
3rd
|
http://victoriaplayhouse.com/june-26-august-3-2014-kiss-sun-kiss-moon/
|
The
Master's Wife:
A Theatrical Celebration
|
play,
music
|
Wednesday
evenings, likely going to a few community halls in Fall
|
Orwell
Historical Village Hall, Orwell
|
August
6th
|
http://www.macphailhomestead.ca/the-masters-wife-a-theatrical-celebration/
|
Story
|
performance
|
Sunday
matinees,
Monday and Tuesday evenings
|
Arts
Guild, Charlottetown
|
August
26th
|
http://www.storyofhome.com/
http://buzzon.com/whats-going-on/stage/21057-story-at-the-guild
|
The
Ballad of Stompin' Tom
|
play
with music
|
Every
night but Monday
|
Harbourfront
Theatre, Summerside
|
August
30th
|
http://www.harbourfronttheatre.com/?p=3995
|
apologies
for any errors
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 8, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Some
events this week:
Tonight: The Transition Information Series begins at the Farm Centre,
7PM, Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue, Charlottetown. This series of
three free lectures is on alternate Tuesdays until August 5th.
"Environment session to be held in Charlottetown Tuesday. There
will be a free information session on the international transition movement and
transition surrounding the province in Charlottetown.
The session takes place at 7 p.m. in the Farm
Centre on University Avenue.
The transition movement is happening in thousands of communities across the
world. It is a community-led process, to grow towns and cities stronger and
happier by building resilience to address the global challenges of peak oil,
climate change, increasing energy costs, economic instability and resource
depletion.
Robert Larsen, a student from Summerside Intermediate School, will speak about
the work he and his classmates did in Prince County by planting approximately
1000 native trees.
The public is invited to attend this first of three sessions to be held at the
Farm Centre."
Tomorrow night (Wednesday) is a Pesticide Free PEI meeting. It is
at 7PM at the Trinity United Church Hall, corner of Richmond and Prince
Streets, Charlottetown.
----------
from yesterday's Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-07-07/article-3790257/Farm-tour-not-balanced%3F/1
Farm
tour not balanced? - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Journalists like ‘balance’ in reporting. Here are suggestions for the Toxic
Tours series of the Island. We welcome the media to Tracadie to witness the
violation of the Crop Rotation Act.
Reporters could drop by the QEH Cancer Centre to
get testimony from Islanders suffering from rare diseases. A visit to
graveyards in the ‘Potato Belt’ would also be very informative.
The June 28 story didn’t fool anyone. We don’t
want our tax dollars used to fund media tours promoting dangerous industrial
farming practices? Enough already.
Marian White, Tracadie
July 7, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
On
Thursday, July 3rd, The Guardian published this letter:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-07-03/article-3785387/Another-kind-of-media-tour%3F/1
Another
kind of media tour? - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on July 3rd, 2014
Teresa Wright wrote about a media tour set up by Agriculture P.E.I. designed to
fight back against negative PR farmers were getting in the paper’s opinion page
recently. Wright explained that although Andrew Lawless didn’t realize they
were coming, he was good enough to interrupt his spraying to explain that fungicides
and herbicides are applied much more carefully and strategically than in the
past and that he didn’t spray unless he had to, a claim made earlier this month
by Gary Linkletter. I would like to ask Linkletter and Lawless: If this
is so, why have the pesticide sales for P.E.I. not been published since
2008? Surely, they would want to show Islanders how much less is being
used in comparison to past years. I would think the responsible and sustainable
practice would be reactive to problems as opposed to routinely spraying every
week.
Fish kills, declining bees, butterflies and
birds should all be considered ‘canaries in the coal mine’. Anyone who
doesn’t see the connection of their decline to the declining health of
Islanders is either in denial or simply too far removed from nature. I am
all for sustainable farming and realize change will not happen overnight, but
the time has come for government to enforce sustainable farming by
significantly reducing our pesticides and doing much more to encourage organic
farming. This is the only ethical and sustainable solution.
I wonder if we could organize a media tour to go
around the various farming communities and talk to people like me who are faced
with the choice of either staying inside on a beautiful summer day or risking
being poisoned simply by breathing air, and who are afraid to drink the water
from our own wells. We promise not to be spraying when you arrive.
Joan Diamond, Fairview
----------
On
Saturday,The Guardian opined on farming and food and criticism:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Editorials/2014-07-05/article-3787892/Farmers-fight-back-against-unfair-attacks/1
Farmers
fight back against unfair attacks - The Guardian main editorial
Published on July 05, 2014
Media tour shows kinder, gentler side of agriculture
Hold it for a minute. Farmers are getting a bad
rap these days. The recent flood of comment against deep-water wells and
pesticide spraying is painting an unflattering picture of farmers as greedy
abusers of the land. The P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture is so concerned that
it helped organize a media tour of farm operations around the province to allow
members of the press to see for themselves what is happening on the family farm
and tell other Islanders about the kinder, gentler side of farming.
Farmers are much more concerned than their urban neighbours in safeguarding the
land as a legacy for future generations. They are reluctant to apply pesticides
and only do so as a last resort in order to protect their crops and
investments. More and more, farmers are using the latest technology to operate
more efficiently. Farmers are already heavily regulated in each and every thing
they do — how many acres they can own, where they can cultivate, what they can
plant and how often they must rotate their crops.
It just takes one or two hot button issues like water and spraying to paint an
unfortunate, negative picture of the entire industry. Let’s not forget that
farmers are our friends and neighbours who chair rink boards, serve as elders
in our churches etc. and remain the cornerstone of rural P.E.I. Most
importantly, they are producers of the fresh and safe food we consume each and
every day.
It's amazing how few Islanders are aware where their food comes from and how
it’s produced. We walk into a store or supermarket and there it is — all
cheaply priced, neatly packaged and garden fresh.
Do we care how much time, money and labour were
invested in that product? Yet, we still expect that cheap and plentiful
food supply to keep appearing, as if by magic.
Weekend thoughts
<<snip (a short editorial on Brad
Richards, and on beer) >>
The story of some hens living in penthouse
luxury in Freetown has ruffled some feathers in other chicken coops across the
province. A poultry farm operated by the Burns family has installed the latest
housing cages for their hens. For the bashful Rhode Island Red, there is a
private, curtained-off area for laying eggs, while the leggy White Leghorn gets
a scratching board to keep those pointed nails in perfect conformity. Alas for
the Plymouth Rock which is heading for the kitchen crock-pot.
--------------
I found the tone of the last one so ridiculous, and incongruous with the
serious sentiments in the first editorial.
And on the same page: http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-07-05/article-3787876/More-lessons-on-pesticides/1
More lessons on pesticides - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published on July 5th, 2014
I want to thank Gary Linkletter for the lesson on pesticide application in The
Guardian, June 12th, 2014, in which he offered to “dispel myths about pesticide
application on P.E.I.” I would like to add to this ongoing lesson.
1. There are no buffer zones for humans, only
for fish.
2. Farmers do not have to notify property
owners, schools, nursing homes or hospitals about when or what they will be
spraying.
3. There are two types of pesticide drift:
particle (off target movement during application), and vapour drift (off target
movement when evaporation occurs), which accounts for 40 per cent of all drift.
4. Last year 89,000 acres received 15-20
applications of pesticides. When Mr. Linkletter speaks of 1 kg per acre, he
forgets to mention the mind-boggling magnitude of the total annual amount, and
the cumulative effect on our soil, ecosystem, and human health.
5. Mr. Linkletter states “Potato growers are
diligent with responsible pesticide use on P.E.I.” In fact, the 2010 State of
the Environment reports that only 40.9 per cent of farmers have adopted the
government endorsed environmental farm plans, down from 2009.
6. Although he predicts dire consequences if we
stopped using them, our soil biodiversity continues to be depleted each year,
due in large part to our industrial farming practices.
Mr. Linkletter finished off his lesson by
informing us “Regulated and safe application of pesticides, which have been
reviewed and approved by Health Canada, is an integral tool in producing only
the best quality potatoes for Islanders.” In fact Health Canada relies on
the Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), as does our provincial
government. Here are essential lessons on the PMRA:
• it relies upon studies financed by the
pesticide industry
• 25 per cent of the PMRA's funding comes from
the pesticide industry
• pesticide regulation was transferred to Health
Canada to ensure protection of health, but the PMRA is yet to resolve its
conflicting dual roles of approving pesticides while also protecting human
health.
Blair Cowan, Charlottetown
----------
The pun is too easy: Food for thought.
July 6, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Hope you survived the winds (and what rain there was) with
minimal damage.
The Legislative Assembly website recently posted the transcript of the meeting
of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry from
June 25th. Presenters that day were hydrologist Cathy Ryan, the
Aquaculture Alliance executive director, two concerned citizens, and Cindy
Richards and I representing the Citizens' Alliance.
The pdf of the transcript is here:
http://www.assembly.pe.ca/sittings/2014spring/transcripts/11_2014-25-06-transcript.pdf
Dr. Cathy Ryan starts on page 38 (it's one of those documents that
continues during a session and starts on page 38....)
Ann Worth from Aquaculture Alliance starts on page 45
Bill Trainor's talk starts on page 49
Re. Karen MacRae's on page 51
Citizens' Alliance on page 55
But is it Bill Trainor's that was the most profound. I have copied
from the Hansard transcipt, below.
It seems long due to the narrow paragraph copying, but was
really quite short, and it does says it all. Hope you can find time to
read it.
Bill Trainor's Presentation to The Standing Committee on High Capacity Wells
My name is Bill Trainor and
I’m presenting as individual.
First of all, I’d like to say that I talk in a very monotone voice and
my family accuses me of mumbling, so if you do not hear what I’m saying
just stop me and I’ll speak up.
I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts today. I
asked for an opportunity to appear before this committee around my
concerns on water
and land use. I applaud this committee’s
decision to follow through on a recommendation that was made to them in establishing of a water act.
Also,
our government’s recent decision that no further consideration will be
given to lifting the moratorium on high capacity wells for agriculture
irrigation until the water act and regulations are in place.
Having said that, the situation still leaves me with a concern about
where the issue of deep water wells will go in the future in relation to
agriculture and in particular potato production on this Island.
I should tell you a little bit about me for you to fully understand
where I am coming from on this important issue for all Islanders. This
includes all farmers, big and small, some who are in the circumstances
who are unable to speak for themselves. I have lived in the community of
Emerald all my life, with the exception of a seven-year stretch where I
resided in Alberta, Annapolis Valley and
Charlottetown. I grew up on a mixed farm with potatoes being the bigger
source of the family income, and although livestock was secondary, it
was felt to be necessary for the proper nurturing of the soil.
Starting with my great-grandfather there have been five generations of
farmers in my family. Although my career was not spent in farming I
never lost my love for the land and always took holidays around harvest,
and to a lesser degree planting season, to help out the family at home.
I have seen in my lifetime crop rotations decrease to a standard
three-year rotation, less today on some farms. Proper crop rotation,
then, was not in question, it just was. Our soil and water were meant to
be
conserved. We looked on our soil, woods and streams much like they do in
Europe today, where respecting nature provides the necessary balance to
protect the soil, water and wildlife crucial to controlling the insect
population.
As a child and youth I swam in the Dunk River, fished there as well with
my dad. Skated in winter months on a number of ponds, and with at least
one on every farm you didn’t have to walk far. Today a child
couldn’t swim in the Dunk in our community as the water depth is not
there. As far as fishing, you could fish for days without a bite. For
skating on those natural
ponds fed by springs, they are hard to find.
In our community, where there used to be a woodlot on most farms, there
isn’t anymore, and the natural treed hedges are few as they have been
cut and bulldozed out as well to make for bigger fields more conducive
to the large machinery that is required in industrial potato farming
today. I might add,
this practice is still going on.
Our natural soil conservation methods, I believe, were more effective
than berms and grasslands they are promoting today. A lot of those
grasslands were wet areas we left and worked around, and the hedgerows
along fences we left.
In working the soil we were very cognizant of not overworking it.
Instead we cultivated the grass and weeds away from our plants, versus
killing all weeds and grass with
chemicals that contaminate our soil and
water, kill organic matter and, in turn, our
soil’s ability to hold water.
Now some farmers are using a new machine
they call a sub-soiler that works the land
depth to at least 18 inches, loosening up the
brick clay bottom. This practice, I believe,
as well as others I have talked to, will
further reduce the soil’s ability to hold water
and in turn the chemicals and pesticides will
reach our water table that much quicker.
The Irvings’ presentation to the committee
pointed out they have plants in other
growing regions where farmers are enjoying
higher yields and more consistent quality
with irrigation. In comparison, we are a
much smaller land base to the areas they are
talking about, with a shorter growing season,
lower soil depth that doesn’t hold the water
as well.
This is a much bigger issue than water.
Money talks, as we know, but these types of
threats by a processor to pull out further
squeezes our farmers to become even more
industrialized in their farming practices. PEI
soils can’t sustain this in the long haul, and
by that I mean just our children and their
children’s generation.
There have been numerous articles written
in our local papers on the issue of deep
water wells including some science, some
fact, and some opinion. It is quite evident
the majority are against lifting the
moratorium, including the majority of the
presenters to this committee, and for good
reason.
Mr. Irving has said he is at a crossroads
without the deep water wells moratorium
being lifted in terms of his ability to
maintain his level of business here with the
quality and quantity of potatoes that are
grown here. I would say we as Islanders are
at a crossroads as well in terms of deciding
how far we go with this way of farming on
our small Island.
I have lived in the centre of one of the
biggest potato growing areas on PEI for 60
years and, as I have pointed out, I have seen
firsthand the deterioration of our land, river
and forest.
We have to ask the following questions:
1: How much further do we go with the
industrial model of agriculture? Deep water
wells will add to that and reduce our number
of farmers.
2: Can we afford the health costs associated
with growing the perfect potato with the
chemicals and pesticides getting into our
water table along with the nutrients and
organic matter being depleted in our soils?
3: The negative impact this can have on our
tourism and fishing industry in the future.
4: When our soil is completely contaminated
and robbed of organic matter and its ability
to grow potatoes, how long will the
processors be here and what will the
economic impact be then if we just look at
the short-term profitability of this industry?
It's our children and grandchildren left to
deal with all of this. No, not an immediate
problem for us here today sitting around this
table, but what does it say about us if we
allow this to happen?
It doesn’t say much either about us in support of our future
farmers. We have a major responsibility to
them and we should take it seriously. Our
land and water for them is more important
than the short-term goal of a better, more
profitable french fry.
I’d like to leave you with my thoughts on a
few recommendations: we need to enforce the regulations I
understand that are already in place on crop
rotation and look at these further in terms of
reestablishing and strengthening the organic
matter in the soils that is not up to par – and
I’m not saying here that there isn’t good
farmers out there that keep their soils up to par, but there are problem
areas in that; we need to explore other types of farming as
well that will put more organic matter back
in our soil; support the rejuvenation of our livestock
industry;
put in place a no tree cutting zone for
clearing purposes in high industrial potato
growing areas;
increase programs to support organic
farming; do not lift the moratorium on deep water
wells for the irrigation of agriculture
products.
I would like to end my
presentation today
with a couple of quotes.
The first quote is
from an ancient First Nations proverb. It
states that: We do not inherit the earth from
our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.
The second quote is from Gandhi:
Earth provides enough to satisfy everyone’s
need but not for everyone’s greed.
Thank you.
----------
Yes, to everything he said.
Now it's our job to keep talking about these ideas and moving them along.
July 5, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
On
fiscal responsibility:
An excerpt from Paul MacNeill's editorial, July 2nd, 2014, in The Eastern and West
Prince Graphic:
<< "Prince Edward Island is $3 billion in debt. The Ghiz government
has added more than $1 billion to that total since taking office in 2007, an
unprecedented attack on the viability of the province and noose around the neck
of future generations. It has raised taxes, at last check jacked 434 fees since
2011, bailed out public pension plans to the tune of half a billion dollars
with virtually no debate and done nothing substantive to reshape government to
reflect our priorities as a province."
the rest of the editorial:
http://peicanada.com/second_opinion_paul_macneill_publisher/columns_opinions/put_chicken_bucket_down_and_grab_brown_bag?nocache=1
----------
And in yesterday's Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-07-04/article-3785562/Party-getting-out-of-hand/1
Party
getting out of hand - The Guardian Letter to the Editor
Published July 4th, 2014
Editor: Dear Robert Ghiz and Stephen Harper:
The 2014 Celebration for the 150th anniversary
is costing at least $29 million and I will bet my boots it will come in at $35
to $40 million by December 31st. That comes to at least $550,000 a week for 52
weeks.
We hear that the feds are assisting heavily and
of course that makes sense since our federal debt is $1.6 trillion and our
P.E.I. debt is over $2 billion. Our elected officials continue to spend
like drunken sailors.
Let’s be serious and sensible. We can never get
an increased return in tourism spending any way near this amount. But the party
continues with no way to reduce or eliminate it al all. It's so far out
of hand, it's a spending avalanche and when all is said and done, a two-day
celebration with cake and a band and a flag raising ceremony would have easily
satisfied us all.
No one enjoys a good party like we do but this
excessive spending is outrageous. By the way everyone we have talked to feels
the way we do.
We are told a Grade 1 class at Sherwood
Elementary will have 27 students in September - that $29 million would go a
long, long way to lower and offer a much better student - teacher ratio...
When will sensible, courageous, competent and
future-thinking people take the reins and stop all this nonsense.
Maureen & Bruce Garrity, Charlottetown
July 4, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
"Before I draw nearer to that stone to
which you point," said Scrooge, "answer me one question. Are these
the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May
be, only?"
Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by
which it stood.
"Men's courses will foreshadow certain
ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead," said Scrooge. "But
if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what
you show me!"
--from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, 1843
The following is about water rights in Texas, a three page article, but worth
it.
A Twenty-First
Century Water War Erupts in Texas - Earth Island Journal article exerpt by James William Gibson
Gary Cheatwood grew up near the town of Cuthand, in far northeast Texas, and he
always found peace along the wooded banks of Little Mustang Creek. His
grandfather had bought 100 acres in 1917 and now Gary’s family owns 600 acres
of bottomland near where the creek’s clear waters meet the Sulphur River. He
especially loves the woods around the creek—some 70 species of hardwood trees,
including a massive Texas honey locust that ranks as official state champion.
“This forest is not making money,” says Cheatwood, a retired surveyor and construction
manager. “But a lot of things are more important than money. The trees give me
pleasure.”
Everything about the land pleases Cheatwood. Still wiry and lean at 75, he
walks it every week, always wearing his standard outfit of lace-up work boots,
jeans, plaid flannel shirt, and baseball cap. He collects finely crafted Caddo
and Cherokee Indian arrowheads. In the spring, blue and yellow wildflowers
bloom. He takes pleasure, too, in looking for rare creatures—the American
burying beetle, a certain obscure shrew, even the eastern timber rattlesnake.
Yet as he stood on the creek bank this January, he knew his
family could have their homestead taken by the state of Texas. If Texas Water
Development Board planners have their way, sometime in the next 20 years or so
Cheatwood’s land will disappear under Marvin Nichols Reservoir, a proposed
72,000-acre lake meant to provide water to the Dallas-Ft. Worth “Metroplex” 135
miles to the west. Some 4,000 of his neighbors (a few estimates go as high as
10,000 people) will also become refugees, driven off their lands, either for
lake bottom or for the hundreds of thousands of acres to be taken as
“mitigation.”
<<<<
Full article here:
http://ecowatch.com/2014/06/05/water-war-erupts-in-texas/
Take care today, and planning for rains and wind
tomorrow,
July 3, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Two
letters and a link to a blog post, dealing with the call to lift the ban on
high capacity wells, and the bigger picture:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2014-07-02/article-3781687/Toxic-economic-farming-model-done-on-P.E.I./1
Toxic
economic farming model done on P.E.I. - The Guardian Guest Opinion by John Hopkins
Published on July 2, 2014
Alan Holman’s June 21st, 2014, letter to the Guardian "Is the Island too
tiny to embrace change?” with interest.
After digesting these comments, I don’t
understand why some Islanders still cannot fathom that the P.E.I. has gone past
its environmental breaking point in producing “biggie” fries for the Irvings.
The place is a disaster for anyone with eyes: the rivers filled with silt, bees
almost all but gone, hundreds of thousands of trout and salmon dead, incredibly
high cancer rates likely linked to tons of pesticides being released into the
air, putrid nitrates in people’s wells, entire shell fish operations wiped out,
sickly green bays and estuaries, and yet … this is the necessary cost of doing
business?
And are we as Holman suggests - in his criticism
of Islanders as shallow beings incapable of understanding “progress” - to
follow his advice and take all of this to the next level of catastrophe by
supporting the Irving’s insatiable greed and their fist pounding for more deep
water wells? How many billions do they need anyway?
What we really need is a new model to define
progress that does not include making Islanders hostage to the Irving model of
doing business. Their whipping threats against Islanders to obey them or else,
in addition to the 38 mega wells that already exist - if granted - will
aggravate this sickly problem to the extreme.
And we are to beg Cavendish Farms not to
leave, while bankrupting our fast disappearing family farms? Even relatively
small-scale traditional potato farmers like the Bests of Tryon are being booted
out under the Irving model robustly supported by the P.E.I. Potato Board.
The exodus of the Irvings and their vertically
integrated business model, and the backward local mindset supporting them, is
actually the most welcome and immediate and long-term news to begin to address
these problems with real and implementable solutions.
On the contrary, Islanders are not naive, hicks,
backward, or wanting in their desire to protect the only fragile source of
water we have - the same groundwater the Irvings and their servants are after.
Their mega-wells will suck the land dry when we need it the most - for our
homes. Holman's recent article is revealing of everything which is truly
regressive in this Province in seeing that Islanders, now and in time their
grandchildren, can ever sensibly take back our environment — let alone
vast ranges of once healthy Island land
currently under the Irving’s control or ownership.
The absentee landlords have truly returned to
P.E.I. as we celebrate 150 years and Confederation which permitted Islanders to
reclaim and farm it for themselves in the first place. Truly forward thinking,
at this point in our history, would see Islanders making progress to reverse
this obvious damage around us, while pursing and developing other economic
models, such as happening in California which has fully gone after the
exploding global health food market and billions up for grabs.
What goes across the minds of Islanders when
they see these products with whole sections devoted to them for sale at
Superstore and Sobeys - an Irving company? The only thing backwards in P.E.I.
are those who cannot develop or envision anything new other than the existing
and very tired, old, and incredibly toxic economic mono-culture model which is
frankly “done."
John Hopkins is a media producer/writer
living in Breadalbane. Hopkins was hired by CTV’s W5 to investigate and
research the situation for the documentary episode “The Perfect Potato.”
Here is a blog post from the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club, by Zack
Metcalfe. There are a few small factual errors, but overall it's a good
piece.
http://atlantic.sierraclub.ca/en/blog/zack-metcalfe/pei-caught-between-cavendish-and-hard-place?fb_action_ids=10153253819426393&fb_action_types=og.likes
And
last, a fresh call for consumers to choose not to spend their money on Irving
products for the month of July, bold and link added by me. http://www.journalpioneer.com/Opinion/Letter-to-the-Editor/2014-06-30/article-3781639/Time-to-fight-back/1
Time
to fight back - The Journal-Pioneer Letter to the Editor
Published on June 30, 2014
Robert Irving has recently announced that if the
government of Prince Edward Island does not lift the moratorium on deep well
irrigation his company would no longer purchase potatoes grown here and he
might even move his company, Cavendish Farms, elsewhere.
Disappointing
words coming from someone who has received a tremendous amount of government
money in the past.
The wealthy elite of this country like to think
that they hold all of the cards while we taxpayers are completely dependent on
them. Nothing could be further from the truth. If Irving did leave there would
be a financial vacuum, a vacuum that would be quickly filled by other
entrepreneurs who see that there is a profit to be made. This would lead to
competition as opposed to a monopoly, which the Irvings currently have, which
would be better for everyone as competition is what keeps capitalism healthy.
Furthermore, the wealthy are far more dependent
on us consumers than we are on them. We can get our products elsewhere but they
rely on us for their money, which they are addicted to. Anyone with more than a
billion dollars should be content. The fact that they feel the need to threaten
people by saying they will monopolize the resources necessary for life in order
to make more money, which will inevitably rot in a foreign bank account,
clearly shows that they are consumed by the need to accumulate far more wealth
than they will ever need. This is their weakness.
It is time we consumers demonstrate that we are
not powerless, as our collective buying power is what makes people wealthy. It
is in this that we have a choice. We can allow the ultra rich to take our
resources from us, or we can force them to accept that when it comes to the
resources necessary for life we will stand together to protect these important
resources for all. We can easily do this by carefully choosing who we purchase
from, denying them the power to accumulate more wealth.
I would like to challenge all Islanders to be
more selective when deciding which companies to patronize for the month of
July. When, in August, the profits for some have decreased dramatically,
perhaps they will realize that the power is indeed with the people.
I have created a Facebook page under my name
(Erman Vis) with more information about my plan. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007580567675&fref=ts
Everyone who is concerned for future generations
should acknowledge this effort, because if we allow the wealthy to control our
water, they will next want to control the very air that we breathe. Enough is
enough. We must act now to save ourselves from incessant greed that threatens
to make financial slaves of us all.
Erman Vis, Summerside, P.E.I.
Tonight at 7PM, at the Haviland Club is the
Connect meeting regarding FairVote and Leadnow, discussing electoral reform and
other issues. All are welcome; it's a lovely spot near the waterfront,
too.
July 2, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
It's Wednesday but it feels like a Monday after a holiday :-)
An Event:
This evening and the next five Wednesday evenings, 7:30PM, Orwell
Corner Village Hall, theatrical production: "The Master's Wife: A
theatrical Celebration", Tickets $20 (adults) and $15 (students), from
tonight until August 6th.
"This is the first-ever dramatic
adaptation of Sir Andrew Macphail’s classic memoir The Master’s Wife,
set in the community of Orwell in the years just after Confederation.
Macphail was born in 1864, the same year as the Charlottetown
Conference. The production makes generous use of music, both sacred and
secular. The performers/musicians are Melissa Mullen, Rob MacLean, Roy
Johnstone, Nancy Whytock, Jack Whytock, Nelleke Plouffe and Sean
McQuaid.
This is a production of The Homestead Players, sponsored
by the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead Foundation with financial support
from the 2014 Fund, as well as from PEI Mutual Insurance Corporation and
Gerritt Visser & Sons Farm.
For additional information, please see the Macphail Homestead website, www.macphailhomestead.ca ; and to reserve tickets, e-mail macphailhomestead@pei.aibn.com ; or phone (902) 651-8515 or (902) 651-2789.
The production will tour the Island in late September and early October.
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Something I saw yesterday, from Ecojustice:On Canada Day and Environmental Rights Legislation:
This Canada Day spread the word that environmental laws matter - Ecojustice article by Darcie Bennett
By Darcie Bennett, director of communications and marketing
There is a direct connection between the quality of our laws and the health of our environment. In Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms grants us the right to free expression and protects us from discrimination. But it remains silent on the issue of our right to a healthy environment.
Environmental rights encompass things like the right to clean water, pure air, and safe food. They also include the right to information about proposed laws and the right to ask the government to investigate environmental violations.
Since 1972, the right to a healthy environment has gained global recognition faster than any other human right. From Norway to Nicaragua, 92% of UN member countries now legally recognize their citizens' right to live in a healthy environment. So why doesn't Canada?
While countries around the world are strengthening their environmental laws and recognizing environmental rights, Canadians are having to fight harder than ever for their right to breathe clean air and to be protected from harmful industrial activities.
Canada has no national drinking water law. And even though the oilsands are one of the biggest industrial projects on the planet,
there is no national law that regulates the resulting pollution. Recognizing environmental rights would go a long way in rectifying those situations.
Countries that formally recognize environmental rights tend to have smaller ecological footprints and do a better job of addressing issues such as climate change and air pollution. That is why we are partnering with the David Suzuki Foundation to set our country on the right course.
If you haven’t had the chance, check out A Tale of Two Valleys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1m1k8uCsa0 This two minute video sums up the difference that a recognized right to a healthy environment could make for residents of one of
Canada’s most polluted communities.
This
Canada Day, share the video with your friends and spread the message
that strong laws are the best way to protect the air we breathe, the
water we drink and the environment we depend on.
July 1, 2014
Chris Ortenburger's Update
Happy Canada Day! I hope you have a great time,
whether it is at one of the community events, the big Charlottetown events,
having some quiet time at home, or some combination of these.
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Some news on fracking, from not-so-far and near:
from
Eco-Watch
news (click link for article), June 30, 2014:
In New York State:
New York Court of Appeals rules that its towns can ban
fracking
(two excerpts; bold and black text is mine)
"In a precedent-setting case decided today by the New York Court of
Appeals, local communities have triumphed over the fracking industry. The
court ruled that the towns of Dryden and Middlefield can use local zoning laws
to ban heavy industry, including oil and gas production within municipal
borders."
And: "In
response to the court’s 5-2 decision, John Armstrong of Frack Action and New
Yorkers Against Fracking said, ”We applaud the court for once again
affirming the right of New Yorkers to ban fracking and its toxic effects from
their communities. As Chief Judge Lippman said, you don’t bulldoze over the
voice of the people.** But water and air contamination don’t stop at local
boundaries, and Governor (Andrew) Cuomo must ban fracking statewide to protect
our health and homes from the arrogant and inherently harmful fracking
industry.”
**Ha!
Dryden is in the centre of the state, close to Ithaca, which is where Cornell
University is.
The photo on the second page of the article shows some community residents, an
area lawyer who did a lot of research, and a lawyer from Earthjustice who came
in to argue the case. The Earthjustice lawyer looks pleased, but it's the
happiness and *relief* on the residents faces that shines through.
The ten-minute short documentary about Dryden (toward the end of the
article) is pretty interesting.
----------
Just
south in Pennsylvania, a very sad example of history repeatedly
repeating itself:
Eco-watch commentary on fracking boom in Pennsylvania,
specifically the state allowing fracking in public forests.
an excerpt:
"The process (fracking) has been criticized for its contamination of
drinking-water wells, 24-7 noise, thousands of miles of new roads scraped out
of our forests and fields, caravans of trucks in what had been Penn’s Wood’s
most remote enclaves, and dependence on “water buffaloes.” These bulky
front-yard tanks filled by trucks are now used to replace once-pristine
well-water, which had been the health and pride of rural residents. Now they
drink out of a plastic tank, like so many cattle stranded in a hot pasture.
Lease agreements with the gas industry often bar the people affected by this
plight from complaining."
:-(
Examples of "water buffalo tanks."
Ah, water
buffalo tanks are good for GDP.
--------------------------------
Meanwhile, in New Brunswick:
a notice from the New Brunswick Environmental Network:
Saturday, July 5th, 2014, 10:00
AM - 4:00 PM
Elsipogtog School, 365 Big Cove Road, Elsipogtog, N.B.
Link to event Saturday, organized by the New Brunswick
Environmental Network
From the link:
"Calling all people who are
concerned about shale gas development! Join us in the spirit of peace and
friendship for meeting and sharing. Our goal is to strengthen relationships and
prepare ourselves for the upcoming season.
Come and help us celebrate what
we have stood for, what we have built together and the journey that we are
traveling together. At noon we will share a potluck lunch and at the end of the
day we will go to visit the site of a proposed well pad and plant
markers to indicate the reclaiming of Mi’Kmaq stewardship of the land.
Things to bring:
·
Your contribution to the potluck lunch
·
Your own cutlery and dishes, if possible
·
An object that is sacred to you
Please RSVP to the New Brunswick Environmental Network at (506) 855-4144
or send us an email at nben@nben.ca