Look What I Missed!

An assault on our right to freedom of expression in Canada:

Fire This Time Movement for Social Justice activists have returned to SkyTrain stations to distribute their free newspaper. ....
http://www.straight.com/article-785511/vancouver/fire-time-activists-return-skytrain-stations-after-arrests-handing-out-newspapers

This is news because three people were arrested on August 31, 2012 for handing out free newspapers in compliance with the rules posted publicly by Translink.   They were released without charge as they were following the rules.   Apparently handing out free newspapers is a crime.  The BC Civil Liberties Association wants an investigation. They

 accused TransLink of violating basic free expression rights by arresting a group of political activists outside the Metrotown SkyTrain station and confiscating 150 copies of their publication, which discussed “international political issues.”
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Civil+liberties+advocates+again+question+TransLink+police/7298863/story.html

Sheesh! We don't want anyone  handing out free information in a democracy!   Next people will start to think!

And  Enbridge called Northern Gateway a " nationbuilder." 

.... oil is Canada’s most important export, and the oil sands are a tremendous driver of the Canadian economy and right now we are tied to one market only … And that is in a market that has served us well over time and but is maturing, and most people would see as declining, particularly as domestic production grows. Clearly, it’s in Canada’s interest to access new, large and growing markets, and those are the markets in the Pacific Rim.
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/09/04/enbridge-likens-northern-gateway-pipeline-plan-to-nation-building/

!!!!!  Not a word about climate change or the economic effects thereof in that quote. Speaking of those effects:

Climate change is already contributing to the deaths of nearly 400,000 people a year and costing the world more than $1.2 trillion, wiping 1.6% annually from global GDP, according to a new study. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/26/climate-change-damaging-global-economy

 

More than 100 million people will die and global economic growth will be cut by 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change, a report commissioned by 20 governments said on Wednesday.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=100-million-to-die-by-2030-if-world
 

 Arctic sea ice reached a record minimum this summer.

Graphic and quote (in italics) from:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19496674

Prof Wadhams calculates this absorption of the sun's rays is having an effect "the equivalent of about 20 years of additional CO2 being added by man".

The sea ice extent at 26 August (white) is markedly different from the 1979-2000 average (orange line)

The Cambridge University expert says that the Arctic ice cap is "heading for oblivion".
 Maybe we should do something about our output of greenhouse gas emissions - or we'll be headed for oblivion.

Chilliwack

I'm going on holidays and will not be posting until September 20, 2012. 

The title reference is to the band, of course!

It is a perogative of privilege to take a vacation.  Or to live in comfort....................amongst much loved artifacts and books.

 

Climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels.  The developed world has caused  most of climate change to this date.  We in North America hog most of the world's resources. 

 

Are we prepared to relinquish our privilege and prevent climate change?  

 

 

Edible Landscaping

I posted on Vancouver's plans to plant more trees several days ago. To refresh your memory:

Plans call for the first batch, including some fruit and nut trees, to be split roughly equally between parks, streets and private property. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/forests-not-just-for-tree-huggers-in-vancouver/article4498724/
 

Weaving edible plants into the landscape is an old idea made new. Rosalind Creasey has been preaching and practicing edible landscaping for years.  I bought her book, Edible Landscaping, back in the Dark Ages.   1982 to be exact......

This is a pic of the plants to the right of my front gate.  I planted rhubarb in this location  this spring as it is in front of a Yellow Ribbon cedar I water quite a bit; transplanted alpine strawberries raised from a packet of seed twenty years ago in front of the rhubarb that have since flung themselves around the yard indiscriminately;  and filled in with some parsley seedlings . It looks very  pretty;  I've eaten  LOTS of parsley from two plants all season, and I'm anticipating picking rhubarb early next spring.

Maybe I'll even have rhubarb  to preserve.  MMMnnnnnnn!  I feel like a Gwen Stefani song at the thought:  yummy from head to toe!  Ding ding!

Rosalind has a website devoted to edible landscaping - with lovely, lovely pictures of mouthwatering gardens. You'll find it at:

http://www.rosalindcreasy.com/

Check it out - you'll be enchanted, I promise.  You'll be inspired to grow your veggies and fruit.   Food doesn't get more local than out of your garden or your balcony - and by growing your own food , you'll reduce your carbon footprint,    prevent climate change, and improve your mood.  


More Good News...

Water is scarce in Peru - and getting scarcer.  Climate change is melting glaciers in the Andes and therefore, worsening water woes.  

 

Like the poles, the Andes are unusually sensitive to climate change, with areas above 12,000 feet expected to experience particularly strong rises in the mercury. In the last 25 years, average recorded temperatures on Antisana have already jumped by 1 degree Fahrenheit.     http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/120716/the-vanishing-andean-glaciers   

 

This isn't the good news:  please watch the video below.



 

 

Isn't that an innovative solution to water shortages?

Moreover, the Nature Conservancy is working to mitigate water shortages in the Andes. It

is supporting the creation of Aquafondo, the Lima Water Fund, together with Grupo GEA and the Fondo de Las Américas (FONDAM). Similar to the Quito and Bogotá water funds the Conservancy has helped establish in Ecuador and Colombia, the Lima Water Fund will use contributions from major water users in Lima to finance conservation projects  that protect and restore the rivers and watersheds that the city depends on.
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/southamerica/peru/placesweprotect/limas-watersheds.xml
 

One could donate to the Nature Conservancy to aid this work - no?
 And we , especially in Kamloops, could use less water here at home.
 Kamloopsians are the most profligate water uses in BC : reducing consumption would reduce pressure on our ecosystems.  Just a thought ......

If humans consume more water than is
naturally replenished in our ecosystem,
we are behaving unethically.  What makes us the most
important species on the planet - except hubris?

What we do to others, we do to ourselves.

Good News For A Change!

A friend asked me the other day, rather sharply,  if I ever have any good news after listening to my moan about the record losses of  Arctic sea ice.   So for a few days I've looked for positive signs - and here's one of them!

The city of Vancouver has plans to plant trees - a lot of trees. (I took the photo in Van Dusen Gardens.)

Tree-starved blocks could gain some colour, as the city develops an urban forest management plan and begins planting a planned 150,000 trees by 2020....I think it’s really good to do trees,” Prof. Condon said. “It would be better if they were thought of as a direct way to infiltrate stormwater and sequester pollutants.”   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/forests-not-just-for-tree-huggers-in-vancouver/article4498724/

Why is this good news?

Since a tree is half carbon, trees represent one of the best ways to extract carbon (which enters the tree as CO₂) from the air. The Kyoto Protocol recognizes this and recognizes afforestation for sequestration (absorption) purposes.              http://www.treecanada.ca/site/?page=programs_gca&lang=en

Not only do trees sequester carbon, and therefore mitigate climate change,  urban forests:

 are dynamic ecosystems that provide needed environmental services by cleaning air and water helping to control stormwater, and conserving energy. They add form, structure, beauty and breathing room to urban design, reduce noise, separate incompatible uses, provide places to recreate, strengthen social cohesion, leverage community revitalization, and add economic value to our communities.   http://www.fs.fed.us/ucf/program.html
 

Forests also improve our health - including our mental health.

The study, which will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders, found that volunteers suffering from depression who took a 50-minute walk in a woodland park improved their cognition, as measured by the ability to remember a random string of digits and repeat them in reverse order, compared to those who took a walk through city streets. An earlier study found similar results in subjects who weren’t depressed.  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/fitness/why-is-walking-in-the-woods-so-good-for-you/article4209703/
 

Heart rate variability analysis indicated that the forest environment significantly increased parasympathetic nervous activity and significantly suppressed sympathetic activity of participants compared with the urban environment. Salivary cortisol level and pulse rate decreased markedly in the forest setting compared with the urban setting. In psychological tests, forest bathing significantly increased scores of positive feelings and significantly decreased scores of negative feelings after stimuli compared with the urban stimuli. http://www.publichealthjrnl.com/article/S0033-3506(10)00320-3/abstract

So - Vancouver 's trees will sequester carbon;  help control rainwater runoff; reduce energy use by moderating climate (think of lovely cool shade on a hot day); reduce noise; improve air quality; improve human  health; add wildlife habitat; provide food (Vancouver is planting some fruit and nut trees);  and improve and enhance  our connection to our environment.  Money well spent! 

Hmmmn -  I think I'll plant a tree myself this autumn - maybe a sour cherry - if I can figure out where to put it on my  crowded little lot.

Arctic Sea Ice REACHES RECORD LOWS!!!!!

Yes I'm shouting - but holy crap!  Arctic sea ice is at record lows in a clement summer (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/27/arctic-sea-ice-shrinks-lowest-extent)  - and we're not at the end of the melt for this year!

The Arctic sea ice fell to 1.58 million square miles, or 4.10 million square kilometers, down 27,000 square miles from 2007, the lowest since satellites began measuring the ice in 1979, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center.  "It's a little surprising to see the 2012 Arctic sea ice extent in August dip below the record low 2007 sea ice extent in September," said Walt Meier, a scientist with the data center.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/27/us-usa-arctic-melting-idUSBRE87Q0ZF20120827

 

A video of the extent of the melt ........

Why does this matter to us down south?   http://neven1.typepad.com/blog/2012/08/wasislac.html#more

Climate change models predicted the Arctic would see  ice free summers by the end of this century if we kept up burning fossil fuels .  Now it looks as if we'll see that by the end of this decade.    The IPCC models were CONSERVATIVE! Looks like we can't count on being  safely dead before climate change  bites hard unless we're 83  - today.  

We'll  see nastier, more unpredictable, even COLDER weather.  We may be faced with more pollution - Arctic ice has trapped a lot of toxins - and as it melts, where will they go? Political tensions between Arctic countries that stupidly view the melt as an opportunity to drill for oil may increase (!!!! exclamation points for that mindset).  Climate change will accelerate as permafrost melts and gives off its carbon stores and methane;   increased heat is captured by open water, and the balmy, balmy warmth melts methane clathrates.

It is to be hoped lots of folks realize this is not good at all - we need to STOP burning fossil fuels.  If  millions of us took to the streets in non violent demonstrations, governments would pay attention.

(We sure as hell don't need the Northern Gateway pipeline! )

Northern Gateway Redux

A devestating analysis of the Northern Gateway pipeline by a geologist.  David Hughes states that:

Speedy liquidation [of the Alberta tar sands]  means not only a revenue giveaway but exponential growth of pollution and water contamination. (Current mining waste liabilities already total more than $20-billion.)   

"Enbridge's rationale for the Northern Gateway Pipeline is based on its own unsubstantiated and highly optimistic projections for growth in oil sands production beyond 2025," reports Hughes. "This may serve Enbridge's corporate needs and those of its shareholders but does not consider the longer term environmental and energy security needs of Canadians."
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/01/12/HughesReport/
 

 Ouch!   Enbridge makes more money, the Canadian public faces more pollution and water contamination, and attempts to clean up oil spills on BC 's coasts....this pipeline is not worth the risks!



You still have time to register your opposition with the Joint Review panel: please see the post below for the link.