Archive for the ‘Nature Articles’ Category

Andrew Barnosky is a paleoecologist. His new book, “Heatstroke: Nature in an Age of Global Warming”, speaks of four bad players creating the destruction of many ecosystems around the world: population, global warming, invasive species and forest fragmentation.  Professor Barnosky’s a scientific Sherlock Holmes who looks at how the world’s climate has constantly changed over millions of years. This sleuth brings us to caves and other places, including Yellowstone National Park that show the fossil evidence of climate change as well as extinctions over millions of years. With the greatest of clarity he explains his scientific terminology and is able to show the reader that in the past million years biodiversity has been able to ride out the worst of glacial or inter-glacial changes. Here’s an important word that we should all become acquainted with: ‘phenology’. It describes the correlation between climate and the natural cycles of nature such as migration of birds, hunting for food, polar bears or plant flowering. He says that species can’t keep up with humanity’s unprecedented tampering with Earth’s climate; extinctions are happening at an alarming rate compared to what has occurred in the last several hundred thousand years.  As well, huge human population increases in the last (and the next) fifty years pose some of the greatest threats to the stability of our planet’s ecosystems. Invasive species has lowered the wealth of biodiversity, making the Earth one big box store of the same species.
“The trick now, of course, is to actually use our foresight and abilities not only to dodge but also to deflect the bullets heading our way- including, perhaps especially, the ones aimed squarely at Earth’s ecological heart…The reason Earth is in peril is because of individual actions. Just as the problem is the sum of what each one of us is doing, so is fixing the problem. That means we each hold a little part of the future of the world in our hands. “

Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett’s 2009 book “The Spirit Level: why more equal societies almost always do better” enables us to understand how we can make a difference in creating a better world   It is very clearly argued in the “Spirit Level” that the more equal a society is, the better it is able to wrestle with many of our problems, including global warming, and create a healthier, safer and happier nation.
Even though there are many graphs and statistics throughout the book, it never becomes one more academic treatise.  The authors are really speaking to us in the West and particularly in North America, saying the vast inequality between rich and poor is bringing down our society. As well, our monstrous carbon footprint points to an unhappy group of people addicted to consumerism.  These excesses include the self-indulged use of planes and cruises as well as creating a disastrous cult around the priority of economic growth over Nature and community. Flying or boating into a pristine sensitive destination such as the Galapagos Archipelago as an ‘eco-tourist’ is many times defended because of the economic benefits that are derived from such tourism.  It’s far better to stay close to home to enjoy Nature. The authors of ‘Spirit Level” show in great detail that more equal societies such as Cuba, Norway or even Japan are also much happier societies. Finally, a ‘steady-state economy’ keeps unwarranted growth at bay but need not be a stagnating society. Living within our ecological means creates a more resilient and creative people in balance with each other and the biosphere.

These are just two excellent reading possibilities.  W.H. Hudson’s ”Far Away & Long Ago: A childhood in Argentina” will inspire anyone who wants Nature to return to its former splendour,  Chris Goodall’s “How to Live a Low-Carbon Life: the individual’s guide to stopping climate change” is a great gift for a true friend who needs to drastically lower their carbon footprint and won’t hate you for telling her it’s time to change.

“Common Sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Albert Einstein

During the 18th century a group of politicians and economists in France realized that unless governments are guided by a policy that respects and works within the laws of Nature that govern our ecosystems, no economic system can last for long. Economics, guided by Natural Law, would be the basis of a strong and sustainable agricultural society. These people were called Physiocrats. Unfortunately, François Quesnay and his disciples’ balanced economic policies were soon overshadowed by the industrial revolution. However, in the 19th century, scientists such as Carnot, Ostwald and a social scientist named Podolinsky were all inspired by the discovery of the Laws of Thermodynamics. They began the process of expanding economic theory to include a human interwoven dependency on Nature and energy. By realizing that there are limitations and laws regulating the use of energy, these people advocated a more holistic approach to economics. Like the Physiocrats, these forward thinking people realized that all economic growth must be held accountable to physical and ecological laws. In other words, we ought to seek out a sustainable policy in energy usage. Modern Biophysical Economics or Steady-State-Societies acknowledge ecological services as the basis for any economy. Limitless growth economic models must be abandoned.
Our recent economic crash makes it imperative that we create a new economy based on the thoughts of these prescient people. The limits of economic growth can be found to have a mirror in Nature. Our energy derived from solar income is vast compared to our dwindling stored solar income found in fossil fuels. Alternatives to fossil fuels need to be the basis of a new biophysical economy acted out within strict ecological guidelines.  Self-imposed limits on growth are far better than the ones Nature will dictate if humanity doesn’t act swiftly to discard old economic models.
Humans will do anything rather than give up their allegiance to business-as-usual models. In the August 6 issue of the science journal ‘Nature’, we are told real flaws have existed in our economic models. Those models try to forecast at most a year ahead or run our economies as if we are in a perfect world that can’t even conceive of the crises that now assail us. “As a result, economic policy-makers are basing their decisions on common sense. The leaders of the world are flying the economy by the seat of their pants. “, J. Doyne Farmer and Duncan Foley tell us.
Schemes such as having several thousand wind-powered ships spray water from the oceans to make white vapour clouds that solar radiation bounce off of, is one of many geo-engineering ideas now circulating. We’ll do anything to circumvent simpler solutions that actually lower greenhouse gas emissions but are perceived as getting in the way of growth. Geo-engineering is viewed as the panacea of climate change deniers, corporations and policy makers that wish to prop up institutions that will inevitably collapse anyway once stimulus and bail-out packages are shown to be what they are. The greatest tragedy of these bail-outs is the wealth that has been squandered while more humanistic solutions such as decentralized community projects flounder due to a lack of capital.
If future generations are to even have a modicum of success we need to look more closely at Albert Einstein’s playful and creative approach to problem solving. As well, societies have to have more faith in its young people and nurture their creativity by letting them not only sit at the decision-making table but encourage them to take the lead.  Instead of governments spending trillions of dollars on throwing fraying life-lines to sinking and bloated centralized top-down-bonus-ridden companies, they should ask young adults how money should be spent. Democratic decision–making must employ the ingenuity of the young.

“I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.” W.B. Yeats “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”

Recently in Britain 1,000 people showed up to enroll in a single course for novice bee-keepers. People throughout the world know that bees are in trouble after reading about Colony Collapse Disorder and want to do what they can to stop the honey bees’ decline. By 2006 most apiarists were reporting up to one-third of their bees gone or dead. Is it the various mites, pesticides, long distance traveling that wears down our friends? The largest wild blueberry company in Maine called Wyman’s owns 10,000 acres of blueberry terrain and they know that their 125 year old business is finished if a solution is not found soon.  They have given a large grant to scientists to try and find out what needs to be done. Citizen science is also coming forward and helping biologists to understand the problem. Gretchen LeBuhn started the Great Sunflower Project- see www.sunflower.org- to try to have a better knowledge of what bees were up to across Canada and the U.S.  She has over 60,000 volunteers who plant a sunflower in their yard, watch for all sorts of bees and then send in their data. It’s a wonderful way to encourage young people to become naturalists and know how important all kinds of bees are for pollination.
After 22 years of keeping bees I can understand why men and women want this ultimate nature hobby. What is so unique about bee-keeping is the egalitarian interaction with another species. The European honey bee, Apis mellifera, is an equal in its relationship with humans. If a bee-keeper does not treat his bees with due respect, or if their lodging is not to their satisfaction, they may just fly away. Good beekeepers are careful to leave enough honey in the hive so the bees survive the winter. Pragmatism and outright admiration for these insect’s social order creates the perfect partnership.
We have all heard of the bee dances that communicate information to the colony. Observing bees enter their colony is an inspiring experience. For example, watch how bees use ‘air-conditioning’ to cool down the hive by using their wings to fan the hot air out of the colony on a scorching summer day. In the fall a person can see the sad exit of perhaps ninety-five percent of the drones (male bees) being shoved out of the colony so the workers and the queen have enough honey for the winter. Catching a swarm is always an adventure. Swarming bees are looking for a new place to live, and swarms of thousands of bees announce themselves with a huge buzz as they cling to a branch. Bees are very safe to work with when they are swarming. If you see a swarm, call a bee-keeper and they will be happy to come by and catch it. Never spray the honey bees with an insecticide.  Most people know how important bees are for our local apple industry and vegetable gardens. Fifteen billion dollars of added crops can be directly related to pollination by bees in North America.
There is no bylaw against having bees in the Town of Collingwood. Our bees, in the Beaver Valley, are twenty feet from our house and no one has ever been stung as a result of the hives’ proximity to the house.  It would be a good idea to have a fence around the bees or a fenced- in backyard if you live in town. Young people can learn so much by sitting quietly next to the colony and observing all the wonderful activity taking place. Children love extracting honey too. Once the fields of goldenrod have finished in the fall, it is a true celebration tasting the honey and honouring the bees’ work by making sure they have a cozy hive for the winter.

“Self-restraint over consumption is a hugely subversive idea in an economic system which has as its core proposition that greater and greater happiness will follow every increase in our personal incomes and spending.” Chris Goodall, “How to Live a Low-Carbon Life

A new study from Princeton University’s Carbon Mitigation Initiative entitled, “Sharing Global CO2 Emissions Among1 Billion Emitters {out of 8.1 billion people in 2030}” points to humanity’s inability to find so far an equitable solution for the protection of our biosphere. This study tries to be a model in fairness with regards to capping world-wide emissions, and thus defuse the on-going conflict between the developed and developing world over who has to do what in order to get the greenhouse gas mitigation programs underway to avoid a catastrophic climate crisis. The study shows that the poorest 3 billion people can have a higher standard of living without any undue hardship incurred by people like ourselves. (Taking aim at world poverty on July 11 was UN World Population Day. We know the burgeoning population in this century means North Americans have to share more and ask for less.) Wealth and high GHG emissions go together: Europeans emit around 12.5 tonnes per person per year with North Americans doubling that amount, while the rest of the world averages less than 5 tonnes for each individual. Canadians would need to lower their emissions to a European level. Otherwise why should the rest of the world believe that any negotiations are credible between the rich and poor? Why would an Indian negotiator ever consider his Canadian counterpart’s proposals are made in good faith when we would not budge on our emissions? This just happened when the G8 industrial powers met the Group of 5 emerging powers last week in L’Aquila, Italy.  Canada refused to accept more than “aspirational” goals in meeting temperature and greenhouse gas mitigation targets for 2050. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was not at all pleased with the Group of 8’s action plans. According to World Wildlife Fund, Canada is the worst offender of the Group of 8.

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What Would It Take?

How much money would solve the world water crisis? Most people are taking a serious look at the numbers within the context of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to “reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.” So most of the best numbers only address half the need, but include providing adequate sanitation for the world’s 2.5 billion who are lacking it, and we are left to wonder what the cost would be for providing only water to those 1.1 billion lacking.

The question itself is not entirely clear either. When is the “world water crisis” no longer a crisis? When we’ve met the UN’s MDG? When everybody has access to clean water? When people have clean water? Or “improved” water, which may only be a covered shallow hand-dug well? Could some non-profit sectors provide sustainable water more efficiently than the mostly governmental agencies whose data is being extrapolated to arrive at our figures? Is the number even relevant if sufficient reliable implementing agencies do not currently exist?

The World Bank offers a range of cost estimates to reach MDG goals. They estimate the cost of reaching “basic levels of coverage…in water and sanitation” to be $9 billion at the low end, and $30 billion a year for “achieving universal coverage” for water and sanitation. The same report acknowledges that the “institutional arrangements” do not exist to reach the goal in any case, and concludes that, “taking these estimates and their caveats together, we estimate that the cost… is between $5 and $21 billion.”¹

The United Nations Development Programme estimates the cost of meeting the MGD to be about $10 billion a year.” Again, that is for water and sanitation for half of those lacking. They add that the figure “…represents less than five days’ worth of global military spending and less than half what rich countries spend each year on mineral water.”

The same report estimates that “universal access (to water and sanitation) would raise this figure to $20–$30 billion…” and that not addressing the problem will “…cost roughly nine times more than resolving it. ²

Another United Nations document states that “providing safe drinking water and sanitation to those lacking them requires massive investment—estimated at $14 – 30 billion per year in addition to current annual spending levels…”³ Again, these estimates include the cost of basic sanitation.

The WHO and UNICEF report that it would cost “US$11.3 billion” to achieve the MDG for “drinking water and sanitation” and one is left to wonder what the cost would be for the water portion in their estimation.⁴ Again, 1.4 billion more people lack basic sanitation than lack water.

So where does LWI stand? Would it take $9 billion or $30 billion? What is the number for just water without sanitation? The fact of the matter is that a $9 billion or a $30 billion check written tomorrow to the UN or to any development agency in the world would not solve the world water crisis. As many of these experts point out, what is lacking are competent, responsible implementers. It would not be hard at all for $10 or $20 billion to be misused. That is why LWI is committed to training, consulting and equipping efficient, cost-effective, replicable, sustainable water solution systems and providers. Without implementers, it doesn’t matter if the world is dreaming of the most accurate dollar amount in the world or how many studies are done.

At LWI our next $10 million will go where our last $10 million went: to training, consulting and equipping people all over the world to execute the most appropriate, cost-effective integrated water solutions there are and having them teach others to do the same.

Water and Women

Many women spend 15-20 hours per week collecting water, often walking up to 7 miles in the dry season.
It is typically women who collect water, often waiting for long periods, and having to get up very early or go out late at night to get their water; they carry heavy water containers for long distances over uneven terrain. It is women who have to buy, scrounge, or beg for water, particularly when their usual sources run dry. The tragedy is that the water they work so hard to collect is often dirty, polluted, and unsafe to drink.

Women trapped in this situation have little time for other activities such as child care, rest, or productive work. The time spent collecting water disempowers women by reinforcing time-poverty and lowering income.

“Reasearch in Uganda found households spending on average 660 hours a year collecting water. This represents two full months of labor, with attendant opportunity costs for education, income generation, and female liesure time.” – United Nations Development Program, 2006

In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 40 billion hours of labor are wasted each year carrying water over long distances.
Access to clean water is the foundation for other forms of development. Without easy access to water that is safe, countless hours are spent in water collection, household income is spent on purchasing water and medical treatment for water-related
diseases. These factors contribute to keeping people trapped in poverty.

The statistics indicate a two-way relationship between extreme poverty and lack of access to safe water. About two-thirds of those without access to safe water live on less than $2 a day. Half of these—roughly equivalent to the population of the United States—live on less than $1 a day.

“Water management is a key factor in the global battle to remove the scourge of extreme poverty and to build secure and prosperous lives for hundreds of millions of people in the developing world.” – World Health Organization, 2007

Water and Education

Water-related diseases cost 443 million school days a year.
More than 150 million school-age children are severely affected by waterborne parasites like roundworm, whipworm, and hookworm. These children commonly carry up to 1000 parasites at a time, causing anemia, stunted growth, and other debilitating conditions.

Children who suffer from constant water-related illnesses carry the disadvantages into school. Poor health directly reduces cognitive potential and indirectly undermines schooling through absenteeism, attention deficits, and early drop-out.

“Over half of all schools worldwide lack safe water and sanitation, jeopardizing the health and education of millions of schoolchildren. Most of the 115 million children currently out of school are girls. Many are denied their place in the classroom by lack of access to decent toilets at school, or

Water and Health

At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.
Nearly 90 percent of all diseases in the world are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene. Every year, there are 4 billion cases of diarrhea as a direct result of drinking contaminated water; this results in more than 2.2
million deaths each year—the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing every day.

The weakest members of communities are the most vulnerable; every day water-related diseases claim the lives of 5000 children under the age of five. That’s roughly one every 15 seconds.

“Clean water and sanitation are among the most powerful preventative medicines for reducing child mortality. They are to diarrhea what immunization is to killer diseases such as measles or polio: a mechanism for reducing risk and averting death.” – United Nations Development Program, 2006

In 1992, the UN General Assembly designated March 22 as World Water Day to draw attention to this growing, global problem. In Haiti there are numerous organizations that are working to stave desertification, to preserve water tables, and to offer clean and safe drinking waters to entire cities. I strongly encourage you to visit the website of  Living Water, a highly motivated and praiseworthy organization out of Houston, TX and the World Water Day homepage to learn more about how you can help the people of the world overcome this most basic problem.

Water, water, everywhere,
Nor a drop to drink.
The water, like witch’s oils,
Burnt green, and blue, and white.
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Coleridge

“As a result of both pollution and overuse of our rivers and lakes, about 40 percent of the world’s population now lacks sufficient water for basic sanitation and hygiene, and nearly one out of ever five people has not enough to drink.” The author of “The Upside of Down”, Thomas Homer-Dixon, will speak in Collingwood in April, 2009.

As a part of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, World Water Day brings into focus the incredible crisis that now confronts humanity. Water, as part of our biosphere, is our most important ecological resource, but we have exploited this gift of life to such an extent that now 2.6 billion people are in terrible jeopardy. The UN Water-for-Life booklet is a great place to become better acquainted with water issues. www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/pdf/waterforlifebklt-e.pdf

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals are all dependent on the success of humanity’s commitment to sharing water resources and knowledge. These goals are being coordinated with the UN Water for Life Decade 2005-2015

The Millennium Goals are:

1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

2. Achieve Universal Primary Education

3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

4. Reduce Child Mortality

5. Improve Maternal Health

6.Combat HIV, AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

7. Ensure Environmental sustainability.

8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development

“A single lawn sprinkler spraying 19 litres per minute uses more water in just one hour than a combination of ten toilet flushes, two 5-minute showers, two dishwasher loads, and a full load of clothes.”  Take the water reduction pledge to save 10 gallons a day.  www.naturecanada.ca

EASY ways that you can save water around the house	Water Saved
Don’t run the tap while shaving or cleaning your teeth	1 gallon (3.7 litres) a minute
Add an aerator to any tap	1 gallon (3.7 litres) a minute
Reduce the length of a shower by one minute	2.5 gallons (9.5 litres)
Install a low flow shower head	3 gallons(11.3 litres)a minute
Install a toilet tank displacement device	.5 gallon (1.8 litres) a flush
Run the dishwasher only when it is totally full	10 gallons (37.8 litres) each saved load
Water your lawn at night and save 65% lost to evaporation when watering during the day	5 gallons (19 litres) a minute

North Americans and Australians use more water than any other group of people.  This has to change immediately. The need to conserve water is becoming more and more critical for our well-being. The protection of wetlands such as the Silver Creek Wetland ensures biodiversity and clean water. The long-term work by the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust has brought urgency and a responsibility for the Town and its people to conserve this wonderful wetland, and not just call it a “Preserve” as the developers wished to call their ill-advised building project.
The Town of Collingwood’s recent endeavour to protect this wetland should be applauded.

“A 90 per cent cut in carbon emissions means the end of distant foreign travel…It means that trans-continental journeys must be made by train… or coach.  These privations affect a tiny proportion of the world’s people.  The reason they seem so harsh is that this tiny proportion almost certainly includes you.  If you fly, you destroy other people’s lives.”   George Monbiot

“Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning”
It will soon be that time of the year when photos of Hawaiian, Cuban and Mexican beaches appear in the newspaper, television and magazine ads tempting us to take that vacation.  Whether you are a Bruce Trail hiker going to Belize to be inspired by nature, a winter trip to Arizonia or on a weekend shopping trip to New York, our seemingly endless need to experience the ‘pleasures and meaning of life’ away from home will whittle away humanity’s future quality of life, let alone starving people now through drought and rising oceans.  Monbiot puts it quite succinctly:”…well meaning people are as capable of destroying the biosphere as the executives of Exxon.”

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“Turning our vehicles off, not idling, not using drive through windows at fast food restaurants, is something each and every person can do to lower the impact of C02 emissions into the atmosphere. Not only does this action assist in the reduction/control of harmful C02 emissions into the atmosphere, but, in fact, it saves money.” Deborah Haswell, Councillor, City of Owen Sound

Towns are enacting anti-idling by-laws to protect their citizens from   harmful car emissions that cause pollution and climate change. Any anti-idling by- law must have a strong educational campaign if it is to work.  Simply enacting a by-law and not having an educational campaign to work in conjunction with its enforcement is certainly an exercise in futility.  The City of Hamilton recognized this a few years ago, and asked Green Venture to put together a campaign to get the city ready for its anti-idling by law.  Signs and displays were set up at many schools and events and even twenty-two “clean air ambassadors” were sent out on the streets!

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The days when a family had to have a grass lawn in front of their house is long gone. The bylaws don’t demand that flat monotone fixture anymore. You can throw away all the weed killers and transform a lawn into a fabulous and endlessly fascinating garden. We were very fortunate to have the famous gardening expert, Marjorie Harris, in Collingwood in April to show her slides and create a new sense of excitement for flower, tree and shrub gardens. Her book, ”How to Make a Garden”, is filled with beautiful pictures and very helpful ideas. A walk through local gardens will certainly inspire a person to replace a lawn as well.

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“Far more than simply a conservation treaty, the Convention {on Biodiversity} encompasses three equally important and complementary objectives: the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. Underpinning the Convention’s three objectives is the recognition that humans, themselves exhibiting a diversity of cultures, are an integral component of ecosystems. All people and nations, whether rich or poor, share the same planet and depend upon the same storehouse of biodiversity.” www.greenfacts.org/en/global-biodiversity-outlook

May 22 is International Day of Biodiversity and these series of articles will explore the extraordinary diversity of life on this planet. Our air, water, fertile soil, climate regulation, protection from pest and disease outbreaks, medicines, food security and economic resilience are all dependent on biological diversity.

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“A culture is no better than its woods.”—W.H. Auden

“Almost half of all life on earth may exist in the world’s forest canopies. They may also play a vital role in maintaining the planet’s climate…”  www.globalcanopy.org
Biologists now believe that the 6 percent of earth’s land surface that tropical rain forests represent contain more than fifty percent of all species. Many primate species live in these forests. The International Primatological Society’s twelve year study that was just released in Edinburgh shows a disturbing picture of our forests: of the known 634 primate species and subspecies, 50 percent are threatened with extinction in the next ten years! Primates in Asia face a 70 percent extinction rate.

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