Archive for the ‘Nature Articles’ Category
Flying Blindly Towards An Unsustainable Future
“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.”
Idling our cars is an ever increasing problem
“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!
The new Victory Garden: amazingly green front and backyards feed the body and the soul
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.
International Day of Biodiversity Must be Celebrated Everyday
“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.
United Nations Biodiversity 2010 Targets are in Jeopardy
“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.
Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy is Main Mover in Land Stewardship in our Area
Countries around the world search for solutions to stop the destruction of their forests and ecosystems habitats in order to save biodiversity, endangered species, and turn away from run-away greenhouse gas emissions. In the West we have been asked to put together action plans that balance our demand for wood, biofuel, and resource taking with the protection of huge areas of pristine forest. These plans have been the subject of intense scrutiny by the United Nations, International Union for the Conservation of Nature to the World Bank. Deforestation and farm community fragmentation are some of the main causes for an increase in greenhouse gas emissions; we must do more to see real financial value in undisturbed forests and other natural areas that encompass so much of the Earth’s biodiversity!
Kolapore Uplands Wilderness has Many Friends
“Kolapore Uplands constitute one of the largest remaining intact wilderness areas in southern Ontario. This area is home to various endangered species of plants and animals. It is host to Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest. It is drained by cold water streams that shelter breeding populations of speckled trout. The last thing Kolapore needs is an industrial scale water extraction operation.”
Kolapore resident, Richard Griffith, lives in a straw bale sustainable house
The Precautionary Principle: Why won’t North Americans apply it to Climate Change?
James Hansen is arguably the most famous and brave climate scientist living today. He was asked to give evidence on behalf of a group of protesters who had broken into a coal-fired power plant in Britain and caused $70,000 worth of damage; the six activists did not deny what they did. “The not-guilty verdict, delivered after two days and greeted with cheers in the courtroom, raises the stakes for the most pressing issue on Britain’s green agenda and could encourage further direct action. The defense of “lawful excuse” under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 allows damage to be caused to property to prevent even greater damage. ” (The Independent, September 11)
Constitutions, Conservation, Culture, Coffee and Creativity: A Chant for Change
Many people around the world have been amazed to see Ecuador’s new constitution enshrine the “Rights of Nature” in a dazzling document that was supported by two-thirds of voters and President Rafael Correa’s government. The Precautionary Principle is celebrated in the new constitution. The background of this stunning achievement goes back to the abysmal ecological disasters that the Ecuadorian indigenous people sustained at the hands of Texaco-Chevron with the dumping of toxic waste from 1970 through 1992. After pocketing 30 billion dollars the company left behind what many have termed a Chernobyl–like catastrophe. A class-action lawsuit against Chevron by 30,000 Ecuadorians has been launched. Since then, Ecuador has been striving to corral the oil and gas companies into complying with the conservation needs of a nation where one third live in poverty and derive their livelihood from intact ecological systems. Chevron has tried to push Ecuador out of the Andean Free Trade Agreement as a result. Senator Obama has criticized this threat, saying “…we do believe the 30,000 indigenous residents of Ecuador deserve their day in court.” Out of this tragedy has emerged a powerful movement created by the Indigenous populations.
Albert Schweitzer and Rachel Carson: Two Courageous and inspiring People
Three years after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954, Albert Schweitzer addressed the world in his famous Declaration of Conscience. In a bid to stop the atmospheric testing of atomic and hydrogen bombs he sought to galvanize public opinion in order to influence Soviet, American and British governments. Dr. Schweitzer’s radio speech was part of a successful grassroots effort to bring to the forefront the short and long-term dangers that radiation poses to the future of life on Earth. He spoke of our descendents living with radioactive fallout. Land, air and water were all being affected by atomic testing. “It must not happen that we do not pull ourselves together before it is too late.” he said.
To this day most glaciers can be found to have a radioactive layer from the testing of the 50’s and 60’s. Scientists, by drilling ice cores, now use this information to see how much ice has accumulated since the 60’s to gage the glaciers’ potential meltwater for the future sustainability of rivers. Climate change is already taking its toll on these same glaciers to provide enough water for Asia’s populations.