Poisoned Darts and Self-Congratulating Laurels

Okay, I'm blatantly plagiarizing the Toronto Star's Darts and Laurels approach, but I just have to say this.

First, congratulations to Toronto for exceeding the expectations of the WWF and Toronto Hydro. We rose to the challenge and blew through the target for energy reduction during Earth Hour. Good for us.

Second, a rousing BOOOO to Stephen Harper. Don't even try to hide your blatant disregard for the environment. While parliament and the official residences of the leader of the opposition and the governor general went dark to show recognition and support to Earth Hour efforts, the PM made sure the lights in his office on the Hill and at 24 Sussex were burning bright. You suck.

The Do's and Don'ts of Earth Hour

Earth Hour is quickly approaching, and we thought we'd provide a bit of a primer on how to celebrate. Remember, Earth Hour runs from 8-9 pm on Saturday, March 29 and is designed to raise awareness around the very real threat of climate change. So, here is GangisGreen's list of Do's and Don'ts to Celebrate Earth Hour

Do:

• Celebrate by shutting off your lights and unplugging 'sleeping' appliances like TVs and computers from 8-9. It's okay to leave your main fridge plugged in, but perhaps tomorrow's the day to unplug the inefficient 'beer' fridge and leave it that way.
• Remind your friends of this event and encourage them to celebrate.
• Plan fun activities for the whole family that don't include the draw of electricity (eg. candlelight scrabble, strip poker, whatever).
• Eat and drink local. Seems pretty bizarre to toast Earth Hour with some fine Australian Shiraz or Russian Vodka...how far did that have to travel to get to your table?
• Get outside.  Evidently the sky will be very clear tomorrow; take advantage of the lack of city lights for 1 hour, and do some urban star gazing.
• If you haven't done so already, use this as your first foray into living greener. View this as a step on a path to more sustainable living, not just an isolated event.

Don't:

• Use this time to gap the spark plugs on your Hummer.
• Light up grandma's funeral pyre. Did you know that the ancient ritual of funeral pyres, still practiced today in many eastern countries, generates over 7 million tonnes of CO2 annually?
• Fly anywhere during Earth Hour.
• Idle your car at the Tim Horton's drive thru.
• Spark up your air conditioner.
• Celebrate by cranking the hot tub up to 32 C.
• Deep fry a turkey or barbecue a big fat steak.

You catch the drift. Be thoughtful, from front to back, about what you're doing to celebrate this event. And extend that consideration further, as you start to turn the lights back on, and go back to living your life. Because, let's face it, every hour should be Earth Hour, every day, Earth Day. Enjoy.

Another Canary in the Mine?

Buried back on page A21 of the Saturday March 22, 2008 Toronto Star was a story about a new disease that is killing bats in the U.S. Northwest. White-nose syndrome as it has been dubbed typically appears as a white powdery dusting on the animals’ nose. In most cases the bats that have it become dehydrated and die. It first appeared last winter in New York State and has since spread to Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut this winter. This new disease, previously unknown to science, has a mortality rate of 50% to 90% in all infected animals. Last winter 8,000 to 11,000 over wintering bats in the Albany, New York area died of this disease, perhaps half of the total local population.

A lot of people don’t like bats. At best they think of them as flying mice, at worst they get to be bit players in our darker fantasies. Despite this unearned reputation bats play an incredibly important role in the ecosystem, eating literally tons of insects every warm summer night, controlling populations of moths, flies and mosquitoes. We might want to think about that this summer in Toronto when there will undoubtedly be yet another series of dire warnings about the dangers of West Nile Virus, the potentially fatal condition carried by, you guessed it, mosquitoes. As far as we know white-nose syndrome hasn’t affected bats in southern Ontario yet. We better hope it doesn’t because if it does we will have a lot fewer allies out there controlling mosquito populations for us this summer. What will we fall back on then; aerial spraying, pesticide in ponds and wetlands?

At this point no one knows why this disease has started to kill the bats of the U.S. northwest as they hibernate in their caves. But like the fungal infections that have begun to attack amphibians in North America, or the collapse of honey bee colonies, we need to be paying attention to this. Something is happening to these little canaries in the coal mine and we ignore their fate at our own peril.

Recession - good news for the environment?

One measure the US Federal Reserve uses to judge whether or not the economy is in recession is...garbage. Yup, when people throw lots out, times are good. When people stop putting out fridges, couches and computers with their potato peels (for shame - compost!), it's time to stuff whatever savings you may have in the mattress you were about to throw out.

As a society, we're getting pretty good, though not great, at embracing the concept of recycling. We still have a ways to go in our single family homes, but especially in our businesses, and in our apartments and condos. What we're far less good at is reusing, or even better, reducing. Recessions may force us to be better at the latter two.

I'm not suggesting a recession is a good thing. But perhaps the silver lining is that it's a good reminder that maybe we don't need that new couch or computer after all. Maybe we can turn those scraps into stock for soup, rather than dumping them in the trash. Maybe, just maybe, economic recession, or the threat of one, causes us to be conscious and therefore more responsible consumers.

Bubblin' Crud

I hope Alberta is happy. For years they sucked off the teat of Ontario, accepting millions of dollars in 'equalization' payments until they struck it rich in natural gas, tar sands (nice try on rebranding to oil sands...it's tar ya bastards) and everything else that is bad for the environment. Then, they circled the wagons and refused to share their new found wealth with the rest of Canada. Except, their new found wealth isn't really wealth after all. It's an illusion. And as far as I'm concerned, they can stuff it up their bitumen.

Say these three words to any Albertan over the age of 20, and watch the veins pop out of their forehead - national energy policy. No way were they gonna share their royalties with the rest of us losers. But look at 'em go now, selling themselves, along with OUR WATER down the river to America. All those pipelines they're building...they run to the good ol' US of A. And for every barrel of oil produced, the Alberta government collects a whopping royalty of $1. $1!!!! Oil is selling for over a hundred bucks a barrel! Even worse, for every 1 barrel they produce, they use 8 barrels of water, OUR WATER, to extract crude from that crud. If that weren't bad enough, it takes 1 barrel of oil to produce 2 barrels of oil from the tar sands. WTF? Who the hell is doing the books in Alberta?

Clearly, no one with a sense of sustainability. Or who can add for that matter.

Alberta's all about the tax base. It's all about those feeder industries - pipe makers, heavy machinery builders, Tim Horton's and Wal-Mart - that are helping fill the coffers with money, as their natural wonders are rapidly being turned into moonscapes. Never mind that the number of homeless is growing exponentially in this boom province, that thousands are living below the poverty line while Suncor and Exxon rack up profits. Never mind that dozens of native people living in remote settlements in northern Alberta are contracting rare, never before heard of bile duct cancers. It surely has nothing to do with the open pits of water and bitumen sluice that dot the landscape along the newly paved highway into their villages. We should be ashamed that it took this kind of environmental degradation to pave a lousy highway.

Well, this too shall pass (how naive a statement is that??!!). But when it's over, and you're all living with Mad Max in your self-constructed dystopia, don't coming knocking on Ontario's door. Been there, done that. You're on your own. 

Boar in the Forest of Dean

I picked up a story recently on the BBC website. It dealt with the re-introduction of Wild Boar in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire in Britain.

The Wild Boar is the indigenous wild swine of Europe. They are hairy, tusked, fierce animals; and a full grown boar weighs in somewhere between 80-100 kg. The beast appears frequently in medieval heraldry; King Richard III of England chose the Boar as his personal insignia no doubt because of its traditional reputation for ferocity and orneriness.

This reputation placed the boar at the top of the must hunt list. After all real men in the medieval world wanted to hunt something that might fight back. Hunting boar was carried out on horse back with spears and dogs, it was bloody and dangerous. There was no honour in blasting away at something with a sniper scope from several thousand yards back then. Needless to say Wild Boar have been extinct in England since the 13th Century and despite attempted re-introductions by various Kings for hunting stock the beast has not been seen tripping through the forest since the 1500’s. Of course it warmed the heart of this greenie to hear that this creature was once again to be found in English forests. Apparently a few years ago several animals escaped from a game farm near the Forest of Dean, a modest 110 km2 of mixed forest in Gloucestershire. Another group of animals may have been illegally dumped in the area as part of a guerrilla re-introduction. There are now estimated to be over 100 animals in the forest; a stable breeding population that is doing what boar do best, routing through the forest floor eating acorns, invertebrates, plants, and anything else they can find (they are pigs after all), sounds idyllic doesn’t it?

Recently a young boar wondered out of the forest and into the play yard of a local school. The beast was no doubt just looking for food but was shot as a hazard to its human neighbours. Most of us love the woods, and wild spaces, I know I do. We think of them as nice safe places where we can re-connect with a sanitized, non-threatening form of nature but are we prepared to share the space with 100kg of bristled swine. With no natural predators left alive in the UK the boar of the Dean are at the top of their little food chain and could potentially continue to reproduce and build their numbers as long as food is plentiful. Already local land owners around the forest are becoming concerned because their chrysanthemums are being routed out by animals emerging from the woods, and of course there is always the fear of a boar/human confrontation. Wildlife, even in the animal friendly UK, will only be tolerated up to the point where a single human might be threatened. It has been suggested that some management is needed, a hunt perhaps, we can’t have these animals overpopulating and threatening their ecosystem (and us) through their unrestrained breeding, can we?

These hundred or so Wild Boar share a piece of geography that has one of the densest human populations in all of Europe, 57million human beings according to 2001 numbers. One hundred against 57 million; I’d say given the limited space in the UK the boar may have topped out already

There are of course no restrictions on our growth, we are happily breeding and spreading about the planet. There is no wise overseer of our population expansion to insure we don’t wreck havoc on our ecosystem or threaten the other creatures we share the planet with. As long as food is plentiful we shall prosper and multiply. The only predator we need fear is ourselves.

I’m happy the boar are back, even if their environment is a somewhat artificial reconstruction of what it once was. Call them a romantic symbol of what once was, a time when the forest was held in awe and respect because it could also be dangerous. If we can recapture even a small piece of this past it will be worth it.

Beware of the Ides of March...

Every year, around March 15, my grandmother used to brace herself. She had an unnatural obsession with the Ides of March, and equated it with death day. Her brother and sister both died on or about that date, so I guess her phobia was understandable. Anyway, this site is dedicated to those things green, so in the event you have a family member or friend who recently took a dirt nap, or are planning for your own, check out the new, green ways of dealing with the carcass. No need to use nasty chemicals to do the dirty deed. There are better ways...green in life, so to in death...

So you think you're a greenie?

Why not join in on some enviro social networking? Or, at the very least, measure your carbon footprint, and make a pledge and a plan for reducing it. All at www.toronto.zerofootprint.net. 

Pencil this in

March 22, 2008 is World Water Day, which promotes water as a public good, versus a source of profit. Tell that idiot we call our prime minister (I won't use his name, since I might get sued by him if I do) that water is for people, not for profit, by clicking here and signing an already conveniently penned letter from the Council of Canadians. And remember how precious this resource is the next time you turn on your tap.

Also, March 29, from 8-9pm is Earth Hour. Turn off your lights and snuggle with your significant others for an hour to demonstrate your commitment to taking action on global warming. Everybody else is doing it; why shouldn't you? Check out the Earth Hour site for more details. It's as simple as flicking off for one whole hour on a Saturday night. I'm sure you can find something to do with your time that doesn't require illumination!

A celestial message...

Referencing my note about CFLs (compact fluorescent lightbulbs); from those clever folks at Greenpeace.

Sucked into the vortex

Somewhere between San Francisco and Hawaii, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean resides the North Pacific Gyre, aka the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." This is the place where household plastic goes to die. Or, more accurately, goes to live forever and ever.

Water bottles, plastic bags, straws, pen caps, you name it, much of it ends up here, bobbing around on ocean currents, a testament to our wasteful, consumerist ways. How does it get here? Well, some idiots deliberately throw it off their speedboats, but more often, it's from thoughtless little gits who throw their trash in the streets. Eventually, it gets washed through the storm sewer system, and out into our rivers, lakes and other tributaries, and then it's on its way to the island of misfit trash.

Studies put the annual count of garbage that makes its way into our water sources at 6.4 million tonnes a year, 90% of that being plastic. The nasty, non-biodegradable kind that lives forever. Another frightening statistic, in some regions, the plastic outpaces the plankton 6 to 1. This crap traps turtles, chokes sea mammals and kills birds who try to eat it.

My point? We're being sucked into the vortex, by contributing to the problem. We sit by complacently as manufacturers continue to overproduce products and packaging using this junk. Or, we do very little to ensure what we do wind up buying gets disposed of properly once we're done with it, be it packaging, or the products themselves, many of which are also made of plastic.

Thankfully, the City of Toronto is moving ahead with its plan to offer recycling services for things like plastic bags. Take advantage of it when it comes to your neighbourhood. Or better yet, decline the offer of a plastic bag at your next purchase - use a cloth one instead.

Here are some other tips you can use to reduce your unhealthy reliance on plastic:

• Avoid bottled water. Get a Sigg - it's made from metal, will last forever, and doesn't leach nasty chemicals into your water. Also, water always tastes better from a Sigg. I don't know why, it just does.
  
• Buy in bulk to reduce the packaging you bring home.
  
• Buy loose, rather than prepacked (eg. produce, bakery, etc.) whenever you can.
  
• Don't litter. And earn yourself some karma. Pick up 3 pieces a day. It'll make you feel superior, and does a world of good for your community too.
  

For more interesting information, or to read the article that got me onto today's rant, check out this link.

Sometimes the media is so stupid...

I read an incredibly ridiculous article in the business section of The Star this morning, about incandescent light bulbs, and how we've maybe given them a bad rap. The premise of the article? Incandescents are bad for folks trying to cool their homes - given that only 5-10% of the energy it takes to power them actually lights them up; the rest is used to heat them up to burn bright. But, they're maybe good for people who live in cold climates, who burn fossil fuels to heat their homes and businesses. Are you kidding me? Maybe someone should provide a pointer on the science of hot and cold air. Hot air RISES. So, I guess if you turn on the bulb in the basement, your living room floor might warm up? WTF?

This reminds me of another ridiculous article I read in the National Post (aagg, sorry, I just vomited in my mouth while writing that rag's name) a few weeks ago. About how we're all kidding ourselves re: the value of recycling because recycled paper doesn't hang together quite as good as virgin boreal forest paper. So, it isn't really great for printing newspapers. I have an idea - quit buying or for humanity's sake, even reading the National Post, and you'll be doing your part to save our precious boreal. 

Timing is everything

Seems only appropriate to start an enviro blog on St Patty's day...the greenest day of the year. Though, this blog has nothing to do with green beer. But I may be able to squeeze something in about rotting potatoes...

Testing my resolve

I get pissed off about the stupid things we're doing to kill our planet. A lot. I'm prone to moments of despair, anger, disbelief, rage. But, am I agitated enough to write about it regularly? I've started this blog, just to see...