Sadness -- frustration -- anger.
What makes me feel so badly is the terrible things happening to ordinary people all over the world, every day, more and more.
What makes it worse is knowing it doesn't have to be this way.
We have enough resources on this planet, right now, to feed, clothe, house, educate and give basic medical care to every single person alive today. But, because of the greed and selfishness of a very few -- and they are VERY few indeed -- we fail on a daily basis to do so.
Maybe everyone can't have an Olympic swimming pool, a three-car garage, organ transplants, world travel, and instant gratification of their every whim. I'd say it was a safe bet to say many, if not most people would let some or all of those things go if they knew they would live in a better, more productive, healthier and safer world. Which is what you get when you reduce the gap between the richest and the poorest, and allow the middle to grow.
I'm not talking about "class" here. Just money. And other resources, which money generally buys. Middle incomes can afford all the basics, and a few luxuries too. Plus help those less able to look after themselves.
Canada used to have a society closer to this ideal. We no longer do. I want it back.
My spouse is really good at delivering help one-on-one. Me -- not so much. I'm more of a big picture person.
So, while he builds stoves, gives micro-loans and fund-raises, I'm writing letters to politicians and supporting organizations like Planned Parenthood and the Centre for Information. Because if we don't start soon, that ability to support the planet's population will vanish.
In my opinion, those very few ultra-rich had better start watching themselves, because if the have-nots they've come to rely on for their wealth start to collapse, they'll go with them. And so will we all.
This makes me angry. So I do what I can. Maybe it isn't enough, but I'm trying.
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
2013-04-30
2010-05-19
Mixed bag of musings
We just got back from a visit to my family, down in the Niagara Peninsula. It's always lovely down there, but spring is one of the best times. As with so much of the rest of the province, spring has been very hasty this year, so flowers, shrubs and fruit trees have all bloomed in a short space of time. Most people seem to find the time to do a little gardening, and the whole area was in bloom. Lovely. Lately though, it seems there's always a diseased branch on that blooming shrub. Sometimes more than one.
While I'm a dedicated wine lover, and always enjoy visiting wineries & sampling their produce, I do miss the orchards that used to line the QEW from just past Stoney Creek right through to the Falls. These days, fruit trees are a liability, it seems, and have been yanked out in favour of lakeside condominium developments, strip malls, and vineyards. Ironically, the vineyards can go on much poorer soil than fruit trees require, but the saddest thing is that most of the prime agricultural land in that very special region has been lost to housing and industrial development. If urban planners had the foresight they claim, development below the Niagara Escarpment would have been forbidden, and the greater part of the development would have been on the top, in the southern part of the Peninsula. Now, every time we make that drive, there are more strip malls & less agricultural land. What a waste.
Much of the development is driven out of Toronto. When I was growing up, we thought of Toronto as "our" big city, and it was even known as "Toronto the Good". Even today, when it's more commonly known as Canada's 1st American city (Calgary's hard on its heels), you can find pockets of greenery and relative peace in unexpected corners of the city. We were there just last weekend, and enjoyed a ferry ride out to the Toronto Islands, where there is a small residential area among the parklands. A welcome relief from the downtown fug, and still within the means of most. There are only a few emergency vehicles allowed, so it's all walking or cycling. We went to a shapenote sing in an old wood-panelled church, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. It took some of the bad taste of the last few weeks' political events out of our mouths.
Provincial politics in Ontario are currently focused on a new amalgamation of federal & provincial sales taxes, which is going to result in an increase in the cost of many essentials for people at all income levels. Not a popular move. However, it's one we can & will have to bear. Less easy to bear is some of the posturing at the federal level. Those who follow G8 and G20 news may have heard of the maternal health care initiative. Our Harpocritical minority Prime Minister and his vegetative colleagues only reluctantly agreed to entertain the issue of birth control as an essential component of the health of women & children, provided that abortion was "off the table". This thinly veiled push to impose their own narrow views on other countries when Canada is a country where a woman's right to choose has been well established has encouraged anti-abortion fanatics here to demonstrate to challenge Canadian women's right to choose. Many of our aid organizations who assist women have had their funding withdrawn, & those remaining appear to have been successfully intimidated into believing that if they speak out theirs will be cut too. I find this both sickening and unnerving. We have had numerous indications, including a wall of silence from the minority regime, that their political tastes are of the totalitarian kind. This should be a wake-up call for Canadians to put pressure on (a) the current regime for maintenance of our right to choose and (b) the other parties who must find some working coalition to depose these petty tyrants at the next opportunity. And some leadership that will have the balls to call for a vote of non-confidence to force an election before the current gang of thugs does any more damage to our culture.
And what am I doing, you may ask? At the moment, a lot of letter writing. Drafting petitions. Talking to people about the situation. Exercising my rights of free speech & choice, and my responsibility to speak out about issues that concern all of us. And, if it comes to it, my marching legs aren't what they used to be, but if necessary I'll rent a scooter!
I suppose our political affairs here don't seem like much with the lunatic fringe holding "tea parties" south of the border, the usual market paranoia in full swing, and most of the Gulf under a film of oil. They're pretty dang serious for us, though.
While I'm a dedicated wine lover, and always enjoy visiting wineries & sampling their produce, I do miss the orchards that used to line the QEW from just past Stoney Creek right through to the Falls. These days, fruit trees are a liability, it seems, and have been yanked out in favour of lakeside condominium developments, strip malls, and vineyards. Ironically, the vineyards can go on much poorer soil than fruit trees require, but the saddest thing is that most of the prime agricultural land in that very special region has been lost to housing and industrial development. If urban planners had the foresight they claim, development below the Niagara Escarpment would have been forbidden, and the greater part of the development would have been on the top, in the southern part of the Peninsula. Now, every time we make that drive, there are more strip malls & less agricultural land. What a waste.
Much of the development is driven out of Toronto. When I was growing up, we thought of Toronto as "our" big city, and it was even known as "Toronto the Good". Even today, when it's more commonly known as Canada's 1st American city (Calgary's hard on its heels), you can find pockets of greenery and relative peace in unexpected corners of the city. We were there just last weekend, and enjoyed a ferry ride out to the Toronto Islands, where there is a small residential area among the parklands. A welcome relief from the downtown fug, and still within the means of most. There are only a few emergency vehicles allowed, so it's all walking or cycling. We went to a shapenote sing in an old wood-panelled church, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. It took some of the bad taste of the last few weeks' political events out of our mouths.
Provincial politics in Ontario are currently focused on a new amalgamation of federal & provincial sales taxes, which is going to result in an increase in the cost of many essentials for people at all income levels. Not a popular move. However, it's one we can & will have to bear. Less easy to bear is some of the posturing at the federal level. Those who follow G8 and G20 news may have heard of the maternal health care initiative. Our Harpocritical minority Prime Minister and his vegetative colleagues only reluctantly agreed to entertain the issue of birth control as an essential component of the health of women & children, provided that abortion was "off the table". This thinly veiled push to impose their own narrow views on other countries when Canada is a country where a woman's right to choose has been well established has encouraged anti-abortion fanatics here to demonstrate to challenge Canadian women's right to choose. Many of our aid organizations who assist women have had their funding withdrawn, & those remaining appear to have been successfully intimidated into believing that if they speak out theirs will be cut too. I find this both sickening and unnerving. We have had numerous indications, including a wall of silence from the minority regime, that their political tastes are of the totalitarian kind. This should be a wake-up call for Canadians to put pressure on (a) the current regime for maintenance of our right to choose and (b) the other parties who must find some working coalition to depose these petty tyrants at the next opportunity. And some leadership that will have the balls to call for a vote of non-confidence to force an election before the current gang of thugs does any more damage to our culture.
And what am I doing, you may ask? At the moment, a lot of letter writing. Drafting petitions. Talking to people about the situation. Exercising my rights of free speech & choice, and my responsibility to speak out about issues that concern all of us. And, if it comes to it, my marching legs aren't what they used to be, but if necessary I'll rent a scooter!
I suppose our political affairs here don't seem like much with the lunatic fringe holding "tea parties" south of the border, the usual market paranoia in full swing, and most of the Gulf under a film of oil. They're pretty dang serious for us, though.
2009-09-21
fall is definitely here
What with the cooler nights (great for sleeping) & the leaves definitely turning colour, fall is here for sure. OK, it's also the equinox, but that's purely incidental. In fact this is about the only season here that times out with those traditional quarterly dates. Winter here comes a lot earlier & lasts a lot later than the winter solstice or vernal equinox, & spring is more of a wave in passing as we flip the switch to summer...at least, most years.
It's time to think about putting the garden to bed. Cool nights spell the end of most new growth, although some of the zucchinis are still setting fruit & the tomatilloes continue to ripen. It was a poor year for hot peppers, with all the rain & cool weather in July, almost a crop failure really. Beans, sugar snap peas, greens & onions did well, as did herbs in containers. I passed on tomatoes this year to give my poor little garden a rest (very hard to rotate spots for them, & they're susceptible to soil-borne pests & diseases) but will try again next year.
Every year we say we're only going to buy plants at the market or garden centre, but when the seed catalogues start to arrive in November I can't resist getting seeds to start in March & April. I'm sure it will be no different this year. Hard not to want to get a jump on the season, with our winters as long as they are.
These pics are from 2007, but are pretty typical of what we're starting to see:
It's my favourite time of the year!
It's time to think about putting the garden to bed. Cool nights spell the end of most new growth, although some of the zucchinis are still setting fruit & the tomatilloes continue to ripen. It was a poor year for hot peppers, with all the rain & cool weather in July, almost a crop failure really. Beans, sugar snap peas, greens & onions did well, as did herbs in containers. I passed on tomatoes this year to give my poor little garden a rest (very hard to rotate spots for them, & they're susceptible to soil-borne pests & diseases) but will try again next year.
Every year we say we're only going to buy plants at the market or garden centre, but when the seed catalogues start to arrive in November I can't resist getting seeds to start in March & April. I'm sure it will be no different this year. Hard not to want to get a jump on the season, with our winters as long as they are.
These pics are from 2007, but are pretty typical of what we're starting to see:
It's my favourite time of the year!
2009-09-08
Recommended reading: James Lovelock
The writings of James Lovelock are of special relevance for anyone who has been feeling reassured by the media hype & political/corporate disinformation about "renewable" or "alternative" energy vs. nuclear power, or who still thinks the human species can continue to increase (or even renew) its population with disregard for the biosphere & the carrying capacity of the planet. But it's also worth more thought from everyone. And action, if one so desires after thinking about it.
There are others who write on the subjects of planetary ecology & climatology & our species' impacts on them, but the clearest, most succinct & well-balanced voice for a general audience is that of the multidisciplinary scientist James Lovelock. He is the originator of the Gaia theory (briefly, that the Earth is a living biosphere, with life as a whole exerting dynamic effects on climate & the composition of the atmosphere/oceans/soils, which systems are as yet poorly understood & subject to multiple feedbacks that may be beyond our means to actively control). You can find more about the man & his work at http://www.jameslovelock.org, http://www.ecolo.org/lovelock, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock.
Now, Lovelock is human, capable of error as we all are. He's also quite the iconoclast, which in my view makes him more interesting, but he does have a tendency to argue the opposite of almost any commonly held view. Not that this necessarily makes his views incorrect. Frankly this is one of the things that makes him a good scientist. Unlike most iconoclasts, he does offer some possible, partial solutions, although not with much optimism. I don't happen to agree with everything he says because of my own opinions on certain subjects, & I'm sure other readers won't either. But his views on population & the benefits of nuclear power ring true to me, as do his remarks on the amount of misinformation & outright disinformation about so-called renewable energy sources.
In the short term, generation of electricity using nuclear power plants makes very good sense, & the arguments against it are mostly paper tigers. I'm disappointed that the Ontario provincial government has scrapped a planned new nuclear generating station, when one is so sorely needed. But then, politicians are really good at short-term thinking.
I also find it discouraging that so many individuals still believe it is their right to have as many children as they want, including the unwarranted use of in vitro methods resulting in multiple births. In my mind, it is the ultimate in selfishness to propagate our species unthinkingly. Bad enough for it to continue in parts of the world where women are repressed both socially & politically, & where education & access to cheap & effective birth control are both inadequate. For politicians & religious leaders in developed countries to condone or even encourage population increase is irresponsible when considered on a planetary basis. But then, politicians are really good at local thinking.
Until we can find ways to make long-term, planet-wide planning & action sufficiently attractive to those who make the decisions & write the cheques, it seems we are doomed to slide down the slippery slope into a Malthusian solution. It's not nice to think about, & we probably can't do much about it, but the signs are not good that we're even trying very hard. Maybe it's better this way -- our species has survived drastic reductions in population & survived through evolution in the past. Perhaps this time around the species will emerge more empathetic & sensible.
This is Lovelock's latest (& possibly final) book:
"The vanishing face of Gaia: A final warning"
Worthwhile reading, available everywhere, including your local public library. Go ahead, read it (it's not a lengthy book), I'm interested in other opinions & rational discussion.
Are we indeed "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic"? It may well be so. Perhaps it's selfish, but I'm very glad I have no children. It's not going to be a pretty world in 50 years. Maybe not even in 20. Or less.
There are others who write on the subjects of planetary ecology & climatology & our species' impacts on them, but the clearest, most succinct & well-balanced voice for a general audience is that of the multidisciplinary scientist James Lovelock. He is the originator of the Gaia theory (briefly, that the Earth is a living biosphere, with life as a whole exerting dynamic effects on climate & the composition of the atmosphere/oceans/soils, which systems are as yet poorly understood & subject to multiple feedbacks that may be beyond our means to actively control). You can find more about the man & his work at http://www.jameslovelock.org, http://www.ecolo.org/lovelock, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock.
Now, Lovelock is human, capable of error as we all are. He's also quite the iconoclast, which in my view makes him more interesting, but he does have a tendency to argue the opposite of almost any commonly held view. Not that this necessarily makes his views incorrect. Frankly this is one of the things that makes him a good scientist. Unlike most iconoclasts, he does offer some possible, partial solutions, although not with much optimism. I don't happen to agree with everything he says because of my own opinions on certain subjects, & I'm sure other readers won't either. But his views on population & the benefits of nuclear power ring true to me, as do his remarks on the amount of misinformation & outright disinformation about so-called renewable energy sources.
In the short term, generation of electricity using nuclear power plants makes very good sense, & the arguments against it are mostly paper tigers. I'm disappointed that the Ontario provincial government has scrapped a planned new nuclear generating station, when one is so sorely needed. But then, politicians are really good at short-term thinking.
I also find it discouraging that so many individuals still believe it is their right to have as many children as they want, including the unwarranted use of in vitro methods resulting in multiple births. In my mind, it is the ultimate in selfishness to propagate our species unthinkingly. Bad enough for it to continue in parts of the world where women are repressed both socially & politically, & where education & access to cheap & effective birth control are both inadequate. For politicians & religious leaders in developed countries to condone or even encourage population increase is irresponsible when considered on a planetary basis. But then, politicians are really good at local thinking.
Until we can find ways to make long-term, planet-wide planning & action sufficiently attractive to those who make the decisions & write the cheques, it seems we are doomed to slide down the slippery slope into a Malthusian solution. It's not nice to think about, & we probably can't do much about it, but the signs are not good that we're even trying very hard. Maybe it's better this way -- our species has survived drastic reductions in population & survived through evolution in the past. Perhaps this time around the species will emerge more empathetic & sensible.
This is Lovelock's latest (& possibly final) book:
"The vanishing face of Gaia: A final warning"
Worthwhile reading, available everywhere, including your local public library. Go ahead, read it (it's not a lengthy book), I'm interested in other opinions & rational discussion.
Are we indeed "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic"? It may well be so. Perhaps it's selfish, but I'm very glad I have no children. It's not going to be a pretty world in 50 years. Maybe not even in 20. Or less.
2009-05-14
good intentions meet gardening season
All my good intentions about blogging more often collided with my equally good intentions to do more gardening now that I'm retired. While good intentions are most often found paving the road to hell, this time the garden path won out & blogging came a distant second.
There have been plenty of ridiculous news items for me to rant about lately, not least of which are various local & national politicians in court for -- wait for it -- lying to the public about *gasp* misuse of public funds & power...but, I digress. This post is not a rant, but a rave. About spring, of all things.
Our climate, such as it is, flipped the winter-to-summer switch a couple of weeks ago, and there are at least 20 different shades of green on bushes & trees outside my window alone. It's a whole rainbow driving around town, with all the tulip beds in full bloom and everything from magnolias to crabapples blossoming in a mad dash. I'm not kidding when I call it flipping a switch, either. Spring in Ottawa is so short that you might miss it if you blinked. The early bulbs & flowering trees don't last long at all.
We've planted a lot of the Victory garden, too. That's V for vegetable, mainly, with a few herbs and some flowers to add a bit of colour. It's a very nice thing to be able to get some of your veggies out of your own yard. So far this year we've put in sugar snap peas, onion sets, salad greens, coriander, basil and parsley. All things that can be grown from seed starting fairly early in the season. I've got some plants inside that won't go out until early June, though, because we can count on the odd hard frost overnight until at least the end of May. Starting seedlings indoors is a good way to get a jump on spring, and makes late winter a lot less depressing.
Our property is on clay soil, and our front yard used to turn to hard-pan every year, until we xeriscaped it in local shrubs & trees. Now, the only maintenance it needs is pruning & mulching. Just our little bit for the environment.
Blogging is just going to have to wait for a rainy day.
There have been plenty of ridiculous news items for me to rant about lately, not least of which are various local & national politicians in court for -- wait for it -- lying to the public about *gasp* misuse of public funds & power...but, I digress. This post is not a rant, but a rave. About spring, of all things.
Our climate, such as it is, flipped the winter-to-summer switch a couple of weeks ago, and there are at least 20 different shades of green on bushes & trees outside my window alone. It's a whole rainbow driving around town, with all the tulip beds in full bloom and everything from magnolias to crabapples blossoming in a mad dash. I'm not kidding when I call it flipping a switch, either. Spring in Ottawa is so short that you might miss it if you blinked. The early bulbs & flowering trees don't last long at all.
We've planted a lot of the Victory garden, too. That's V for vegetable, mainly, with a few herbs and some flowers to add a bit of colour. It's a very nice thing to be able to get some of your veggies out of your own yard. So far this year we've put in sugar snap peas, onion sets, salad greens, coriander, basil and parsley. All things that can be grown from seed starting fairly early in the season. I've got some plants inside that won't go out until early June, though, because we can count on the odd hard frost overnight until at least the end of May. Starting seedlings indoors is a good way to get a jump on spring, and makes late winter a lot less depressing.
Our property is on clay soil, and our front yard used to turn to hard-pan every year, until we xeriscaped it in local shrubs & trees. Now, the only maintenance it needs is pruning & mulching. Just our little bit for the environment.
Blogging is just going to have to wait for a rainy day.
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