GreenWatch

B. McPherson Got Pork? Love bacon?  Con Agra, one of the large food supply corporations is asking its pork suppliers to construct plans that would eliminate sow stalls, otherwise known as gestation crates by 2017. Five years from now there may be a plan to eliminate these cruel devices. Then the elimination of the stalls may take another 10 years. For those of you who eat pork, you should know what you are putting into your mouths and that of your children. In Europe sow crates are still used, but are slated to be eliminated by 2013. N. American pork producers have industrialized their operations in the past couple of decades. They have become efficient meat producers. Consumers have seen the price of pork, bacon, ribs, hams steadily decrease as efficiencies have been implemented. In order to become efficient meat factories, the animals become cogs in the production line. Sow stalls are just one aspect of the inhumane practise of factory raised pork. The female pig...

B.McPherson Grassroots people are coming together on October 22 in Victoria BC to show the provincial government that the coast is not for sale. If you can, help swell the numbers on October 22 in a show of peaceful solidarity. The following is from a group calling themselves defendourcoast: In a little over a week, you and almost 2000 other supporters have logged on to our website and pledged to Defend Our Coast. Thank you for your support in the first week of the launch and for sharing it with your family, friends, colleagues, and allies. On October 22nd, we will meet in Victoria and join together for a non-violent direct action to tell Christy Clark and Stephen Harper that our coast cannot be sold off for pipelines and tankers. The action on Monday, October 22nd will be an act of peaceful civil disobedience meaning that arrest is a possibility. We will have a legal analysis that we will send out to everyone soon so you know exactly what the legal risks are and wil...

B. McPherson African elephants are under more pressure from poachers than ever. A global ban on ivory trade was instituted in 1990 but that hasn’t stopped the faithful demanding ivory for their religious props. From a baby Jesus to prayer beads to amulets and carvings, the elephants are fighting a losing battle.  According to information released by National Geographic Magazine in 2011 25 000 of those magnificent animals were slaughtered for profit. The poachers have no regard for family groups or the boundaries of national parks. In January poachers riding horses killed hundreds of elephants using AK 47s and rocket launchers. The elephants never had a chance to run. Adults, mothers protecting their babies and the babies all slaughtered inside a park in Cameroon. We no longer use ivory to make piano keys or billiard balls or anything else but what constitutes religious icons. The icons may be abstract, like prayer beads or images of a god. It is a cruel joke on the el...

B. McPherson Would you kill this magnificent creature and hang it on a wall? The alliance of Coastal First Nations have declared a ban on trophy hunting for bears in their traditional territories. Protection of bears will be monitored and enforced by a coalition of ten nations including the Haida from Haida Gwai(formerly Queen Charlotte Islands). In a strong statement issued on September 12, Kitasoo/Xaixais Chief Doug Neasloss declared that the bears will be protected by any means. This is the result of several years of working with the provincial government to halt trophy hunting. "Despite years of effort by the Coastal First Nations to find a resolution to this issue with the Province this senseless and brutal trophy hunt continues.” Chief Doug Neasloss First Nations spokesman pointed out that the trophy hunters often shoot their quarry by the shoreline where they come to look for food. The native people are not against a food hunt, but that the tr...

B. McPherson Hundreds of wasps swarm greenhouse Wasp hunting for insects in corn patch Black and yellow warns of a bad temper As summer slides into autumn many changes occur in my garden. All summer I have tolerated wasp nests in my green house. If they get too large and the ladies too aggressive they will be evicted, but generally their presence is a plus for the garden. This morning I saw this large cluster of wasps(we call them yellow jackets for obvious reasons) on the outside of the greenhouse. I couldn’t decide whether it was a swarm for mating or they were trying to find a more secure winter home than their paper one. In fact, I still don’t know. I had never seen or noticed this behavior in wasps before. You’ll have to decide. Wasps are fierce predators. If you can, leave them alone in your garden and you’ll find that they work better than any pesticide – and they work for free. Just be careful and look before you grab a plant or flower. They do take umbrage at...

B. McPherson Does food as entertainment justify chancing the genetic pollution of our wild animals? The commercial distribution of GMO fish as pets has biologists worried about wild fish stocks. A genetic engineering company, Yorktown Technologies, debuted a glow in the dark variant of the zebra fish as GloFish in 2003. The natural variety is a native of south east Asia and is not found in N. America. They originally were marketed as pets glowing green in the dark. Now they are available in five colours – Starfire Red, Electric Green, Sunburst Orange, Galactic Purple and Cosmic Blue. The GloFish are touted as the first genetically modified organism as a pet. Recently GloFish has made available to the public, glowing green tetras for the home hobbyist . While the GM zebra fish are unable to survive in the wild in N. America, the tetras can. South Florida is particularly at risk for these creatures to establish themselves. S. America is also at risk. The GM fish are ba...

B. McPherson Scenes taken on Sunday September 2nd at the Cedar Farmers' Market  Kiddies preparing racing zucchinis for the big race Local honey producer sells a sweet product Local farm produce. Note insecticide free veggies The 'Dahlia Man' is always in demand when his flowers are in bloom. Vine ripened tomatoes and hot peppers are the jewels of the garden.                                                     As the public gets educated about the advantages of buying local, the Cedar Farmers’ Market has thrived. They have a location on Yellowpoint Road at the sign for the Crow and Gate Pub. The farmers set up in a grassy field in May and continue to offer their goods for sale until late October.  Vendors put up tents in the early morning, by 2:30 the field reverts to its quiet state. In the meantime, sh...

B. McPherson The following letter was passed on to me via email. If the figures are even remotely accurate, the BC taxpayers will be on the hook to subsidize the largely foreign owned oil companies in their efforts to export oil to Asia. So how does this work? Give the oil transport corporations like Enbridge and KinderMorgan a low rate for the electricity needed to keep the oil and bitumen warm enough to flow. In the meantime, charge increasing rates to homeowners for their needs. Then tell the public we're short of electricity and dam yet another river valley and increase taxes to pay for it. Joe and Jane Shmuck get to have a scar carved through the Great Bear Rainforest, risk extinction of the endangered woodland caribou, gamble with the jobs and health of the environment of the coastline and still get to pay for the privilege of having foreign corporations reap massive profits. Sounds like big business to me. Pipeline Will Suck Up Hydro Power ...