GreenWatch

B. McPherson                                                 This short film explains very well the greenhouse effect on Earth. While the world is focussing on the production and release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, other gasses are quietly adding to the catastrophe. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and nitrous oxide is 300 times more efficient at keeping the Earth warmed. While much of the Earth’s atmosphere is made up of the element nitrogen, it is the nitrogen in reactive compounds that is starting to worry atmospheric scientists. The Green Revolution was made possible by the industrial production of chemical fertilizers. It, combined with antibiotics has allowed the Earth’s population of humans to swell from 1.6 billion at the beginning of the 20 th century to seven billion this year. Nitrogen is a key nutrient in plant growth. Unfor...

By B. McPherson An Indian court has ruled that the banned pesticide endosulfan can be exported in spite of the government’s ban on its manufacture, sales and usage. With a cavalier disregard to other people’s safety, one of the chief justices was quoted in the Environmental Justice Foundation web page: Chief Justice S H Kapadia said, “Our main concern is that we don’t want our people to suffer…Why should this material lie on Indian soil? If some countries are willing to import it, we should go for it.” Endosulfan was introduced to the world in the early 50s as part of the Green Revolution. It was widely used on food crops, potatoes and vegetables. India has been a major producer and user of this chemical but the government has recently instituted a complete ban on its use, manufacture or sale. The manufactures have unsold stocks of the pesticide and lobbied the courts to be able to send the poison to countries that are not respecting the ban. Canada and the US hav...

By B. McPherson Food security is on the minds of more and more people these days. Whether it is the desire to eliminate GMOs, pesticides and antibiotic resistant bacteria  in our food or simply to ensure that there will be sufficient, nutritious food available when we need it. I am gradually moving closer to that goal of food security. When I retired I started my kitchen garden. It’s quite a lot of work during growing season, but Nature is generous and most of the summer vegetables and some of the winter ones are grown there. The soil that I purchased was poor and gradually my husband and I are improving the nutrients and texture of it. Judicious applications of well rotted horse manure help the process along. The next step is establishing a secure source of meat. I am not choosing to go vegetarian but am very choosey about where my dead animals for the table come from. Chickens meet the criteria beautifully. They are small enough to be easily handled, good to look...