NOVEMBER 2011

The Sustainable Environment Network Society (SENS) Newsletter

Environmentally active for over 40 years!

Support Us! You can become a member (Family - $20.00, Individual - $15.00, Basic - $5.00), attend our monthly meetings (the 4^th Thursday usually), donate, and/or volunteer. Mailing address: SENS, c/o the Boys and Girls Club, 3300-37^th Ave., Vernon, V1T 2Y5. Website: www.sensociety.org

*** SENS provides tax-deductible receipts for donations ***

SENS STUFF

November 19 – Civic Elections. Check out the SENS website for answers to questions we posed of all Vernon candidates. Are they looking far into the future, considering how peak oil and climate change will impact us, and considering our environment. Ask yourself: “Do they ‘get it’? “

November 24, 7 pm Schubert Centre: Come out and watch “Economics of Happiness”, a powerful film which looks at our globalized economy and asks if it meets our community’s basic needs. After the film, learn how to adapt YOUR Christmas season so that it supports localized economics!

LOCAL STUFF

1. Old Apple Breeds: Anyone know of any old apple breeds still present on our Okanagan hillsides – specifically Russian strains from around the 1900s? If so, e-mail me (jblissau@telus.net).

2. Vernon Schoolyard Cosmetic Pesticide Ban: Thanks to all involved in finally getting SD #22 to accept responsibility for our children’s health. For more, go to Evening News: School pesticide ban.

3. Weekly Winter Farmers’ Market: Every Wednesday, 2 to 6 pm, until April, 2012, in the Women's Institute Hall across from Coldstream Elementary school. The vendors will include certified Organic and natural products such as vegetables and fruit, baked goods, jams, and much more!

4. Exploring Ocean Frontiers: Thursday, November 17, 7:30pm, Okanagan College, Kal Campus lecture theatre. Dr Verena Tunncliffe reveals the wonders of the deeps. This is part of the Science In Society Speaker Series. Tickets, $5 in advance from Okanagan Science Centre or $7 at the door. More at: http://okanagansisss.wordpress.com/.

5. Photo Contest – Deadline December 7: The Nature Trust of BC would like to invite amateur photographers to submit images to the My Favourite BC Photo Contest. Categories are:

My Favourite Tree, My Favourite Wildlife, My Favourite Wild Place, My Favourite Wild View.

Visit www.naturetrust.bc.ca for rules and information. Post photos at www.flickr.com/groups/naturetrustofbc or e-mail them to photos@naturetrust.bc.ca

6. Special Committee on Cosmetic Pesticides: This committee is still seeking your comments, either written, or by email or video until December 16, 2011: Office of the Clerk of Committees, Room 224, Parliament Buildings, Victoria BC, V8V 1X4, 1877 428-8337, or pesticidescommittee@leg.bc.ca

7. Bike Rally for 43^rd Ave: to ask for road sharing (plus cycle safety and continued funding for cycling infrastructure), Saturday, Nov. 5, 10:30am. Park behind Wesbild. Meet at the upper lot with warm clothes, a sign, bike not necessary…www.walkable.org/assets/downloads/roaddiets.pdf

8. Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant: Society for Open Learning invites you to this talk by nuclear engineer, Nathaniel Royko, Nov 21, 9:30am People Place, #101 3402 27^th Ave, Vernon.

9.House Sparrow Population Explosion: Please change your winter feed to just sunflowers and nyger seed which are less interesting for house sparrows. These birds have expanded into bluebird lands and are outcompeting them.

SENT BY MEMBERS AND READERS

1. Peeling Back The Pavement: This handbook , produced by the Water Sustainability Project, outlines the problems with conventional stormwater management and examines solutions for moving towards sustainability. Replacing conventional piping is necessary to recognize rainwater as a valuable resource, while reducing runoff volume & improving runoff quality. The handbook may be downloaded at: http://poliswaterproject.org/publication/426

2. Peak Car? Our Auto Love Affair Is Ending: …so politicians MUST rethink how we build our cities. Auto-oriented Cities spend twice as much to get people around as cities relying on transit, walking and cycling. Millions are opting out and giving up their vehicles. In the US, distance per person has been dropping for 6 years and Americans are driving the same distance as they did in 1998. The trend is evident in other areas of the world as well. “ Peak car will generate a growing rationale for removal of high-capacity roads and conversion of space to support transit, walking and cycling and the urbanism of the new city”. www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/are-we-reaching-peak-car/article2210139/

3. Bias in Fed Pesticide Use Review: According to Canadian Physicians for the Environment, Health Canada relies on studies funded by pesticide makers. The sponsored studies consistently exaggerate the virtues of their product and downplay its defects. Negative results get squashed. There are also problems with what ingredients are tested, how safe a pesticide is, etc. Thankfully the provinces are picking up some of the slack where the feds have failed! B.C. is set to join Ontario and Quebec with a cosmetic pesticide ban. For the full article, go here.

4. Labelling for GM Foods Demanded: In the U.S. recently, a legal petition was filed demanding that the FDA require the labelling of GM foods. The range of foods this would affect is quite large. Upwards of 70 percent of processed foods on supermarket shelves contain GM ingredients. This is doubly needed given the fact that the FDA undertakes no testing of its own. Please send your comment to the FDA in support of this petition and to President Obama in support of mandatory labelling of GM foods! Canadians ought to start demanding this too.

5. Government Power Purchases Cost BC’ers Double: Since coming into power in 2001, the Liberals have the tacked on $19.6 billion to B.C.’s debt. Their “contractual obligations” (constructions under public-private partnership or P3) have a debt load of $80.2 billion. These “obligations” include long-term power purchase contracts that are way over priced (i.e. double that of the market value). For the entire article, visit here.

6. A Town without Poverty: In Manitoba in the ‘70s, a Guaranteed Income (GI) pilot program was set-up for all families below the poverty line in the city of Dauphin to see if people receiving the GI would still work… It turns out they did. There were also health and education benefits. This has sparked renewed interest in adopting such a program nationally. For more, read this.

7. Organic Agriculture to the Rescue: Excerpt: “Converting to non-chemical, energy-efficient, carbon-sequestering organic farming practices, and drastically reducing [food transportation distances] are essential preconditions for stabilizing our out-of-control climate and preparing our families and communities for future energy shortages. … America and the world desperately need an Organic Revolution in food and farming.” Read the entire article here.

8. Forest Ethics Petition: We have a chance to save a forested area the size of Maine from destruction by Alberta's Tar Sands, but we need a lot of people to chime in to do it. Please add your signature in support of forest ethics by going here. Also be sure to spread the word and link.

9. On line Learning: There are about 2600 training videos (check ‘em out!) and more at http://www.khanacademy.org

10. Protecting Crown Land From Development: Initially about Bridge Lake but can happen here:

action centre: http://action.sierraclub.bc.ca/actions/protect-bridge-lake/view

To your blog: http://www.sierraclub.bc.ca/wild/think-your-crown-reserve-is-safe/

11. Dream Green: Watch this great video showcasing one school‘s sustainability efforts!

12.Sucking Out Our Brains Through Our Eyes: on the battering ram of advertising;

<http://www.monbiot.com/2011/10/24/sucking-out-our-brains-through-our-eyes/>

FROM LOOKOUT SUGAR LAKE AND SEAS (WWW.SHUSWAPWATERSHED.CA)

1. Use the above website to download “Songs of the Shuswap” or just cruise for information!

2. Virus Renews Calls for Banning Fish Farms: According to SFU researchers, sockeye smolts from Rivers Inlet have tested positive for a European strain of Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA). This virus, identified earlier in P.E.I., is highly contagious and lethal. One suspected source is Atlantic salmon fish farms. Given the wide spread of this outbreak, we must take action now! For more, go to www.vancouversun.com/news/news/5562482/story.html or www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/northshoreoutlook/news/132023143.html.

3. U.S. Calls for an Investigation: The U.S. Senate is organizing a task force to monitor and respond to the spread of the ISA virus detected in Canadian salmon in B.C. The task force brings together federal, state, local, and tribal officials to develop plans to address and provide continued safe commerce of salmon and to protect these fish from foreign pests and diseases. See article, here.

CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK/ALTERNATIVES MAGAZINE

1. Paying the Price: Paying the Price, a report on the economic impacts of climate change for Canada, paints a dire picture. Unless global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are brought down and Canada invests in adaptation (our capacity to manage the impacts to come), the economic impacts of climate change on Canada could climb to billions of dollars per year. Increasing floods, timber shortages, and poorer air quality are just a few examples. Climate inaction is not an option! For more, go here.

FROM PREVENT CANCER NOW

1. Hazardous Laundry Products: Research has shown that scented laundry products emit hazardous chemicals through dryer vents. For more, go here.

2. “Give People a Chance” Petition: Almost one in two Canadians will get cancer in our lifetime and one in nine women will get breast cancer. These statistics are unacceptable! It is time to demand clear public information about the presence of known or suspected carcinogens in products. Help create a public groundswell of support for this by spreading the word and sign the petition to Minister of Health, Leona Aglukkaq.

3. Global Asbestos Lobby: Canada was in the world spotlight earlier this year, when our government refused to allow chrysotile asbestos to be put on a UN list of hazardous substances. And Canada’s wrongdoing doesn’t end there. In fact, it is at the heart of the global asbestos lobby and has repeatedly intervened to prevent other countries from adopting safety controls or bans on asbestos. Ugh! For the entire story, click here.

FROM RECYCLING COUNCIL OF BC

1. Get Unplugged: You can now drop off used or busted appliances (e.g. toasters, microwaves, etc.) for free at more than 100 locations across the province. It's part of a new Unplugged program designed to protect the environment and divert up to two million small appliances from landfills every year. The appliances will be recycled with usable parts being resold. For more, go here.

2. Greening of B.C. Campuses: A growing interest in environmental sustainability has led B.C.'s post-secondary schools, UBC, SFU, BCIT and Kwantlen to create several new programs to meet students' demands. For more, go to www.vancouversun.com/business/5350041/story.html.

3. California’s Styrofoam Ban: Restaurant owner Gary Honeycutt says banning the plastic foam containers he uses and switching to biodegradable could cost him thousands of dollars! Poor guy. Read about his “blight” here.

4. Diapers to Roof Tiles: British babies use around three billion disposable diapers every year. Now a new recycling plant has opened in the country offering to turn them into roof tiles and construction tubes instead. For the full story, go here.

FROM GUY DAUNCEY’S ECONEWS

1. Electric Bikes: world-changing impact of electric bikes (via ETRA, which lobbies for European cycling friendly transport policies) * Dutch bike commuters travel an average 6.3 km to work. With an electric bike, that increases to 9.8 km. * For trips up to 4 km, 50% of Dutch people use a bike. With an electric bike, that increases to 6 km. * 25% of Dutch commuters go to work by bike. 33% of commuters live 5 to 15 km from their work, so electric bikes could increase bike-commuting.

* A Swiss Ministry of Public Health study found that each electric bike sold saved $2,500 in medical costs due to the health benefits of cycling. * The German Post Office uses 8,000 electric bikes; Britain’s Royal Mail is buying 14,000. Canada Post…??

2. Our World’s Disfunction: So far Canadians (unlike the US) have kept corruption out of politics since no donor can give more than $1000 to a party…however our PM wishes to abolish this law, so there may soon be even more inequality and corporate influence. The Robin Hood tax (.05% on stocks etc) would generate 400 billion yearly and would help, but it’s the off-shore tax havens of transnational corporations that are of concern. 1318 interlocking companies control 80% of the world’s global operating revenues and 147 of them control 40% of the wealth (see New Scientist www.bit.ly/onkFR2). That’s why we had ‘Occupy Wall Street”…imagine having a Tax Evasion Law!

FROM ECOJUSTICE

1.Gift Matching: Donate securities to Ecojustice before Dec 31/11 and Frank Arnold of the Pinch Group at Raymond James will match your gifts up to $10,000. Details at; http://www.ecojustice.ca/support/matching-opportunity

FROM LIVING OCEANS SOCIETY

1. The Sea to Fork Network: Incorporating elements of social media and direct contact, this proposed network aims to connect local fishermen to seafood lovers. The goal is to make Sea to Fork a go-to option for buyers who want assurance that their choices are supporting both healthy oceans and healthy B.C. fisheries. To fund this, Living Oceans Society is taking part in the Aviva Community Fund competition. Please click here to vote for Sea to Fork and spread the word! Your vote helps support responsibly caught and sustainable Canadian seafood.

Co-Edited by Egan Mandreck