Category Archives: sustainability

Vancouver peaceful pipeline protests

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A problem that plagues peaceful protestors are those that wish to cause trouble.

The problem is in knowing if they are bad actors looking to stir things up for their own amusement or agent provocateurs–sent in by agencies or the oil companies themselves to give the non-violent activists a bad name.  The next problem is banishing them from the movement.

The person calling himself “james Moore” in the piece is typical.  Not knowing the writer of the piece, it’s hard to know if this person said those things or whether it is fabricated to make them look bad.  Or worse–to put this out there to justify police crackdown.

Like I’ve said before, I won’t support violence and many folks who would otherwise support environmentalists will back away from violent protests.

Setting police vehicles on fire is not violence in that it hurts a human being, but it is destructive…and is counterproductive if you think about all the toxins you’re sending into that very environment you’re trying to protect.  You might feel a release of frustration for a moment or two, but in the end, it doesn’t further your cause.

 

 

Growing enough food to feed a family

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Farmer’s Almanac has a helpful video up on garden planning…how much do you need?

It’s not an in-depth video, but a good start especially for beginners.

They also have many more videos here.The first video, on gardening mistakes, mentions companion planning.  We’ve used that with the tomatoes–planting marigolds around them and around the garden to discourage pests.

They briefly discuss composting in the video 7 ways to use leaves in your garden: mix greens with browns to get rich earthy compost.  It doesn’t tell folks, however, that it will take several months for the matter to break down into “black gold”.  How fast it breaks down depends on rainfall and the heat of the pile.  And how often one turns it.  The piles need to be turned regularly to aerate and aid the decomposition.

 

 

 

Water-harvesting towers

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Creation Assistance has a post up on Water Harvesting towers in Ethiopia.  They had me until I read that the material is made from polythylene textile.  I read a couple of websites on polythylene, and they claim that it is not toxic although it is made from petroleum.  I don’t buy it.  How many times have they claimed that there are certain plastics that are safe….only to be told many years or decades later that they were, in fact, toxic?  Meanwhile, we poison ourselves and our kids…

So. although I think it’s a great idea, there has to be a natural material that can be used to collect the water…perhaps hemp fabric woven with bamboo?

 

Mi’kmaq Warrior Trial

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Warrior Publications has this up on the Mi’kmaq Warrior Trial.  This is the first I have read of someone on the First Nations side having  a gun.  In the reports that I read, no one mentioned this…so this destroys some of the credibility of the reporting.

Because I am not down with bringing guns….you may not have the intention of using it, but bringing it makes it easier for someone to get hurt.  You may only intend on using it in self-defense, but the other side does not know your intentions.  If you live by the sword, you die by the sword, as they say.

If you are doing this for your children, be an example to them.  Show them how to stand up for your rights without violence.

And the other side?  Only an unethical coward would shoot someone whom is unarmed.

People have a right to protest, especially when their rights to their land are being pushed aside for dirty fracking, but I will not support violence on either side.

 

 

Monsanto’s Agent Orange

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This photo is really hard to look at–but the discussion needs to continue until the evidence overcomes the marketing savvy of the chemical industry, and specifically Dow and Monsanto...which don’t want to own their legacy.

These photos document the toxicity of chemicals and how extremely devastating they are to the human body.

So…Dow Chemical now wants to make it even more toxic…and the brain-dead FDA will not think of the consequences, only the $$$ to be made.  Here’s a petition to stop its approval.

 

Chile Earthquake

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The death count is at six this morning after an 8.2 earthquake in Chile.   Comfort to those of you affected by it.  If you recall, there was another devastating earthquake in 2010, also with a tsunami.

Knowing that fracking has been tied to earthquakes, and Chile’s previous earthquake was equally devastating…I searched for any correlation.  Here’s what I found.

According to a study published in the world renowned Science Magazine in July 2013, areas subjected to extensive DWI activities are especially prone to damaging earthquakes, triggered remotely by large, natural quakes. Since 2009, Oklahoma has recorded 40 times more earthquakes than in the last 30 years. The largest, at 5.7 magnitude in November 2011, has been tied to wastewater injection and an 8.8 M earthquake in Chile.

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(italics mine)

Evidence that fracking has come to Chile here:  oilprice.com/Finance/investing-and-trading-reports/Fracking-has-Come-to-Chile.html

(not linking to it for obvious reasons)

All about the Benjamins…nothing about the serious consequences to the Earth, water, people, and animals.

Olive Oil soap

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First, I want to say that I get no advertising dollars for recommending products…with that said…

I saw a bargain for some olive oil soap….3 bars for $3.99, so I grabbed them.

I had been looking up biodegradable shampoo because the Dr. Bronner’s, which I usually use, left something of a coating on my hair.  And I didn’t like the idea of purchasing shampoo in plastic bottles, adding to the plastic bottle mountain heap.  I saw shampoo soap and wondered about its efficacy.  Memories of when my Mom used soap on my hair and the resulting mess came to mind…

So when I purchased the olive oil soap, I was planning on just using it for soap…but thought more about that shampoo soap, and decided what the hey, I’ll try it.  I didn’t have anywhere to go that day, so no biggie if my hair turned into a mess.

I was pleasantly surprised.  Not only was my hair clean, but soft, too.  The castile soap had left it dulled somewhat.

So I think I have a new shampoo…without the bottle.

Now if I can find it without stupid plastic wrap around it…

 

 

Saving the Amazon

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Jared Leto has a link up to a video against oil drilling in the rainforest of Yasuni.  You might recall the Huaroani tribe was featured in the book Savages by Joe Kane.  He chronicled the indigenous tribes’ slowly being overtaken by the oil companies–their health, their land, and their culture.

  • Yasuni is home to over 130 globally threatened species including the giant otter, white-bellied spider monkey, golden-mantled tamarin, giant armadillo and jaguar. Extinction risks are high for all threatened species.

  • 655 different tree species have been identified within 1 hectare of land.

  • For reptile biodiversity, it is the 2nd richest area in the world.

  • More insect species are found in Yasuni than any other forest.

  • There are more frog and toad species within Yasuni than all of North America combined.

  • Ecuador has the 9th highest mammal biodiversity, and over half reside in Yasuni.

  • Many species are endemic to Yasuni.

  • It is home to the 5th largest bat reserve.

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The petition to sign here.  Please don’t think because it’s *there* that it doesn’t affect us in America.  It does.  Everything is connected and when a species (plant or animal) dies, it affects other species….a domino effect, if you will.

Given that bats are dying of a disease of unknown origin, (yeah, it’s probably caused by chemical toxins), we should sit up and take notice that this area contains the 5th largest bat reserve.

Here are some of the unique species to Yasuni.

 

 

Dividing First Nations in other ways…

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Scott Sewell has this up on how things changed when the gaming commissions came to town.  A sly way to divide tribes, eh?

There is just something wrong with giving tribes two choices: nuclear waste or gambling casinos.

But the federal government says to Indian people, “I will recognize your sovereignty if you have either a nuclear or toxic-waste dump or casino.” That’s pretty much the only way you get your sovereignty recognized as Indian people.
Let me be clear about this: We are sovereign. I don’t care if the federal government recognizes me, my nation, and my people. That’s of little consequence to me in the long-term picture. The federal government, as far as I’m concerned, is by and large illegal. Most transactions are illegal. It’s like being recognized by a bunch of hoodlums. But under the law, they recognize your sovereignty in those two things, a dump or a casino. So Indian people are in an ironic situation, in that our choices for economic development are so limited.

In Minnesota, I see two examples. I see a reservation like Mille Lacs. They have two casinos. They built schools, houses, roads, clinics, and community buildings. They bought land. Nobody was going to do that for them. No federal appropriation was going to be made for those Indian people to do that, although their land was mostly taken from them. The federal government is supposed to provide those things for them. That’s not going to happen, so they did that with their casinos, and that’s right. They’re making some long-term investments that are smart. They don’t think those casinos are going to last forever, but they’re doing the right thing.

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I have heard of folks willing their land to a tribe native to the area. Cool.

Here is the Native Harvest website Winona mentions.

And the Indigenous Environmental Network.

The grassroots people of Kul Wicasa oppose the development of the power line infrastructure planned by Basin Electric.  The Lower Brule substation is to be located two miles from the Big Bend Damn.  The thick, corrosive nature of tarsands oil (which in its natural state is the consistency of peanut butter) requires a constant temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit and necessary dilutants to liquify it enough to be slurried through the pipeline. This will require an enormous amount of power.  Basin Electric stated at a public utilities commission meeting in Winner, SD “the pipeline apparently moves oil under 1440 pounds of pressure per square inch. If the line is to move 700,000 barrels of crude per day, each pumping station requires three 6500 hp electric motors running on 17 megawatts of power night and day.  If the flow rate is increased to 900,000 barrels per day, five 6500hp electric motors are required.  That would use 25 megawatts of power.”

This increasing demand for electricity forces the need for the additional power station at Lower Brule. Transmission studies indicate the current system has reached its load limit.   Given the location of the Lower Brule substation, 2 miles south of the Big Bend Damn, it is apparent Missouri River water will be used to produce electricity.

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Soooo…..they toss a few crumbs with wind turbines…but what they don’t tell them is that the pipeline is going to require even more energy…and precious water to move the “peanut butter” through the lines…um-hmmm…

This is just stunning:

…the land isn’t even there now; it’s an oil mine; there was a lake there that was 200 miles long and 100 miles wide.  Now, the elders are saying, for the first time, the shoreline is receding and the rocks at the bottom of the lake are exposed.  Water is being taken from the rivers and lakes to support the destruction by the tarsands mine. 

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It’s really hard to imagine that much water being used.  It’s gone.  No longer usable by humans or animals.

This pipeline would destroy farmland and jobs, contrary to Big Oil myth.  The First Nations are trying to support themselves with the food production, but once again Big Oil has other ideas.  If you know anything about history, the Native Americans were moved to areas out West…once oil was discovered, suddenly they were in the way and once again moved.  This continued on…and now we have the modern day version of it–pollute the land so it is no longer inhabitable.