The quote above comes from the most recent David Suzuki newsletter. Dr. Suzuki writes: “The planet offers everything we need to survive and thrive, but not if we continue to wastefully exploit it.”

Exploit would be a good word for what our current provincial government is doing with omnibus bills with trigger points tucked in the middle. A bill, which in words from the Ecology Action Centre “has turned……into the new normal - consolidating power while sidelining debate, public input and local decision-making.” Their article in Saltwire has been condensed here and is quoted from their Facebook page:

Democracy in Nova Scotia is being quietly dismantled.

“From cutting legislative sittings to just eight days, to granting ministers sweeping control over planning decisions in Halifax and beyond, Nova Scotians are being shut out of decisions that shape our future.

Developers are given the red carpet. Communities get the cold shoulder.

When MLAs don’t have time to read bills, when parks like West Mabou Beach are back on the chopping block and when cabinet decisions replace public accountability, democracy becomes a formality, not a safeguard.

Nova Scotians deserve transparency, debate and a say in what happens to our land and communities - not government by decree.”

Sound like another country? Can’t happen here? Hmmmm…..

Last week we featured the concept of Lament turning into Hope. Hope becoming Action. You are invited to participate in this action:

• “If you live, work, play or pray in Nova Scotia, we want you there." – Mi’kmaw land defenders Michelle Paul and Glenda Junta
  

• "The Mi'kmaw have the Title Rights to the land, but the settlers have the responsibility to support those Title Rights. We should all be working together side by side and shoulder to shoulder." – Michelle Paul

The Treaties of Peace and Friendship make us all responsible for protecting the lands and waters of Mi’kma’ki for the next seven generations.

Join our community as we stand in solidarity with land defenders at Tqamuoweye’katik/Hunter's Mountain. Bring signs, bring your hand drums and your voices, bring masks and puppets and joy. Bring your fierce desire to protect these lands, these waters, these rights.

Stay tuned for more details!

Need further inspiration? The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment recently quoted this article in their latest newsletter:

_{‘Climate change has infiltrated my medical practice. I have no choice but to respond’}

 _{“The science is crystal clear: Environment Canada’s increasingly frequent warnings are a direct result of our collective failure to take meaningful climate action, of our continued dependence on fossil fuels, and of premiers who still support the building of pipelines. In the face of all this, we must break the silence. Every level of government must connect the dots between climate and health in public statements and in policy. We need political recognition that meets the scale of the crisis, just as the International Court of Justice recently affirmed.”}

_{— Dr. Claudel Pétrin-Desrosiers, AQME president and family physician, in her op-ed for the Montreal Gazette} 

Need more inspiration for Action?

From the same CAPE newsletter:

Protecting health from LNG

^{_{“Two decades ago, Dr. Ulrike Meyer served a relatively healthy farming community in northeast BC. Now, surrounded by more than 330,000 fracking wells, she’s seen an alarming surge in rare cancers.”}}

^{CAPE physicians are “challenging provincial leaders to prove LNG is safe for health, because health protectors’ frontline experience and growing medical evidence show it’s not.”}

Need a sign? Nature Nova Scotia has posters

This petition is part of campaign led by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment (CANE) in collaboration with the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs and Lax’yip Firekeepers. This campaign was developed to raise awareness about the climate and health risks of fracking and LNG in BC, their impacts on First Nations, and the availability of healthier, non-polluting and sustainable alternatives that honour the land and its peoples. Physical health harms, mental, social and cultural harms are detailed on the website. The expansion of the LNG industry in BC is being rushed through without adequate consideration of extensive scientific research linking fracking and LNG development to dangerous health impacts — including in local BC communities and across the province.

On July 14, NB Power announced their plans to build a new fossil fuel power plant powered by American fracked gas in Tantramar. Climate scientists are clear: we cannot afford to build new fossil fuel infrastructure if we want a livable future.  This project would lock us into expensive fossil fuels for at least the next 25 years. A recent UN report found that solar power now is 41 per cent cheaper and wind power is 53 per cent cheaper globally than the lowest-cost fossil fuel. We need to see climate leadership and change pathways and implement renewable energy and battery storage and improve our grid energy efficiency. There are lots of solutions. We just need political will.”

An  important petition designed by the Council of Canadians asking our government to protect and invest in the essentials: healthcare, education and climate action. This government’s plans for corporate subsidies and military spending at the expense of public services is a long-term threat to our communities and Canada’s sovereignty. To strengthen our economy, distribute wealth fairly and meet Canadians’ needs, we call on it to tax billionaires, protect critical services and invest in a green transformation of our economy led by the public sector.

The situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo is dire and getting worse. Human rights and environmental protections are being trampled. There is a lawlessness in the eastern part of the country leading to gold, cobalt, and coltan being mined under inhumane conditions and smuggled into neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda. Armed groups finance themselves with these “blood minerals” while people and land are wiped out for economic exploitation. Security is desperately needed, not only for the local population, but to protect nature and the breathtaking biodiversity in this region, such as the gorillas in the world-renowned Virunga National Park. Poaching is rampant and at least 200 forest rangers have been killed by armed groups. While this country has known conflict for many decades, the situation has recently escalated with a rebel militia taking control of a city near this National Park, killing thousands along the way. There are peace marches happening and a call for solidarity. Add your name to the thousands of signatures from all over the world to send a strong signal denouncing the violence and destruction.

There are only 17 shark sanctuaries in the world, and the only one in the Indian Ocean is under attack. In just a few weeks, the Maldivian government plans to reopen gulper shark fishing and legalise vertical longlining. This move risks not only biodiversity and food security, but the Maldives’ global reputation as a leader in ocean protection. Gulper sharks are among the slowest-reproducing sharks on Earth. They are an endangered species mainly because of exploitation by humans and their abnormally long gestation period. When gulper shark fisheries last operated in the Maldives, they collapsed in only a few years and wiped out more than 90% of the population. To date, there is no evidence the species has recovered. Gulper shark fishing risks population collapse and ecosystems that rely on deepwater sharks to cycle nutrients between ocean layers. Furthermore, vertical longlining poses a severe threat to numerous already endangered sharks and rays. Shark diving generates more than US $65 million annually for Maldivian communities, which far surpasses the gains of a collapsed fishery. Please join in urging the Maldivian government to keep gulper shark fishing banned and protect the only shark sanctuary in the Indian Ocean.

Rising sea levels - When the Tide Creeps Closer

_{Living in Nova Scotia, the sea has always been our neighbour. She’s beautiful, generous, full of stories, and let’s be honest, sometimes a bit of a troublemaker. For generations, we’ve built our homes, our wharves, and our livelihoods right at her doorstep. Lately, she’s been creeping closer; too close.}

_{The scientists call it rising sea levels. Grandma calls it, “Better move the lawn chairs back another few feet!”}

_{It’s easy to picture the sea as steady and eternal, but she’s changing. The ice far to the north is melting, and that water has to go somewhere. The ocean is creeping higher each year, and when a big storm blows in, it packs a harder punch. Beaches shrink, wharves get battered, and some of our old coastal cemeteries have waves lapping at their stones. It’s no longer just “a bit of erosion.” It’s a wake-up call.}

_{Now, Grandma knows we can’t stop the tide. That’s bigger than all of us put together. But it doesn’t mean we throw up our hands and give up. No, it means we get smart, get ready, and keep our communities safe.}

_{Here are a few of Grandma’s sea-smart ideas:}

_{If you are building new, plan with the tide in mind. Don’t build right on the edge. Think about the next generation and where the shoreline might be when they’re grown. Even a shed or one of those viewing cottages, can be floated away in a storm}

_{Defend what we love. Sandbags, seawalls, and raised wharves aren’t perfect, but they buy us time. Communities that prepare together weather storms better.}

_{Plant for the sea. Roses and petunias may not thank you for salty spray, but marsh grasses, beach peas, and salt-tolerant shrubs will thrive and help hold the shoreline. Grandma needs to research plants more.}

_{Keep learning and sharing. Talk to neighbours, attend planning meetings, and remind decision-makers that the ocean isn’t waiting for paperwork. If you are reading this and think “She forgot to mention … whatever, tell Grandma at [email protected] We are in this together, people, and Grandma sure doesn’t know everything.}

_{The sea will always be part of who we are. She gives us fish suppers, summer swims, and the sound of waves to fall asleep to. But,  we need to respect her power and her moods.}

_{So, next time you walk the shore and see the tide a little higher than it used to be, don’t just sigh and head home. Ask yourself: what can I do today that will help tomorrow? Together, we can make sure our coastal communities stay strong, even as the tide creeps closer.}

_{The sea may rise, but so can we, rise to the challenge, rise to protect, and rise to keep Nova Scotia’s and PEI’s coastlines home for generations to come.}

_{Tic Tac Toe Game}

_{(A quick and clever way to turn recyclables into fun!)}

_{When Grandma was young, all you needed for Tic Tac Toe was a scrap of paper and two pencils,  but making your own reusable game board is much more fun (and keeps a few things out of the trash, too).}

_{Start with a piece of a cereal box and cut it into a perfect square, about 15 cm by 15 cm works well. Then, draw two lines down and two across to make your nine playing spaces.}

_{Now comes the fun part. decorating! Use markers, crayons, or bits of colourful paper to make your board bright and cheerful.}

_{For playing pieces, collect water bottle caps, big buttons, bread tags, five for each player. Paint or colour one set in one shade and the other in another. Nail polish, craft paint, or even stickers will do the trick.}

_{Grandma’s Tip: Want to make it perfect for a road trip? Glue small magnets to the back of your board and glue washers inside each bottle cap. No more lost pieces when the car hits a bump!}

_{Store it all in a zip bag or small tin, and you’ve got an anytime, anywhere game,  handmade by you!}

Another Get-Together

Remember when Grandma had that tea party and decided we really needed to do more get-togethers? Easier said than done! Once you start planning, there are menus to think about, dates to coordinate, tablecloths to iron, good china to find, and, of course, all the cleaning that mysteriously becomes urgent right before anyone shows up at the door.

Well, Nana and I have come up with a new plan. We’re not exactly young anymore. We can’t whip up a feast and clean the house top to bottom in one afternoon. We have however learned one very important thing, a lot of people like soup.

If Nana finds me filling the soup pot first thing in the morning, she’ll ask, “Are you making bread too?” If the answer is yes, we both know what’s coming next ; a few friends dropping by for what we now call a quick supper.

We know folks who work don’t have long evenings free, and we also know when their cars pull into their driveway. So one day I texted a neighbour and said, “Come for a bowl of soup when you get home.” I could tell there was some group texting going on behind the scenes, but the reply came back: “Sure!”

Over they came, still in their work clothes. We sat down to conversation, soup, homemade bread, and if memory serves, a blueberry grunt for dessert. An hour or so later, the dishes were done, hugs exchanged, and we shooed them home to finish their evening chores.

They raved about how good that meal was, so when one of them mentioned she had an October birthday, we decided to invite her to our October Birthday Bash. Nana’s birthday is in October too, so this time we’re going all out: reusable cutlery and glasses with paper plates to reduce the dishes.

The menu? A pizza and lemon birthday cakes to finish it off. Noone was working all day for this gathering. It was such a fun time. I made everyone a small birthday cake for each to take home after having a slice from a bigger cake. Knowing Nana enjoys things in small batches, our “Bash” lasted maybe two hours but the giggles and their memories lasted for days.

Enjoy our fall season folks. If you smell soup simmering, you might just want to drop by! There always is time to visit.

Lemon Birthday Cake

2 cups flour

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

Dash of salt

4 eggs (I do 2 with egg replacer for 2)

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter

1 cup milk

Vanilla and lemon extract

Zest from a lemon and a squirt of lemon juice

3 tsp of vegetable oil (I didn’t add this and the cake was great)

Mix and put in pans at 350 for about 25 minutes.