DEN Enews

I love the dichotomy of definitions. “Conservative” as a noun can be a person averse to change and one who holds traditional values…..you know, like the special interest groups who want to protect the environment and biodiversity.

It can also mean someone favoring free enterprise and private ownership plus socially traditional ideas…..you know, like Premier Houston who wants to make friends with those who want to “mine, baby, mine”.

By definition, looks like we are all conservatives except my guess is this Enews does not represent the 27% who voted for the Premier and his party.

Many of you have expressed the fact that fracking, hydrogen projects and uranium mining were not the promises from the Premier’s campaign. Even if any of these industries benefitted the province, their arrival coupled with billionaires affecting elections has a most uncomfortable feeling.

As expressed by others, surely there are greener options that will not rape the province of taxpayer monies leaving behind messes that we are left to remediate.

The Editor

From the Ecology Action Centre:

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Let's protect people, not corporations. This is a letter to federal party leaders and Liberal leadership candidates asking for a Green New Deal that protects workers in the face of US economic bullying, strengthens local economies, and reduces fossil fuel dependence. This would include building homes for people, not profit, delivering cheaper, cleaner energy, investing in safer, healthy communities, respecting indigenous rights and sovereignty, and taxing billionaires.

Does a chocolate treat taste as sweet if it’s filled with rainforest destruction? Mondelēz is the maker of Milka chocolate and Oreo cookies, and they keep sourcing palm oil from companies that are destroying critical orangutan habitat in the rainforests of Borneo. Reports are showing how Indonesia’s mega agribusiness Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) has potentially deforested a peatland area 5 times the size of Manhattan, turning it into pulpwood plantations. Despite this, Mondelēz refuses to drop all RGE-affiliated producers from its palm oil supply chain. They have their largest shareholder meeting of the year soon, and it's an opportunity to remind Mondelēz leaders they are lagging behind with no deforestation commitments. Tell this major company to clean up its supply chain and implement a no deforestation policy across all their products.

Canada's oil and gas sector is making record profits while working people across the country continue to struggle with the rising cost of living. Meanwhile, the climate crisis these companies created is devastating whole communities with supercharged extreme weather. It’s time to tax Big Oil’s excess profits to fund real solutions to the climate crisis that protect communities over corporate profit.  The UK, Spain, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria all made the wise decision to tax excess oil and gas profits earlier this year. Our Canadian government needs to do the same. Please sign this letter to our federal leaders urging them to make the fossil fuel companies that caused the climate crisis pay for the surging costs of climate disasters like Hurricane Fiona. Tax Big Oil’s excess profits to fund a Just Transition to 100% clean energy.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of seals are brutally slaughtered in Canada’s annual seal hunt, the largest killing of marine mammals on the planet. Species Unite have a letter to Canada's Minister of Fisheries and Oceans urging her to stop this. What do you think? This "violent, cruel, and unsustainable massacre" continues under the approval of the Canadian government, despite overwhelming opposition worldwide. Ninety-seven percent of the seals killed are defenseless, weeks-old pups, that are still dependent on their mothers. Hunters use wooden clubs, ice pick-style weapons, and guns to kill both baby and adult seals. Because hunters have a fee deducted from the price of the babies’ skins for each bullet hole, they often allow these newborn sentient beings to suffer long, excruciating deaths from poorly aimed gunshot wounds all while their helpless mothers look on. In 42% of cases studied, there was insufficient evidence of cranial injury to guarantee the seals were unconscious during skinning. The people who participate are mostly from Newfoundland, yet income from the seal hunt accounts for less than 1% of the province’s economy. Diane Lebouthillier, Canada’s current Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, supports the hunt and has suggested that the hunt be expanded and that seal meat should be rebranded as a seafood delicacy to increase support for what could be considered a cruel and outdated industry.

A rare species of orchid known as Ute lady's tresses needs help to maintain its protection. This plant is native to the western United States, but at least 2 discoveries have been made of it growing in southern British Columbia. Assessments from Canada resulted in listing the flower as nationally endangered. It has been federally protected in the U.S. since 1992, but currently they are debating stripping this orchid of federal protection. The plight of the Ute lady's tresses grows worse with threats like climate change, habitat loss, shifting water flow, and dwindling pollinator populations. Add your name to help push for protection for this rare orchid.

Fog Fences

Five years ago, I heard of this Canadian, Robert Schemenauer, who was working in Chile. The land was so dry that the people could barely survive. He did tests with a small frame to see how much fog water he could collect. Then he constructed the large wind nets and started to fill cisterns full of water.

The land changed from brown to green. Women did not spend half the day walking to get contaminated water for their household. Gardens not only fed the village but became market producers.

The part of the documentary that hit me was a happy young mother saying that now she could wash her baby daily. Now, she could wash her kitchen floor, again.

Water changes everything, especially when gardening. Grandma’s story doesn’t pull any heart strings but it sure is a happy story.

What if we could collect water at the top of the hill instead of dragging a hose every few days? What if there was a water supply at the community gardens instead of waiting for rain runoff from the roofs? What if for any reason you could get water from the air almost anywhere?

August is always dry here, but every morning in August, the fog rolls in.

Grandma made her first fog fence about three years ago(pictures below). It was far from glamorous. Thanks to grants from the Municipality of the District of Chester and the Aspotogan Heritage Trust, the Parish of Blandford will conduct fog fence research in our neighbourhood this summer.

You know how Grandma is always asking questions and sending emails. So why not write to the organization that started my interest, Fog Quest? I did and guess what? Dr. Schemenauer replied. Yep, the guy from the documentary I watched about fog nets in Chile. For a moment, I was like a teenager getting a letter from a movie star.

Dr. Schemenauer was very kind. He had lots of advice. You need a place with really thick fog. (We got that) You need a type of smooth plastic netting so the water can slide easily. Several layers of netting in a straight row instead of the box style works better. The list goes on.

You know the guy believes in his work when he sits and writes a two-page letter to help a small parish learn about water catchment.

So Grandma is writing her grant sponsor this morning and telling them we need to move the fog fence a km down the road. It won’t worry them any but they love news. I see the fog catchment system, maybe beside the church steps where the wind from the cove howls most days. The water collected could feed the small garden that we can fill with pollinator seeds. Same purpose, different garden.

I always ask myself, “What is the worst thing that could happen?” Maybe we won’t get fog. We will get dew. Dew still drips into a trough and then drops to a bucket. We are going to have some fun learning this.

If you want Dr Schemenauer's manual, go to https://fogquest.org/videos-information/fogquest-manual/

Want to make one yourself? Showing mine laid out and set up. One pointer I learned was to get your net tight and almost laying inside the trough. You need the wind to bring the fog but it can’t flap about spilling water outside the trough. Except for the spikes for the base, I repurposed everything else in my fog fence. Tell Grandma about yours [email protected]

Oddity

In Korea, bikes travel under solar panels, keeping them safe from traffic and shaded from the sun. Meanwhile, energy is generated in the middle of major highways. Picture this down the 103. For all of us worried about electric cars stranded in rural areas, run charging stations in the car parking at exits. Love the idea. I saw this on Facebook but found articles here. https://abcnews.go.com/International/solar-panel-bike-lane-generates-eco-friendly-energy/story?id=90197800

https://electrek.co/2023/12/18/dutch-riding-bikes-solar-cycle-paths/

Seed Filling Day

Seed Filing Day is coming up Sunday, February 23, at 1 PM at the Blandford Rectory, (4858 Hwy 329). Welcome to join us.

Something similar to bowls is needed for the seed. Easier to spoon it out and into seed envelopes. First, we reuse what we have. Finding medium-sized bowls, we started to fill the supply box.

Grandma believes in using what she has. Just in case we have more volunteers than expected she raided her recycling bag, Plastic bottles can be cut down but need a covering around the rim to prevent cuts. Bowls were saved from a few take-out meals and margarine tubs hold a good amount of seed. Grandma keeps a supply of plastic trays which will work well under the bowls

Measuring spoons will be reused to give each envelope a full teaspoon. Reusing those fancy little souvenir demi-tasse spoons, they measured a teaspoon just as well. At worst bamboo spoons or my supply of yard sale spoons will help measure the correct amount.

(Excuse Grandma for a moment while she stomps her feet thinking of all the plastic that comes from a grocery store. Ah, better. )

Narrow boxes are needed to hold the envelopes until sealed. A few were saved over winter.

Luckily, Grandma was raised when disposable “everything” was starting. Our house rule was to use “it” at least twice before it was thrown out. Bread bags were washed and dried on a clothesline, a common site everywhere. Bread bags were stronger to carry garden veggies to share with a neighbour. It was hard to get my mother to throw out a margarine container. They would end up, filled and in our freezer.

It isn’t a matter of saving money that we repurpose things. It is a matter of not contributing to more waste. I could have gone to a dollar store and purchased bowls. Another year we may find better ways to fill seed envelopes. For this year we are ready.

Something to eat

Yorkshire Puddings to Pancakes

Grandma loves cooking shows and recently learned an easier way to make two recipes.

Yorkshire pudding is supposed to go with roast beef. Few of us can afford what we remember a roast of beef to be. Grandma uses thick steaks or piles thin steaks together and ties them with butcher string. They cook like a roast due to their mass but will be self-slicing when the string is untied.

Yorkshire pudding or any dumpling or biscuit item extends the meal. It stretches the meal when guests are over. This recipe will make you the “cool” cook to turn a beef night into something fancy.

Leftover Yorkshire Pudding mixture makes great pancakes the next morning as long as you don’t add beef drippings.

Yorkshire Pudding/ Pancakes

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 egg

(any beef juice if available)

Mix it up in a blender or food processor.

Fill a muffin pan and put in a 350 oven for 15-20 minutes

The leftover mixture can be fried the next morning for pancakes.