- DEN Enews
- Posts
- DEN Enews
DEN Enews
Ninth Week after Pentecost
Diocesan Environment Network
July 23, 2024
Looking for some ideas for Climate Conversations within your own network or parish? For the Love of Creation can help get you started. They are “ calling for 100 Faithful Climate Conversations this year. Check out these stories and a short video to hear how well it works in a congregation just like yours. Then head over to the website and get started with step-by-step instructions in a simple, downloadable guide.”
Decide where you want to take (a) photo(s)
Make a sign that tells everyone where the photo is being taken and that you want the Coastal Protection Act proclaimed.
Gather up a few friends, family members, your pets… whoever you like to help you take the photo
You can be serious or creative and lighthearted
Click on the link above for more info.
Congratulations to St Timothy's church in Hatchett Lake. Their heat pump furnaces went live on Friday. They are totally off of oil and the church was cool on Sunday morning! Thank you for your ministry looking out for the environment!
Over 40 Ontario-curriculum linked resources are available for free download thanks to continual funding from Ottawa Community Foundation! For two years, Watersheds Canada has delivered in-classroom and online programming for grade 1-6 classes at two Ottawa schools. These resources are great for introducing children to native species, and ways to take action for our freshwater friends and their homes.
Download all materials here: https://watersheds.ca/fpp-program/
Editor’s Note: this resource may have been designed for Ontario schools but the materials provide a backbone to translate to Atlantic species.
For more info from SOOF, check out their newsletter here:
Good Morning
I am very concerned about information I have been reading about the removal of carbon molecules from cars, refrigeration/heating gases because of the effects of Carbon in global warming. The substitution with a PFAS(synthetic petroleum product) gas was supposed to be less harmful to the environment according to the Montreal Protocol introduced in 1987 by Premier Brian Mulroney.
This “forever chemical” PFAS/PFOA and the +4700 variants of the PFAS has been proven to cause a variety of health problems in humans. DuPont conducted test on animals in the 1960 finding that the PFAS and shorter chains versions of the synthetic petroleum products caused cancers and immunity issues. DuPont was also sued in a class action suit. In fact, class action suits claiming that 3M in the USA negligently disposed of its PFAS into drinking water causing an increase in cancers, birth defects and other diseases in local communities began in the mid 2000 and cost the company $10.3 billion dollars in damages paid out to local communities. The company didn’t dispute the fact that the PFAS’s caused illness but that it’s so widely used that blame can’t be exclusively put on them alone.
Despite this ruling, manufacturing companies continued to produce enormous quantities of this material (PFAS) in liquid, solid and gas forms to produce electric cars also to reduce carbon emissions.
None of these initiatives to remove carbon from our products have resulted in a reduction of global warming. In fact, since 2010 when these PFAS were substituted in all cars, refrigerators and heaters global temperatures have increased more rapidly. Except now our air is contaminated (just like the rivers near 3M) and our people are very sick with cancers, birth defects, reduced immunity, and diseases especially cardiovascular diseases.
If this product was not safe in drinking water what made these car manufacturers think this product would be safe in our air?
I believe that battery and car manufacturers have not been using PFAS responsibly and have been negligent in producing and releasing this product into the air. Europe is trying to ban these PFAS as we speak due to increasing health concerns in its population. I have read the List of toxic substances managed under the environmental protection laws in Canada(1999 and amended 2022) to understand how these toxic chemicals are being allowed to be used in such abundance for the manufacturing of everyday products and cars. I was not surprised to see that the toxic substances that are used in the production of batteries (PVDF and PTFE) which are in the family of PFAS’s defined under Europe definition of PFAS are not included in this amended list. Europe has caught onto this practice by manufacturers of tweaking the original chemical composition of PFAS to fool regulators and bypass restrictions. This practice has not resulted in a synthetic chemical product that is not toxic to humans. It’s just the same thing packaged differently that will cause a string of other diseases.
I believe that the car/battery manufacturers have falsely claimed that their electric cars are better for the environment when there is no evidence that replacing PFAS for carbon has improved or slowed global warming. In fact, since the introduction of this substitution global warming has accelerated at an alarming rate. We passed the point of no return a few years ago and with forest fires adding enormous amounts of carbon to the air we can no longer stop the climate catastrophe. Why are we adding insult to injury by polluting our air and water with this carbon reduction toxic substance?
Thank you
Michelle Munger
with thanks to Eva Evans & Jesse Hamilton
Around the globe, people are struggling with climate change driven heat waves that are lasting longer and fueling record-breaking temperatures. Nowhere was this clearer than in Saudi Arabia, where extreme heat killed 1,300 people at this year's Hajj. This is not normal. This is not sustainable. This is not okay. The climate crisis is the greatest threat humanity has ever faced, and it's high time we started acting accordingly. Join Stand.earth in calling on world leaders to negotiate and pass a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty that fairly winds down fossil fuel use and transitions our communities onto renewable energy. It includes ending the expansion of coal, oil and gas production, a fair phase-out around the world and a just transition: so that no worker, community or country is left behind. Please sign the petition today. Stand.earth petitions played a crucial role in the divestment movement that, to date, has removed $40 trillion from fossil fuel company coffers!
From the beaches of Southeast Asia to the remote Antarctic, plastic pollution is everywhere. It starts polluting the moment it's created, impacting our oceans, our climate and the health of our communities. Microplastics pollution has now even been found in the air we breathe and the food we eat. We need a solution that matches the scale of the problem. A global treaty on plastics is that solution. We are one step closer in the UN process to achieving it. Negotiations started in 2022, with the goal of completing the process by the end of 2024. A strong global plastics treaty requires a holistic approach to ending the plastic pollution crisis. We need a treaty that centres reduction, reuse and justice — not false solutions and business as usual. Help us make this a reality. Ask Justin Trudeau and other world leaders to support a strong global plastics treaty!
Greenpeace Aotearoa is asking for our help in protecting Te Waikoropupū, also known as ‘Pupu Springs’ (in Golden Bay, New Zealand) which has some of the clearest water ever measured on Earth. They form a unique ecosystem that is irreplaceable. The Save Our Springs campaign was formed many years ago because of concern about the rising nitrate pollution in the recharge area of the aquifer which feeds Te Waikoropupū Springs. Many groups and thousands of people have worked over many years to protect the precious Springs. Because of this work, the Environment Court last year awarded the Springs and their aquifer the highest legal protection possible
Join other Canadians in adding your input to this Environmental Defence fossil phaseout survey. Share your thoughts on Canada’s energy transition and how we can build a clean economy without relying on fossil fuels. It takes about 2-3 minutes to complete and asks multiple-choice questions, such as “what is the biggest challenge Canada faces when it comes to transitioning away from fossil fuels?”.
with thanks to Claudia Zinck
Food Waste – Food Labeling
Grandma is always reading. She gets quite nosey about certain subjects. Food is a favourite discussion: growing it, cooking it, enjoying it and even seeing the lack of it for some.
Of all the food produced in Canada, about 40% doesn’t get to the stores. This is caused by disease or weather-related damage to crops or items that don’t look pretty enough to package and sell.
Once the food is processed and packaged and gets to the store, 58% of that is lost or wasted. It gets past its date, and sometimes never sells enough to get put on a shelf. Sometimes it is thrown out at home when it reaches its best before date.
It is estimated that over half of store and home waste could be saved and used. The labelling system encourages destroying good food.
A 10-minute food labelling course is available from Second Harvest. They ask us to share it with anyone interested so please send this address to anyone you think may like it. It taught me so much. https://www.secondharvest.ca/resources/training/food-waste-prevention/guide-labeling
It is the manufacturer that gives the Best Before date. Government policy demands that manufacturers have a processed date and a Best Before date on products with a shelf life of less than 90 days. That makes sense for milk products or sour cream.
Foods that can be stored over 90 days do not NEED a best-before date. The best- before dates ensure the manufacturers have fewer complaints of faded food or a product that does not look its best. Many manufacturers volunteer to put a Best Before dates on products whose shelf life is over 90 days.
Grandma remembers seeing baking beans, the dry beans, with a best-before date of maybe 6 months. Any gardener knows you can bake last year’s dry beans while growing this year. You can save them five years (in a dry environment) and still bake them up.
Grandma loves the best before dates on the little potatoes. My local store slaps a discount sticker on them before the best before. There is nothing wrong with those little gourmet potatoes.
Customers think that Best Before is an expiry date. Sylvain Charlebois, from Dalhousie, always says that “best before is not bad after”.
Consumers often think Best Before is expired. Most food will not fade or lose nutritive value till a YEAR after the best-before date. They throw away the food and buy new giving the manufacturers more profit.
The “packaged on” date is often found near the UPC for those like me who can’t find it half the time.
The expiry date is needed on items where the contents may lose their nutritional value over time, like meal replacements or baby formula.
My mother was one to “stick it in the freezer” if she couldn’t use anything right away. Second Harvest agrees with her.
I even have a certificate for doing this little course. There are other courses on Food safety that I want to return and complete. Check them out
Other groups with similar information
Gardens
It is going to be a tomato and cuke year. Last year I went through 3 packs of cucumber seed and could barely get a couple plants. This year almost every seed came up.
What new plant are you growing this year? I have two Asian veggies myself. Bok Chow I grew last year but as it grows so fast I didn’t utilize it well. First nice day this week (first of July) I am thinning and transplanting to get a larger plant.
I also have Napa, a form of cabbage. Speaking as the daughter of a sauerkraut maker, I know it is time to transplant.
In both cases, I want to have some to share. I can assure you that any veggie put at the back of the church disappears by the time everyone files out.
Outdoor fun
This isn’t a normal camp craft but it is definitely something to “make” this summer. The article suggests painting the hula-hoops, but any colour would do. You need 4 or 5 X’s and O’s that could be paper plates. Ask for the tops from big ice cream tubs used at ice cream shops. Once made this game can be stored in one large trash bag to be pulled out at any campground.
Oh, want some fun. Have a hula hoop contest and see who can keep theirs going the longest. Makes for laughs and bragging rights.
https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/how-to-make-yard-tic-tac-toe-with-hula-hoops
Something to eat.
I expect many of you pick up the imitation crab or lobster-flavoured pollock at the grocery store. We have turned it into sandwiches for a decade. I found a new recipe this week while looking to use real crab for crabcakes. With groceries so expensive, here is a fancy meal for little money
The recipe makes four large crab cakes. One cake was enough for us with a salad, but younger people may need more and use two packs of fish. It still would be inexpensive.
I found a new sauce to use with my pork burgers this week. It worked well with these crab cakes also. Put a few spoons of mayonnaise in a bowl and add a couple squirts of ketchup. It may not sound appetizing, but so good.
Imitation Crab Cakes
1 Pack of imitation crab cakes
1-2 eggs
Chopped green onion
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp dry mustard (or a couple of squirts of regular mustard)
1 cup breadcrumbs
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Cut up the fish into small pieces and add rest of the ingredients, mix together. Shape into four patties and pan fry in a bit of your preferred oil.
So good there were no leftovers to photograph.
A Thanksgiving for Gardens
God of grace, in the story of creation, you made the earth a garden and entrusted it to us to till and to keep, a place of peace and beauty where we could walk with you. In the story of redemption, the one who died for us was buried in a garden, and there you raised him up to greet us with new hope and risen life. In the story of the Church, you tend us as a garden, a place of careful pruning and abundant harvest, where we can work with you. Meet us, we pray, in all the gardens where we go for nourishment, refreshment and prayer, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.