DEN Enews

Just when we think our despair and frustration from the news south of us has us at the limit, our provincial government pulls out another omnibus bill with limited time to react. As usual Nina Newington and Save our Old Forests have an excellent response:

The Ecology Action Centre is even more precise in their response:

Understanding the importance of our our forests and all parts of creation, the Anglican Communion announces a call to restore and protect the lungs of the earth:

Creation is struggling to breathe

“The ‘lungs of the earth’—our planet's most vital ecosystems—are facing unprecedented threats that demand urgent global attention. These irreplaceable systems sustain life by generating oxygen, storing carbon, and supporting biodiversity through oceans, coral reefs, and forests. Meanwhile, ice caps regulate global temperatures by reflecting sunlight and driving ocean currents, helping slow climate change.”

The link above offers some news about efforts from parishes and challenges us with the question -What will you do?

Right now, the federal government has an opportunity to finalize bold regulations on methane pollution for the oil and gas industry. Oil and gas methane emissions contribute to the hotter, drier conditions that fuel devastating wildfires—like those we've been experiencing. The government's draft regulation aiming for a 75 percent reduction in oil and gas methane emissions is a step in the right direction but we need them to be more ambitious. Let's tell our government we want near-zero targets for methane emissions by 2035 in line with B.C.'s targets and new regulations coming into effect in Europe. 

The upper Walbran valley on Pacheedaht territory is a crucial part of one of the last intact old-growth watersheds on what’s currently called Vancouver Island. And it’s being logged right at this very moment. Pacheedaht Elder Bill Jones, who was a key figure in the Fairy Creek blockades that became the largest act of civil disobedience in Canada’s history four years ago, is once again risking arrest by leading a new old growth protection camp in the Walbran to do what the B.C. government has failed to do: stop logging in ancient forests. Support Elder Bill and other forest protectors: call on the B.C. government to keep its promises to protect old growth and catalyze a paradigm shift in forestry on these lands. An injunction was granted on Friday, September 12th to arrest and remove them from the camp. Ironically, this is all happening exactly five years to the day since the B.C. government committed to issuing emergency interim protection for 2.6 million hectares of at-risk old growth forests and catalyzing a wider paradigm shift in forestry within a 3 year timeline. B.C. government's failure to provide meaningful financing for Indigenous-led conservation solutions. Instead of giving away millions each year in handouts to big logging corporations, the government should instead repay what's owed to Nations so that Indigenous communities can choose forest protection as a viable economic pathway.

This is another petition by Stand.Earth asking for protection of old growth forests in BC.

Highway 413 in Ontario will pave 400 acres of the Greenbelt and 2000 acres of the province’s best farmland. It will put our climate goals out of reach and is a threat to endangered species. It uses the same destructive planning approach as the Greenbelt removals. The provincial government refuses to say how much Highway 413 will cost, but independent estimates are as high as $10 billion and growing. When the previous government studied this highway, they cancelled it because it was found to be expensive and unlikely to substantially reduce congestion. The benefits go to the well-connected sprawl developers and at the expense of taxpayers and the environment. Please join in telling your MPP’s and the Minister of Transportation that Highway 413 should be cancelled.

Australia's catastrophic bushfires, dangerous heat, smoke, floods, and dust storms over the summer show climate change is taking its toll and devastating communities. Marsh is the world's leading insurance broker and risk advisor that should be leading the world by helping companies reach solutions to global warming. Instead, they are helping companies like Adani exacerbate the climate crisis. Adani is an energy and mining company from India who is building the largest coal mine in Australia’s history and one of the largest in the world. They are doing this without the consent of Traditional Owners, by aggressive legal suits, by extracting billions of litres of groundwater and risking one-of-a-kind ecosystems, and at the cost of our environment and future. Even though 16 major insurance companies have already said no to Adani, global insurance broker Marsh is busy helping them find insurance for this massive coal project. Add your voice to this petition asking to publicly rule out any insurance brokerage services for the Adani-Carmichael coal project, including for railway line, infrastructure, and contractors. Also to publicly rule out any insurance brokerage services for the Adani Group, its Australian subsidiaries, and any other subsidiaries listed on the Global Coal Exit List. Let’s call on Marsh to insure our future, not Adani’s climate-wrecking coal project!

 Help push this petition against Octopus farming to 150,000 signatures. Octopi are the world's most intelligent invertebrate and have as many neurons as a dog. These solitary, territorial, and majestic creatures suffer in captivity and feel pain and stress. The methods in farming them are torturous while also being destructive to marine ecosystems. One examination estimated that 10-15% of the octopi will die in the crammed and tiny tanks before they even get to ‘slaughter age’. The Spanish company Nueva Pescanova has invested millions building the world's first commercial octopus farm in the Canary Islands. It’s built to breed and slaughter 3,000 metric tons of octopus annually. The Canary Islands are influenced by tourism. Take a moment to ask the government to stop this farm and by pledging to boycott the Canary Islands until it's dropped.

When the Smoke Blows In

Grandma remembers when the only smoke we worried about was from the wood stove or the campfire down by the beach. These days, the summer winds can carry smoke from wildfires hundreds of miles away, and suddenly our skies are hazy, our throats scratchy, and we’re all checking the weather not for rain, but for “air quality alerts.”

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and more severe across Canada. Even if the flames are nowhere near our homes, the smoke doesn’t respect borders. It drifts across provinces, sometimes even across the whole country. For kids, elders, and folks with asthma or heart troubles, that smoky air can be downright dangerous.

So, what can we do when the smoke rolls in?

Stop any leaks.  Keep windows and doors closed. If you’ve got a draft, roll up an old towel and tuck it in.

Do It Yourself. Take a regular box fan, tape a furnace filter to the front, and presto, you have your very own homemade purifier.

Keep it clean inside. Skip the candles, incense, and frying pans on smoky days. No need to add more haze indoors.

Stay cool smartly.  If you use an AC, make sure it’s not pulling smoky air inside.  Anytime you want cool air from a heat pump, remember the “dry” setting is just as chilly and costs half as much as “cool”

If you have the Gadgets, use them! An air purifier with a HEPA filter can be a game-changer. Download the Air Quality Health Index app (Canada’s own system) to check when it’s safe to open the windows again.

When smoke lingers, some towns open up libraries, churches, or community centres as “clean-air shelters.” If you’ve got a neighbour who’s older or not feeling well, give them a call and maybe invite them over. Sometimes just sharing a room with cleaner air is the best kind of care.

Wildfires may be far away, but their smoke reminds us how connected we all are. A little preparation, such as a fan, a filter, and some neighbourly kindness, means that when the smoke blows in, our homes can stay safe and our lungs can be kept safe.

Gardening

This year we had a drought. Now, that’s not something you usually hear from a Nova Scotian! Sure, August often brings a few dry spells, but drought? That’s a new one for us. I thought drip irrigation would be enough to keep the gardens happy, but no, it wasn’t. The plants hung on, but they weren’t much to brag about… except for the community gardens.

Yes, this is another fog fence story.

Most of the gardeners came early in the mornings with buckets of water, tending to their well-mulched boxes. A few didn’t keep up, and their gardens showed it. But then there was my fog-fence garden, seldom watered, yet growing lush and green. My little six-inch moisture meter told me the edges were dry, but right under the water trough, it showed damp, just as expected.

Then a friend came along with a much longer moisture meter. Lo and behold, my garden didn’t just show “moist”, it showed wet. That silly little fog fence had been quietly watering my garden all along. Sure, I tossed a few gallons on during the heat wave, but otherwise, the fence did the work.

And the proof? Tomatoes! At home, I picked maybe two dozen. Lloyd kindly gave me some Romas, but the real surprise was in the south corner of my 4x8 garden box. The plants tumbled right over the back, loaded with fruit.

If you want to try your own fog fence, it doesn’t take much to build one, especially in a garden box.  Drill a few holes in the trough, string the netting between the uprights above the trough, and set it up above your garden. The trough makes watering easy when you do need to add a bit of water, and if your mornings bring fog or even heavy dew, the fence will catch it and drip it right where your plants need it.

Sometimes the simplest ideas, like a bit of gutter and some netting, can surprise you with a garden full of green.

Now, when you have extra tomatoes, consider making a batch of mincemeat. If you like mincemeat pies at Christmas, you know a bottle of mincemeat costs as much as a litre of olive oil these days. Canned properly, mincemeat is good for several years, if it lasts that long.

Green Tomato Mincemeat

8 cups chopped or sliced green tomatoes.

4 cups chopped apple

2 cups raisins

1 cup dried currants (or an extra cup raisins)

1 cup candied fruit (could be mixed or candied orange or ginger added in)

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp ground cloves

1 cup brown sugar

1 ½ cups white sugar

1 cup apple juice

1/3 cup (apple cider) vinegar

¼ cup lemon juice

Combine everything in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1 ½ hours, stirring frequently until the mixture thickens.

Sterilise and fill six pint-sized jars. Then a hot water bath to snap the lids.

I often buy the little tart shells, add a spoonful of mincemeat in each one and then bake 15 minutes at 350. Anytime of year, those tarts disappear.

Till next time, Grandma is sending hugs.