I have noticed recently that there is a generation gap in thinking about the environment. I noticed this at first during a family dinner where my relatives were here. A discussion came up around my environmental career (of course) and where I was thinking of working and my internship (rural potable water use surveys). When I mentioned not-for-profit my uncle made some sort of huff-ing noise and a mumbled comment about *censored* bureaucrats. It caused a few raised eyebrows. The discussion continued and went down the path of property rights. His thinking was that no one could tell him what to do with or on his land, even if hypothetically he had a water well. He said it was his property. His thinking is the complete opposite of what I have learned throughout my entire university and college education. I was taught that everything is connected, the environment doesn't go by property boundaries, especially when it comes to groundwater. I brought that up and he just continued right on arguing that it was his property.
Since I didn't want to cause a scene (it's not my style) I didn't bring up the one argument that could have silenced him. The scenario goes like this:
I have a water well and you have a water well. Both of our wells draw from the same source of groundwater (aquifer). My property is up-gradient of your property. Since it is my property and I can do whatever I want with it, I decide I don't need my well anymore for drinking water and have decided to use it as my own personal disposal site for my paint thinner and any other miscellaneous chemicals I find laying around my farm. Since the groundwater flows through my property to your property, your drinking water has become contaminated and you get sick from drinking it. When you confront me I tell you "You can't tell me what to do with/on my property".
Now that I think about the conversation we had, I should have brought that point up, I would have liked to see him explain his way out of that one. This also lead to another thought. Since in the Niagara Region we do have an aging population (like many places) it doesn't surprise me anymore that there is a disconnect between what the environmentalists (younger generations) and the rural communities (older generations) think when it comes to environmental issues. I know not all of the older generation thinks in the 'boundary' way and that some do consider all the possible connections, but it does pose a challenge for communicating environmental issues. Perhaps some of those Public Relations lessons I have learned I can use to help persuade my uncle into seeing my point of view - a much more connected one.
Friday, 20 April 2012
Moo Moo Moo Mooooooo
I have never been one
to think I should be a vegetarian, I like chicken too much (chicken farms is a
whole other issue). I often have a hard time eating beef though, if I think of
what I am actually eating. Cows are adorable and I have always thought so,
especially after being to the Royal (no beef for at least a week, just can't do
it). I hadn’t thought of what the cows eat and that it mattered to those of us
who eat the beef. So it was surprising to me in an article I read called The
Top 10 Reasons to Eat Grass-Fed Meat (http://www.nrdc.org/living/eatingwell/top-10-reasons-eat-grass-fed-meat.asp) that there are grass-fed cows and grain-fed cows, and that
there is a difference in the nutritional quality of the beef and the impact on
the environment. There were a couple things throughout the article that made me
think on a larger scale though considering possible chain reaction effects.
Cows were meant to eat
grasses and it is easier on their digestive system when they eat the proper
food. Cow’s stomach are naturally pH balanced but when fed grains this make the
cow’s stomachs acidic which allows E-coli to take hold easier and less
resistant to antibiotics which in turn requires more medications. Grass-fed
cows tend to be healthier and therefore don’t require the antibiotics that
grain-fed cows may require. After finding out this I wondered: if grain fed
cows breed E-coli, we have created our own problem with E-coli contamination in
meats. So not only are we wasting a bunch of food during meat recalls due to
E-coli contamination, we are also causing unnecessary medical costs when people
who contract E-coli from their meat have to be treated in the hospital. That
seems a bit backwards to me. I wonder if it would work out to be the same
amount of money if the cows were fed grasses like they were supposed to and not
have to be given antibiotics to combat E-coli and no meat re-calls would be
issued and therefore no medical expenses incurred.
When the food source is
considered only, grains cause more stress upon their environment for growing
than grasses. Grasses draw nutrients from deeper in the soil compared to grains
due to a deeper reaching root system. It is also cheaper to grow grasses since
they don’t require as much maintenance as grains do – hidden costs with irrigation
and fuel consumption (harvesting, processing and transportation). Cows also
need to have water and shelter, there are costs associated with butchering and
processing the meat, then packaging and transporting the meat. So choosing
grass fed is a healthier and environmentally smarter choice but the more I
think about this the more I think NOT eating beef may be a good idea. The
environmental impact that is attached with beef farming is larger than I
thought, and if other meat products I eat have similar issues perhaps going
vegetarian may be something to consider.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Recycling and Compost - Jump on it!
Residential recycling has become very
straight forward in my hometown within the Niagara Region. We have an excellent
blue and grey box program, and even collect organics in the green bins. The
municipality provides up-to-date versions of the recycling and organic bin
lists each year, telling residents exactly what can and cannot go in each bin. So
my question is...why won’t my neighbours recycle and compost?
The city provided the green bins for free
when the program started a few years ago, therefore each household should have
access to the green bin. Organics are picked up each week, so they aren’t
sitting around for weeks smelling up the place. Blue and grey boxes can be purchased at
designated retail facilities throughout the region for a relatively cheap
price. New homeowners also receive one
blue/grey/green bin for free. So the issue is not that the proper
equipment is unavailable.
As mentioned before, the region informs
residents what CAN and CANNOT be put into each bin. The info packet is delivered
to households each year. The information is available online through the
regions website, setting out lists of what is acceptable for each bin program
and what is not acceptable. The not acceptable items sometimes have a notation
next to them of where they can go.
Example: Under the blue box program, paper
products are listed in the ‘not acceptable’ category but it tells the reader to
refer to the grey box listing.
So if the equipment is available, and the
knowledge is available, what is missing that my neighbours will not take advantage
of these programs to reduce their garbage? I am aware that some people just
flat out refuse (I will never understand that), so how can we get across to the
others that may want to but are not sure how to do it?
The region has a website, Facebook and
Twitter. They also advertise in the local papers. The website is clear and
useful, the waste collection information is easy to locate. I just found out
recently that the region has Facebook and Twitter, so perhaps more awareness is
needed.
- · I haven’t heard any recent radio advertisements for the Niagara Region, nor for the waste collection programs. Some new and catchy radio advertisements that would be played on the local radio stations would be a great way to grab the attention of homeowners.
- · The new paper advertisements are usually fairly large and noticeable with bright colours (blues and greens) so good job there!
- · Providing local schools with the means for educating the students about the Niagara Region waste collections programs is a great way to get them involved. The students may then take that information home and pass on the knowledge to their parents.
- · Computers and smart phones are everywhere, take advantage of that! Facebook and Twitter campaigns can get quick bursts of information out to the public.
Recycling and composting are not optional
in my house, my parents and siblings along with myself (6-7 people depending on
the day, plus pets) are all for it. Each week we put out 4 full blue boxes, 1
full grey box, 2 full green bins, and one half-bag of garbage (about 2 grocery
bags worth from non-recyclables). If my family can do it, families that are
much smaller than ours can do it too!
Other
Programs the Niagara Region offers for household waste management:
Yard Waste
Household Hazardous Waste
Large Item Collection
Electronic Waste
Christmas tree Collection
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Fisheries Act Changes - Just Putting on Blinders?
The Federal government has been discussing
making changes to the Fisheries Act lately. Their concern is about missing out
on the “precious resource” during an economic down time, as well as being out
done by smaller coastline countries. The
amendments they would like to make will down play the importance of protecting
fish habitats. The potential changes have many people concerned.
From an environmental stand point not
protecting fish habitats would be a step in the wrong direction, 1960’s kind of
wrong. Change is supposed to be progressive, helping Canada move forward. The
question I ask is according to whom? Big business would say economically,
scientists would say environmentally. Isn’t there a middle ground? I can
understand some regulations and policies within the Fisheries Act may seem
restrictive, but they were made and enforced for a reason. Humans had a narrow
view on what they wanted and “needed”, so providing a law making it illegal to
damage fish habitats forced businesses to slow down, take off their blinders,
look around, and actually think about their actions. Considering every possible
harmful scenario broadens the scope of the human viewpoint. The consequences to
their actions are revealed in broad daylight (most of the time, it is not a
perfect system) and the proper precautions are implemented (hopefully).
By changing the law to only protect “fish
of economic, cultural or ecological value” leaves open many sensitive habitats that
could be damaged in the process of exploiting this “precious resource”. Careful
consideration needs to be taken when making changes to such a sensitive law. It
is my hope that the government will take all necessary precautions as well as
include all interested stakeholders and parties in this decision making process
from now on, not excluding or skimming over stakeholders. Change is good, as
long as we aren’t sacrificing the future to get what we want now. We don’t live
in individual isolated bubbles. We live in a wonderfully complex system. We
need to protect the environment from ourselves. Taken right from the Department
of Fisheries and Oceans – Fisheries Management Decisions page “key practices
for fisheries management in Canada include: environmental sustainability;
economic viability; and the inclusion of stakeholders in decision-making
processes” – I couldn’t have said it better myself, so perhaps stick to it
guys!
For more information check out the
following links:
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
About Me:
I am currently a student in a post-grad Environmental Management and
Assessment Program. I completed my B.Sc at McMaster University in Earth and
Environmental Science - Hydrology and Climatology specialization. I am working
towards a career in Hydrogeology.
My love of the environment started
at an early age. My family was always active in the outdoors. I can remember
several hiking and biking excursions and as we got older skiing was added to
the list. We went every summer to the cottage where swimming and fishing were
always on the agenda. Our yearly trip to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair was
and still is the highlight of my year. We have gone every year since I was two
and I still love it.
Being environmentally aware and involved
was a part of my upbringing and having developed an obsession with extreme weather events in my teens, it was no surprise when I chose the
sciences in high school and wanted to become a Meteorologist and professional
Storm-chaser (my mother put the axe on the last option). I kept that goal
through the first half of my university career, and then I took my first
hydrogeology course. I was hooked.
The importance of groundwater and how it behaved was new for me. Once I understood how fundamental it was for life and how important it is to protect those source waters, I wanted to be a part of that understanding and protection effort (I feel like the song "Colours of the Wind" from Pocahontas should be playing in the background hahaha). Thankfully the program I was in covered both my choices, so a program change wasn't required, phew. The last half of university I focused on learning as much about groundwater and hydrogeology as I could. I had some really great mentors along the way too who always encouraged me to never stop learning. I have never 'blogged' before and hadn't intended to try it (I am more of an essay, report, and short-story writing person) until I received it as a class assignment, so I'm going to give it a go, it can count as one of those learning experiences.
The importance of groundwater and how it behaved was new for me. Once I understood how fundamental it was for life and how important it is to protect those source waters, I wanted to be a part of that understanding and protection effort (I feel like the song "Colours of the Wind" from Pocahontas should be playing in the background hahaha). Thankfully the program I was in covered both my choices, so a program change wasn't required, phew. The last half of university I focused on learning as much about groundwater and hydrogeology as I could. I had some really great mentors along the way too who always encouraged me to never stop learning. I have never 'blogged' before and hadn't intended to try it (I am more of an essay, report, and short-story writing person) until I received it as a class assignment, so I'm going to give it a go, it can count as one of those learning experiences.
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