Food_for_thought
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Feature Article
November 24, 2005. | Navigate | .
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Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
Food for Thought:Mill StreetCafe serves local and organic fare
by Inie Platenius
You’d think that living in the country would give you easy access to eating local food, but ironically, for many years if you wanted to eat locally produced food in a restaurant, you had to drive to Kingston to find it. The opening of Sydenham’s Mill Street Cafhas changed all that – hopefully for a long time to come.
Mill Street Cafis the godchild of Desert Lake Gardens, a long-established organic food broker run by Pat and Rick Dawson of Desert Lake. For years the Dawson family provided organic locally grown meat and produce, then expanded into a wide range of organic products delivered weekly to customers from Verona to Kingston. This year they made the decision to move their base of operations to the former Lloyd Jones drug store in Sydenham, across from Trousdale’s General Store. At the same time, their son-in-law Paul Pisa was looking for a new challenge for his talents as chef, so the Dawsons combined forces to create the Mill Street CafDesert Lake Gardens complex. After a year of planning and renovation, both are open for business.
The Mill Street Cafis the place that many of us have been craving – upscale without snobbery - fine dining in a local setting. Our dinner there was all we had hoped for. The soup of the day was a lentil mange of many layers of flavour. Thick and hearty, it would have served as a full entr if taken with a salad. The mushroom bruschetta arrived on a bed of baby organic greens with subtle vinaigrette. Lots of mushrooms on crisp organic bread. This appetizer could serve as a lunch dish. Our entrees were substantial. Crisp duck leg is served with Armignac prunes and roasted potatoes. The “Inspired Curry” (curry of the day) was vegetarian and full of deep, many-layered flavours. I tried valiantly to finish off my beef Bourguignon en croute, but after the generous bruschetta had to cry ‘uncle ‘and ask for a take out container. The locally grown organic beef was succulent, with just enough gravy to flavour the flaky crust. It even held up for re-heating the following night. After the meal, the three people in my party were so full we chose to split one dessert among us all – a lemon tart – heavenly crust with light and tangy filling. My fair trade de-caf was the perfect end to a perfect meal.
Fine dining is about atmosphere as well as food, and the Mill Street Cafmeets the challenge. This is not your kitschy country caf The copper topped tables and bar, the fluted light fixtures, and especially the wonderful porthole peeking from dining to kitchen area all declare this is a special space. You’re in Sydenham, but you’re out of the ordinary. In fact, looking from our table through the window toward Trousdale’s, I could have sworn I was seeing a painting by the Parisian artist Utrillo. And be sure to check out the bathroom fixtures. Even the soap in the dispensers is special – green apple, I think.
Ah, but at what cost? Dinner for three: three appetizers, three entrees and one dessert with wine and coffee came to about $100 (not including tip) – not diner prices, to be sure, but most definitely not diner fare.
Mill Street Cafis open from Tuesday through Sunday (including Sunday brunch) for deli takeout and lunches as well. Check it out. You won’t be sorry.
Flying_squirrels
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November 10, 2005. | Navigate | .
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Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
Did you know that Flying Squirrels are forest canaries?
commentary by Gray Merriam
Ever hear the gentle thumps of a squadron of flying squirrels landing on the siding of your house? I have. Around here we have a lot of Southern Flying Squirrels, known to biologists as Glaucomys volans. They probably are several-fold more numerous than the daytime red squirrels. We also are in the range of overlap with the larger Northern Flying Squirrels, Glaucomys sabrinus that are more common in purely coniferous forests.
You can get to see and hear our flying squirrels by offering a nighttime feast of sunflower seeds or nuts in your bird feeder or even in a container on the ground near a tree or a house wall. They are not fearful of a beam of light or even a small porch light.
In the daytime, flying squirrels hole up in hollow trees or sometimes build a twig nest in the high branches. By night they forage for many things. Nuts, such as this year’s bumper crop of acorns are a favourite. So are moths and other large insects, mice and voles, and even eggs and nestling birds in season. But a more common food is mushrooms – fungi – either above ground or underground.
Most of a mushroom is underground. The aboveground part appears only periodically as a means of producing spores to reproduce and spread the mushrooms. Underground, there is much more of many fungi. Often there are many square miles of root-like filaments called hyphal strands making fungi the largest living beings. Many of those hyphal strands are attached intimately to the tissues of tree roots. The trees use those fungal strands as extensions to their own root system. A marvelous increase in the tree’s ability to absorb scarce nutrients. It is a symbiosis. In return the fungus gets some nutrients made by the tree using sunlight – something the fungus can’t do. But it seems that the tree gets the best deal because without those hyphal strands on their roots – called mycorrhyzal strands – many tree species do not survive well. Some fungi produce fleshy bodies underground – the delicacy called truffles. Flying squirrels are expert truffle sniffers and enjoy these underground fungal delicacies as much as any French gourmet might.
Trees need those mycorrhyzal fungi and the flying squirrels ensure a constant crop. The flying squirrels eat both above-ground and under-ground parts of the fungi, including the spores that produce new fungi. And many of those spores pass through the flying squirrels. Those spores are compacted into pellets that also contain a concentrate of nutrients. So the flying squirrels drop concentrated forest pellets of forest health supplement right at the base of the trees that need it. Without the flying squirrels the forest trees are less healthy.
Many other animals that live in the forest also are supported by flying squirrels. They are a major food source for many predators, especially owls. In old-growth forest in BC and in the Pacific Northwest of the US, a pair of Northern Spotted Owl have been found to eat over 400 northern flying squirrels in a year. Northern Spotted Owls are considered to be the prime indicator of healthy old-growth forest.
So because of their role in maintaining healthy symbiotic fungal populations in the forest and because they are a major food supply for many forest predators, northern flying squirrels are now being thought of as a prime indicator of a healthy forest. Canaries in the forest. Just like canaries in the mines.
But beyond that utility value, seeing a flying squirrel climb a tree, launch into an eighty foot glide to a lower landing on another tree, climb up and repeat the feat, is a wonderful sight – whether you see it or just imagine it.
Letters_dec8
Home | Local Weather | Editorial Policy
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December 8, 2005. | Navigate | .
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Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
Letters to the Editor
Re: Tichborne RinkI would like to set the record straight in regards to the rink in Tichborne. This outdoor rink is fully operational and every bit of the praise goes to the members of District #4 recreation committee and neighbours who are out there at 2 am when the temperature dips to -20, because as we all know – this is the best time to flood the rink, and to those who break out the shovels and snow blower after receiving 4 feet of snow to make room for those that are itching to lace up those skates. To you, I say Thank You and without you I would not be able to hear the laughter of children learning to skate, the sound of the puck being shot at the boards, over and over and over again at 11 pm, and the cheers when a child scores his first goal! This is music to my ears, knowing that those in the community and surrounding area are enjoying these facilities.
Mr. Guigue – did you realize that you can’t actually see the Tichborne rink from the road? Last winter you would have been hard pressed to find a day when there wasn’t at least one person on the rink. In fact, from my kitchen window I have full access to see the rink full of both the young and old enjoying these facilities. This is a great site for the residents of Tichborne and now with the help of the recreation committee putting in a much needed change facility (with the hopes of having bathrooms in the future!) it will be a great pleasure for me to keep tabs on the number of people who use this…..try for yourself – ask the Thompsons, Hannahs, Raymonds or Goodfellows – they all enjoy it and for that I praise the work of those who take pride in keeping the rink alive. People have come from far and near to use this – a couple of years ago a group of high school students from Sydenham came and had a great time…so next time you are feeling the winter blues, pack up the family and the skates and come on down and enjoy the outdoors.
The cost…..absolutely nothing….children can skate at anytime, day or night, for no charge. This is a wonderful advantage for the small community of Tichborne.
A proud Tichbornian!
- Christine Teal
Dombrowsky on agricultureI appreciate the opportunity to inform your readers of the approach the provincial government is taking to address the issues raised by Mr. Scott Reid, MP for Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington in his letter published on September 29 with regard to the sale of farm products at farmers' markets.
As a life-long resident of a rural community, I recognize that farmers and farmers' markets have long been significant contributors to the province's economic and social well being. There are a number of excellent farmers' markets across Ontario, and I know these markets are pleased to have their consumers' support.
As the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, I would like to assure Mr. Reid and your readers that my ministry is strongly committed to the development of our agri-food industry in both rural and urban settings. My ministry is working to ensure that consumers receive safe food while, at the same time, allowing farmers to showcase their products at local markets. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is also responsible for ensuring applicable products are in compliance with the legislation it administers.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) is the lead ministry for matters relating to the inspection of farmers' markets, under the Health Protection and Promotion Act and Regulation 562. The MOHLTC is aware of the issues being raised by market vendors and other affected stakeholders, including Mr. Reid and in response, is leading a working group to address concerns with regard to the provincial legislation and its enforcement. The working group, which includes representatives from my ministry, public health units, and Farmers' Markets Ontario, will make recommendations for action to the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
I have forwarded a copy of Mr. Reid's letter, which was published in your newspaper on September 29, 2005, to the Honourable George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, so that he is aware of Mr. Reid's concerns.
- Sincerely, Leona DombrowskyMinister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Re:MillStreet CafeWhat a lovely letter supporting the Mill Street Cafby Inie Platenius on Nov. 24, 2005! It is great to see such positive acknowledgement & recognition for small businesses in our area. We too are a small restaurant in Maberly, ON called the Fall River Pub & Grill, we also serve local organic food. We have been doing so since we opened over 3 years ago, and can attest to the difference in quality & taste that local and organics make. So much so that we believe it helped land us in the “Where to eat in Canada Guide”, and receive such positive reviews in the Montreal Gazette, Toronto Star, Kingston Whig & Ottawa Citizen. Any business that takes the step towards supporting our local farmers and serving food that is kinder to the body & Mother Nature should be acknowledged & supported. Good luck to the Mill Street Caf– we know that they will certainly have their hurdles & challenges but are going down the right road and certainly have our support! P.s You didn’t have to previously drive all the way to Kingston to get local organics in a fine dinning style at affordable prices.
- The Zammits, Fall River Pub and Grill
Nature_reflections_05-49
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Nature Reflections
December 8, 2005. | Navigate | .
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Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
The life of a tree
by JeanGriffin
From the many trees that live on our landscape millions of seeds are scattered annually, but most of them do not survive - victims of animals, birds, or insects, or not having fallen in an appropriate place. Those that do sprout and send up a fledgling stem with a couple of leaves may fall prey to browsing animals, drought or fungi. Provided that the young tree is not crowded out by older ones or those that grow more quickly and is able to receive sunlight, its life will go on. The few that persist for a few years or more will eventually reach the stature of a tree.
As it adjusts to changing seasons an adult tree becomes the source of a new profusion of seeds, which it will produce for many years. In the meantime it is a place of refuge for nesting birds or animals such as squirrels. It is home to many insects, most detrimental as they survive by dining on the leaves or burrowing in the bark or wood. It is shelter for plants, such as mosses and lichens that thrive in indirect sunlight. It is important to humans as it absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. From the Sugar Maples comes an abundance of sap that is made into maple syrup or sugar. Many varieties of trees supply the wood that is needed for building or fuel.
Underneath the trees in a forest is a massive life system as deciduous trees supply a carpet every fall, joined by the spills of pines and other conifers. The soil is enriched each season and becomes the home for myriads of small animals - mites, ants, springtails, millipedes, centipedes, sow bugs, and many more. In turn this profusion of life becomes food for larger creatures such as earthworms, which in turn may be food for a mole. Larger animals - woodchucks, rabbits and hares, skunks - may seek the shelter and protection of the forest trees.
So the life of a tree is important in many ways, but eventually, sometimes after many hundreds of years, the tree will die, perhaps the victim of wind, forest fire, bacteria, insects or disease. Death may mean the tree falls to the ground, or it may remain standing as a stark reminder of what it has been, now devoid of leaves, its branches broken, the bark denuded, and now a snag. Life has vanished from it - or has it? Now the woodpeckers will find in it a place to excavate a nest hole, and afterwards other birds will take advantage of the hole, or, if the core of the tree has rotted, it may be a home for raccoons or other small animals. There will still be wood-boring insects, bacteria, lichens and mosses using it as home. Snags are an important part of the ecology.
For those trees that have been blown over by wind or fallen for other reasons, there is still more life - they become nurse trees. As decaying leaves cover them, they will be transformed into welcome habitation for seeds, for mosses, ferns and other plants, as well as those small insects and bacteria that will cause the tree to decay and become organic food that replenishes the forest floor. Under the tree salamanders, ants and various other life forms will find concealment.
The tree has lived, died and now exists as a source of other life - the balance of nature.
Nature_reflections_05-50
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Nature Reflections
December 15, 2005. | Navigate | .
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Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright
Bald Eagles
by JeanGriffin
Over the past two weeks I have had a number of reports of Bald Eagles - one from Gail Burgess who saw it flying over Cranberry Lake at treetop level, another at Silver Lake watched by Brian and Bronwen Sutton, the bird swooping down several times toward the lake, then returning to a branch and watching over the lake. There was a report of two eagles in the same area previously. Another eagle was spotted near Armstrong Road by Bob Ritchie sitting in the middle of a field, and then flying up to perch on a large tree.
This is the season for the eagles to move from areas in which they have nested (at least three of these were mature birds), looking for food. The one swooping down on Silver Lake was probably harassing a duck. A wise duck avoids this predator by diving. By swooping down several times it was probably hoping the duck would make a mistake or grow tired and not dive, giving the eagle the opportunity to snatch it from the water and have dinner. The one on the ground may have either killed something or spotted something that looked like food - they will eat almost anything.
A low breeding rate (Bald Eagles do not breed until about five years old and the older chick eats first and often kills the younger siblings) along with pesticides, particularly DDT, human disturbance and destruction of nesting habitat had placed this bird on the endangered list. In the past they were often shot because it was considered a "bad bird", but public education has helped to dispel this myth, and today it is considered threatened only in certain regions.
However majestic these birds look, they are primarily scavengers, and in late autumn and winter many remain near open waters where food may be cast up on the shores. Here, they may find a dead or dying fish, or the body of a mammal that has been killed by other predators. The excellent eyesight these birds have enables them to spot potential food from some distance. As winter freezes lakes and quiet rivers, the birds move to areas where the water will remain open for the season, such as along the St. Lawrence River. Throughout the winter near the Ivy Lea Bridge there are usually several birds that can be seen perched high in the trees keeping a close lookout for potential food.
Opportunists, the eagles have long been known to gather in large numbers on the British Columbia coast and rivers to scavenge on spawning salmon. Now, the salmon farming in New Brunswick has become another opportunity, and several birds may be seen at one time near salmon-processing plants. In Nova Scotia at Sheffield Mills in King's County, they feed on dead chickens that are put out by the poultry farmers and these feedings have been turned into an annual event, attracting thousands of people in a single "Eagle Watch Weekend". During these feedings, it is not unusual to see 40 eagles sitting in a single tree. Areas like these have become a bonus for the birds, particularly the unskilled immatures that still need to learn how to survive.
So watch for these birds. Up close you can see its confident posture, powerful hooked beak and talons, and its ‘perpetually-concerned’ facial expression, as one writer describes it. Watch it in flight and see the beauty of its massive, powerful wings as it circles or soars.
Observations: Gail Burgess has Evening Grosbeaks and the usual regulars at her feeder. Brian Sutton reports a Great Blue Heron on December 1 - at that time still open water for them along the old railway line that crosses Armstrong Road. He and I both saw the 2 swans back on McGowan Lake on November 30 - the lake had previously frozen but was open again after the mild day and wind.
What have you seen? Call Jean at 268-2518 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Letters
Letters to the Editor
January 19, 2006
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Letters to the Editor
Mayors' FiveYears
I have just been reading the article informing us who is considering running again for the mayoralties in this area.
I note that Mr. Bill Lake has opted to do so in South Frontenac Township and I was particularly interested in his remark regarding the much publicized and controversial water system being installed in Sydenham. He is apparently of the opinion that in five years everyone will be congratulating him for the role he played in this affair, contrary to the opposite opinion currently held by 92% of the population. I can only speak for myself, of course, but like many other residents, my husband and I are seniors and at 81 years, projecting ahead for five years is problematical, to say the least. Our concern is mainly in the present and largely consists of trying to gather together upwards of $20,000 to pay for water that we neither need nor want. It would be better spent on such as our grandchild’s future education, means of transportation, house repairs, and creature comforts.
The last three years have been a disillusioning and worrisome period of time for us and our faith in the democratic process at all levels of government has diminished considerably. It is now obvious that the will of the people is no longer adhered to, at least under this council, and goes to prove that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
- Rosalie KnightsDemocractic Deficit
As this federal election speeds to its conclusion, I'd like to document what for me will be the deciding factor in casting my vote. We've been hearing a lot about the "democratic deficit" in Canada, and we've been hearing lots of promises about how to fix it from all the parties. For me the most important point is that our local MP, Scott Reid, has actually been doing something about the democratic deficit and, therefore, I can believe that he will continue to do so.
Mr. Reid has actually conducted constituent referenda on a number of issues. He has actually asked his constituents for their views on subjects such as same sex marriage, and what he should do with his 2001 Government pay raise, and then he has voted in accordance with those views. That's what I call effectively correcting the democratic deficit in this country, and that's why I'll vote for Scott Reid.
- Jo-Anne Knapp
Canadians deservebetter
The Federal Liberal Government has again missed, or avoided, doing the right thing when it came to act on the possible leak of stock market information to private individuals before the general public learned of that information.
It would have been very simple, and very correct, for the Finance Minister, or the Prime Minister, to immediately call for an investigation. But that did not happen. Rather, this government has once again been stonewalling and has thus created the impression that they have something to hide. They have again betrayed Canadians by failing to act in a timely, ethical, and transparent way. More and more this appears to be the modus operandi of this Liberal government, and that is a great sadness for Canadians - we deserve better!
- Mike Monk
The Notwithstanding Clause
Mr. Martin dismayed everyone during the latest English debate with his announcement that he would vote against the Federal Government ever using the Notwithstanding Clause! This issue is one of the strongest rationales yet for getting rid of the Federal Liberals.
The absence of the Notwithstanding Clause would give nine unelected judges (appointed by the prime minister) the final say on parliamentary legislation. That would undermine the supremacy of our democratically elected parliament, by removing an essential "checks and balances" element in our democratic system.
Mr. Martin’s announcement is a classic example of his flip-flopping. It totally contradicts his pronouncement of a year ago, in which he said he would use the Notwithstanding Clause against any court decision that ordered churches to officiate at same-sex marriages.
Depriving Parliament of the protection of the Notwithstanding Clause opens a colossal national constitutional debate which, in all likelihood, would instantly drive Quebec into another referendum – with a very strong case against the Federal Government.
- Simon Spanchak
Tichborne Appreciation
The village of Tichborne came to light on Christmas Eve when the Thompson family and friends placed in excess of 800 luminarias on both sides of the streets throughout Tichborne. What a wonderful sight it was to see the entire village aglow. It was truly a thoughtful way for a group to bring a sign of joy and fellowship to the community. We thank those involved on behalf of those who were privileged to observe the magical sight.
This past year, we have had our village portrayed in the news as a gathering place for drugs, drinking,fighting and acts of malicious damage to property. Having lived (by choice) in Tichbornesince 1954, I feel that we deserve that a more favourable picture be painted ofour town.
At present, through the co-operative efforts of many of our residents, we also have a good ice surface available and being used by many of all ages.
- Dave Hansen
Accountability
I hope that a huge number of Canadians are, like me, really looking forward to voting on January 23 when we can be heard loud and clear about our views on ACCOUNTABILITY in our Federal Government. For years there has been virtually no accountability from the Liberals in Ottawa - not for all their broken promises - not for their seemingly endless scandals - not for the lost or stolen millions of taxpayers’ money - not for their preoccupation with their own damage control which left the country drifting towards international irrelevance - not for breaking trust with Canadians.
Ordinary Canadians, like myself, don’t get many opportunities to express our views (though we do have a local MP, Scott Reid, who actually holds constituent referenda), so let’s make the most of January 23 and vote for change - the kind of change that will see all the corruption, scandal, and lack of accountability pursued until Ottawa has had a thorough house-cleaning.
- Todd Steele
Green Party understands Farmers
This letter is in response to comments made and circulated by Dave Campbell, president of the Lanark County Federation of Agriculture.
I am in complete agreement with him that "the agriculture policies announced in the last month by the two main parties will not save our farmers", but there is a party that will back our farmers.
The Green Party understands that farmers need our support, as they are the very backbone of our communities and our country. Why are suppliers and distributors profiting, while the farmer who produces the food we eat is lucky to break even?
Our current trade ideology says it is better to transport our food over long distances, but as fuel prices rise we will need to rely more on our farming culture. As a society we have to support a viable farming community right here at home. Our long-term interest and priority must include issues of food security and local employment. If Finland can supply 80% of its own food, why is Canada only managing 20%?
Governments should: encourage and support local farmers toward value-added production; continue unregulated production by small and mixed family farms for products sold at local markets; shift government-supported research away from biotechnology and energy-intensive farming and toward organic food production. As well, corporate concentration needs to be challenged, as does international dumping and subsidies to those same mega-corporations. Supply management systems should provide stable domestic markets, viable farm income and easier market access for specialty and organic producers.
- Lynn Daniluk Don't Vote Conservative
I feel sorry for the letter writers who are singing the praises of Stephen Harper and his Conservative party. It's more than a little strange that residents of this particular riding would be impressed by what Mr Harper represents given that the average income here is best described as modest. How easily they are bought. Cold calculating right wing fundamentalist conservatism is what led to the abandonment of thousands of people in the aftermath of the New Orleans flood. In the richest country in the world,foreign reporters reached victims before their own government's agencies did because those agencies were underfunded, ill equipped, and poorly organized. Mike Harris and his Conservative Party did that kind of disastrous "cost cutting" to fund tax breaks for the wealthy here in Ontario. Look no further than Walkerton. Stephen Harper's Conservatives are poised to do much more damage on a national scale. The ongoing gun violence in Toronto is a symptom of an imported culture bred in the USA. The USA has more citizens per capita in prison than any other country in the world and Stephen Harper's solution is to copy that model by increasing the jail time for offenders. Forget about addressing the poverty issues that lead to the breakdown of a society, give another tax break to the rich. . .oh and toss the rest a couple of bucks. They'll be so thrilled with nickels and dimes they won't even pause to consider the greater implications for the country. It worked for Mulroney. The most reviled Prime Minister in Canadian history bought a second term by tossing a few bucks to the senior citizens. Then he brought in the GST and delivered us into servitude to the USA by signing the Free Trade Deal. Harper would have us even more aligned with the Americans. He wanted our military in Iraq. He supports the US Missile Defence Shield and wants to push military spending to $24 Billion per year not for peace keeping but to more closely align us with the US so we can more actively support their 'war on terror', an epidemic that they brought upon themselves through decades of sleazy meddling self serving foreign policy. Let’s see. . decrease taxes for the wealthy by $10 Billion, increase military spending by $7 - $10 Billion per year and balance the budget . . doesn't leave much for those pesky social programmes that define the country. There's more of course. .much more, but I'm talking to voters that are a little short on their attention to detail. Voters who will sell the country for a 1% break on the GST. That's right 1%. The other 1% comes sometime later, like maybe 5 years later. . .or not at all. That 1% translates into $300. if you spend $30,000. on GST taxable items but less affluent taxpayers will be penalized by changes Harper proposes to the basic tax rate so once again only those with significant disposable income will really benefit. You've been bought cheap. If you're going to sell your vote at least get your money's worth. Check out how much the wealthy are going to save with their tax breaks. The wealthy who don't ever need the social services that you may come to depend upon. And seniors. Seniors who have benefited from the largesse of our Social Democracy, shame on you, voting for Harper like your predecessors voted for Mulroney. Stand up for Canada, stand up for yourselves. . . DON'T vote Conservative.- Patrick Maloney
Helen_forsey
Feature Article
January 19, 2006
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Helen Forsey:Another form of Activism
by Jeff Green
Helen Forsey has never aspired to be a politician, even though she has been a political activist all her life.
In a sense she was drawn into the current election because Ross Sutherland decided not to seek the NDP nomination this time around. Sutherland carried the banner for the NDP in the Ontario election in the fall of 2003 and in the Federal election in June of 2004.
“Ross was an excellent candidate, and without him running this time I thought I should,” Forsey said.
There is also a parallel to the political career of her father, and political mentor, Eugene Forsey. “It’s kind of neat. My dad ran for the CCF, also against a popular Conservative, George Drew, in Carleton County.”
Eugene Forsey was a founding member of the CCF party, and he left the Party when the NDP was formed. He was named to the Senate in 1970 by Pierre Trudeau, and for nine years did a tremendous amount of work in Senate committees.
For her own part, Helen studied Agriculture and then worked for CUSO and OXFAM in Ottawa, South America and West Africa. She later lived in Enterprise, where she was part of a craft co-op and farmed as well. In 1991 she moved to her present home near Ompah to become a full time writer and translator. She worked for the National Farmers’ Union between 1999 and 2003, where one of her duties was to edit their quarterly publication.
Although Helen Forsey writes mostly about agricultural and environmental issues, her background as a feminist remains a force in her thinking.
“My feminism informs my entire world view,” she says.
Helen Forsey has a history as an activist, most recently in the anti-globalization movement, but her involvement with the New Democratic Party, and with electoral politics is quite new. “I’ve got things to say, and talking to the media or speaking at all-candidates meetings provides a good opportunity to be heard.”
She is not impressed with the way the leaders of the other parties have conducted the campaign. “The campaign has been full of pablum,” she said, “but the local campaign has been much better. In fact, if the seven people running in this riding had a chance to get together and work on local problems, I think we could do a good job at finding solutions.”
As a resident of one of the smallest, most vulnerable communities in the riding, Helen Forsey has a different attitude to some issues than some of the other candidates.
At an all candidates meeting in Verona, she responded to a question about high gas taxes, by saying “The owner of the former store in Ompah once told me that the store could survive if gas went up to $2.00 a litre. Then people would see the value of shopping locally.”
Although she is an outspoken advocate for farming families, she does not take the view that it is access to foreign markets, and subsidies for agri-business that are needed. Rather, she argues that a re-ordering of priorities around production and consumption of food are needed. She concluded a recent article called “Farm Crisis, Food Crisis, or both,” in this way:
“Farm families and their allies across the country and around the world are finding more and more ways to resist this destructive corporate model and kick the multiple dependencies that have entangled us in its net. Resistance is not an easy road to take, but it is creative and exciting, and we are not alone.
“And it really is our only choice. Literally and figuratively, farm families carry with them on that road the seeds of the future - a future where, if we can stay the course, the farm crisis and the food crisis will both be vanquished.”
Nature_reflections_06-06
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Nature Reflections - February 9, 2006The American Crow
by Jean Griffin
Is there anyone in Eastern Canada (or in fact most of North America ) who has not seen the American or Common Crow? And heard its very unmusical call - “caw, ca or car”? But during the winter I do not see or hear them around my home. Why? It seems they have ‘migrated’ to winter roosts - areas usually much more southerly or where they can find more food (such as close to city dumps) and protection.
In these winter roosts they may number in the thousands from which they spread out daily to find food. In late afternoon they will fly as much as 80 km as they begin returning to the roost sites, where the large numbers provide a sort of protection from predators such as Great Horned Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, or Raccoons, not to mention man. Now when February gives way to March, I expect to see first one pair then another as they return to their breeding grounds of the previous year.
Often described as one of the most intelligent of birds, it is reported they have the largest brains in relation to their size as compared to all other birds. This gives them the ability to adapt to a variety of habitats. The fact that they will eat almost anything that does not eat them first means they can find food almost anywhere. Once, and often still, considered vermin and only worthy of destruction because of a tendency to devour crops, they are also beneficial by destroying large numbers of plant-eating insects. Also known for nest plundering of smaller birds, is it possible that by so doing they weed out the weak and feeble?
During courtship, on the ground, a male will face the female, fluff his feathers, spread his tail and bow repeatedly while uttering a rattling call. After mating they will perch together and touch bills and preen each other’s feathers. Since they mate for life, most of this is not seen in a pair returning to their breeding ground. They like to nest alone, though if suitable nesting locations are scarce, several pairs may nest close to one another. The nest, often high in a tree (where the term ‘crow’s nest’ is derived) will contain four to six eggs, and both parents will share duties. Young of the previous year may help care for the young, which are born blind and naked.
Wary and suspicious of humans, while a flock feeds on the ground there will always be one or two in the trees as lookouts. The habit of proclaiming ‘danger’ also warns other birds and animals. If one crow sees a predator such as an owl or a hawk, it will give an assembly call, which quickly brings every crow within earshot to the source. The resultant behaviour, called “mobbing”, will have them diving repeatedly at the predator, and if they succeed in forcing it to fly away, they will chase it until out of that territory. An injured crow may give a distress call, bringing other crows to its defense.
The English language uses various expressions probably based on assumptions (right or wrong) about the crow. “To eat crow” means to be forced to admit one’s mistake. To “crow” is to brag obnoxiously. Wrinkles around the eyes are called “crow’s-feet”. A flock of crows is known as a “murder” of crows or a “crow bar”.
Observations: On January 24 Steve Blight saw a Bald Eagle near the junction of Rock Lake and Armstrong Roads, and on his property on Armstrong Road found a Brown Creeper. There has been a report of a Great Gray Owl several kms west of Balderson. If you see any of these large beautiful birds, please let me know - 268-2518 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Feature Article
February 23, 2006
Global Change, Part 1:China in your future
Commentary by Gray Merriam
Kurt Vonnegut, rebel U.S. author, recently gave our civilization only about five more years. Others have expressed similar pessimistic predictions. What is behind them?
Concern about the future of civilization was often expressed in the ’60s based on the rapid increase of the human population. In my lifetime the world population has doubled twice. In the ’70s it was made clear that the problem was not just population size. The problem was total resource demand. Resource demand was the number of humans multiplied by the rate at which that population was consuming the world’s resources.
In the oil crisis of the ’70s, it was clear that if there was a limited supply of some resource, such as oil, and the demand for that resource stayed high, the price of that resource could soar and completely distort the economic system of capitalist civilization. We had $20 per barrel oil for the first time and the economies of the northern and western hemispheres were all shook up. Until 1973, a barrel of oil was worth one bushel of wheat. Things have changed. In 2005 it took 13 bushels of wheat to buy one barrel of crude, and shortages of all kinds of resources are now becoming evident to economists, and even to politicians.
Paradoxically, resource shortages have been a topic for discussion mostly in the northern and western nations who are responsible for about 85% of the consumption of the world’s resources. The rest of the world, with only about 15% of that resource flow, simply was starving quietly or dying of diseases.
With the turn of the century, that distribution of world resource is changing. The Indian subcontinent and, more especially, China are changing all the elements of the problem. The numbers of humans, the rate each person will use up resources and the effects on the globalized economic system are all changing. For many decades the United States has consumed more resources in total than any other nation. In 2005, China surpassed the U.S. in consumption of all basic resources except oil. By 2031, China ’s population will reach 1.45 billion. If their economy continues to go grow at 8% per year, each of those persons will have the same spending capacity as individuals in the U.S.
North American economic relationships with the Pacific clearly will change. China cannot now produce enough food for 1.45 billion people and their commercial development and decreasing water availability are reducing their food production areas for the future. They will need to trade for grain. Those 1.45 billion people will need two-thirds of the global grain production and they will have the U.S. dollars to buy it; they will compete directly on the open market for U.S. wheat. They also will need double the world’s current production of paper. And their consumer economy will need 99 million barrels of oil per day, well above the current global production of 88 million barrels per day. With a current trade surplus with the U.S. of about U.S. $160 billion, China will be a consumer force to reckon with globally!
China will not have oil to trade with. Their continent has little petroleum. They will not have the food production capacity to feed their population. They will need to produce and manufacture commodities that have high economic value but very little food value to trade for high food value items and for oil. Based on their current development patterns, that prospect for China will mean continued destruction of agricultural areas, shortage of water for agriculture and increasing output of industrial wastes that damage both the environment and the health of humans. If the Chinese continue to follow their model of the ‘American Dream’ they will focus on consumerism as North Americans have and they will generate the same set of problems: damaged air, water and land environments, especially in cities, and a widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Although significantly different in detail, a similar pattern of population growth, increased use of ever-decreasing resources, and declining environmental qualities will also be true in India . The Indian population will exceed that of China by 2031
As these two rapidly developing parts of our global civilization increase their dependence on consumerism and the already-developed northern and western nations fight to hang onto their disproportion of the world’s resource flow, the gap between the rich and the poor nations will increase steeply.
Perhaps Vonnegut is correct. If you want to tackle the details, see “Plan B 2.0”, 2006, by Lester Brown, from the Earthwatch Institute or go to www.earthpolicy.org or wait for more to follow from here.
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March 16, 2006Global Change Part 3:Getting off oil
Commentary by GrayMerriam
There is no question that our fossil fuel-based, automobile-centred, throwaway ‘civilization’ is going to change. What will be some of those changes?
Our food production is heavily dependent on fossil fuels. That has to change. It already is changing in some places. U.S. agriculture has reduced its gasoline and diesel use by 40% since 1973. A large part of that gain was due to farmers giving up age-old addiction to the mould-board plow and, instead, adopting new low- and no-till methods. Similar gains are being made in Canada , Brazil and Argentina . Unfortunately, farmers in developing countries at the same time were changing from draught animals to tractors, increasing food's dependence on oil.
Heavy use of fertilizers also makes food depend on fossil fuels. World over, it takes about a ton of fertilizer to produce 13 tons of grain. That fertilizer accounts for 20% or more of the fossil fuel energy that goes into food production. The energy is needed to make nitrogen fertilizer, to mine and to transport phosphates and potash. Use of fertilizer is being reduced mainly because its cost has made users more thoughtful. Rigorous soil testing can prescribe exact amounts and types of fertilizer for particular crop and soil combinations. Thoughtful crop rotations can reduce use of fertilizer. Using legumes that can take nitrogen from the air and put it into the soil, will feed that nitrogen to subsequent crops. Soybeans can significantly reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer that must be supplied to a following corn crop. Matching the amount of manure production of a farm to the cropland area can permit an efficiency that is impossible if manure production and cropland are mismatched. ‘Factory farms’ often have more manure than their land can use and consequently costs go up and efficiency goes down for both fuels and fertilizers.
The relationships between food and fuel will go even deeper. Food and fuel will compete for use of land because food and fuel are fundamentally related by economics. Until the 1970s a barrel of oil was worth about one bushel of wheat. Since then a barrel of crude has risen to be worth about 13 bushels. This has huge effects on international economics. The dependency of the U.S. on imported oil has led to their largest trade deficit ever; exporting grain can no longer cover the cost of importing oil. But the economic linkage between food and fuel is getting even more intricate.
Production of alcohol to be used as fuel requires land to grow the corn or sugar cane used to produce the alcohol. If corn brings more money when used for alcohol production than when used for food, fuel will steal that land from food production. There is no question that this sort of food versus fuel competition for land is happening. World production of fuel alcohol increased twelve fold between 1980 and 2005. Use of land for fuel production is largely economic rather than based on energy conservation. Producing ethanol from U.S. corn averages only 1.5 units of energy for fuel from each one unit of energy used to produce the corn. A lot of corn production is less efficient. But ethanol produced from Brazilian sugar cane can produce up to 8 units of fuel energy for each energy unit used to produce the cane.
Similar food versus fuel competition is arising from production of diesel fuel from oils in crop plants (biodiesel).
The European Union has set a goal of producing 5.75% of all its automotive fuels from biodiesel by 2010. Most of that production will be from acreage devoted to rapeseed (canola). In the U.S. there is a $1 per gallon subsidy being paid for biodiesel production. Consequently, almost half of the Iowa soybean production soon will be used for biodiesel.
It seems clear that affluent drivers will be competing with low-income groups who need food. Not only will fuel compete with food for use of farmland, but increasing price of oil will promote clearing of more land, often marginal, for growing fuel crops and this could have extremely destructive effects on the environments of rural peoples and native species.
Irrigation also is a major energy user in many agricultural areas. As cost rises for the energy used to pump and distribute the water, the costs of irrigation-based agriculture will soar. Those costs will be increased even more because the excessive use of water for irrigation is depleting the sources of that water. For example, the Ogallala reservoirs that stretched from the southern Prairie provinces to the Texas panhandle is ‘fossil’ water. It does not get any recharge from the surface so once it is used up, it is gone. As irrigation has pumped water out of the Ogallala, the water level fell, so wells had to be deepened and more energy had to be used for pumping. Illustrative of our socio-political responses to such problems in the 1960s, the Texas State Legislature authorized a ‘water depletion allowance’ to help out the farmers in the panhandle who needed to pump the water from greater and greater depths. They used the money to deplete the reservoir even more.
As we face ever-increasing energy costs, irrigation will become uneconomical and the world’s agricultural area will shrink.
As we are forced to get off oil, urban dwellers will be affected by more than just food production. Cities are almost totally dependent on distant rural areas for their food supply. Cities require 20 or more times their own area of productive land to supply their food. Currently those areas can be anywhere on the globe at any season. Urbanites also require large areas outside the city for recreation, vacations and other activities. They also are dependent on rural areas for disposal of their wastes. Urban commerce also depends on transportation, increasingly by truck. ‘Delivery just in time’ may need to revert to keeping stock on hand as economic decisions become driven by cost of truck fuel.
As fuel becomes expensive and in short supply, the entire set of processes that make a city function will be restructured. Reuse of already-manufactured items and supplying resources from recycling of non-reusable items will be normal components of the urban economy, not just because of resource shortages but because of shortages of energy to access and transport resources. The commuter lifestyle that is so prominent in North American cities will require restructuring and the new form will necessarily reduce the demands for transportation energy. Alternative forms of transport will be required as well as alternative behaviours of suburbanites, rural commuters and their employers.
We will get off oil and as we do, very few elements of our fossil fuel-based, automotive-centred, throwaway society will be untouched.
For more discussion, see “Plan B 2.0”, 2006, by Lester Brown, from the Earthwatch Institute or go to www.earthpolicy.org
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