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TO PLANT OR NOT TO PLANT! by Larry Powell

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The value of planting trees was questioned at a public meeting in Rossburn, MB on Feb.21st. Perhaps up to a hundred people were there, including several students from local schools. The meeting was called to examine how climate change might affect agriculture. Two speakers at the meeting actually challenged the role of tree-planting as a way to absorb harmful greenhouse gasses. Curt Hull of Climate Change Connection , one of the meeting's guest speaker, said trees may absorb such gasses during their life-cycle, (through a process known as "sequestration) but actually put it back into the air when they die and decay. *(See his more detailed explanation, and another view from the PFRA below .) Another speaker, Leloni Scott of Manitoba Agriculture and Rural Initiatives, agreed. Ms. Scott claimed tree-planting is over-rated as a way to "sequester" gasses. Unconventional Wisdom? Those statements clearly came as a surprise to several people in attendance,including one of t

MANITOBA DOING JUST FINE IN BATTLING CLIMATE CHANGE! - MINISTER

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Some time ago, I sent a a story I had written and researched about the role of Manitoba's livestock sector in the production of greenhouse gases, to the Premier and the Ministers of Agriculture and Conservation (Environment) for their comment. Please see my original message and story, below, then the government's response after that. I am presenting them here without comment. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Why not scroll down and send me feedback via email? THANKS! Larry __________________________________ Dear Premier Doer and Ministers Wowchuk & Struthers; I would very much appreciate it if you could get back to me with your observations on the article below. Thanks so much for your attention. Respectfully, Larry Powell LIVESTOCK CASTS ITS LONG SHADOW OVER MANITOBA'S GREENHOUSE GAS LEVELS - by Larry Powell . Roblin MB Oct. 30th '07 Figures from Environment Canada show that farming is playing an increasing role in Manitoba's levels of greenhouse gases. In 1990, agricultur

A Testament to Failure (Letter)

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The Failed Strawboard Plant at Elie MB. A tiny fraction of the massive straw piles at the plant.  now rotting and surely rat-infested. PinP photos. (Published in the Manitoba CoOperator - Jan. '08) Dear Editor, Regarding your recent story about the demise of the strawboard plant at Elie; my heart sinks every time I drive by that site. It is a testament to the failure of so many things that society ought to be supporting; not relegating to the garbage dump. Instead of being dismantled and sold to the highest bidder, the plant could still be up and running, diverting waste straw into a valuable building product. Rather than being gutted, it could still be providing a market for farmers to sell what is an otherwise useless, not to mention dangerous product. Instead, we can look forward to a future where irresponsible farmers continue to burn their stubble with impunity. In the process, people unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place, including kids with as

Livestock Casts Its Long Shadow Over Manitoba's Greenhouse Gas Levels

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- by Larry Powell Photo by  PinP. Compared to other provinces, Manitoba doesn't produce a lot of greenhouse gases, which cause global warming. (Only PEI, Newfoundland and the northern Territories emit less.) But, when it comes to agriculture, we punch way above our weight. In 2004, (the latest year for which figures are available) virtually one-third of Manitoba's emissions, 32.8%, came from farming. That's the highest percentage of any province in Canada! The national average in Canada that year was just 7%. Back in 1990, Manitoba agriculture produced 4,400 kilotonnes (kt) of emissions in * carbon dioxide equivalents." By '04, that number had grown to 6,350 kt, a whopping increase of 45% (compared to the national average of 23%). Manitoba's growing populations of hogs and beef cattle are said to be behind the numbers. Those numbers are buried in the almost 500-page National Inventory Report - Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada,"

THANKS FOR SUPPORTING EARTH DAY TOO!

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One of our vendor tables. About a hundred people (and two lovable alpacas -r.) turned out at a country residence in west-central Manitoba on Sept. 1st to enjoy "Earth Day Too," a celebration of the growing "eat local" movement. The open-air event attracted eight vendors from the Roblin/Inglis/Grandview area. Their "wares" included fresh veggies, organic meat, free-range eggs, preserves, honey and maple syrup. Restoring a connection between food producers and our customers is critical. The wave of fast and processed foods that is sweeping North America today, bringing with it an epidemic of obesity and disease, must be resisted. The situation has grown so grave that experts are now predicting that we are actually raising a generation that will die before their parents do! I believe that buying local, eating local and making fresh, healthy food more readily available are among the ways of combating this alarming state of affairs. As John Ikerd me

Bursting The Ethanol Bubble

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The case against food-based fuel  by Larry Powell Many of us have met interesting people on airplanes. I'm no exception. In 1997, I was returning from Brazil, where, as a freelance reporter, I had covered an environmental conference. Sitting next to me on the flight was Elizabeth May (above), now leader of the federal Green Party . She had been at the same conference, representing the Sierra Club of Canada. Even then, her environmental credentials were impressive As we chatted, I proudly told her how I always burned ethanol gasoline in my car, because it was better for the planet. I felt rather deflated when she informed me that it takes more energy to produce a liter of ethanol (at least the North American kind) than you save when you burn it! Much of the literature I have since read, supports Ms. May's position. David Pimentel(r.). "The most persistent, articulate and scathing critic of the biofuels industry." (columnist) Pimentel, of Cornell Univer

Larry's Submission to the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission

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Factory-farmed sows, like the one above, spend much of their lives in tiny steel cages. (Photo courtesy of Farm Sanctuary.)   ___________________________ Hearings have just concluded in Manitoba to determine if this province's hog industry is sustainable. The government instructed the Clean Environment Commission to conduct the hearings after placing a moratorium on new hog barn construction last year. The Commission is expected to make recommendations to the government in several months on whether to continue, or to end that moratorium. The freeze has drawn howls of protest and threats of lawsuits from the hog industry, represented by the Manitoba Pork Council. Larry Powell presented the following views to the Commission on behalf of "Citizens for Family Farms," at a hearing in Dauphin on March 20th. Submission to the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission on the Sustainability of Hog Barn Development. I'd like to thank the Commission for this opportuni