Posts

SO WHO'SE UNFRIENDLY? MANITOBANS OR THE HOG LOBBY?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, May 19, 2008 Beyond Factory Farming Manitoba, a group promoting the ethical production of livestock, has launched a new website as a response to the "Unfriendly Manitoba" ad campaign by the Manitoba Pork Council. “It’s time to put the friendly back into Manitoba farming,” says BFF's Glen Koroluk. There is a small minority in our community who would make you believe that Bill 17 would devastate our province. The Truth of the matter is that the Bill does not go far enough! It will still allow unfriendly factory hog barns to continue to operate and expand in most of rural Manitoba. Bill 17 is an amendment to the Manitoba Environment Act which. If enacted, it will prohibit the construction of new, confined livestock areas for hogs and hog manure storage facilities, or the expansion of exisiting ones, in specific areas of Manitoba. It allows existing factory farms in these areas to operate business as usual. However, these areas make up less than a th

AGROFUEL MADNESS - by Larry Powell

Image
WINNIPEG. Apr.29th - '08 - The awful consequences of the biofuel craze now sweeping the planet, were starkly brought to light at a public forum at the University of Winnipeg this evening. (Car/Combine rendering courtesy of  the Government of Manitoba।)   Called "Crops, Cars and Climate Crisis," the forum featured four notable experts on the topic. They all referred to the dramatic and disastrous food price increases that are devastating the world's poor and which are being aggravated by the diversion of so much food into vehicles. One of the guest speakers was Javiera Rulli, of "Base Investigaciones" in Paraguay. She told of an assault taking place on the environment, human health and human rights of citizens of that South American country। It is all due to the transformation of the small nation to monoculture crops for the production of "biofuels" or "agrofuels" to power vehicles, rather than to feed people, she sai

LOGGING AGGRAVATES CLIMATE CHANGE - GREENPEACE

Image
A new report released by Greenpeace on the 10th of April 2008 finds that logging in Canada’s Boreal Forest is making global warming worse by releasing greenhouse gases and reducing carbon storage. It also finds that logging makes the forest more susceptible to global warming impacts like wildfires and insect outbreaks, which in turn release more greenhouse gases. Executive summary Canada’s Boreal Forest is dense with life. Richly populated with plants, birds, animals, and trees; home to hundreds of communities; and a wellspring of fresh water and oxygen, the Boreal has long been recognized as a critically important ecosystem. But as rising temperatures threaten to destabilize the planet, the potential of the Boreal’s carbon-rich expanses to mitigate global warming continues to be underestimated. Based in part on a comprehensive review of scientific literature by researchers at the University of Toronto1, this report examines the complex relationship between global warming and Canada’s

A Special Place.

Image
Last fall, I had the privilege of visiting an enchanting area of my province along and around the Waterhen River. It's distinctive for a couple of reasons. It's the shortest river in all of the province, flowing out of Waterhen Lake and into northern Lake Manitoba. And it's also the province's most pristine. Environment Canada actually called it "excellent" in terms of water quality, the only Manitoba river to get that rating. I'm posting a few shots here for your enjoyment. PinP photos. ___________________________________

THE HOG DEBATE RAGES. WHY YOU SHOULD CARE!

Image
Photos Courtesy of "Stop the Hogs." Dear Editor, Seldom has there been a more important public debate in Manitoba than the one now raging over the hog industry. Make no mistake. The issues here are grave. A powerful industry, represented by the Manitoba Pork Council (MPC), is not only pitting itself against those of us who actually care about our air, water and soil, it's also challenging the very right of a democratically-elected government to govern on behalf of its citizens. Thrown into this explosive mix are questions about the role of our cherished academic institutions. Are they remaining "above the fray?" Or are they taking sides? Over a year ago, amid howls and threats from the hog lobby, the government of Manitoba imposed a temporary ban on new factory barns. This was to allow the Clean Environment Commission (CEC) to study how sustainable they are. After receiving that CEC study a few weeks ago, the government obviously decided, they aren't sustain

TO PLANT OR NOT TO PLANT! by Larry Powell

Image
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

Image
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)

Image
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

Image
- 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!

Image
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

Image
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