Catching up on all the news that's fit to barf.

Lots of negative news in the world these days. Ah happy spring. Where is the good news? Is there such a thing as good news?

Well here is at least one piece of good news.
Ontario pesticide ban looking like a go. And on first glance the ban looks pretty comprehensive. "Ontario's proposed ban on the sale and cosmetic use of pesticides will be the toughest in North America once it becomes law, supporters said Tuesday."

But really so what? We ban pesticides but will there be enough food?

Food prices soaring out of control. "we're plunging headlong into a world food crisis. Rocketing prices are squeezing billions and triggering food riots from Bangladesh to South Africa." Says avaaz.org

Apparently humans were almost extinct 70, 000 years ago.

Gas prices continue their upward trajectory like growing corn at a biofuel farm.

And the loss of high paying, once-secure manufacturing jobs at companies like GM continue to devastate Ontario's manufacturing sector. No wonder considering they still continue to build trucks and suvs that spit in the face (blow smoke up the arse maybe) of peak oil and pretend there is no environmental crisis. Come on people.

But at least the sun is shining today ;-)

First step in the Ontario pesticide ban

I was alerted via an email from Pesticide Action Burlington today that the Ontario Pesticide bylaw process has begun with a call to comment on what that bylaw may end up looking like.

Here is a snippet:

"In November 20, 2007, the government committed to a toxics reduction strategy to help protect Ontarians from potentially harmful environmental toxics. Further to this, the government has made a number of commitments with respect to the proposed ban on cosmetic uses of pesticides, including:

• “New legislation would also ban the cosmetic use of pesticides in our cities and towns.”
• “Legislation to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides to be introduced in the spring of 2008”.
• The ban would apply to cosmetic uses, such as “lawns, private gardens, parks and school yards” with a focus on “small towns and cities, not on restrictions for rural residents.”
• “Agriculture will be exempt. Ontario farmers already have stringent rules on the storage and application of pesticides.”
• “Golf courses will also be exempt but we would require golf courses to develop plans to limit the environmental impact of pesticides.”
• “We will also ensure that pesticides can still be used in situations where it is warranted to ensure public health (for example, to fight West Nile virus).”
• “The focus of our efforts will be on outreach and education on alternatives to pesticides on lawns. Enforcement will be a last resort.”

The government will look at other communities and jurisdictions, including Quebec, that have implemented bans on cosmetic uses of pesticides. Currently, the use of pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, or combinations of any of these) is restricted in a number of municipalities across Ontario. "

I urge anyone with an interest in this issue to follow the link, read the release and send a comment.

Pesticide presentation

Since this has now been publicly presented and distributed (and written about in the Burlington Post) I thought it would be fun to share the with a larger audience. You can read the entire presentation with notes in PDF format here.

Some highlights:

"We have to ask what is the City of Burlington waiting for? Where is our leadership and vision?

As you can see from the numbers on this slide (130 Canadian municipalities of which there are 25 Ontario Municipalities) there is a groundswell of smart, environmentally aware communities who are acting on the concerns from residents and recommendations from professionals like the Canadian Cancer Society, the Ontario College of Physicians and environmental lobby groups.

These municipalities are passing and enacting pesticide by-laws that protect the health and environment of their people. And today the city of Hamilton announced that a partial ban on lawn and garden pesticides will go into effect in Hamilton on Labour Day 2008.

It is important to remember that these communities are demonstrating environmental awareness and strong leadership. Where is Burlington’s leadership?

Anyone of us can search on the internet or in libraries for information that supports or denies the health effects of exposure to pesticides. Healthy and vigorous debate is an important part of the democratic process, but as more and more communities enact bylaws banning pesticides the tipping point of public pressure will only increase.

We urge you to take the time to absorb the information presented to you tonight and reflect on Mayor Jackson’s vision from the May 9 Burlington Post “My vision for Burlington’s future is one where we can live, work, and play in a clean and healthy environment.”

Finally as the great ad man David Ogilvy once said “Don't bunt. Aim out of the ballpark.”

The meeting was...

I found the meeting to review the pesticide bylaw quite educational.

I was very impressed with the dedication of staff, council and the mayor to sit through 4 hours of delegates and then have a fairly vigorous debate afterward. These people work very hard and I am sure that by the end of it most people just wanted to go home - I know I certainly did.

There were a few odd and tense moments - apparently this is not a black and white issue. Over the next few months I am sure there will be lots of posturing and positioning and consultation. Will be interesting to watch from the sidelines.

I am looking forward to the Post's take on it Friday's paper.

Oh and welcome to all the new readers.

Leading up to my first time as a delegate.

I am starting to get nervous and jittery about my appearance and presentation at city hall this Tuesday evening. Here is a Burlington Post article on the meeting with the CDC committee quoting Kurt Koster the chair of the Pesticide Action Burlington committee.

There are 12 delegates on the agenda for Tuesday's review of the staff report on pesticide use in Burlington. The revised agenda was released on Friday. The email that informed us of the revised report and agenda included this paragraph.

"Please be advised that a Revised Agenda and staff report have been issued for the September 25th "Special" Community Development Committee meeting to deal with the cosmetic use of pesticides in the City of Burlington as a result of a staff direction was approved at the September 17th regular meeting of Community Development Committee. Committee will not entertain delegations on the original report."

I do not know what "Committee will not entertain delegations on the original report." means, but I am sure this will make things more entertaining.

And just for the record the staff report was revised to remove this recommendation - "That staff proceed with a proposed by-law to restrict the cosmetic use of pesticides within the city of Burlington."

You can see the full agenda and matter for consideration here.

Hey let's keep poisoning ourselves!

Not feeling overly positive that the city of Burlington will even consider a pesticide bylaw even after the meeting on Tuesday, September 25. I am not sure what the reluctance is.

According to a poll from the Canadian Cancer Society 60% of residents support a ban, 20% are on the fence and 20% oppose a ban outright.

Apparently 2 councilors will not move on this issue. No matter how much evidence is presented to them they will not vote for a pesticide bylaw.

Of course reports like this one from the EPA (an agency with a poor track record at best) where the EPA announces that "...2,4-D poses no risk to human health" don't really help.

Great.

Slowly getting back in the groove

I have been shunning the computer and have only just now gotten back to thinking about all the work I have to do. And now that we have gotten through my daughter's 9th birthday and the start of school we can try and catch up.

The next big agenda item is finishing up the pesticide ban presentation for the September 25 meeting at Burlington's city hall. The meeting looked like it was going to be a no go with the provincial liberals campaign promise to ban the use of pesticides throughout Ontario. But I guess we are going to go through the excercise anyway.

With regards to the liberal election promise I never have much faith in seeing these things coming to fruition - but you can read the details (as skimpy as they are) here.

"Many fruits, including peaches, apples, pears and grapes, were found to contain residues of pesticides, the report said. However, the ban the Liberal Party is contemplating would not apply to farmers.

Both proponents and critics of pesticide use have called on the province to pass legislation on what is permitted. Mr. McGuinty will introduce legislation if his party wins a second term in office. No decision has been made on what the penalties would be for breaking the ban."

And just for the record I will not be voting Liberal - even with this "promise" on their platform.

Pesticides - can't live without 'em

My brother came by on the weekend and played devils advocate on the pesticide bylaw presentation I am helping to write.

He got me thinking about what it is we are trying to do with our request to city council to introduce a bylaw.

He said, "What about the average Joe who has lived in the same house for 50 years and every spring has sprayed pesticides on his perfect green lawn and nothing happened to him or his family. What gives you the right to force him to change?"

And I did not have an answer to that question.

But then again I do not have an answer on how to fix climate change, how to wean us off the car or how the U.S. can exit Iraq. I don't have a lot of answers.

The best answer I could come up with was, "How smart is it to pour chemicals all over a lawn?" Pretty pathetic.

We can quote studies, show charts, talk about people dying and generally play the emotional card but will that do any good? If I was a councilor I know exactly how I would vote on this issue but what if I had 60% of my constituents who said "Piss off, I love my chemicals and green lawn and I am not hurting anyone."?

Actually I still know how I would vote - we need elected officials with a clear, concise, green, smart mandate. As long as their mandate is the same as mine of course ;-).

Does anyone have any answers to these conundrums?

Fire at Dundas Ontario pesticide plant pollutes Spencer creek.

And looky here, timely news to follow-up on the post below:

"Thousands of fish are dead after contaminated run-off from a burning pesticide plant flowed into Spencer Creek." Reported by the Hamilton Spectator.

I particularly like this quote -

"Mimi Gilbert, regional communications adviser for the Ministry of the Environment, said inspectors started finding dead fish about one kilometre downstream from the plant. The kill included a variety of species and fish of all ages.

Gilbert said all the run-off from the fire site has now been contained and the spill won't affect drinking water."

Yeah right - I think I will drink wine for the next month or so.

Will a pesticide ban ever fly in Burlington, Ontario?

The new council seems to be a tad greener than the old one (by about 2 councilors and a mayor who presents himself as green, but I am not convinced) but I think they are still too suburban to pass such a law.

What do I mean by suburban? I guess I mean spoiled, used to driving everywhere, too rich, too greedy and generally turning a blind eye on the impact of the cities behavior on the environment. It would be lovely to have a mayor and council that had a vision for the future that was green, sustainable and risk taking when it comes to decisions like this. Of course a team like that could also be incredibly dangerous - but sometimes public consultation, more reports and expensive studies can cloud the issue. Lets face it people, tossing chemicals on our lawns is a really dumb thing to do.

Anyway will a bylaw be passed? We will find out on September 25th as the city meets to hear from delegates about the issues. The Sustainable Development committee will be there as will Pesticide Action Burlington and hopefully many other delegates. The word on the street is that any proposed bylaw ban would be rejected 4-3. In fact I heard through second hand information one councilor had suggested that a ban on pesticides would be unhealthy for some of their constituents because of the amount of weeds that would spread. Yeesh.

I hope we can help change their minds.

Lets see if we can generate a comment or two - what do the readers think?

Need more facts:
How about these from the Sierra Club.

"Once you begin to apply pesticides, your lawn can become addicted to chemical treatment. Repeated applications can cause soil to become conditioned, which speeds up degradation of the pesticides. This results in the need to apply increasingly toxic chemicals at more frequent intervals to control the pest problem. Meanwhile, beneficial organisms are killed off, soil can become sterile, and pesticide-resistant insects breed to produce a species able to withstand the toxins and continue eating your grass!"

or David Suzuki:

"Over 6,000 Canadians suffer from acute pesticide poisonings every year. That is one of the findings from research conducted by David Boyd for the David Suzuki Foundation report, Northern Exposure: Acute pesticide poisonings in Canada.

Nearly half of those poisoned by pesticides are children under the age of six—imagine 100 kindergarten classes, or 50 school buses full of young children."

And finally take a look at who has tackled this issue already - looks like Burlington needs to get with the program.

Rank	Municipality	Prov	Population	Pesticide By-law Status
1	Toronto	ON	2 481 494	Adopted
2	Hamilton	ON	490 268	Drafted
3-9	Waterloo Region*	ON	508 000	Adopted
10	London	ON	271 003	Adopted
11	Markham	ON	208 615	Adopted
12	Windsor	ON	208 402	Adopted
13	Vaughan	ON	182 022	Drafted
14	Oakville	ON	144 738	Adopted
15	Guelph	ON	114 943	Adopted
16	Pickering	ON	87 139	Drafted
17	Peterborough	ON	71 445	Adopted
18	New Market	ON	65 788	Adopted
19	North Bay	ON	52 771	Adopted
20	Caledon	ON	50 595	Adopted
21	Georgina	ON	39 263	Adopted
22	Orangeville	ON	25 248	Adopted
23	Thorold	ON	18 048	Adopted
24	Cobourg	ON	17 172	Adopted
25	Collingwood	ON	16 039	Adopted
26	Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield	ON	16 000	Adopted
27	Perth	ON	6 003	Adopted
28	Gananoque	ON	5 167	Adopted
29	Deep river	ON	4 000	Adopted
30	Georgian Bay	ON	2 230	Adopted
31	Cobalt	ON	1 229	Adopted
32	The Archipelago (Parry Sound)	ON	505	Adopted

Summer posting.

It has been a quiet start to the week in Burlington. The world keeps turning and we keep trying to find time to post.

Some things I am working on:

1) A screen door for the front door. Will post some photos.
2) A PPT presentation on a pesticide By-law restriction to the City of Burlington for the end of September. Will post when done.
3) A top 5 list of my local hangouts.
4) Lots of real work at the place I earn my living.

Greening goes awry

Not nearly as green as we think.

Uh no kidding. For anyone who has spent any time in cities like Mississauga, Oakville or Burlington it is evidently clear that most Canadians could care less about the environment. Shop at Longos and see how many plastic bags you can collect. And now that has been somewhat validated by a recent survey.

Full story on the Globe and Mail.
SNIP:

"A national survey of household habits says Canadians have made some changes for conservation, but still hold onto habits that go against the green-living grain.

Six in 10 households now use fluorescent bulbs, over four in 10 have programmable thermostats, recycling rates have jumped and 60 per cent of homes have water-saving shower heads since the last household efficiency survey in 1994.

But the use of chemical pesticides is only slight down from 1994 levels — with the sole exception of Quebec, where pesticide use has plunged — most Canadians still commute to work alone in private vehicles, and rising numbers of people drink water from plastic containers."

Weeds are good.

With spring in the air it is time to think about greening the garden and lawn. There is an excellent Organic gardening seminar at the Burlington Central Public Library on Tuesday April 10 at 7 pm.

Get your garden off drugs!

Oh and while you are at it get a rain barrel will you...please?