Canada’s health watchdog has declared that the GM salmon, AquaAdvantage, is safe for human consumption. This will allow the owner of the patented fish AquaBounty, to commercially produce and sell for human consumption their manufactured salmon. The AquaAdvantage fish was approved by the FDA last year. The AquaAdvantage fish will not have to be labelled to alert consumers that it is a construct of Atlantic salmon, chinook salmon and the ocean pout. To manufacture this new type of fish eggs from Atlantic salmon have genes from chinook salmon and from the ocean or eel pout. The chinook contributes the ability to continuously produce growth hormone and the eel pout produces a protein that acts as an anti-freeze which allows the fish to continue growing in very cold water. The manufactured fish reach marketable size six to eight months faster than the farmed Atlantic salmon. Currently the altered salmon eggs are manufactured in Canada but are moved to Panama where the fish are grown to marketable size in a dry land operation. This is to ensure that the genetically engineered fish do not escape to compete with wild salmon stock or other ocean life. The manufacture of the GM fish eggs renders the eggs sterile, according to the AquaBounty information. There are still many questions about the future of this product. Chinook salmon are a wild variety found in the Pacific Ocean. Many people have eaten them for centuries. They are safe to eat. The eel pout is not normally used as a food fish. Atlantic salmon swimming wild are safe to eat. The jury is out with regard to “farmed” Atlantic salmon. They are usually raised in cold water, open net operations. Because they are crowded, disease both viral and bacterial, is an ongoing problem. The argument that having a quick growing super sized salmon will help to feed the world’s hungry is without merit. Salmon has become a luxury item. Salmon are carnivores and fish stock is being mined from the oceans to make food for commercial fish farms. The ability of technology to produce new, novel forms of life has coined a new phrase – synthetic biology. The following is from BIO explaining the difference between old fashioned genetic engineering and synthetic biology: Genetic engineering usually involves the transfer of individual genes from one microbe or cell to another; synthetic biology envisions the assembly of novel microbial genomes from a set of standardized genetic parts that are then inserted into a microbe or cell. Bio Sources: CBC News Hippocrates Health Institute Living Oceans BIO
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Cheaters, bribes, disease and crime seem to be elbowing the athletes for Olympics 2016 out of the spotlight. Unconfirmed reports have come in that two N. Korean runners took a short cut in the marathon to decide who would qualify for the Olympics. Cheaters are still being outed from the Russian winter games in Sochi. The murky world of the Russian drug testing labs has seen two directors die suddenly and a third director apologizing for the lapse. Kenya is another country with sketchy testing for performance enhancing drugs. The World Anti Doping Agency(WADA) has declared the country non-compliant. Yet the Kenyan athletes are still allowed to compete at the Rio Olympics. They will be on a watch list. But not all is cheating with performance enhancing drugs. Both Australia and the IOC are set to distribute a half million condoms for the athletes who stay in the village. The Aussies will supply Zika-proof condoms which come lubricated with an anti-viral substance. The IOC is set to distribute free of charge, 100 000 female and 350 000 male condoms. It makes this writer wonder if the athletes will be too tired to compete during the medal rounds. Whether Brazil will be ready to host the first ever southern hemisphere Olympics remain a question. Adding to the country’s complications is the political turmoil. The president Dilma Rousseff, has been kicked out of the presidential palace in Brazilia while the vice-president has taken over. She has been ousted while an impeachment action is taking place. The country seems divided over this and massive street demonstrations grab the headlines. The unexpected drop in oil products has left the country in a bad economic way. Added to that is an investigation as to where about two billion dollars in oil revenues went. This has meant that money originally earmarked for Olympic venues and added security has had to be cut by $600 million. A spectacular bike/pedestrian pathway recently collapsed into the ocean killing a couple of unfortunate walkers. Budget cuts have seen the contracts cut on the tennis and equestrian venues cancelled. The sewage problems remain, the subway will probably be incomplete by August 5, opening day. Once this year’s games are done and the medals put away, the organizers in Japan can start their hoopla. Front and centre this week was the suspicious $2.6 million paid during the Japanese bid for the games. The Japanese have stated that they will cooperate completely to solve the mystery payment. Sources: CBC News The Guardian Global News The massive Fort McMurray wildfire is eating through the northern boreal forest of Alberta. It rages out of control. It is now an estimated 432 000 hectares(4230 square kilometres) in size and growing. Gusty winds are pushing the flames toward the Saskatchewan border. Fire fighters are hoping that the Athabasca River will serve as a sufficient firebreak to stop its eastward progress. The fire also threatens some suburbs of Ft. McMurray again but emergency workers there are confident that they can prevent another incursion. The emergency workers had two explosions today that remain unexplained. It is as yet unexplained but some speculation names the resumption of the natural gas service. The companies in the Oil Sands were starting to resume operations, but have been forced to shut down again as the fire spread north to threaten the residences of the oil workers. One lodge that had accommodation for 655 was burned. Others were threatened. Spokespersons for the oil companies have reassured the public that they have sufficient firebreaks, personnel and equipment to prevent the flames from reaching the open pit operations. The losses to the northern oil operations are mounting. Suncor routinely produces 591 000 barrels per day, Syncrude 350 000 barrels. The losses are being counted in the billions. To date there are over 90 000 people displaced. The optimistic view is that some resident of Ft. McMurray will be allowed back starting June 1st. There is a great deal of uncertainty for the residents as many work directly in the oil sands and many work in jobs that support the industry. Human services are trying to mitigate the situation by handing out loaded debit cards. To date $65.7 million has been handed to people. Schools in Edmonton and Calgary have opened their classrooms to the children so they may continue their school year. Youngsters who are in grade 12 will be excused the need to write the provincial government exams. There are agencies working to care for and reunite pets with their families. The federal government has pledged to match private donations to the Red Cross Ft. McMurray relief fund. As of six days ago private donations added up to $67 million. Sources: Edmonton Journal Global News Photos L to R:Skunk cabbages and ferns, Arbutus trees, view towards lake. Bottom: mixed forest.
Wildwood is located on the south eastern edge of Vancouver Island. It is not a park, but it looks like one. It is a forested area of about 55 hectares(77 acres) that has been logged since the 1930’s. The reason that it looks like a park is because of the unusual, at least for much of BC, way that it has been logged. Merv Wilkinson bought this plot of land in 1938 planning to farm it. As life often turns out, it was not very suitable for farming, but was good for growing trees. He embarked on a lifetime of harvesting trees that was different from the normal practice at the time which was clear cutting. Mr. Wilkinson has passed away but his heritage has lived on. His method of harvesting less than the maximum growth each year has resulted in many large trees on the property after 60 years of selective cutting. More than a million board feet have been harvested in that time. Harvesting selected trees with an eye to sustainability has meant that the lumber produced from these trees is close grained and with fewer knots. This served to support Mr. Wilkinson and his family over the years. Some would say that single tree selection, protecting smaller trees when felling the big ones and leaving some to rot to provide habitat for birds and small mammals is not an economical way to log as the 77 acres only supported one family. The usual logging practice sweeps the land clear of marketable timber and often results in erosion and extirpation of non-commercial species. It can make a lot of money in a short time for the logging company but leaves the land unproductive for many years. Many of our large logging companies in BC are multinationals and answer only to their shareholders. Some have found the best way to make money after harvesting the marketable timber is to sell the land to speculators who try to sell it for housing. During his lifetime Merv Wilkinson was recognized as a leader in sustainable forestry. He received many awards and accolades including the Order of BC and the Order of Canada. After his death the property was controlled by the Land Conservancy who had agreed to maintain it, but due to overwhelming debts they considered selling it to private interests. The Friends of Wildwood stepped in to fundraise and generally make the public aware of the situation. There is a core of dedicated volunteers that are working hard to maintain the forest. Sunday they held an open house and the following photos are some that I took while there. Following is a quote of Merv’s: “We need to understand our relationship with the planet on which we live,” says Merv. “We have to live with the earth. The earth does not have to live with us.” Take 5 Publications Sources: Take 5 Publications BC Forest Service Friends of Wildwood A tire graveyard on the outskirts of Sesena, near Madrid has forced about 9 000 from their homes. The dump was declared illegal in 2003. The dump is possibly the largest in Europe with an estimated 100 000 tonnes of tires in the graveyard. The burning tires give off a thick, toxic smoke. Burning tires will release cyanide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and styrene in the smoke. The fire was fought with both helicopters and planes. Water was dumped on the burning tires to try to contain the blaze, but once tires are set afire they are difficult to extinguish. Firefighters restricted the amount of water poured onto the conflagration as they were concerned that water would penetrate to the underlying aquifers polluting them. By Saturday some of the people were allowed to return. Health authorities recommended that people wear surgical masks while outside and also recommended that drivers passing through the area keep their windows closed on their vehicles. While it is early in the investigation as to how the fire started, suspicions are that the fire was deliberately set. Tires sitting in a pile are unlikely to start burning without some encouragement. The problem of what to do with unwanted, worn out tires is a growing problem world-wide. Numerous tire storage dumps have caught since records were kept starting in 1983. Perhaps the grand-daddy of tire fires occurred in 1989 in Knighton, Wales which burned for 15 years. The rubber and steel that make up modern tires is a valuable resource. In the Province of British Columbia, Canada consumers pay an eco-fee with each tire that helps fund recycling called an Advance Disposal Fee. We commonly refer to it as an ‘eco fee’. Tires can be repurposed as crumb rubber with the steel sent to recycling. Crumb rubber has many uses – athletic tracks, playgrounds, flooring, mats and landscaping mulch. As with much recycling it takes some creative people to think outside the box and whole new profitable industries can spring up. Sources: CBC News Daily Mail Wikipedia Tire Stewardship BC |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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