[NatureNS] Canada's position on at-risk species 'unprecedented'

From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
References: <CAA9nSY98EE_D0Q5cMRXmigOTk=OizhzhZSbC4tVO04fbjwEjNg@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 21:43:13 -0400
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Hi Paul & All,   =20
    Yes. Your essay is well worth reading. In the case of Naturens it =
may be preaching to the converted but none-the-less worth reading.=20
    In our Grade something reader (6?) we had a page or two from the =
Deserted Village but I had forgotten that passage until I saw your use =
of it. The 18th century was, like many of the earlier ones, a tough time =
in the UK, especially Scotland. Poor weather for several successive =
years combined with impoverished soil held in common led to several =
severe famines. Brothers fighting sisters in the street for a crust of =
bread, parents selling their young into slavery for a few pence so the =
young might at least have something to eat. Robbery was so common and =
want was so great that no man could be punished for stealing food =
provided he could carry it. [by memory from The Social life of Scotland =
in the Eighteenth Century, Henry Grey Graham, 1901].=20
    This 536 page book is also worth reading because it gives a detailed =
account of how the average person managed to survive or no survive under =
conditions of dire want. Our future, on the current trajectory, will =
likely be far worse.
Yt, DW, Kentville

  From: Paul Ruggles=20
  To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
  Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2014 8:21 PM
  Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Canada's position on at-risk species =
'unprecedented'


  In response to DW and the quote from Oliver Goldsmith.=20
  Some may wish to read my op ed piece that  uses the same quote.
   My essay was in the  Herald last April. It's theme was our ignorance =
or selfish disregard for the realities of ecology. You can google Paul =
Ruggles Ill fares the land.
  Paul

  On 2014-12-11, at 7:16 PM, David & Alison Webster wrote:


    Hi John & All,
        Are you involved in prevention and remediation also or only =
monitoring  ?

        There is much to be said for those who produce, using local =
resources, goods for which there is an export market. This kind of =
primary production is the fuel that keeps all the other wheels of the =
economy turning. In the absence of wealth production there eventually =
can be no wealth consumption.

        Shortly after the cod stocks collapsed and the fishery was shut  =
down, I heard an Economics Prof. being interviewed on the radio. He =
explained that Nfld. would be fine. There would still be Education, =
Health Care, Police work and Highway Maintenance. However necessary all =
of these are they consume wealth.

        This kind of distorted thinking is still current. The Dec. 22 =
Editorial in Maclean's notes that a downturn in the oil and gas sector =
is relatively unimportant because it comprises only 6% of GNP. "Health =
care, Education and Banking are each bigger; real estate is more than =
twice as big."

    Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
      ----- Original Message -----
      From: John and Nhung
      To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
      Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2014 2:10 PM
      Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Canada's position on at-risk species =
'unprecedented'


      Excellent rant, David.  Agree with most, if not all of it!

      Re. fur industry-phosphate issue:=20

      The monitoring continued this summer and I will be putting =
together a report as soon as I can.  Time and brainpower both have to be =
available.  The grandfather period ends January, 2016, but I think =
(don=92t know) that farmers have been cleaning up their messes since =
even before the regulations were proclaimed.  Things were still bad this =
summer, but there were hopeful signs. Still, no year is typical so it =
will take a few years before we can say that trends have reversed.  We =
live in hope.  Wait for the report.

      I also think we should be supporting farmers=92 efforts to clean =
up their messes and working with the industry to achieve that.  Some of =
the industry bashing has been excessively gratuitous.  That is =
counter-productive and I get tired of it.

      Sorry, got off-topic!  I also get tired of Canada=92s =
unprecedented shifts on many issues!  J!

      From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca =
[mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of David & Alison =
Webster
      Sent: December-11-14 1:11 PM
      To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
      Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Canada's position on at-risk species =
'unprecedented'

      Hi Rick & All,
          I am baffled by the notion that discussion might not be =
useful.

          No doubt it is not possible to flick a switch and correct such =
problems. But why avoid discussion ?

          One rather large hydra has as usual many heads but only one =
body; a civil service which has become threadbare as a result of =
attrition and, in some cases, never furnished with the necessary =
resources to do the mandated job in the first place; a large number of =
electric motors with the copper windings removed and sold for scrap. =20

            Battles are now lost on a regular basis all for the want of =
a horseshoe nail and/or an ounce of common sense and the updating of =
regulations that have long since passed their best before date.

          Amherst, due to public pressure,  turned down $500,000 for =
disposal of fracking water after being purified to drinking water =
standards. Why ? Largely because the public is rightly skeptical of =
industry assurances. Without government funded science, which is =
absolutely free of any pressure and consequently able to act as a =
reliable way to confirm or reject assurances by industry one can expect =
mob rule, informed by misinformation, to become commonplace. And this =
can only lead to economically destructive decisions.

          In any case, a back of envelope calculation showed the =
potential dilution to be astronomical so there should never have been a =
fuss. But when democracy is used to establish the value of pi then 21 =
people who prefer 3 will beat 20 who say it is about 3.14159.

          The same considerations apply to the Alton gas storage project =
now stalled, partly because there is a concern about adding Sodium to =
the ocean. Huh ?? If the company were to release their water, following =
the schedule which they propose, I really don't understand how there =
could be a problem. If done by instant feedback, mixing and release or =
shutdown could be automated. Once again, objective oversight by =
government funded science would avoid these foolish and destructive =
shouting matches.

          About 10 years ago someone on the South Shore developed a way =
to trap and use a truly invasive species of crab (Green crab I think and =
used for Lobster bait) .He was fined for fishing Green Crabs without a =
licence and lost his means of earning a living when he should have been =
given some reward. But by the same agency he was denied a l