Did you March Against Monsanto?

UPDATE: All marches were not traditional. The Carnival of Corn was, at its core, a celebration of Mexican agricultural heritage -- and a rejection of the biotech corporation. Continue reading at: http://www.alternet.org/activism/thousands-mexico-protest-monsanto-throwing-carnival-corn This past Saturday, protesters rallied in  52 countries and 436 cities as part of a global protest against seed giant Monsanto and the genetically modified food it produces, organizers said.

Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in North America today have been genetically modified. Supporters credit GMO to higher crop  yields and nutritional value while critics say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment. The use of GMOs has been a growing issue of contention in recent years, with health advocates pushing for mandatory labeling of genetically modified products even though the federal government and many scientists say the technology is safe.

 

You may not be aware just how Monsanto finds its way into your home.   It's not simply a matter of avoiding corn, or corn-based products.  It also includes soybean, sugar beet, canola and wheat and rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) used in dairy cows to produce higher volumes of milk.  And then there's that spotty record related to it's PCB production in the United States and the inproper disposal of chemicals in the United Kingdom and other legal problems in Argentina, Brazil, China and Haiti.

Last week, the U.S. Senate approved HR 933, a short term funding measure designed to avoid a March 27 government shutdown. Hidden within HR 933 is section 735, the “Farmer Assurance Provision.”  Called the “Monsanto Protection Act” by critics, this section gives the USDA the power to allow the planting, harvest and sale of genetically engineered crops, even if a court rules that they were not properly approved. Short of a Presidential veto, the provision is a certain victory for genetically engineered foods.

The provision was slipped in anonymously while the resolution was in the Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). The rider should have been brought in front of the Agricultural or Judiciary Committees, but was not. Senator John Tester (D-MT) proposed an amendment to strip section 735 from the bill, but the amendment never came up for a vote. According to the Center for Food Safety, there were no hearings on this provision and most Democrats did not know it was part of the larger bill.

 

A major UN/World Bank-sponsored report compiled by 400 scientists and endorsed by 58 countries concluded that GM crops have little to offer global agriculture and the challenges of poverty, hunger, and climate change, because better alternatives are available. In particular, the report championed “agroecological” farming as the sustainable way forward for developing countries.  Imagine that.



Sources:
-  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/25/march-against-monsanto-gmo-protest_n_3336627.html
- https://www.facebook.com/GreenTidings/photos_stream#!/GreenTidings
- https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3961769791467066428#editor/target=post;postID=1530484529611599122
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=606_1364250375
http://snippits-and-slappits.blogspot.ca/2011/06/10-reasons-why-we-dont-need-gm-foods.html

Green Roof Tops Not So Green?

source:  http://ecoroofseverywhere.com/2010/11/20-new-ecoroofs/

 



The purpose of planting vegetation  on rooftops is seen as a way to reduce the heat effect and reduce energy costs.  Rooftop gardens have the potential of lowering energy usage for heating and air-conditioning as well as reducing rainwater runoff, but their effectiveness is not well established.

In order to survive on a rooftop, vegetation has to to survive high winds, prolonged exposure to the sun and unpredictable water availability. To resist these harsh environs, many green roofs are planted with sedum, often a non-native species, that can survive wind and long periods without rainfall.  But what about when sedums are native (obviously, they are somewhere)?  Or what about greening with other native species plantings?

The cities of Chicago and Portland, have each developed hundreds of green roofs over the last decade, and both cities have implemented programs to monitor the success and cost/benefits of green roofs. The climates are very different, so the green roof requirements are different, but they have been successful in both cities. 

Thin (4" or less), light-weight (50 lbs/cu ft saturated) engineered soils are often used for green roofs because of weight limitations. These soils are engineered so they do not retain water so as to limit additional weight on the roof structure. Because of the physical limitations of the soil (i.e., limited-to-no organics, limited capacity to retain water), sedums and other succulents are often used because those species are the best suited for those environments. Other plant species which are adapted to poor soils with limited water typically compensate by having large and/or deep root systems; on a thin-profile green roof, however, these types of plants do not do well because they cannot establish the root systems they need to survive.

Since the 2008 launch of its Ecoroof Incentive Program, the City of Portland has seen the installation of hundreds of vegetated roofs.  But in 2012, the City gained a whole lot more green roof footage in a single project: the new Hayden Meadows Walmart in North Portland.  This is the second green roof project for Walmart who introduced a similar project to Chicago in 2008. Walmart voluntarily monitored the performance of the green roof. The roof drainage system was purpose-built to separate runoff from the green and non-green roof areas and enable precise comparisons to be made between the two roof areas. Flow meters, installed in each manhole, record total flows and flow rates from each roof section. The entire roof is outfitted with a weather station and data logger to measure temperature, solar radiation, humidity, rain, and wind speed and direction to monitor the conditions on both the vegetated roof and the white Energy Star® rated membrane. Additionally, a moisture probe was installed in the green roof media. The study was the largest and most intensive of its kind in the world.

Improvements in the rate and volume of runoff were apparent as soon as the green roof was installed. Because of the study we now have conclusive evidence that the size of a green roof affects its performance. The scale of a green roof allows it to operate at or above its expected performance rate. This benefit also relies on the non-modular design in which moisture slowly migrates through the green roof toward the outlet. Longer ‘residence times’ in the green roof result in greater moisture uptake, delayed runoff, and enhanced growing conditions for the foliage plants. The larger the green roof the greater the distance runoff needs to travel to reach the roof drains thereby further delaying the peak rate of runoff. There is no other BMP that more closely matches pre-development conditions than a large scale green roof.  A decrease in the temperature of the greened roof was also observed, compared to the adjacent white roof.

Perhaps one of the key elements in deciding on a green roof is to identify its purpose.  Is it an ornamental green roof, used in combination with decks, seating, etc.? Is it intended to recreate native habitat? Or is it a thin-profile sedum roof, used as a means to slow water runoff and reduce the heat island effect? Each of these green roofs has different technical requirements and will have different characteristics once they have been established. Failure of one type of roof may not mean failure for another.  If you're thinking of a green roof, the City of Portland has published an Eco-Roof Guide to help you:  http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/article/331490

source:  http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Liveroof+Tray+System&FORM=RESTAB#view=detail&id=E24E9333E3ECFDC4BBF0D3D8DDD0930917D84E12&selectedIndex=24



sources: 
- http://grist.org/list/green-roofs-dont-work-unless-you-plant-them-with-diverse-local-plants/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=update&utm_campaign=socialflow
- http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-manhattans-green-roofs-dont-work-how-to-fix-them
- http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/08/new-walmart-store-brings-big-green-roof-to-portland/
- http://www.roofmeadow.com/case-studies/selected-case-studies/wal-mart-5402/
- http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/article/331490

UPDATED Sweatshops: How do we Rid Ourselves of Them?

October 2015

While this topic should be on our minds at all time, with Christmas (and retail's high season) right around the corner, I thought it was time we revisited the issue of how we support proper work environments for the millions working in 3rd world country sweatshops.  While progress has been made, sadly, with only 2 Canadian and slightly more than 20 US companies working to end the continuing cycle of poverty, it would seem most of us are happy to continue the practice of supporting corporations that care little about the human cost tied to their profit margin.  Or, at least, this is the number that has willingly entered into the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Safety. An independent, legally binding agreement between brands and trade unions, the accord is designed to enable a working environment in which no worker needs to fear fires, building collapses or other accidents that can easily be prevented.  

Just In case you still aren't listening, here are a few facts about sweatshops that perhaps you didn't know:

1. A sweatshop is defined by the US Department of Labour as a factory that violates 2 or more labor laws;
2. They have poor working conditions, unfair wages, unreasonable hours, child labour; lack worker benefits;
3. An estimate 168 MILLION children, ages 5-14 work in sweatshops throughout developing countries;
4. Most countries in the industrialized world are not free of sweatshops;
5. Common products coming from sweatshops include garmets, cotton, brick, cocoa and coffee;
6. Consumers willing to pay 15% more to know a product did not come from a sweatshop will double the salary of a sweatshop employee;
7. Those forced to work in a sweatshop spend the majority of their paycheck on food for their families;
8. Child labour is especially common in the agricultural sector, primarily in Asia and the Pacific. Sub-Saharan African has the highest prevalence, with 20% of children in child labour;
9. Because women make up 85-90% of sweatshop workers, some employees force their female staff to take birth control and routine pregnancy tests to avoice supporting maternity leave or providing health benefits.

How can you help?  One way to help foreign workers is to make conscious buying decisions and encourage retailer to provide conscious options. At the bottom of this blog you will find links to help you learn how to avoid supporting this type of facility, thereby helping to break the cycle.

Sweatshops are work environments that possess three major characteristics—long hours, low pay, and unsafe or unhealthy working conditions. Sweatshops have been a factor in the production of goods around the world for centuries, but the globalization of business has led to increasing numbers of major corporations taking advantage of low-cost  labor in developing countries.

Will sweatshops ever be abolished or will we continue to turn a blind eye and support them, as is evident in numerous recent examples in the apparel industry brought to international attention by castastrophic events?   The recent factory collapse in Bangladesh brought Superstore's Joe Fresh line to the forefront; but so far, Loblaw is the only company that has publicly admitted to carrying items made in the collapsed factory but what about all the others?  Companies like Sears Canada, Reitman, The Gap, Liz Claiborne, Kathie Lee Gifford, Nike, and Wal-Mart all market goods produced in sweatshops.

And what about the responsibility each one of us has?  How do we avoid supporting this type of activity and working environment?  While a very low price may be an indicator, it isn't always.  While we can inspect the name of the country printed on the label, we can't assume all products made in a third world country are the product of a sweat shop.  Using Bangladesh as an example, there are compliant manufacturers in these countries just as there is non-compliant, grossly negligent manufacturers.

Here's as good a place as anywhere to start:  GoodGuide.com is a website designed to help us find safe, healthy, green & ethical products based on scientific ratings.  Led by Professor Dara O'Rourke of UC Berkeley, GoodGuide's science team – chemists, toxicologists, nutritionists, sociologists, and lifecycle analysis experts – rates products and companies on their health, environmental and social performance.  GoodGuide's 0 to 10 rating system helps consumers quickly evaluate and compare products.

Here's a few more tips:  http://www.greenamerica.org/programs/sweatshops/whatyoucando/index.cfm

As with anything else that is important, we not only have the choice, we have a responsibility not to turn away, but to take the time to educate ourselves so that we can make informed choices. . . . after all, we always have a choice -- we can be part of the problem, or part of the solution.  Which one do you want to be?

Sources:
http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Str-Ti/Sweatshops.html#ixzz2SwZbfZLc
http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Str-Ti/Sweatshops.html#ixzz2SwZKulQH
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/04/25/f-bangladesh-clothing-consumer-awareness.html
http://bangladeshaccord.org/
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-sweatshops