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Canadian Environmental Network
Manitoba Eco-Network gratefully acknowledges the support of Manitoba Conservation
Eco-Journal
Volume 14, Number
2
March/April 2004
PDF
Version(888 KB)
Planning for Pigs: Who Has a Say in Approval of
Intensive Livestock Operations?
by Liz Dykman
Nominate Your Favourite Environmentalist
News from the Eco-Centre
Spreading the Word on Community Gardens
by Karen Lind and Shirley Thompson
Karst and Groundwater Pollution Issues in the Southern
Interlake
by Andrzej Kobylecki
New Organic Café Honours Earth
by Anne Lindsey
A moral dilemma: In Love With My Car
by Kimberly Francey
News from the GIS/Mapping Centre
Upcoming Events
Planning for Pigs: Who Has a Say in Approval
of Intensive Livestock Operations?
By Liz Dykman
Amendments to the Planning Act, tabled in the Legislature on March 11, Will alter the approval process for future intensive livestock operations (ILO's)in the province. One of the purposes of the amendments, according to Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, MaryAnn Mihychuk, is to provide greater predictability to the livestock industry and the public.
The amended Act would require that all jurisdictions have development Plans by 2007, and that these plans include livestock operation policies. Municipal councils, or Planning District boards, would have to map out zones where ILO development/expansion will or will not be considered. If jurisdictions do not meet the deadline, the province will make a plan for them.
Concerns arise due to the potential difficulty in creating a plan that Takes into account all the possible site-specific local conditions that would determine whether an ILO is appropriate to an area. At a minimum, operations will have to meet provincial guidelines regarding setback (distance from waterways and residences) and compatibility with the community. Stricter conditions than the provincial guidelines can be included in the plan but they must be must be "reasonably consistent" with the provincial regulations. Furthermore, the requirement that they be "reasonable and relevant" opens them up to legal challenge by a proponent. Stuart Briese, of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, considers the ability to impose stricter setback requirements an advantage of the proposed amendments. He said the livestock industry was lobbying for an upper limit on the setback distance that could be imposed.
Significantly, development plans cannot include provisions relating to health, nuisance, property values and impacts to the general welfare of persons residing in the area. The types of conditions allowed include odour mitigation measures, such as covering lagoons with straw, or planting trees around the operation. The proposed amendments severely limit the conditions that may be imposed on livestock operations. While much of the text of the amendments describe the conditions under which an operation can be approved, it is not clear under what conditions a proposal for an ILO might be rejected if it falls within a zone that allows them, and it meets the conditions of the development plan. Furthermore, municipal by-laws dealing with nuisance odours and the storage and use of manure will not apply to livestock operations that are complying with provincial standards respecting the storage, application and use of manure.
If the proposed amendments are passed, the development plans may be the only tool a council or board can use to regulate where new barns are built. And the process of creating the plan is one of the few opportunities for public involvement. Until now, concerned citizens have been able to voice their opposition to ILO's being proposed in their backyards through conditional use hearings at the municipal level. The proposed amendments exempt ILO's from the conditional use hearing process.
Currently, the Minister has final say over any development plans.
Min. Mihychuk has given assurances that R.M.'s can choose to completely
ban ILO's and that decision will be respected. Nevertheless, the
proposed
Amendments seem to give the Minister more power to make changes
to a plan, without necessarily going through the Municipal Board
public hearing process.
Even under the existing regulations there have been concerns about provincial alteration of plans developed by regional planning districts or municipal councils. According to Ted Ross of the Roseisle Creek Watershed Association, the South Central Planning District's 2003 plan, which designated around 70% of the land area as environmentally sensitive, was not approved by the province. The provincial version of the plan for the area designated only about 5% of the area as environmentally sensitive.
ILO's arguably should be subject to an environmental assessment process, which would ensure some level of public involvement. Currently the environment act only has provisions for the handling of manure, and not for the barns themselves.
One would hope that changes to legislation in the contentious matter of ILO's would intend to strengthen the regulations protecting health and the environment, and give citizens and councils the power to act in the best interests of the entire community. The conflicts and controversy over ILO's in Manitoba are not likely to be solved through these amendments.
Nominate Your Favourite Environmentalist
Who in your opinion has really made a difference, environmentally
speaking, in Manitoba over the past year? Now is your chance to
nominate that individual or group for the 2004 Manitoba Eco-Network
Environmental
Award.
The award is given "in recognition of significant contributions
to the awareness and protection of Manitoba's environment".
Categories are individual; non-governmental, not-for-profit group;
and "special". The awards will be presented at our Annual
General Meeting tentatively scheduled for early June at the Eco-Centre.
Please forward your nomination, with supporting information about why this person or group deserves recognition, to the Awards Committee, Manitoba Eco-Network, by May 10, 2004. Email mbeconet@mts.net.
Minister Meeting
Manitoba's new Minister of Conservation, Stan Struthers, met with
about 15 representatives from Eco-Network Member Groups at the Legislative
Building on February 3. Participants also had the opportunity to
meet Don Potter, the new Deputy Minister. Mr. Struthers shared his
pleasure at being appointed to a portfolio which interests him greatly.
As the MLA for Dauphin/Swan River, he has a keen awareness of natural
resources and agricultural issues and was Natural Resources critic
when the NDP were the Opposition. A proud owner of a geothermal
heating system for his own residence, Mr. Struthers believes that
the government has many opportunities to provide leadership in sustainability
by changing its own practices. The groups present expressed support
for this approach with many of their own suggestions, which included
going pesticide-free on the Legislative grounds and increasing the
number of hybrid vehicles in the government fleet.
Groups described their current activities and raised several concerns and questions. Amongst these were how the proposed Floodway expansion will affect the flow of the Seine River (Save Our Seine), and the importance of preserving the Brokenhead Wetlands (Native Orchid Conservation, Inc).
A highlight of the meeting was the introduction of a Barred Owl, an "ambassador" from the Manitoba Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. This owl, like all the creatures at the Centre, suffered injuries and while he is now healthy again, he lacks the full ability to fend for himself in the wild. MWRO is seeking the support of Manitoba Conservation in the form of core funding for the rehabilitation centre, which is currently organizing a move to new, more adequate premises.
Projects
We are pleased that Climate Change Connection (CCC) will be continuing
its work of education and outreach about Climate Change for another
year, with funding support from Natural Resources Canada, Energy,
Science and Technology Manitoba, and Manitoba Hydro. Major highlights
from the past year have been the community workshops held all over
the province, and the Anti-Idling sign campaign.
This initiative has seen hundreds of signs posted in rural and northern communities encouraging Manitobans to improve air quality by turning off their cars when stopped or parked. Look for these signs on municipal buildings in Winnipeg over the next few months as the City gets on board, as well as at day-cares, clinics, religious institutions and schools. CCC will be working with other partners, including Resource Conservation Manitoba, to spread the word.
The Winnipeg Foundation and Environment Canada's Eco-Action have provided funding assistance for these city-based initiatives. Check out the CCC website at www.climatechangeconnection.org for write-ups on the municipal workshops, and much more information on climate change. The website is updated regularly.
Our GIS Mapping Centre (featured in the December issue) is keeping busy with a number of mapping projects, a workshop for environmental groups at our Annual Member Forum, developing its own web page, and a student project. (see related article on page 11).
We are hopeful that the Organic Lawn Care workshops will once again be offered in Winnipeg neighbourhoods this summer. The City of Winnipeg has provided some funding towards this effort already, and we are applying for summer positions through Urban Green Team and HRDC's Summer Career Placement. MEN is pleased to be co-sponsoring a book tour and talk by Carole Rubin, the author of How to Get Your Lawn and Garden Off Drugs, on May 8th at 2 pm at the St. Boniface Public Library.
Our Capacity Building Project (in conjunction with the Sustainability Network) offered a media training workshop to environmental non-profits in January-a highlight of the day was "on camera" interview training. Our next workshop in this series is fundraising for environmental non-profits with noted funding specialist, Ken Wyman.
Check out the projects area on our newly-updated website for more information on any of the ongoing Eco-Network projects.
Thanks to All Our Donors!
The Annual Appeal for 2004/05 was successful in raising more than
$4,000 for the core programs of the Manitoba Eco-Network. We are
very grateful to all of the donors who responded for showing their
continued support. The winners of the David Krindle pottery draw
are Bill Reid and Margaret Scott. We thank Dave for generously donating
one of the beautiful pots for this draw. His distinctive wood-fired
work can be seen at the Stoneware Gallery on Corydon Avenue, and
look for his booth at the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
Spreading Word on Community Gardens
By Karen Lind and Shirley Thompson
Nestled in between houses, on vacant property, beside railway tracks
and along hydro lines something magical is happening. Gardeners
are transforming idle, barren land into vibrant gathering places
where people and plants are growing and thriving. Commonly referred
to as community gardens, these tracts of land are scattered throughout
the city and accessing information on them is difficult, which implies
that they are insignificant forms of public space. This article
will highlight the significant contributions of community gardens
to the health and welfare of the city and question why the City
of Winnipeg is not enthusiastically
publicizing these initiatives.
Currently, Winnipeg has over thirty community gardens, operating
through various organizations including horticultural societies,
neighborhood associations, schools, churches and the City. While
Winnipeg's
community gardens are relatively close in geographical proximity,
like snowflakes, no two are exactly the same. Each reflects the
diversity of the participants, providing different experiences and
opportunities.
No two are the same
For example, the Millennium Gardens on Henderson Highway primarily
cater to local seniors by providing a number of raised beds at varying
heights. However, the additional murals, landscaped paths and greenery
invite all members of the public to enjoy this diverse and unique
green space. A different community gardening approach is the McGee
garden, where gardeners communally work a larger plot. As acquiring
large tracts of land in the downtown area is difficult, a communal
plot enables many more people to actively garden on a smaller plot
of land.
Regardless of where a garden is located or how it operates, many benefits result. By producing fresh fruits and vegetables with minimal financial investment community gardens contribute to personal, family, and community food security. Poverty is the dominant barrier to achieving food security and community gardens have the capacity to decrease the gardeners' grocery bill, especially if food preservation techniques are employed. Community gardens also encourage citizens to become active producers instead of passive consumers, so that they are not at the whim of the marketplace prices and tastes but are actual food producers. Community gardeners estimate that their food budget is reduced up to 50% by their efforts.
Social interaction
The mere fact that community gardens bring people together encourages
social interaction. The diversity and beauty of each plot provides
a catalyst to start conversations among strangers, breaking down
social
barriers and bridging culture and education divides. By facilitating
horticultural knowledge exchange, community gardens prevent the
loss of invaluable experiential insight. Community gardening and
development are mutually supportive as the positive outcomes experienced
in the garden empower communities to address other issues. A quick
tour through any of Winnipeg's community gardens demonstrates their
diversity, in terms of genetic species but also land use. Other
significant ecological health benefits include decreasing soil erosion
and water run-off, increasing air quality, recycling nutrients and
producing food with minimal chemical inputs. Community gardens increase
recreational and outdoor opportunities, thus enabling urban residents
to improve and maintain physical health and improve nutrition. Urban
green space initiatives benefit the mental health and well-being
of both participants and observers, as shown by numerous studies.
Acknowledging that community gardens are positively contributing to the social, ecological and economic health of Winnipeg may inspire you to seek out additional information on the city's community gardening scene. But where can you go for answers? This information is not readily available, as there is no one organized body specifically focusing on increasing public awareness and promoting community gardening in Winnipeg. Karen Lind's firsthand experience illustrates that even locating the various gardens within the city can be challenging. The City of Winnipeg provides a phone number offering rental information for their plots (phone: 986-2665), but not for the many other community gardens operating within the city. Currently there is no community garden network providing support to potential or existing gardens and gardeners. In contrast, in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal the city is actively involved with community garden promotion and network building.
Tools to facilitate communication
This lack of information inspired Karen's decision to focus her
current master's research on the experiences, motivations and values
of female community gardeners. Seeing the great need for community
garden promotion, Karen is planning on incorporating tools to facilitate
communication amongst the gardeners, the general public and government.
Facilitating communication requires raising garden visibility with
a directory of some sort. Karen decided on a community garden map
including contact information and brief garden descriptions. The
map is intended to encourage interested citizens to visit or participate
in local gardens and
will be available to local neighborhood associations, other interested
organizations and the general public by July 2004.
The public is invited on one of several tours to visit various
community gardens throughout the month of July 2004. In addition,
Karen is creating a participatory video to show how Winnipeg's community
gardens
factor into personal and community development. This free video
will be distributed in 2005 to local gardens, environmental and
educational organizations. It will provide an effective tool for
highlighting and
promoting the current community gardening scene. Together the community
garden map, tour and video will provide the basic ingredients for
a renewed community garden network, capable of empowering existing
and future gardens and reinforcing their contribution to the urban
experience. Hopefully, this will lead to future civic promotion
and support for community garden initiatives.
Community gardens provide much more than a space to grow plants;
they provide an opportunity to share knowledge, experience, friendships,
food and vision. Much like the campaigns to save the wetlands or
the
rainforest the most important step is educating the public about
their contributions.
If you have any feedback or questions regarding this community garden project, please contact Karen Lind at 474-7949 or umlindkm@cc.umanitoba.ca.
Karst and Groundwater Pollution Issues in the Southern Interlake
by Andrzej Kobylecki
The Southern Interlake area of Manitoba is experiencing a growing number of large hog farm developments, brush clearing, and increased fertilizer and pesticide use. With increasing development, there is concern about potential ground water pollution. That this problem is especially significant in karst (limestone) areas has not generally been recognized as important. Vulnerability to ground water pollution in karst aquifers, such as in Southern Manitoba, is much higher then in non-karst aquifers. The following is a short presentation of the importance of this problem worldwide and in the Southern Interlake.
Karst is defined as a landscape formed by solutions of carbonate, creating limestone and dolomite bedrock. Common features of such landscapes are caves, sinkholes, and underground streams. A large proportion of the rainfall sinks immediately into the rocks and runs in channels underground. The higher land is dry; few streams flow upon its surface and even these may suddenly sink into the ground and disappear. It is estimated that about 10% of the earth's surface is composed of karst; however approximately 25 % of the world's population lives on these areas.
It is well recognized that karst areas are very sensitive to natural and human-made changes, because sinkholes and other related features (caves, shafts, trenches, etc) intimately connect these areas to local and regional hydrological systems. Improper land use in these areas can cause the bacterial and/or chemical contamination of sinkholes and related karst features and if unmitigated, can have a negative impact on water supplies and water quality. Especially dangerous situations occur if: sinkholes are used as a dumping ground, waste repositories and landfills are located nearby, oil and gas leaks from hydrocarbon development, there is a toxic or corrosive chemical spill, natural or chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are over-applied, or if animal farms, feed lots and septic systems are located in karst landscapes. In such cases, after each snow melt and rain, water flushes all these sources of contamination through sinkholes directly into the groundwater. Streams and surface run-off entering sinkholes or caves bypass natural filtration through the soil and provide direct conduits for contamination in karst terrain. Groundwater in these areas can travel quite rapidly through these underground networks-up to several kilometres per day, and contamination can be transmitted quickly to wells and springs in the vicinity. This process is shown in Figure 1. This has a devastating and long-term impact on the water quality of karst aquifers. The clean-up process can cost millions of dollars and take several years.
Management of karst landscape in several countries, karst areas are widely recognized as an environmental hazard. Because the filling in of surface karst features is not a viable option for protecting ground water against pollution, some countries are beginning to establish regulations, zoning ordinances, and other legal devices for controlling construction, storm water management, sewage disposal, agricultural and other land use on karst. These activities are also supported by growing movements to clean-up sinkholes used as a dumping ground. There is no legislation in Canada specifically protecting caves or karst and there have been no adequate land management practices developed. British Columbia is the only province known to be actively managing karst landscapes.
Karst in the Southern Interlake
The Southern Interlake is underlain by carbonate bedrock (limestone,
dolomitized limestone and dolostone) which has been modified by
recent glaciation. Glaciation shielded or sealed bedrock from erosion
by depositing thick layers of glacial debris. In some cases, glaciation
left open bedrock or thin layers of debris permitting the development
of karst both on the surface and underground.
During the glacial recession, melt waters are deeply injected into the karst aquifers. This resulted in shaft and sinkhole formation, and the redirection of subsurface water flow. One of the chief factors or conditions that can increase the risk of water contamination is "groundwater sources that may be open to the surface because of shallowness and/or being covered by water permeable surface materials such as gravel. These include sources covered by less than six metres of glacial till, clay, clayey shale or other non-water tight materials." (Manitoba Health, Water Well Fact Sheet, 2001).
There is no available data as to what percent of limestone in the Southern Interlake is covered by less than six metres of non-water tight materials. Bedrock covered by less than 3 metres of surface deposit consists of about 10% of land, and less than 60 cm of deposit, about 5% of land (estimated from maps in McRitchie and Monson, Caves and Karst in the Southern Interlake, 2000). Most of these areas are located in ridges in the central part of Southern Interlake, along Highway 17.
The occurrence of karst features in the Southern Interlake was first reported in geological reports, government files, and agricultural records of early Manitoba settlements. The first (and last) attempt of compiling the available evidence of sinkholes in this region was conducted in 1977 by Sandy Margo (unpublished University of Winnipeg thesis). Later, karst features were recorded in field trip records of the Speleological Society of Manitoba (SSM), Manitoba Geological Service Reports, and a few other unpublished governmental reports and university theses.
In total, a few hundred sinkholes were reported, but only a few were completely documented with exact locations and other characteristics. Taking into account that only a small portion of potential karst areas were explored, the total number of sinkholes in the Southern Interlake could be estimated as up to few thousand. According to the available reports, a lot of caves and sinkholes were used as dumping grounds for farm equipment and homestead garbage. One of these sinkholes (about 70 metres wide), near Chatfield, was used as a sewer for buttermilk from the local creamery.
As stated by local geologist M. Rutulis, "Exposures of limestone
in this area show that it contains fractures, solution cavities,
and bedding planes which allow the passage of water flow directly
to Lakes
Manitoba, Winnipeg and Winnipegosis" (in 'Groundwater in Manitoba'
from the book " The Natural History of Manitoba, Heritage of
the Ice Age", ed. J.Teller, Museum of Man and Nature publication.)
It can be assumed, that buttermilk and other pollutants coming through
these sinkholes goes directly into the groundwater and surrounding
lakes.
Management of karst and related legislation Treatment of water pollution in karst areas in Manitoba, as well as in the Southern Interlake is unprogressive, so there is no adequate legislation or recommendations about respective land use and land management. Only a few references related to sinkholes can be found in agricultural or conservation regulations. Manitoba Environment water policies outline a number of pollution control initiatives that will be undertaken by the Government of Manitoba. Several of them can be easily adjusted for karst areas. The special significance of karst areas and their vulnerability to groundwater contamination should be recognized.
The first priority is to conduct a full inventory of karst areas and karst surface features and develop an adequate data base which should consist of exact locations of these features, their parameters (width, depth. etc,) discharge areas, pollution hazard classification, and so on. Any new policies should be conducted to protect ground water first, along with permitting sustainable development in the Southern Interlake.
For more information visit the Speleological Society of Manitoba website at www.cancaver.ca/prov/man.
New Organic Café Honours Earth
By Anne Lindsey
There's a new organic cafe in town. The Five Seasons (formerly Cheryl's Cafe) is in a modest space on Ellice Avenue, west of Arlington. Its proprietors, Signe and Kyle Fehr, are not only committed to delicious, healthy and attractively served food, they have a mission to make the restaurant environmentally sustainable.
Both Signe and Kyle worked in conventional restaurants before starting their own business. Says Signe "we just couldn't feel proud of the food we were preparing. It wasn't food that we ourselves would want to eat." Their Five Seasons menu features a wide variety of fare, catering to meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. Many of their dishes are vegan, and they are happy to adjust particular dishes to suit a vegan diet. They are also willing to make adjustments for people with dietary restrictions, such as allergies. They choose not to use refined sugars in their cuisine; instead, desserts are made with natural sweeteners. Where else can you get real maple syrup on your pancakes?
Fresh, organic ingredients
Moreover, Kyle and Signe try their best to use organic ingredients
whenever possible, and particularly locally available products,
which eans that they are supporting local farmers. Their main supplier
is Fresh Option Organic Delivery, a Winnipeg-based organic grocery
business which specializes in locally produced organic products
(see Eco-Journal v. 13 No. 4). For some ingredients, they also patronize
nearby inner city entrepreneurs and ethnic stores, although these
may not be organic, because they see the value of a strong local
economy.
Items such as pasta, breads and desserts are made by hand and meals are carefully made from "scratch" from the freshest ingredients possible, which means that they are both flavourful and nutritious. It also means that diners should plan to take their time when visiting Five Seasons - Kyle stresses that one shouldn't be expecting fast food! But you can expect very reasonable prices-one of their goals is to make organic cuisine affordable.
Environmental ethic
These two people have a keen wish to minimize their environmental
footprint. Signe describes living in British Columbia's Slocan Valley
before coming to Winnipeg, and standing with other community members
to blockade destructive logging roads in the watershed. She has
also lived on a farm, and knows the value and reward of growing
one's own food. This ethic has transferred itself to their business.
With their home within walking distance of the cafe, Kyle and Signe choose not to own a car. They are conscientious recyclers, and all food scraps from the restaurant are composted. They hope to develop a rooftop garden area to raise their own salad greens and herbs. Pottery and artwork from local artists is on display and available for purchase in the restaurant.
The name Five Seasons comes from the Chinese tradition of honouring the time of Harvest as a season, says Signe. This is a small business in Winnipeg that honours the Harvest, food producers, the community and the Earth.
Five Seasons Café is located at 841 Ellice Ave. Phone (204) 783-7920.
A moral dilemma: In Love with My Car
By Kimberly Francey
I am the proud owner of a fully restored 1967 Mustang coupe. It has a 351 Cleveland engine and more horsepower and torque than I should discuss publicly. It has won countless awards at car shows, and is quite famous among car enthusiasts in Winnipeg. Its exhaust is so loud that it has shattered storefront windows and set off car alarms. I've actually been asked not to drive it in the Wolseley area.
I love this car and I have invested hours of my time and all of my spare change into improving it in one way or another. It truly is a magnificent machine and an important symbol of the post-industrial American lifestyle and history.
Unfortunately, that car pumps out so many exhaust fumes, you can get a headache from driving it too long if you aren't already used to them. This leads me to question how safe it must be if you are used to the fumes. To tell you the truth, I don't want to know. What I do know is that the life span of human lungs is sixty years, and I'm certain mine have already been eroded by the Mustang's output. I've never smoked a day in my life, but it won't surprise me if I'm told one day that my lungs have submitted their resignation.
Fuel efficiency of a space shuttle
This car has the fuel efficiency of a space shuttle and I'm not
sure I could risk the embarrassment of an emissions test. A cruise
from south Pembina to the middle of Portage Avenue will typically
cost a full tank of premium gasoline.
The car is so finely tuned that it requires intensive daily maintenance. I have another car for daily driving, and obviously, this Mustang of mine is not a sensible car for anyone to have. It's a danger to personal health, ecological interests, the noise pollution is unspeakable and you can only drive it when it feels like it should be driven. No one needs two cars either. As my environmental "awakening" dawned, I began to question the Mustang's contribution to environmental disaster and thought about what I could do about it.
There were a few options. I could replace the motor with a Honda motor (yeah, right). I could sell it, but someone else would drive it and be contributing its emissions so there was no real solution there. I could send the car to a scrap yard for it to be dismantled, then recycled to become someone's garbage can. That was the only real environmentally friendly solution I could imagine.
Given the time and significant investment I have put into that car as a passion and hobby, I just can't bring myself to recycle it. However, the whole act of doing such a thing would be very noble, and the sadistic act of terminating it Arnold-style is definitely something I would love to put on my resume as an environmental warrior. Wouldn't that look good?
I would save on the insurance, the gas, the parts (I forgot to mention it breaks down biweekly), my lungs and thousands of emission violations that have yet to be determined. It is very obvious that this would be the best thing for everyone involved.
I just can't do it though. My losses would be immense. The only
way to recover some of that is to sell it, which as I mentioned
before isn't much of a solution. It is too bad the government hasn't
implemented a program that will buy back these cars in the name
of saving the Earth.
I'm not sure the government is so interested in the environmental
movement that it would even consider doing such a thing.
The Mustang has sat quietly in my garage for a year, never having been started. It's not hurting anyone now, and I have almost resolved to sell it to a teen-ager who will likely drive it into a lamp post and dispose of it quickly in a humane manner.
Thousands just like it
It isn't my Mustang alone, there are thousands just like it with
the same or worse problems. I still have guilt. Add those cars to
the fuel efficient ones, the industries around the world, and everything
else causing pollution and climate change, and we certainly have
ourselves a difficult situation.
This situation clearly has me frustrated with the what-to-dos but I cannot seem to resolve a decent answer. I'm just one person. If just one person has such conflict about the cost effect versus the moral, ecological thing to do, what is going on in major corporations worldwide? What they would have to put up financially to become more environmentally friendly (generally speaking) would be a far greater sum than what I have to, so I can see why there has been such a sloppy attempt at cleaning up the environmental behaviour of the world. There needs to be more incentive at every level.
Scary thoughts. My psyche and my little car are just a micro-sample of the rest of the world. Many of us mean well and are searching for cost-effective answers, but in the end, will we find them? If we do, will these answers come in time? Perhaps better incentives and harsher penalties are in order. For now, we need to focus on changing one person at a time.
I still love my car, but for me, it's more of a museum piece than a mode of transportation. I think that many of our customs should go the same way - to be viewed behind the glass of a museum as a part of our history.
Kimberley Francey is an Environmental Studies student at the University of Manitoba.
News from the GIS/Mapping Centre
On April 5th, 2004, the Manitoba Eco-Network's GIS/Mapping Centre officially launched its new web page, online at www.mbeconetwork.org/projects_gis.asp. The website's aim is to focus on environmental issues within Manitoba through the use of GIS (Geographic Information Systems software) and mapping techniques. In order to highlight the available techniques of data gathering, integration, analysis and visualization, the GIS/Mapping Centre has created a map showing the remaining mature forest stands in the Province's Forest Management Licence Area 01 (FML01), currently managed by the Canadian forest products company, Tembec.
Why FML01?
The geographic region that comprises FML01 has been and continues
to be studied by government, industry and academia. It is the southern
gateway of the current East side of Lake Winnipeg Planning Initiative.
Furthermore, the FML01 area is arguably the most studied landscape
in the province, with a wide range of publicly available data sets
including aerial photography and satellite imagery, elevation data,
trap line locations, individual mining claims, and forest harvest
and fire history. There is also a plethora of information available
through the Manitoba Land Initiative (MLI), including details on
parks and protected areas, soils, lakes, rivers, watersheds, roads
and a very detailed set of layered maps from the 1:20,000 topographic
data set.
Finally, the FML01 region serves as a good case study by highlighting the multitude of issues and stakeholders involved in the politics of Canada's Boreal Forest regions. As such, the maps and images added to the GIS/Mapping Centre website should be understood as one way of representing the issues involved in the FML01 area.
Mapping Mature Forests in FML01: What's Left
Using the 1986 Forest Resource Inventory (FRI) available through
the MLI, all forest areas approximately 60 years or older, as determined
by their "cut class" number, were matched up against harvest
(logging) data and first history data. By integrating these three
data layers, all forested areas, logged or burned, since 1986, were
eliminated in order to visualize, for illustrative purposes only,
what mature forest stands remain in the FML01 area. Finally, linear
features, including major roads, logging roads and transmission
lines were overlaid to further highlight the fragmented nature of
these mature forest stands.
Future Website Maps:
The mission of the GIS/Mapping Centre's website is not only to display
images highlighting various environmental themes within Manitoba,
but also to document the procedures and techniques involved in producing
maps. It involves bringing together various data sets in a GIS software
environment, and through careful analysis, a final map or visualization
is produced. Through these processes, it is hoped that this spatial
land use information will assist environmental non-profits in Manitoba.
Other News:
Online Maps: Recently the Manitoba Eco-Network GIS/Mapping Centre
produced three Hydro related reference maps for the Canadian Nature
Federation. The maps include Manitoba Hydro generating stations
(developed and potential), potential Hydro sites outlined as part
of the 1997 Treaty Land Entitlement Agreement, and a map showing
existing and proposed Manitoba Hydro transmission lines. See: http://manitobawildlands.org/develop_hydro.htm#stations_map.
New GIS Data: The Manitoba Eco-Network GIS/Mapping Centre has recently acquired the following data sets: Tembec's harvest and renewal data, 1986-2003; Fire History data for the Province: 1976-2003; Enduring Features data; First Nations Trap line data, and Woodland Caribou location data for the East side of Lake Winnipeg.
Funding: The Manitoba Eco-Network GIS Mapping Centre has received CCHREI Internship funding for the GIS/Mapping Centre Technician position. With this in place, Adam Melnyk will be starting full-time on April 1, 2004.
Manitoba Earth Day 2004: Celebrating Biodiversity
Sunday April 18 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Assiniboine Park Conservatory
- Discover the beauty and importance of biodiversity
- Try your luck at the Biojeopardy Challenge
- Let the kids make nature crafts or play a life size board game
- Meet the innovator that found a use for muskox poop
- Browse diplays tables about everything from the conscientious
consumer to Manitoba's majestic forests
- Enter to win some great door prizes
- And more!!
The event is free, and everyone is invited to attend!
Sponsored by a number of environmental organizations in Manitoba
including: Oak Hammock Marsh, University of Manitoba-Faculty of
Environment, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Mountain Equipment
Co-op, Winnipeg Students' Coalition, Friends of the Conservatory,
Manitoba Eco-Network and Living Prairie Museum.
For more info, please contact Lise Smith at 467-3305 or lises@mts.net.
Green Thumb, Green Planet Book Tour
Carole Rubin, environmentalist and author of How to Get Your Lawn
and Garden Off Drugs and How to Get Your Lawn Off Grass, will be
speaking and signing books at the St. Boniface Public Library, 131
Provencher Blvd., Saturday, May 8 at 2 pm. Admission is free. Sponsored
by Manitoba Eco-Network, CROW, Chemical Sensitivities Manitoba,
Winnipeg Public Library and Harbour Publishing.
Exposed for Life: Children's Health and the Environment
June 3-5 at the Portuguese Centre, 659 Young St.
Workshops and Plenary sessions on:
- The Precautionary Principle
- Everyday exposure to toxic substances
- Impacts of climate change and air quality
- Differential impacts on Aboriginal and low income communities
- The importance of urban greening.
Keynote speaker:
- Dr. Sandra Steingraber, biologist and Author.
Other out-of-town speakers include:
- Dr. Warren Bell, President Canadian Physicians for the Environment
- Kathy Cooper, Canadian Environmental Law Association
- Katsi Cook, Midwife, Six Nations
- Bill Limerick, Environmental Health Unit, Northwestern Ontario
- Judy daSilva, Grassy Narrows First Nation
Local resource people and speakers include:
- Barb Haffner, Evergreen Foundation
- Janine Gibson, Canadian Organic Growers
- Serge LaRochelle, Resource Conservation Manitoba
- Karen Kidd, Freshwater Institute
See www.spcw.mb.ca
or call 943-2561 for more info
| Copyright 2007 Manitoba Eco-Network |