Canadian Environment - Election 2015

Canadians vote on Monday, October 13. 2015

During a short discussion with a Conservative she stated: "What does it matter how the world sees Canada" My response was simple. "Do you see any Canadian connectivity with the world?" End of discussion.

Canada is Connected to every Person on the Planet

Where was the debate about Canada's contribution to world-wide pollution?

A major environmental shift is underway and will likely cause a much shorter lifespan for humans on planet. Some call it climate change or global warming. Others, much wiser, look at it as a shift in the environment between a livable and non-livable habitat.

The Green Party has a narrow view. They pick on one industry while skipping over their own backyard. It is a common thread now to blame someone else while tossing your trash in the Oceans. The Green Party get excited about electric cars and using a bicycle in Vancouver. It is a common delusion, without a minute of thought, as to where and how the electricity is generated.Here are two charts for the Green Party supporters



Blue - Hydro Electric, Pink - Natural Gas, Orange - Diesel

What the map conveniently does not include is shown in the next chart. British Columbia imports of electricity in a deficit. Under the Columbia Basin Treaty the US supplies free nuclear powered electricity to British Columbia.



Canadians consume massive amounts of oil and gas. Your electricity for the most part comes from coal and diesel generating power plants. Ontario is using Nuclear Power while Quebec uses Hydro. Our Maritime Provinces use imported oil. Ontario wants to bury its Nuclear Waste 1 km. from the Great Lakes.

Our larger cities seek billions to expand public transit systems used by a small part of the population. Roads and highways are constantly under construction. The newest insane plan involves spending 100s of millions on bicycle lanes in our ever so warm winter climate.

Big oil companies, most of them US owned, were allowed to create the oil sands project in Alberta. The former Conservative government of Alberta placed little or no restrictions on the clean up process. Newly elected Premiere Rachel Notley has 40 years of Conservative neglect on her governments hands.

Let's get to the point on how Canada is connected to the world

Canada gives the air a toxic aroma,

Canada daily dumps trillions of liters raw sewage into the rivers and oceans,

Canada pollutes the land and aquifers with hydraulic fracturing chemicals,

Canada uses vehicles that consume ever-increasing amounts of fuel tossing the carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,

Canada for the last 10 years, under Harper's Conservatives, used 30% of our food grain to create bio-fuel.

Canada, under the Conservatives, sold the Wheat Board to Saudi Arabia, putting independent Canadian farmers at risk of collapse.

All life on the planet is connected

Five years ago Russia invited Canada to a meeting to open discussions about the Arctic Ocean. Harper and the Conservatives refused the invitation. Our two countries border on 80% of the Arctic Ocean. Of course, not to be outdone, Justin Trudeau recently said he would slap the President of the Russian Federation's face. That would be a wise move at the beginning of talks for an Arctic Treaty. The United States has overblown their importance about the Arctic since their tiny sliver barely hits 2% of the Arctic boundaries.

Everything we do in Canada does affect the world and Canadians. As an environment caretaker we are rated near the bottom. The education system in Canada fell from the top 5 to 69th since Harper's Conservatives took office. Scientists were silenced by Harper about the same time he burned Canada's scientific libraries.

When will Canada step up as a World Leader to Clean up the Environment?

What I am about to suggest is done with the greatest amount of sincerity. To those willing to vote for the Green Party please reconsider your vote. In many ridings your vote will let the Conservatives slip up the middle and win the seat. Look up the stats on the Elections Canada website. It happened in over 20 ridings. Consider what Canadians did to Brian Mulroney by leaving the Conservatives with 2 seats in Parliament.

Your turn will come after we have ensured a total defeat of Harper and his Conservatives on October 19, 2015. Where you know there is a high possibility of a Green Party win make it happen. You already have official party status in the House of Commons.

Canadian Voters vs Pollsters

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

To every Canadian knocking on doors for your local candidate you are a symbol of democracy in action. The weathers is good leaving room for other Canadians to join you. As of this writing there are 10 days to offer help in your local riding to the candidate of your choice. Volunteering is a well founded Canadian trait so use your time locally.

Tired of being told what the pollsters have to say almost daily?

Consider the fact polls are from a small selected group of under 1500 Canadians out of 35 million. All are selected from a screened list by the company or organization releasing the polling numbers. Look at the polls, if you must, realizing you are being manipulated. It is a clever scheme used to discourage Canadians from voting. During the 2011 election 10 million Canadians chose to stay at home. 14.8 voters of a possible 24.2 million found their way to a polling station to vote.

For me it is much easier because I stopped watching television in 2003 when the US began an illegal war against Iraq. I see the uncensored Internet by staying clear of Google. Every time a person says Google it my mind says thank you for believing Google's propaganda. Two days ago, I opened up another browser, to see what you see when using Google. It was a nightmare, akin to the pollsters presenting a selected list, encouraging Canadians to blindly go into the dark.

The truth is rarely pure and never simple Oscar Wilde

In our Parliamentary democracy we have one opportunity, during a national election, to determine who will represent us in Ottawa. The majority of elected representatives from a political party form the government for another 4 years. We have no direct vote for the party leader. The party leader must win in a local riding to become Prime Minister of Canada. Stephen and the Conservatives are holding office based on a 61% voter turnout in 2011. A flaw in our system of voting gave them the job with 34% of the total votes.

Reject Stephen Harper and the Conservatives

Stephen and his Conservatives have had over 8 years to govern. The trail of corruption and deceit is longer than every government since the Confederation of Canada. The short collection, to back up Stephen and the Conservative contempt, of Parliament and Canadians.

An open Facebook profile 78 Days 78 Reasons to Remove Harper and Conservatives

Short video London Rally of Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament 2010

Reader funded media The Tyee have many excellent articles with various points of view. The Tyee also has a list of 70 Conservative abuses of power, created by Canadians.

How the Youth Vote can change Canada by Rick Mercer

Note to those using social media networking websites. Ignore the Conservative distraction about what clothing Canadians can or should wear. Some of our Canadian media are using the topic to avoid honest discussion during this election. Canada has a Charter of Rights and Freedoms along with being a signer of the United Nations Declaration of Universal Human Rights.

Are You Ready to Vote?

Harper and the Conservatives are holding office based on a 61% voter turnout in 2011. A flaw in our system of voting gave them the job with 34% of the total votes. We can change who governs Canada in Parliament, by concentrating on the political party, that would or could do the work required. Think of the election campaign as a job interview. Who would you hire?

Find your Polling Station at Elections Canada by entering your postal code.

Voting offices are available at Colleges or Universities. App for Android and App for Mac.

Website for Youth vote. Our creativity and energy is vital at this moment in Canadian history. We will no longer be marginalized.

Please vote.

Thank you for reading and sharing.

Will publish article about Canada's environmental impact in two or three parts.

Media Manipulation of Canadian Election

When honesty and frankness make you vulnerable ...Be honest and frank anyway

It was never my intention to write an article every day as the Federal Election unrolled across our country.The Canadian media in every form are manipulating the voters with their polls no matter how ridiculous they look. Since all of the media is owned by a small group, it puts the voter in a state of mind, as to whether voting is necessary.

In fact it is of far greater interest to me watching the political dance between President Obama and President Putin. The propaganda battle started by the U.S. against Russia began with the Sochi Games followed by the coup d'état in Ukraine. Current PM Stephen Harper followed the US line and took Canada into a war against Syria and Iraq. Our two major TV media outlets CBC and CTV regurgitated the same stories being played out on all big TV media in the United States.

In a very unscientific poll I asked exactly 100 Canadian citizens one question. Are you aware that Stephen Harper and his Conservatives declared war on Syria and Iraq? Six of the one hundred knew Canada was at war. Harper being clever as ever hid Canada under the all-encompassing banner of NATO. The fact that Canada is a member of NATO was used as a way to camouflage the topic by our own media. Rather than give Canadians the facts on our involvement the media covered it up with NATO led air strikes.

How it was being paid for while Canadians go hungry is of no importance to mainstream media.

Based on US Senate foreign relations Committee information anyone can add up the cost in dollars. One F-18, including all personnel, fuel, maintenance etc., is $16,000.00 per day. One group in the US who keep track of war costs say it is closer to $160,000.00 per day.

Canada is currently using six during Harper's war in Syria and Iraq. We better make the F-18s useful by purchasing missiles to fire and kill people in both countries. Cost per missile $1,750,000.00 each with 465 used to date. All of the costs listed are in Canadian dollars. Add 30% to figure out the dollars tossed away by Harper and his Conservatives. Costs for the support aircraft and navy would be a guess.

Canada played a major role bombing Libya to rubble, knocking our water, sewer, electricity, ports and major highways. Stephen Harper and his Conservatives hid under the NATO banner and so did our media. Six F-18s and 900 missiles plus support aircraft and three battle frigates were used.

What did Muammar Gaddafi do to anger the United States? He abolished the US backed monarchy and held elections for Parliament. Then he nationalized the oil and gas industry. Within ten years poverty in Libya was eliminated.



The Refugee Crisis

Refugees fleeing from Libya, Syria and Iraq make up the largest part of the number. Did our media mention the cause of these people leaving their countries? One media outlet said it was due to climate change. I scan up to fifty media websites and blogs every morning from around the world. If you are using Google you will not see what is being said in other countries due to Google censorship. Most likely the comment came from another Donate Now environmental group.

Harper and his Conservatives are responsible in a big part for people fleeing their homes. Missiles and bombs dropped on people are not the same as a video game or movie. Try to imagine a deadly missile dropped on your house, business or apartment building. You cannot smell the stench of decaying bodies via your 62" high-resolution television.

Domestic Issues

For the cost of 2 missiles a group of police officers would be directed to find the 1000 plus missing indigenous persons - mostly female.

2 missiles to rectify the damage done to our good name at the United Nations.

30 missiles to give our veterans proper treatment and pensions.

5 missiles to hold a summit with the nations surrounding the Arctic for an Arctic Treaty similar to the one for Antarctica.



20 missiles would pay for a national program aimed at funding Canadians who are willing to invest matching dollars to live on a small farm growing healthy food.

Abolish the Senate for a saving of $400,000,000.00

Break all ties with the monarchy of England. Abolish all offices related to the monarchy (lieutenant governor, governor-general etc.) saving another $400,000,000.00

Immediate halt to building an armaments industry such as the one Harper announced during the debate last week. He wants to sell weapons to the monarchy of Saudi Arabia. I thought Gilles Duceppe summed it up rather thoughtfully when he said "what the f**k..."

Stop the planned nuclear waste dump 1 km from Lake Huron on the Great Lakes.

Halt any further omnibus bills and bring in each Bill separate to Parliament.

Canadians want a budget each and every spring. No more 10 year plan with updates the way the Conservatives do it. Sounds terribly similar to Stalin. Canadians are aware this country is in an economic depression. Stop lying to us as if you were Stalin.

10 missiles would pay to increase funding to Elections Canada. Help Elections Canada encourage more Canadians to vote and fulfill its' policies.

Stop Criminalizing Marijuana. Over a million Canadians carry a felony charge for possessing less than 29 grams of pot. Those criminals records can and do ruin a person's opportunity to advance in many lines of work. World wide, there are jurisdictions at the national and local levels exploring more effective alternatives to the failed, criminalization focused drug war.

Live up to Canada's commitment to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services. The right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond their control.

Canada is at the top of the list for the most taxed country in the world. Yet we do not have a measure of poverty in a country filled with wealth for the few. If you call me a socialist get ready for a knuckle thumping. Why are over a million Canadians using Food Banks from coast to coast? Why are Canadians using up to 65% of their income to pay landlords sky-high rent? Canada made a pledge to the United Nations to find a workable solution on poverty. The Conservatives made a decision to avoid the issue, while slashing pensions, allowing over four million Canadians to slide into poverty.

What do the oligarchs who own most of the media have to say?

How can we have diversity of opinion within Canada's media monopoly? Canadians watch, read and listen to US media where the oligarchs have a tighter hold. You get the same opinion or bias regardless. Different logo still the same owner. Chart was made in 2012.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next article: Our environmental related activity and how everyone can help nature repair the damage. Break the oligarch strangle hold by turning off the television. Your opinion counts at the Polling Station where you vote.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Another federal election called by Stephen Harper is upon us in Canada.

In order for me to write about the issues let me disclose the following. I have no hidden agenda. Anything I say is done in my name and therefore my responsibility. I do not belong to any political party nor am I affiliated with any of them. I do not financially support any of the political parties. Over the decades, as a commercial producer, I did work for the Liberal Party, the original Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party. It was strictly a matter of producing commercials to be aired Federally or Provincially.

Further, I do not belong to any environmental group or organization, nor do I support any of them financially.

As far as other groups world wide I belong to one, The Jewish Voice for Peace, an open association of activists. Give what I can financially once a year. I am certain the association will continue despite my twenty-five to thirty dollar contribution.

During my early years in college I also began working in radio.

A few decades ago there were live people doing everything that needed to get done. We researched music and news stories for background information before they were broadcast. It made college life fun while studying broadcast communications, business accounting and economics.

The Province of Ontario was experimenting with education, as the government opened colleges, across the Province. Professors or Instructors were required to have 20-30 years work experience in their related fields before they were hired. This gave us more than a purely academic viewpoint. Mixed with their field experience, we learned to look at subject areas with an open mind approach, as opposed to one from a close minded textbook.

My purpose is to give you a sincere look at the landscape of Canada as we move towards voting on October 19, 2015. There are many topics: environment, economics, taxation, veterans, wars, justice, human rights, healthcare, poverty, women's equality, first nations, NATO, terrorism acts, privacy and international agreements to discuss.

First and most important.. Are you registered to vote in this election? Here is where you can register and find out if your are registered.

The Nuclear Dilemma Chapter One

The Very Real Nuclear Dilemma

I was raised during a time when nuclear testing was accompanied by air raid sirens. The sound of the sirens left an indelible mark in my mind along with millions of others.


How many nuclear tests do you believe took place since the first one, on July 1945, before Hiroshima and Nagasaki? It might surprise you that a total of 2119 Nuclear Tests happened between 1945 and 2015. When we add in the number of non-yield tests the total jumps to 2474. A non-yield tests draws a fine line between a full blast by saying that a nuclear test was not intended. It is the same as saying sorry when I picked up the gun it fired in your face.

There are Four Topics

1. How many nuclear weapons exist today?
2. How many nuclear reactors are in use now?
3. Where is the deadly toxic waste located?
4. What can we do with the toxic nuclear waste?


Nuclear Weapons World Wide

The number of weapons is in decline from 70,000 during the late 1980s to approximately 16,000 today.  The graph is from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Operational and Proposed Nuclear Reactors Today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do We do with the deadly Nuclear Waste?

As you can see from the graphs the planet is awash with toxic and deadly nuclear waste by-products. Low radioactive waste such as clothing, filters and some resins need to be stored for at least 500 years. That is a best guess on how long it takes for the radioactive waste to decay to a daily dose of radiation. We began playing with nuclear radiation in the early 1940s so any date of expiry must be a best guess.

Here is a quote from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission: "Because of their highly radioactive fission products, high-level waste and spent fuel must be handled and stored with care. Since the only way radioactive waste finally becomes harmless is through decay, which for high-level wastes can take hundreds of thousands of years, the wastes must be stored and finally disposed of in a way that provides adequate protection of the public for a very long time."

Where does the low and highly radioactive nuclear waste really go? This video explores the topic.



You can find 1000s of videos on this topic around the Internet. I picked this one because of it's shock factor along with the nuclear waste being dumped in the Oceans.


The fact is every country using nuclear fuel or has nuclear weapons did little or no planning for the toxic waste. Waste includes that from Nuclear Power Plants, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear powered submarines and ships, hospitals, research facilities and a wide array of Military Weapons.

Fukushima released 13,000,000,000 times more neutrons than initially estimated. Neutron radiation is the most severe and dangerous radiation known to mankind. It can travel great distances.  With over 100,000 tons of nuclear waste world wide here are a few options. Keep dumping it into the oceans, rivers or simply bury the stuff deep into our planets surface.

The diagram shown above is on the drawing board in Canada just 2 km from the Great Lakes. Currently 29,000 tonnes of toxic nuclear waste is stored near the Bruce Reactors. Several sites, with nearby cities, are going through the process of getting to be the lucky one. The next diagram shows three of the five possible dump sites in Ontario, Canada. Recently Flin Flon, Manitoba had their name added to the possible nuclear wast dump sites along with Creighton, Saskatchewan.

Creighton

It gets a little bit confusing with the North Western Ontario site at the top of the map. A number of smaller communities are considering a yes vote. In truth no one is going to get to vote on the final choice.

While keeping an eye on the map above take a look at the nuclear waste around the Great Lakes of Canada and the United States.

Between 40-50 million people, on both sides of the Great Lakes, depend on the clean fresh water supply for everything. Contrary to George Bush the Lessor the water flows from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Michigan flows in part, to millions of people, along the Mississippi River. 

How is the deadly toxic nuclear waste going to get to the proposed nuclear dump? Railway because everyone knows they seldom have accidents. Massive trucks clogging up the narrow highway is another option. With the dump site in North Western Ontario, closer to the city of Thunder Bay, the Great Lakes Fleet could take the waste north. Imagine the impact a ship loaded with nuclear waste having an accident as it enters Lake Superior.

More links For those who Care about our Planet

Business Owners on Nuclear Waste in NWO. Local business owners comment regarding a potential deep geological repository for nuclear waste at MP Bruce Hyer's Town Hall meeting in Manitouwadge.

Burying Radioactive Waste near Creighton Fraught with Danger

Edwards said history of full of examples in which toxic materials have been disposed of through burial only to 'come back to plague future generations.' He mentioned the famous case of Love Canal, a neighborhood in the US built atop a toxic waste burial site. The waste was linked to health problems and the government paid to relocate hundreds of families. Edwards further referenced Sarnia, Ontario, where toxic chemicals were injected deep into the earth only to resurface in the St. Clair River as toxic blobs thanks to Dow Chemical.

Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility

CCNR is a not-for-profit organization, federally incorporated in 1978. It is dedicated to education and research on all issues related to nuclear energy, whether civilian or military, including non-nuclear alternatives, especially those pertaining to Canada.

Dryden Mayor supports Ignace as Dumping Ground

Ignace along with three other communities have advanced into the next research phase as potential sites. The area is now under evaluation by The Nuclear Waste Management Organization to decide which community is the best possible site. - See more at: http://www.kenoraonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11449&Itemid=160#.VLQo7HQAWLA.facebook

Ignace along with three other communities have advanced into the next research phase as potential sites. The area is now under evaluation by The Nuclear Waste Management Organization to decide which community is the best possible site. - See more at: http://www.kenoraonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11449&Itemid=160#.VLQo7HQAWLA.facebook

Ignace along with three other communities have advanced into the next research phase as potential sites. The area is now under evaluation by The Nuclear Waste Management Organization to decide which community is the best possible site. - See more at: http://www.kenoraonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11449&Itemid=160#.VLQo7HQAWLA.facebook

Ignace along with three other communities have advanced into the next research phase as potential sites. The area is now under evaluation by The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to decide which community is the best possible site.

Physics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for active researchers, academics and students of physics.

U.S. Office of Nuclear Energy

There are hundreds of downloadable documents on this site. The Office of Nuclear Energy’s (NE) primary mission is to advance nuclear power as a resource capable of making major contributions in meeting our Nation’s energy supply, environmental, and energy security needs. We seek to resolve
technical, cost, safety, security and regulatory issues through research, development and demonstration. By focusing on the development of advanced nuclear technologies, NE supports the Administration’s goals of providing domestic sources of secure energy, reducing greenhouse gases, and enhancing national security.

U.S. Senators Oppose Canada's Nuclear Waste Proposal

The resolution, co-sponsored by Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; Mark Kirk, R-Ill.; and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., urges President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry "to take appropriate action to work with the Canadian government" to prevent building of a permanent nuclear waste repository within the Great Lakes Basin.

Nuclear Plant in Russia with no Nuclear Waste

Humankind has already produced so much nuclear waste that it would take decades, if not hundreds of years to process and recycle it. As of now, the only light at the end of the tunnel is fast-neutron reactor technology. Fuel for breeder reactors could even be made from nuclear waste, which from an ecological point of view is a priceless advantage.

I will do my best to keep you updated in future blogs.