Author Archives: David

I was wrong about Earth Overshoot Day this year… It is worse than I thought

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On May 31, 2010 I wrote about Earth Overshoot Day and its significance. To re-cap, we are living beyond our means on this Planet Earth, and Earth Overshoot Day signifies the point in the year that we have already used up our full year’s allotment of resources.

I had previously said that Earth Overshoot Day would arrive on September 20th of this year. Wow, was that date off. Turns out that the date will actually fall on August 21st (tomorrow!!!), a full month earlier. So what’s the big deal?

The Telegraph has a good article on the significance of this sudden and precipitous change.

This year the moment we start eating into nature’s capital or ‘Earth Overshoot Day’ will fall on 21st August, a full month earlier than last year, when resources were used up by 23rd September.

It appears that increased worldwide consumption has put a huge strain on the world’s climate and resources. This growth and consumption is unsustainable. In fact, any growth at all is unsustainable. Just to make sure that we all understand the implications of this term, the following is the definition of “unsustainable.”

  1. Being invalid.
  2. Being indefensible, untenable, unwarrantable or unjustifiable.
  3. Being unbearable.

From the same websters-online-dictionary.org source, synonyms are

  1. controvertible, indefensible, invalid, unsound, untenable, shaky, weak.
  2. Consider also: feeble, defective, faint, flat, flimsy, fragile, rickety, thin, watery, false, light, ailing, cowardly, inadequate, infirm, nerveless, poor, sickly, unstable.
  3. Other: flawed.
  4. Expression: impossible to back up, on shaky ground.

Scares me.

Sounds like we need a big wakeup call. What will it take to change our culture and economic policies? I guess the current weather trends and long-term economic “downturn” aren’t enough. Perhaps blind optimism should end and practical, strong, creative, unselfish realism should take hold.

Are we listening?

Reunion with my grandmother: An amazing centenarian

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grandmother A few weeks ago we had the privilege of seeing “Nannie” (my grandmother). I hadn’t seen her in about 4 years, due to the scourge of lyme disease and various tick-borne co-infections. She doesn’t travel much – I guess she is slowing down a little with age, now that she is on the cusp of 102 years old. Her persistence in wanting to see me paid off, as Kristine was able to travel and pick her up this summer. Thanks to Alice and family for providing a home base for Nannie, and for getting her back home.

Nannie’s favourite game is cribbage…. she is truly the “champ,” having likely played close to 100,000 games over her lifetime and even garnering a very rare “29” hand a number of decades ago. In fact, she and my mother taught me, and I have always loved the game. Nannie and I played two games over the two afternoons that she was visiting us…. The first result was no surprise – talk about dismal hands!! And I was rather rusty. On the second day, the good cards were turning up in my hand, and perhaps my head was a bit clearer. I won! So, in the end we ended our 2-day “tournament” in a peace-rendering draw! What fun!

Over the 4 hours that we spent together, we reminisced about when I was young, when she stayed with us when Catherine and Erin were newborns, and when they were toddlers and bouncing off the walls. We talked about family history, going back many generations in Canada, England, Ireland, Wales, and Germany.

The visit ended too soon. We have precious memories, pictures and video clips. And a commitment on my part to write more (as I am able). Certainly seeing her was a belated 46th birthday present for me!

Songbirds spread lyme disease far and wide (nowhere is completely safe)

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Lyme awareness month (May) is coming to a close. Public awareness is creeping forward. The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation and many other groups are all spreading the word. The media is even taking a more prominent role. Last weekend the CTV W5 show from Nov. 2009 was screened again, just in time for Victoria Day weekend and to kick off the worst of the lyme season.

With the increase in public awareness comes an urgent need for better testing, more appropriate and timely treatment regimens, better informed and committed medical professionals, improved protection of our blood supply and better funded quality research. This may seem like a lot to bite off, but we need to make up for lost time. Progress has been very slow over the past few decades as the lyme threat has increased almost exponentially.

In spite of the lack of major sponsors and active researchers, important studies have taken place. Just recently, Jim Wilson of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation sent out a paper entitled “Detection of Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, including three novel genotypes in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from songbirds (Passeriformes) across Canada.” It is being published in the June 2010 publication of the Journal of Vector Ecology. Its authors are John D. Scott, Min-Kuang Lee, Keerthi Fernando, Lance A. Durden, Danielle R. Jorgensen, Sunny Mak, and Muhammad G. Morshed. John Scott is a well-known name to me, as he has been instrumental with the Lyme Disease Association of Ontario and has also been involved in important Canadian lyme disease vector research over the past number of years.

In brief, the research results bring into focus a major source of the lyme disease infections within Canada. Songbirds are beloved by many, but Scott and co-researchers found that 11.4% of the 366 ticks found on 151 songbirds from 16 different regions of Canada carried the Borrelia burgdorferi (lyme disease) bacteria. The paper is 16 pages long, and can be provided if any reader is interested (just leave a comment below). But it all boils down to the statement at the end of the paper abstract:

Because songbirds disperse millions of infected ticks across Canada, people and domestic animals contract Lyme disease outside of the known and expected range (Journal of Vector Ecology 35 (1): 124-139. 2010)

In other words, forget about the “conventional” wisdom that ticks carrying lyme disease are safely tucked away into discrete endemic areas in a few regions across the country. Yes they are much denser in some areas. But the truth is you can get it anywhere. They even found ticks on songbirds in the Yukon (north of 60 degrees latitude)!

Tweet, tweet.

Can our lifestyles be supported indefinitely? (Earth Overshoot Day arrives this September)

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Earth Overshoot Day is scheduled to take place this September 20th. It arrives earlier on the calendar almost every year. A couple of days ago Peter Gorrie of the Toronto Star wrote a great article entitled “When consumption’s in the red, we’re in trouble” which really captured my interest. I wondered why there is no outcry on a daily basis as we are clearly living beyond our means on this planet, and then I remembered that it has become acceptable for individuals and nations to borrow to live a lifestyle that is clearly beyond our means and is most definitely unsustainable. We borrow money and spend much of our lives in debt, we “borrow” resources that the Earth cannot possibly continue to supply for very much longer (we tell ourselves that someone in the future will figure out something in the nick of time – usually a future technology that has yet to be invented or perfected). We protect our comforts and continue to acquire wealth, use up available resources, purchase consumables, etc… Which leads me back to where I started.

So, what exactly is this Earth Overshoot Day and what does it mean?

Earth Overshoot Day doesn’t have any particular significance on the calendar. It is symbolic, a way for us to wrap our minds around the truth that as our population numbers grow and as our hunger for prosperity, energy and consumables increase, the Earth cannot provide what we desire. Rather than focus on the dire consequences that lie at the end of our projected path, it would be helpful to examine and implement practical solutions that all of us can collectively follow in order to push overshoot day past December 31st. The prize being that our Earth would be able to support our activities. And those of our children. And our children’s children… The alternative is unthinkable.

Earth Overshoot Day marks an unfortunate milestone: the day when humanity begins living beyond its ecological means. Beyond that day, we move into the ecological equivalent of deficit spending, utilizing resources at a rate faster than what the planet can regenerate in a calendar year.

Globally, we now require the equivalent of 1.4 planets to support our lifestyles. Put another way, in less than 10 months, humanity will have used ecological services it takes 12 months for the Earth to regenerate.

[From September 25 was Earth Overshoot Day 2009 ]

In 2003, Global Footprint Network was established to enable a sustainable future where all people have the opportunity to live satisfying lives within the means of one planet. They have a fabulous, very informative and practical web site with a very interesting footprint calculator that allows an individual to assess his or her ecological footprint. And lots of practical data and solutions. Enough to really make a difference if everyone took them seriously. Including me.

Mice tales

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Erin has been busy. As if looking after to mice wasn’t enough “fun,” three mice is now even “more fun.” But I get ahead of myself…

linda_and_scarlet.jpgIt all started a few weeks ago. Scarlet (the white one) was losing patches of fur. Uh oh… Then she wouldn’t (or couldn’t) eat. Unfortunately, things moved pretty quickly from there, and before we knew it, Erin was dealing with a little creature in its final death throes. Which left only Linda (the black one). Linda was always dominant, perky, cautious, and energetic. But she really didn’t like being all on her own. She needed a friend.

Calling around to local pet stores didn’t provide a ready female companion. Lots of male mice, which was out of the question since Erin seems to know enough about the “mice and the bees.” Finally one place had females. So Erin bought two. “Are you sure that three mice would fit in that tiny little cage?” she was asked. “Of course… no problemo,” she answered. Well…. yes and no.

Turns out that even female mice can be somewhat territorial, especially around their “nesting” area. The cage was home to Linda, and she really wasn’t keen on sharing it with newcomers “Stella” and “Rose,” both of whom have beautiful “jersey cow” cream and brown colouring. Initial meetings in the cage resulted in chasing, nips and lots of squeaks. Erin was frantic! “Why can’t they just get along?”

After some hair pulling and Internet research, a strategy was worked out. They finally agreed to “play nice” outside of the cage. Linda was still aggressive within the cage, so Erin put a cardboard divider down the middle. Linda seemed fine with that, and hopefully won’t go completely psycho sometime during the night. Erin plans to introduce holes in the cardboard, and hopes to finally get Linda to accept the newcomer scents and make friends. We shall see…

Never a dull moment. Who needs television?

Wake up! We are in for a nasty lyme disease season

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Do you go camping each summer? What about hiking or walking in the woods or along a grassy trail? Do you spend time in areas visited by migratory songbirds? Do you live in a temperate climate zone? If so, pay careful attention!

Evidence of the escalating spread of lyme disease is mounting around the world. Maine has already been confirming lyme disease cases at a rate three times higher than normal. A relatively warm winter appears to be partly to blame. In Minnesota between 1998 and 2008 the number of recorded cases of lyme disease has increased by a factor of four. And in the Netherlands there has been an alarming rise in the number of confirmed cases over the past number of years. As the numbers continue to roll in, we are seeing increases pretty much across the board. Climate change seems to be partly responsible. Whatever the ultimate causes, the bottom line is that ticks carrying lyme borrelia and co-infections are spreading and affecting more and more people.

The stage is set for an incidence of lyme disease this summer that is much higher than normal.

Keep an eye out for some or all of the following symptoms:

  1. Rash at the site of the tick bite (in less than 50% of cases)
  2. Severe headache/head pressure
  3. Gastro-intestinal problems (diarrhea or constipation, irritable bladder, upset stomach or GERD)
  4. Joint pain or swelling
  5. Muscle pain or cramps
  6. Night sweats or unexplained chills
  7. Fatigue
  8. Tremors
  9. Numbness, tingling
  10. Dizziness
  11. Mood swings, irritability
  12. Depression
  13. Disorientation
  14. Over-emotional reactions
  15. Sleep difficulties
  16. Panic attacks, anxiety
  17. Confusion, difficulty thinking
  18. Difficulty with concentration, reading
  19. Swollen glands/lymph nodes
  20. Unexplained fevers
  21. “Flu-like” illness
  22. Allergies/chemical sensitivities

There are many more possible symptoms, especially as lyme disease (and the inevitable co-infections) develops. For a very comprehensive list, see Dr. Ernie Murakami’s site (an incredible lyme disease resource), and in particular, the list of symptoms on the About Lyme Disease page.