When do the words “I didn’t know that” become frightening? When it comes to matters that seriously affect our freedoms, rights and health. In other words, what we don’t know can hurt us — a lot.
Filed under the category of “never waste a crisis,” did you know Canada’s latest anti-terrorism legislation, passed on the heels of the Boston Marathon bombing and a foiled Via Rail attack, includes the ability for courts to hold investigative hearings in secret? Not only that, individuals can be forced to appear at these secret hearings without even being charged. Instead of having to lay formal charges, authorities would only have to believe an individual was involved in or knew of a terrorist activity. Secret hearings in Canada you say? What a pity. Or to put all this another way: say bub-bye to your civil liberties. As far as I’m concerned, poor legislation like this serves to cultivate fear in our society while paving the way for a police state. Surely a great country like ours can come up with something better than this?
For those of you on the fence about climate change, did you know several North American coastal municipalities in Canada and the United States are starting to plan for sea level rise due to the melting of polar ice caps? And Hurricane Sandy — the 2012 storm that wreaked havoc along the U.S.A.’s eastern seaboard, including flooding the subway system of New York City — was linked by scientists to climate change because the storm’s intensity was due to sea level rise. If you don’t believe the engineers and the scientists, then believe what insurance companies have to say about it. One look at their website and you’ll soon find insurance giant Munich Re takes climate change seriously.
Did you hear about the Rio Grande, a 3,060-kilometre long river that begins as a mountain stream in Colorado and flows southward to form the border between Texas and Mexico? America’s drought is creating dramatic water shortages and now the arid southwest states are fighting over rights to this river’s blue gold. One of the conflicts, where Texas claims New Mexico isn’t living up to its water delivery agreement, might even end up in the US Supreme Court. That old saying, “Whisky’s for drinking and water’s for fighting” isn’t just for Texans though. With heavy pressure on our water from agricultural and industrial practices, this is no time for Alberta’s growing population to take fresh water for granted.
Did you know Nestlé wants to own the rights to the fennel flower, a relative of the buttercup family? Yes, this corporate food giant is applying for patents to this plant all around the world. The nerve. Officially known as Nigella sativa, and not related to the fennel plant we are used to seeing in grocery stores, people have known about the cure-all medicinal properties of fennel flower for more than a thousand years. It’s seed, today commonly referred to as “black seed,” provides anti-oxidant, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, to name just a few of this plant’s wonderful abilities. Do you think it’s right for a natural plant, one well known for its healing abilities, to be all of a sudden controlled by a big corporation? I don’t.
Were you aware a lot of fish and seafood out there may not be wise for us to eat at all? According to SeaChoice.org, there are big problems facing those who make their home in the deep, including overfishing, heavy metal pollution, parasites, habitat loss and more. The good news is there is something we can do to help keep our oceans healthy today and tomorrow. We can follow the SeaChoice.org selection recommendations which use a red light, yellow light and green light approach to consuming seafood. SeaChoice.org has even created a convenient wallet-sized seafood shopping guide, often available at grocers’ fish counters, as well as an iPhone app.
Taking a few minutes each day to find out about what’s going on in the world, whether by reading the newspaper, nosing around on the Internet, having coffee with coworkers, or getting together with friends and family — now that’s in our best interest.
For more in your best interest, follow Sheelagh on Twitter @sheesays.
