Events:

Dr. Heather Morrison to give a COVID-19 update today, probably around 11:30AM.

The P.E.I. Legislature sits from 1-5PM.

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg

Tonight:
Virtual Talk: Building a Rain Garden at Home, 7PM, with Norman Dewar of Ellen's Creek Watershed Group.  Hosted by the City of Charlottetown's Resilient Homes Parks and People Program.

Norman Dewar with Ellen's Creek Watershed Group will discuss building a raingarden for Spring Park Elementary school and how you can build one at home here in Charlottetown.
More details and registration link

A Volunteering event Saturday, May 15th:
Farm Centre Legacy Garden Volunteer Day, 10AM onward, meet at Garden behind PEI Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue, Charlottetown
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wonderful Island artists and engaged citizens

Until Monday, May 24th:
Art Exhibit: "The Many Faces of Fire" Group Show, The Guild Gallery, 12noon-5PM (closed Sunday), organized by the PEI Crafts Council @ The Guild

"Come feel the heat, these artists express their passion through fire in glass, clay and wood. You may be familiar with Trudy Gilbertson's carved bone, now she gives carved wood with a fired finish. Glass artists Dean Smith and Cathy Krolikowski are further exploring glass work through stained & fused glass while Robert McMillan is experimenting with reconstructed shapes and unexpected layers of colours. Jamie Germaine will be exhibiting her newest pieces that are smoke fired and always intriguing."

Pause for deeper consultation (and some politics)

Epekwitk Assembly say they weren't adequately consulted on P.E.I. environmental rights bill - The Guardian and online article by Stu Neatby

Published on Thursday, May 13th, 2021

https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/news/epekwitk-assembly-say-they-were-not-adequately-consulted-on-pei-environmental-rights-bill-100587322/

Both the Lennox Island First Nation and the Abegweit First Nation are raising concerns about the consultation process for a bill that will see a code of environmental rights established in P.E.I.

A statement sent to The Guardian on Wednesday by L’nuey on behalf of the Epekwitk Assembly of Councils, said there was “no meaningful engagement or collaboration” with the Mi’kmaq organizations prior to debate of the environmental bill of rights in the legislature last week. The bill, a private member’s bill introduced by Green MLA Lynne Lund, passed second reading last week.

The Epekwitk Assembly of Councils is the joint overseeing forum that governs both the Abegweit and Lennox Island First Nations.

The environmental bill of rights spells out the right to “a healthy and ecologically balanced environment” in law in P.E.I. It would also create an independent environmental commissioner. This commissioner could allow any five individuals to challenge legislation, policies or regulations they believe has had a negative impact on their right to a healthy and sustainable environment.

The bill was also intended to address environmental racism and specifically notes that such racism has been experienced particularly by “Indigenous people and people of colour.”

The bill passed second reading in the legislature on May 6, with no dissenting votes. Debate on bills usually occurs during second reading.

The environmental bill of rights was originally intended to be presented to the legislature for third reading on Tuesday. This did not happen.

“L’nuey confirmed that the assembly was pleased the bill did not proceed to third reading,” the statement from L’nuey said.

“L’nuey referenced the critical importance of the proposed legislation and the need for Mi’kmaq consultation and engagement, which has not occurred to date.” 

In an email statement, L’nuey said all bills that could impact Mi’kmaq treaty rights are subject to consultation.

“These would include, but not be limited to, legislation that could have an impact on land and/or resources, including water,” the email said.

L’nuey said the assembly plans to complete its examination of the bill to ensure “the rights and interests of the Mi’kmaq are not impacted by the draft legislation.”

In an interview on Wednesday, Lund said she had sent correspondence to L’nuey in January and also in March and April. But she also said she was told earlier this week that L’nuey and the assembly did not feel they had been able to fully analyze the bill.

"The Mi'kmaq have been the protectors of Abegweit since time immemorial and I have no doubt that they have lots to offer to this conversation," Lund said.

Lund said she would be prepared to wait for L’nuey and the assembly to complete their analysis before presenting the environmental bill of rights for third reading and royal assent.

"Knowing that they would like to weigh in on this bill, I would be happier to pause and take the time to hear what they have to say than to move it to third reading," she said.

Lund said she was not aware of what the specific concerns were of the assembly with respect to the bill.

During question period, however, Environment Minister Steven Myers appeared to offer a hint of what some of the specific concerns may have been. Myers was asked by Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker about forest conservation and appeared to indicate that members of the Liberal caucus had been communicating misleading details about the environmental bill of rights.

“I’ve spoke to a number of people, I’ve received emails. It seemed that there was some sort of a combination between the environmental bill of rights and the discussion that we’ve been having about forestry here,” Myers said.

“One particular member of this legislature might have been telling people things that weren’t true. It wasn’t from your caucus, so not you guys,” Myers said, pointing to the Green side of the house.

-30-

The letter from L'nuey is embedded in the Guardian article. 

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, today until 6:30PM
Starring Jane Eaglen, Katarina Dalayman, Ben Heppner, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, and René Pape. Production by Dieter Dorn. From December 18, 1999.

Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, tonight 7:30PM until 6:30PM  Friday
Starring Renée Fleming, Christine Schäfer, Susan Graham, Eric Cutler, Thomas Allen, and Kristinn Sigmundsson, conducted by Edo de Waart. Production by Nathaniel Merrill. From January 9, 2010.  About 3 hours

I think sometimes we need to take a step back and just remember that we have no greater right to be here than any other animal.
     --- David Attenborough

David Attenborough turned 95 a few days ago, and the BBC made a "card" of about 95 seconds of footage of the British natural historian and broadcaster from the past decades, here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsLcR4WhqFs
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Events:

The P.E.I. Legislative Assembly sits from 1-5PM today.

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg

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Dr. Heather Morrison will give a COVID-19 Update tomorrow, Thursday, which will coincide with the day that all Islanders 16 and up can book appointments to get COVID vaccinations.

This Sunday, May 16th:

Spring Education Forum, hosted by The Latin American Mission Program (LAMP), 2PM
The theme of the forum: The Land is Alive
Inspirational Presenters: Jill McCormack  and Julie Pellissier-Lush
This forum will be a mixture of Zoom at a central point and smaller regional in-person groups. The in-person groups will be in West Prince, Charlottetown, and Kings County.
To register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-land-is-alive-tickets-150797043015

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The Haviland Club is hosting a "Chase the Ace" fundraising draw every Friday evening at 6:30PM.
Tickets can be purchased online from Wizard Ticket at: https://www.acechaser.com
(which opens to an interesting selection of Ace-chasing fundraisers from across the Island!)

opinion on how cool life on Earth is :-) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/opinion/cicadas-brood-x-2021.html with thanks to Ian Petrie for passing it on

The Cicadas Are Coming. It’s Not an Invasion. It’s a Miracle. - The New York Times online article by Margaret Renkl

Published on Tuesday, May 10th, 2021

NASHVILLE — Deep beneath the spring-warmed soil, a great thrumming force is beginning to stir. Trillions strong, these insects have been living in the dark since George W. Bush’s first term as president. Now they are ready for the light. They are climbing out of the darkness, out of their own skins and into the trees. They are here to sing a love song. Their only purpose among the green leaves is love.

Well, it’s not singing so much as vibrating. And not love so much as sex. Their only purpose among us is to mate.

There are more than 3,000 species of cicadas worldwide, and they can be divided into roughly two groups. Annual cicadas surface every summer, much later in the year than the cicadas emerging now. The song of annual cicadas is an undulation, a pulsating chant that rises in waves as one cicada begins and others join in, and join in, and join in before falling off gradually, one after another. The song of annual cicadas is the sound of summer itself.

Periodic cicadas emerge in cycles — every 13 years or every 17 — and they are generally smaller than their annual cousins. Grouped according to their emergence in a particular area, each brood of periodic cicadas is identified by a Roman numeral. Brood X includes three species with synchronized life spans. It is one of the largest and most widespread of the cicada broods.

For the past 17 years, these insects have lived as nymphs deep beneath the soil, drinking sap from tree roots. For the past week, they have been emerging in much of the eastern South — Georgia, East Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia — and they will arrive soon in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Look for them when the soil eight inches deep reaches a temperature of 64 degrees. (If you’re in Brood X’s range, you can be part of a citizen-science project that tracks their emergence.)

After a year of weather calamities and pandemic shutdowns, people are already muttering about the apocalypse, but this, mercifully, is a natural occurrence, not a biblical plague. Cicadas are not locusts. They don’t even belong to the same order of insects as locusts. Cicadas don’t strip fields of every grain of rice or wheat, as swarming locusts do. Cicadas don’t sting, and they don’t bite. The strawlike appendage they have instead of a mouth works only for inserting into tree bark. Cicadas don’t even hurt the trees. (Not the mature trees, at any rate; saplings should be protected with cheesecloth before the cicadas emerge.)

The life cycle of the cicada is unique among insects. A nymph tunnels up from deep in the soil, climbs onto a tree trunk or a plant stem — or anything else it can reach that offers a bit of vertical clearance — and then commences to shed its exoskeleton as dramatically and beautifully as any butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. The new adult appears white, almost translucent, but its armor hardens and darkens as the hours pass. Its eyes turn red. Its intricate wings unfurl.

And then it takes to the treetops, where the males begin to sing and the females have their choice of suitors. After they mate, the female deposits her eggs into slits she makes in the bark of tender shoots. When the eggs hatch, the nymphs drop to the ground and burrow into the soil, beginning their lives in the dark. The adults live four to six weeks before they, too, fall to the ground, returning to the earth for a new purpose.

Owing to their mind-numbing numbers — up to 1.5 million per acre — periodic cicadas are louder than summer cicadas, less like a chorus and more like a fire hose blasted directly into your ear canal. At the height of the emergence, the sound appears to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, vibrating in the bones of your ears and in the fillings of your teeth. The sound can feel like a form of madness.

The relentless buzzing, the red eyes — perhaps they explain why so many of the headlines about this phenomenon default to negative metaphors. It’s an “invasion,” according to ABC News, an “infestation,” according to CBS.

It’s no such thing.

The most destructive species the earth has ever known likely emerged some 315,000 years ago, and we have not stopped roaming and eating and pillaging for one minute since. Cicadas, by contrast, benefit the ecosystems into which they emerge, a boon to hungry birds and reptiles and a huge range of mammals. Fish eat them when they fall into streams and lakes. After cicadas die, they decompose and feed the very trees that hosted their brief days in the sun.

Nashville is not in Brood X’s range, but I have lived through two emergences of Brood XIX, a periodic cicada on the 13-year schedule, and I’m jealous of all of you whose skies will soon be blurred by wings and whose trees will be filled with song. At a time when wildlife is being threatened by human activity from every side, your baby birds and possums and lizards and snakes and turtles will grow strong, fed on the cicadas’ bounty. Your hawks and owls and foxes will live this year because their prey has become bountiful, too. And you will be surrounded by reminders that the darkest tunnels always bend, in time, toward the light. That resurrection is always, always at hand.

Margaret Renkl is a contributing Opinion writer who covers flora, fauna, politics and culture in the American South. She is the author of the books “Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss” and the forthcoming “Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South.”

-30-

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Mozart’s Don Giovanni, today until 6:30PM
Starring Carol Vaness, Karita Mattila, Dawn Upshaw, Jerry Hadley, Samuel Ramey, Ferrucio Furlanetto, and Kurt Moll. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From April 5, 1990.  About 3 hours.

Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde,  tonight 7:30PM until Thursday about 6:30PM
From December 18, 1999.  This is a different production than these wonderful free HD broadcasts have shown, so that's a treat, and with Canadian tenor Ben Heppner!!  under four hours.
"Ben Heppner and Jane Eaglen are Tristan and Isolde, overwhelmed by their all-consuming love for each other which defies society and the law. René Pape is a devastating King Marke, the man robbed of his wife by his best friend."

Events:
Dr. Heather Morrison may give a COVID-19 update at 11:30AM.  Facebook (Government of P.E.I. or CBC News) are places to tune in on-line, along with Ocean 100 Radio.

--------------------------

Charlottetown Farmers' Market Thursday pick-up orders due today at noon:
https://charlottetownfarmersmarket.com/online-market/
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The P.E.I. Legislature resumes sitting, 1-5PM today, tomorrow and Thursday, and 10AM-2PM Friday.

Viewing options here:
P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg

From the P.E.I. Farm Centre Legacy Garden:

Introducing the Legacy Garden Online Store!

We are moving all of our sales to our website and have created an online store! This will help us streamline order processing! You can find all our products and the store will be updated all throughout the season! You can find the new store here: https://www.peifarmcentre.com/product.php

with fertilizer and other garden amendments, and plants and some crafts.

News from today's (U.K.) Guardian:

Sad goodbye to Thames whale – The baby minke whale that was found stuck at Richmond lock in London had to be put down by vets on Monday evening. The whale was freed on Sunday, only to escape the rescue raft and get stuck again in vines at Teddington weir. It was the furthest up the Thames a whale had ever gone, according to British Divers Marine Life Rescue. “The last 45 minutes we were with the whale its condition was deteriorating, its breathing wasn’t right and it wouldn’t have survived much longer,” said Julia Cable from the BDMLR (British Divers Marine Life Rescue Service). “The vets said it was clearly suffering and that it was the right decision.”

Full article:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/10/stranded-whale-in-thames-put-down-after-suffering-injuries

Little birds with big impact: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/04/27/news/hummingbirds-temporary-halt-trans-mountain-stop-work-order

Hummingbirds put a temporary halt on Trans Mountain - The National Observer article by Cloe Logan

Published on Tuesday, April 27th, 2021

One of B.C.’s smallest birds is responsible for a four-month stop-work order on one of the federal government’s largest projects, the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Anna’s hummingbirds are protected by Canada’s Migratory Bird Act, which says any work that could negatively affect the population has to be halted until nesting season is over. The order, issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada, was put forward after conservation officers saw the company felling a tree with an active hummingbird nest in it earlier this month.

The pipeline, originally built in the 1950s, was taken over by Texas’ Kinder Morgan in 2015, which then made plans to triple the exports of the existing operation, upping production to up to 890,000 barrels each day flowing from Alberta to the coast of B.C. The federal government purchased the pipeline in 2018 for $4.5 billion. The Trans Mountain expansion (TMX) is projected to cost $12.6 billion.

Trans Mountain says the order will not delay the projected completion date of December 2022 and would not answer whether the stop-work order would increase project costs. However Protect the Planet Stop TMX, a group advocating against the project, says an earlier affidavit by a company executive suggests it will.

“Trans Mountain said in an affidavit (pages 18 to 20) that tree clearing in the area had to be completed prior to August 1 to allow access to the streams. If that didn’t happen (which now it can’t) Trans Mountain will miss its 2021 window for watercourse crossing, its 2022 window for hydrotesting and its 2022 in-service date,” said the group.  “Pipeline work at this location must now wait until next year, 2022. The delay comes at a cost of at least $100 million per month of delay past the in-service date, according to Trans Mountain.”

The stop-work order does not apply to the full 1,500 kilometres of pipeline, but rather to about 1,000 metres along the Brunette River in Burnaby.

Eugene Kung, staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, agreed the order will result in significant losses for the company.  “This is another costly example of Trans Mountain’s disregard for the rules that has happened far too often throughout construction. It was only because of the incredible work of local residents that they were caught red-handed,” said Kung.

“With every delay, the total cost to taxpayers balloons and the project falls further outside the public interest. We have not seen a cost update in more than a year, but it’s easy to estimate the cost being closer to $20 billion today.”

A group called the Community Nest Finding Network (CNFN), which alerted the feds with concerns about TMX violating the Migratory Bird Act, found eight active nests on site but says there are many more along the pipeline route.

“Starting in about mid-February, spring migrations start — nesting can start that early. And it goes until the mid or the end of August ... in the last 30 years, we've lost 70 per cent of our birds,” said Donna Clark, co-founder of CNFN and former director of Wild Bird Trust of BC.

“These beautiful mama Anna hummingbirds, these little birds that have stopped the pipeline, they are what we call in English the canaries in the coal mine.”

Sara Ross, also founder of the CNFN, said the group has been reporting its nest findings directly to TMX as well as the government. However, Ross says the line gets blurred when the owner of the pipeline is also the regulator.

"It's like if we were the bank robber and the police," she said.  "So that's why groups like ours are imperative. It's the reason why we're doing this work, because no one else is."

Both the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby are opposed to the pipeline, as are hundreds of First Nations.

Kukpi7 Judy Wilson, executive board member of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, was at an April 26 press conference announcing the stop-work order. She said the government needs to invest in renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. She pointed to the hummingbird as a fitting mascot for the order.

“It is very symbolic that a tiny hummingbird has stopped local construction of this pipeline. At the same time, it is not entirely surprising, either,” she said.

“Many stories honour the qualities of Hummingbird, and one that stands out, in particular, is Hummingbird’s tenacious loyalty to the forest. Even as the forest burned and all the other animals fled, Hummingbird carried drops of water — in their tiny beak — from the river to the forest fire. In response to the other animals, Hummingbird said: 'I’m doing what I can.'”

-30-

A map by the Wilderness Committee organization of the Burnaby pipeline area: https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/TM_PipelineRight-of-Way_BrunetteRiver-StoneyCreekAreas_Sat_Map.pdf

And it was nesting belted kingfishers, spotted by eagle-eyed environmental observers Larry (James) Cosgrave and others, which halted part of the Plan B highway project in July 2013.  A female Belted Kingfisher is on the Citizens' Alliance of P.E.I. logo, above, from a beautiful image by Island potter Ron Arvidson.

 
plate by Ron Arvidson

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Puccini’s La Bohème,  today until 6:30PM
Starring Teresa Stratas, Renata Scotto, José Carreras, Richard Stilwell, and James Morris. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From January 16, 1982.  The magical first cast of this new production.

Mozart’s Don Giovanni, 7:30PM tonight until about 6:30PM Wednesday
Starring Carol Vaness, Karita Mattila, Dawn Upshaw, Jerry Hadley, Samuel Ramey, Ferrucio Furlanetto, and Kurt Moll. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From April 5, 1990.

A post-Mother's Day entreaty:

May we raise children

who love the unloved

things - the dandelion, the

worms & spiderlings.

Children who sense

the rose needs the thorn

& run into rainswept days

the same way they

turn towards sun...

And when they're grown &

someone has to speak for those

who have no voice

may they draw upon that

wilder bond, those days of

tending tender things

and be the ones.

~ Nicolette Sowder,
founder, WilderChild
https://wilderchild.com/

Events:

Local Food opportunities:
Organic Vegetable Delivery, order by tonight for delivery Friday, May 14th.
More details here:
https://www.organicveggiedelivery.com/

Charlottetown's Farmers' Market 2 Go, order by Tuesday noon for pick-up Thursday
https://charlottetownfarmersmarket.com/online-market/

Local Coffee:
Brett's Caledonia House Coffee, takeout window only,  7AM-2PM, Weekdays, Charlottetown Farmers' Market, Belvedere Avenue.

Remember the CBC article on the women that are organizing the Charlottetown Garden-Share project?

**Gardeners are needed**

"Your job as a Gardener is to provide the knowledge, skills, and labour needed to care for a garden. If you have a green thumb, a strong work ethic, and an interest in growing food, you are an ideal candidate for this role.

As a Gardener, your responsibilities will include:

·         Completing the day-to-day tasks associated with maintaining a productive home garden (preparing the soil, seeding, planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, etc…)

·         Providing your own Personal Protective Equipment (gloves, boots, rainwear, etc…)

·         Providing your own transportation to the place where you will be gardening

As a Gardener, you will NOT:

·         Be asked to contribute financially to the success of the garden

·         Be asked to source any tools, materials, inputs, and implements

·         Receive payment for your work"

Rhea and Erin are trying to get this organized a as soon as possible, so if interested, More info: https://chtowngardenshare.wordpress.com/

or contact: chtown.gardenshare@gmail.com or call (902) 892-3006

Atlantic Skies for May 10th - May 16th, 2021 "The Inner Planets Return" -  by Glenn K. Roberts

After being absent from the night and pre-dawn skies for the past several weeks, Mercury and Venus, our solar system's two innermost planets,  finally return (albeit a brief appearance) to the western, evening sky this week.

Mercury (mag..- 0.39, in Taurus - the Bull) appears around 8:30 p.m., low above the west-northwest horizon as the Sun sets and dusk gives way to darkness, reaching an altitude of around 11 degrees above the horizon before setting by about 10:20 p.m.. It will steadily climb higher in the post-sunset western sky during the following week, reaching its highest point in the evening sky as it achieves its greatest eastern elongation from the Sun on May 17 - its best appearance of the year for northern viewers. On May 12, Mercury reaches dichotomy, its half-lit phase (as seen through a telescope from Earth). 

With a clear sky and an unobstructed view of the west-northwest horizon, you might glimpse bright Venus (mag. -3.9, in Taurus - the Bull) sitting low above the horizon (look for a bright "star-like" point of light in the post-sunset twilight), to the right and below Mercury, before it drops below the western horizon by about 9:20 p.m.. Mars (mag. +1.6, in Gemini - the Twins) should be visible around the same time as Mercury and Venus (between 8:30 - 9 p.m.) about 29 degrees above the western horizon before it sets shortly after midnight. 

If you're having difficulty finding these three planets in the post-sunset, western sky, use the waxing crescent Moon as a guide. On the evening of May 12, a very slim crescent Moon will sit low above the west-northwest horizon just after sunset (you'll need a clear sky and an unobstructed view of the horizon); the bright point of light immediately to its right will be Venus. The next evening, a slightly larger crescent Moon will be a bit higher in the evening sky, with Mercury to the lower right. The waxing Moon is about equidistance between Mercury and Mars on the evening of May 14, and to the lower right of the Red Planet on the evening of the 15th.

Jupiter and Saturn are late risers this coming week. Saturn (mag. +0.8, in Capricornus - the Sea Goat) tumbles out of its celestial bed around 2:30 a.m., visible 20 degrees above the southeast horizon, and then fading with the approaching dawn by about 5 a.m. Sleepy Jupiter (mag. -2.3, in Aquarius - the Water Bearer) makes a bright but brief appearance in the pre-dawn, southeast sky, rising around 3:10 a.m., reaching an altitude of 20 degrees above the horizon before it, too, fades with the glow of the approaching dawn by about 5:20 a.m.

Keep a sky-eye on Comet C/2020 T2 (Palomar) over the next few weeks. Currently at mag. 10.5, in the constellation of Canes Venatici - the Hunting Dogs (beneath the tail of Ursa Major - the Great Bear), Comet T2 is visible all night for viewers in the northern hemisphere. Under a clear sky away from city lights, It will become visible by about 9:50 p.m. (ADT), 60 degrees above the eastern horizon, reaching its highest elevation in the night sky shortly after midnight, 75 degrees above the southern horizon, before fading from view around 4:30 a.m., 38 degrees above the western horizon. Although not currently expected to achieve naked-eye visibility, Comet T2 should brighten to be visible in binoculars in the coming weeks.

Until next week, clear skies. 

Events:

May 11 - New Moon; Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth)

         12 - Mercury at dichotomy (half-lit phase)

-30- 

Whale stranding appears to end OK in London, England, this morning: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/09/small-whale-gets-stuck-at-lock-on-thames-in-south-west-london

Whale rescue – A small whale – believed to be a minke – has been freed after becoming trapped in a lock in south-west London. A crowd gathered at Richmond lock and weir to watch rescuers try to help the whale after it became snared on the lock’s boat rollers. It was finally freed and moved to a safe location for vet checks.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/09/small-whale-gets-stuck-at-lock-on-thames-in-south-west-london

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Handel’s Agrippina, today until 6:30PM
Starring Brenda Rae, Joyce DiDonato, Kate Lindsey, Iestyn Davies, Duncan Rock, and Matthew Rose, conducted by Harry Bicket. Production by Sir David McVicar. From February 29, 2020.

Nightly Opera Streams, May 10–16

National Council Auditions Alumni Week

"Leading up to the 2021 National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert on May 16, this week of free streams pays tribute to some of the extraordinary Met artists who have participated in the competition over the past 60 years—and also includes an exclusive screening of Susan Froemke’s documentary The Audition, which goes behind the scenes of the program."

Puccini’s La Bohème, tonight 7:30PM until Tuesday about 6:30PM
Starring Teresa Stratas, Renata Scotto, José Carreras, Richard Stilwell, and James Morris. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From January 16, 1982.   This is an amazing version with an all-star cast.

Happy Mother's Day to all who mother and care about people and this earth,  And to those for whom Mother's Day is not a Hallmark card or Dairy Queen cake commercial, a special hug.

Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.

   ---- Barbara Kingsolver, writer

Conservation International's short films on the power of nature are very ....well, powerful, and the one with the voice of Julia Roberts as Mother Nature particularly so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmVLcj-XKnM&ab_channel=ConservationInternational

The rest of the series (especially nice to sit around and watch on a rainy Sunday): https://www.conservation.org/nature-is-speaking

And more about Conservation International's work, and their little logo which would be the envy of the P.E.I. Progressive Conservatives for its colours and prettiness: https://www.conservation.org/

Just in case you haven't heard any news on the Chinese rocket junk falling back to Earth: from The Guardian (U.K.), this morning: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/09/chinese-rocket-debris-earth-indian-ocean

<snip>
The remnants of China’s largest rocket have plummeted back to Earth, plunging into the Indian ocean near the Maldives, according to Chinese state media, ending days of speculation over where the debris would hit.

Most of the debris burned up in the atmosphere, it reported, citing the Chinese Manned Space Engineering office.Parts of the 30-metre core of the Long March 5B rocket re-entered the atmosphere at 10.24am Beijing time (2.24am GMT) and landed at a location with the coordinates of longitude 72.47 degrees east and latitude 2.65 degrees north, state media cited the office as saying.
<snip>

On the problem of space junk:

<snip>
Instead of treating space entrepreneurs as rock stars, people should hold them to account instead, Jah said. That involves engaging the public in understanding that while outer space may be infinite, "near-Earth space is a finite resource" equally deserving of conservation along with our forests and oceans.

"Then people can go and start exerting pressure on, you know, elected officials in that sort of stuff."

Jah notes that the focus now has to be on preventing the problem from getting much worse, given the challenges of scaling any of the technologies proposed for removing the space junk already out there.

  <snip>

That excerpt is from an interview with Dr. Moriba Jah from the University of Texas, recently with Matt Galloway on CBC's The Current, about the problem of space satellites/rocket debris.
Full interview article, photos and link to audio recording here (I may have posted this before but it's worth a second listen):
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-feb-8-2021-1.5905237/rocket-ship-parts-astronaut-gloves-and-broken-satellites-space-junk-map-shows-dangerously-cluttered-orbit-1.5906196

And on regular junk, if you have time and the weather lets up to pick some trash, you can place clear bags and the yellow WI-branded bags alongside paved road as collection starts tomorrow. 

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:

https://www.metopera.org/

Two very different mothering styles....
Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, today until 6:30PM
Starring Patricia Racette, Maria Zifchak, Marcello Giordani, and Dwayne Croft, conducted by Patrick Summers. Production by Anthony Minghella. From March 7, 2009.

Handel’s Agrippina, tonight 7:30PM until Monday about 6:30PM
Starring Brenda Rae, Joyce DiDonato, Kate Lindsey, Iestyn Davies, Duncan Rock, and Matthew Rose, conducted by Harry Bicket. Production by Sir David McVicar. From February 29, 2020.  About how Claudius's whife Agrippina works to get her son Nero on the Throne.  Set in modern dress; DiDonato is a tour de force.

Local Food Opportunities

Farmers' Markets:
Charlottetown, 9AM-2PM
Summerside, 9AM-1PM

Storefront:
Heartbeet Organics at The Farmacy (9AM-1PM)
Riverview Country Market
North River KJL Market
---------------------

The annual Roadside Cleanup designated "Day" is today,
but the trucks from Transportation will make the bag pickups starting Monday, driving by most paved roads once.  The yellow Women's Institute bags can only be picked up roadside by these crews -- Waste Watch has to reject them if they are in carts.  Clear bags are fine to use for roadside cleanup, too.
Litter (especially take-out containers and alcohol bottles/cans) is a really big problem, and while the Roadside Cleanup doesn't address the problem, it's obviously helps things look better, so thanks to all who pick some trash this weekend.

Wright's Creek Watershed Enhancement group tree planning, today and tomorrow,
more details at their online signup link,  or Facebook group page

Tonight:
Todd MacLean's Rainforest Lounge Finale, 6:30PM, with special guest Amanda Jackson, on Facebook Live.
In addition to music, and fundraising for good causes, *Todd* is going be the one interviewed tonight. 
https://www.facebook.com/todd.maclean
----------------------------------------
Next Sunday, May 16th:

The Latin American Mission Program (LAMP) invites you to their annual Spring Education Forum on Sunday, May 16, 2021, 2:00 pm

 The theme of the forum: The Land is Alive

 Inspirational Presenters: Jill McCormack  and Julie Pellissier-Lush

 This forum will be a mixture of Zoom at a central point and smaller regional in-person groups. The in-person groups will be in West Prince, Charlottetown, and  Kings County.

 To register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-land-is-alive-tickets-150797043015

The P.E.I. Legislature decided unanimously Friday to continue sitting next week, starting on Tuesday, May 11th, at 1PM, as their new Parliamentary schedule could have had a Planning Week.  The budget review completed the Department of Health and Wellness  (I think), and it looks like they want to start wrapping up business.

More at:
https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

Recent Letter to the Editor: https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/opinion/letter-some-fish-kill-facts-100583389/

Some Fish Kill Facts - The Guardian Letter to the Editor

Published on Monday, May 3rd, 2020

In a full-page ad in The Guardian on April, 21, 2021, Bryan Maynard states that “the media and fear mongers have continued to verbalize and print false information.

“It seems they do not need to provide evidence for their opinions.” Well, Mr. Bryan Maynard, I’ll fill you in on one fact that is well known and can be easily fact checked via government websites. Since 1962 to present day, there have been 63 reported fish kills on P.E.I. In 49 of the 63 fish kills, authorities were able to identity the cause, and in 14 cases they were inconclusive or N/A. Of the 49 cases where they were able to identity the cause, the cause was listed as pesticides such as chlorothalonil, endosulfan, diazion, azimphos metyl, mancozeb, diquat, etc.

After checking the facts, I have drawn the conclusion that in 100 per cent of the fish kills where the cause is known, the cause has been pesticides applied to farmers’ fields. Until farmers stop killing the fish in our streams with their chemicals, I will continue with my negativity and criticism of those farmers.

John E. Clow, Summerside, P.E.I.

Saturday is always a big opera day, most of it free:

Metropolitan Opera radio performance, Saturday afternoon at the Opera:
2PM, CBC Music, 104.7FM:
Anna Netrebko Puccini Gala
Performance from December 31, 2019
A whole afternoon of Anna Netrebko singing just every overwhelmingly sad Puccini hit.  Not a bad way to spend a rainy afternoon. 
Details here:
https://www.metopera.org/season/radio/saturday-matinee-broadcasts/

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Berg’s Wozzeck, until noon today
Starring Elza van den Heever, Tamara Mumford, Christopher Ventris, Gerhard Siegel, Andrew Staples, Peter Mattei, and Christian Van Horn, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Production by William Kentridge. From January 11, 2020.

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, from 7:30PM tonight until Sunday about 6:30PM
Starring Patricia Racette, Maria Zifchak, Marcello Giordani, and Dwayne Croft, conducted by Patrick Summers. Production by Anthony Minghella. From March 7, 2009.

Met Stars Live, 2:30PM here, ticketed live-stream event (then available to ticket-holders for two weeks)

"A quartet of opera’s most powerful and dramatic singers comes together for a program of soaring selections by Wagner and Strauss. Transmitted live from the grand Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany, this unbeatable summit of leading Wagnerian voices features sopranos Christine Goerke and Elza van den Heever, tenor Andreas Schager, and baritone Michael Volle, with pianist Craig Terry."

Ticket details

Events:
The P.E.I. Legislature sits from 10AM-2PM today. 

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg

Despite that the Parliamentary Calendar does not show any key for next week (it would be a Planning Week if they are following a three weeks Sitting and one week planning), there is still a lot of budget and bills to go through Third Reading and such for it to end today.  But you never know.  Some have called the 3 weeks on- 1 week Planning as "inane", which is too bad, as I think the week every month to review legislation, talk to constituents, attend meetings, and give reporters and reviewers  ;-)  a bit of a break was not a bad thing.
-----------------
Fridays4Future, 3:30PM, Province House at Grafton Street (as far as I know)
------------------------------
Borrowed Kitchen Sugar Shack baked goods, 384 Pownal Road, open 10AM-5PM today, Including Owl Cookies fundraiser for Macphail Woods
Facebook business page

EBR for PEI!

Prince Edward Island is closer to having its citizens have Environmental Rights.

The Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) passed Second Reading in the Legislature about 5PM yesterday, and it was due to collaboration between Bill-promoter Lynne Lund and Environment Minister Steven Myers.   The Third Party supports the idea, too.

The Bill still comes back for Third Reading for a vote and can be called out on issues (and may not pass) then.  The Third Party Liberals were not impressed with the number of Amendments (some to strengthen the Bill, others to clarify, some surely felt like a watering down to me) which apparently had been brought up and already given the nod by the Opposition. Papers were flying, ironically for a Bill from a Party which tries to save trees, but procedures on paper must be followed. And the timing was rushed as the Opposition wanted to get the next steps moving along (which would be going to the Legislative Management Committee, LMC, I think, for getting the Environmental Commissioner's role sketched out). 

Still, there are both Substantive and Procedural Rights in this Bill, and proper dues to Summerside-Wilmot MLA Lynne Lund for pushing it along, and to people like Cindy Richards and Don Mazer (of various organizations but I will claim them here for all their work in the Citizens' Alliance of P.E.I.) who have promoted Environmental Rights for almost a decade now, helping organize workshops with East Coast Environmental Law (ECELAW) and working with Blue Dot PEI and David Suzuki's tour and efforts, among other endeavors.

And thanks to people for writing MLAs to support this, which actually may needto be done again before Third Reading, especially as politics could gum things up.

But for now, smile and enjoy the birdsong today.

Two interesting articles:

Reusable takeout containers are a popular pandemic trend - What on Earth? CBC newsletter article by Emily Chung

Published on Thursday, May 6th, 2021
https://subscriptions.cbc.ca/newsletter_static/messages/whatonearth/2021-05-06/

 We’ve previously talked about the waste that takeout generates and some of the potential solutions. Since the pandemic started, a lack of indoor dining has made takeout the only restaurant option in many places, and as a result, both the problems — and the solutions — have multiplied. 

At least five new startups across Canada are hoping to eliminate waste by allowing you to order your meal in reusable, returnable containers. A Friendlier Company (in Guelph, Ont.), Suppli (Toronto), Ekko (Waterloo, Ont.) and Reusables (Vancouver) are already serving restaurants and customers, while Re-Vita (Edmonton) is getting ready to launch.

Why now? The pandemic might not be an obvious time to launch new services for the struggling restaurant industry. But many people have started ordering more takeout and feel guilty about the waste, said Anastasia Kiku, co-founder of Reusables (whose wares are shown in the photo above). “We just wanted to solve this problem,” she said. 

Also, in October, the federal government announced it would ban “hard-to-recycle” single-use plastic food takeout containers, such as black plastic and polystyrene. Kiku and the others say reusables are the best solution.

Jacqui Hutchings, co-founder and chief operating officer of A Friendlier Company, said the pandemic has also forced people to get used to change. “Now is the time to implement a new system,” she said. “Just offer it as an option and see what happens.”

What kind of container: In most cases, the food comes in stainless steel containers. Crystal Kruis, who co-founded Ekko with her daughter Chloe, said metal is more durable and is what customers said they wanted.

The exception is A Friendlier Company, which uses polypropylene plastic containers. The company says the containers are light, stackable and their low cost reduces fees (it’s the only service that’s free for customers).

How it works: Suppli, Reusables and A Friendlier Company give customers the option to order through popular food delivery apps, although you generally have to sign up through their own website or app first, and leave a note about the use of reusable containers in the delivery instructions.

Suppli and Ekko have per-order fees ranging from 50 cents to $2, while Reusables charges a $5 monthly fee. A Friendlier Company doesn’t charge customers for the service, although diners do have to pay a refundable deposit of 50 cents to $1 per container.   

Restaurants pay the companies a fee that includes the container rental, cleaning and restocking. Generally, the fee is designed to be comparable to what the restaurants are already paying for disposable containers.
 
The companies track their containers using QR codes or electronic ID tags to make sure they’re returned to a participating restaurant or drop-off point within one to two weeks. Otherwise, customers get charged.

How it’s going: So far, each company has between four and 30 participating restaurants.

Crystal Kruis at Ekko said in the first two days after her company launched in April, the company replaced 231 takeout containers with reusables — roughly enough to stack up to the height of a four-storey building. 

She said some customers told her they had been avoiding takeout because of the waste. Having a reusable option allowed them to resume supporting local restaurants.

Hutchings at A Friendlier Company, which launched in October, said some participating restaurants have switched completely to reusables and stopped offering customers disposable options at all.

-30-

In America’s cities, inequality is engrained in the trees - The Grist article by Adam Mahoney, Environmental Justice Fellow

A new study finds that low-income blocks have less tree cover and hotter average temperatures than high-income ones.

Published in Grist on Wednesday, May 5th, 2021
https://grist.org/cities/tree-cover-race-class-segregation/

The amount of greenery on your street depends on the amount of green in your pockets, according to a new study. 

You’d have hard luck trying to convince someone that trees are somehow biased. Their sprawling roots, awning-like leaves, and huggable trunks offer protection and solace to everybody and everything, big and small. For humans, they help clean our air and water, and offer cover in the summer from blistering heat. 

But a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE shows that their distribution often depends on race and class, a result of exclusionary zoning laws, racial segregation, and the country’s stark wealth inequality.

In the two-year-long study, a team of researchers from the Nature Conservancy found that 92 percent of low-income blocks in the U.S. have less tree cover and hotter average temperatures than high-income blocks. The inequality is most rampant in the Northeast, with some low-income blocks in urban areas having 30 percent less tree cover and average temperatures 4 degrees Celsius higher than high-income blocks. Five of the ten worst discrepancies are found in Connecticut, home to the most economically unequal metropolitan area in the country and known to be one of the most residentially segregated states in America.

When it comes to tree cover, the biggest disparity in the country is found in the metro area of Bridgeport, Connecticut — the metropolitan area with the greatest income inequality. Rob McDonald, lead scientist at the Nature Conservancy, said that’s no coincidence. The poorest blocks in the area have 54 percent less tree cover and are 5 Celsius hotter on average. “For the most part, income inequality will always correlate with other major health, environmental, and social inequities,” McDonald told Grist.

In Connecticut, roughly 90 percent of housing tracts are zoned for single-family homes, which combined with policies that barred people of color in the state from owning certain homes and even living in certain public housing projects, has kept many areas segregated by class and race. “Bridgeport is a perfect example of the issue we were trying to highlight,” McDonald said. “It is a product of exclusionary zoning which has reinforced a pattern of inequality forcing poor people into dense areas.”

Across the country, low-income neighborhoods had 62 million fewer trees than comparable high-income neighborhoods. On average, tree cover was 15 percent less for low-income blocks compared to high-income ones, which resulted in those low-income blocks having an average temperature that was hotter by 1.5 Celsius. The study, which examined the amount of tree cover in the 100 largest urban areas in the country, home to more than 5,700 communities and 167 million people, is the first-ever national survey of tree cover and temperature inequality — and it showed exactly what the authors expected. 

“We knew this inequality existed but we wanted to see the whole picture because we know heatwave events are getting more frequent and more intense,” said McDonald. “So understanding which neighborhoods are more vulnerable is the first part of harm reduction planning.”

The research, McDonald says, was meant to explain how past economic and social policies continue to permeate even unexpected aspects of American life. Historically racist policies have made homeownership and economic mobility less attainable for Black and Latino people forcing them into heavily polluted and more densely populated neighborhoods — and made them much more unlikely to have generational wealth. Gaps in ownership also correlate to tree cover inequality, McDonald said, because people owning private land have the power and ability to plant more trees on their property. Other cities with large tree cover gaps include Baltimore, home to a huge homeownership gap and relentless heatwaves, and Boston, which has served as a flashpoint for residential desegregation for decades. 

Beyond reversing the economic impacts of discriminatory housing policies, a more equal distribution of trees could help revitalize neighborhoods. The research suggests that a $17.6 billion investment in tree planting and natural regeneration could correct these disparities and benefit 42 million people by protecting them from heatwaves — shown to cause the most harm to poor people of color — and lowering air pollution levels while improving both physical and mental health. 

“There are many problems facing the US, so I’m not going to pretend like tree cover is the most important problem,” McDonald said. “But it relates to all these conversations about climate adaptation, climate change risks, and also health outcome and income inequalities that we’ve seen play a big role during the pandemic.” 

“As the US is starting to talk more seriously from a policy perspective about climate change, we have to think about adaptation and also think about how inequality amplified climate risk, starting with the nature in our backyards,” he added. 

-30-

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Bellini’s Norma, untio 6:30PM tonight
Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Joyce DiDonato, Joseph Calleja, and Matthew Rose, conducted by Carlo Rizzi. Production by Sir David McVicar. From October 7, 2017.

Berg’s Wozzeck, 7:30PM tonight until Saturday noon (special ticketed concert at noon)
Starring Elza van den Heever, Tamara Mumford, Christopher Ventris, Gerhard Siegel, Andrew Staples, Peter Mattei, and Christian Van Horn, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Production by William Kentridge. From January 11, 2020.

The P.E.I.Legislature sits from 1-5PM today.

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg

It sounds like the Environmental Bill of Rights was discussed ("and progress made") and it may be called back up today?  There is still time to write your MLA to support it.  Members' contact info here:
https://www.assembly.pe.ca/index.php/members
------------------
Deadlines for Comments on Community of West River Proposed Electoral Boundaries/names:

Today for responding to Electoral Boundaries Commission

Thursday, May 13th for responding to Council
More information at: https://westriverpe.ca/

And keep in mind in your comments that several residents think the area (the entire Rural Municipality -- Rocky Point to Bonshaw to Meadowbank, Riverdale, New Haven, etc. ) might be better served with a complete name change (which was rather lackadaisically picked), to
Rural Municipality of Eliot River.
(" 'West' only makes sense if you are east of it," one person explained, citing an older name for the River around which the communities formed.)

---------------------------------
Now until Friday, May 21st:
NDP-PEI Online Auction Fundraiser, items and information here:
https://www.ndppei.ca/auction/

Action to consider: 

FariVote Canada is urging the responsible Federal Parliamentary Committee to consider forming Citizens' Assemblies to discuss proportional representation and other electoral reforms.

Here is FairVote's website: https://www.fairvote.ca/

and here is the link to the campaign urging MPs to support Citizens' Assemblies

Recent Postings from Charlottetown commentators:

New Charlottetown Project and the Value of Natural Assets:
https://newcharlottetownproject.ca/2021/05/03/the-value-of-natural-assets/

And the Future of Charlottetown Facebook page has regular updates and thoughtful essays:
https://www.facebook.com/FutureOfCharlottetown/

And a bit of a bite from F. Ben Rodgers: https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/opinion/local-perspectives/letter-remember-there-is-no-planet-b-100576482/

LETTER: Remember there is no Planet B - The Guardian Lettter to the Editor

Published on Friday, April 16th, 2021

The whole world is in a mess, trees being felled at an unprecedented rate, certainly here on P.E.I. Water is vital and yet under threat from so many directions. The soil is being destroyed by money-grasping farming corporations. People like David Suzuki, nationally, and competent local environmentalist like Gary Schneider are crying out for change. They are only two of many thousands of concerned citizens. We are losing so many of nature’s natural resources/species every day. Insects, bees, butterflies, bird, fish, just to name a few. Governments are doing little to stop this dangerous slide into extinction of life on this planet. On Prince Edward Island our provincial government is more concerned with online gambling and grandfathering in holding ponds. We get one excuse after another, “Oh! they have a permit!” “Can’t interfere, it’s private property.” I do not understand these people we have elected; they promise but then turn their backs on the people they are supposed to be representing. Why? Is it money, bribery or greed or just plain stupidity? Because it is definitely not in the smartest interest of this province. 

F. Ben Rodgers, Abram-Village

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Thomas’s Hamlet, today until 6:30PM
Starring Marlis Petersen, Jennifer Larmore, Simon Keenlyside, and James Morris, conducted by Louis Langrée. Production by Patrice Caurier & Moshe Leiser. From March 27, 2010.

Bellini’s Norma, tonight 7:30PM until 6:30PM Friday
Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Joyce DiDonato, Joseph Calleja, and Matthew Rose, conducted by Carlo Rizzi. Production by Sir David McVicar. From October 7, 2017.  3 hours.

Just before the Legislature starts....

Alert Ready System Test, 12:55PM today, various communication channels

from PEI Public Safety's social media posting Tuesday:

It's that 'loud noise' time again!

....Wednesday, May 5 at 12:55 pm a test of the Alert Ready system will be conducted on TV, radio and compatible wireless devices.

This will be a test. No action required on your part (except trying to remember that it's happening so you don't jump out of your skin when it sounds).

https://www.alertready.ca/

The P.E.I. Legislature sits from 1-5PM today.

Watch here options and documents:
P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg

----------------------------
Tonight, Reminder of:
Government Website Interruption, 7-10PM, all online services.

In the Legislature today, after the Ordinary Day's Proceedings (Welcomes, Question Period, Statements and such) the Official Opposition will have its time and it is likely to call up the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) legislation, Bill No. 108, found here:

  https://www.assembly.pe.ca/legislative-business/house-records/bills#/service/LegislativeAssemblyBillProgress/LegislativeAssemblyBillView;e=LegislativeAssemblyBillView;id=b3e26a6c-433c-4524-ab5a-d9e77a348486

It's the legislation that, in essence, strengthens that people have a right to a healthy environment, and ensures some way to help make that happen.

A longish blog from East Coast Environmental Law (reprinted here before, and I am listed as co-author), is here:
https://www.ecelaw.ca/blog/why-legislate-environmental-rights-on-prince-edward-island.html

And here is an infographic on the Legislation.

Infographic on the EBR, produced by The Official Opposition support team

(I have a better slightly larger copy as a PNG if you wish to have your own for sharing on social media and such; contact me)
-------------------------

What can you do today or tomorrow?
You can ask (email or call) your MLA to support this. 

"Please support the Environmental Bill of Rights in the Legislature."

MLAs' contact information can be found here:

https://www.assembly.pe.ca/members

The "Other" (U.K.) Guardian celebrates its 200th birthday today, with an special page where you can look at archival papers and other features, here:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2021/may/05/200-years-young-the-guardians-bicentenary-party-page

It's older than our P.E.I. Guardian, and:
"It is exactly 200 years since a four-page weekly first appeared in Manchester. More than 54,000 editions – and several million articles – later, we’re proud to say we’re older than Germany, fish and chips, the FA Cup, the New York Times, the bicycle and the state of Texas. So for the next few days and weeks, we will be resurfacing the Guardian journalism that changed the world, celebrating the impact that we’ve had, and thanking our millions of readers and supporters without whom none of this would have been possible."

Monday, May 3rd, was "Press Freedom Day", and it's a good time to remember how important good reporting is, and support it anyway you can.

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/
 

Handel’s Rodelinda, today until 6:30PM
Starring Renée Fleming, Stephanie Blythe, Andreas Scholl, Joseph Kaiser, and Shenyang, conducted by Harry Bicket. Production by Stephen Wadsworth. From December 3, 2011.

Thomas’s Hamlet, tonight 7:30PM until Thursday about 7:30PM
Starring Marlis Petersen, Jennifer Larmore, Simon Keenlyside, and James Morris, conducted by Louis Langrée. Production by Patrice Caurier & Moshe Leiser. From March 27, 2010.   Simon Keenlyside is astounding whenever he is on stage, so this can be no different.  2 hours 50 minutes.

Events:
Local Food:
Charlottetown Farmers' Market Thursday pick-up orders due today at noon:
https://charlottetownfarmersmarket.com/online-market/
------------------
The P.E.I. Legislature resumes sitting, 1-5PM today, tomorrow and Thursday, and 10AM-2PM Friday.

Viewing options here:
P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg

---------------------------

This afternoon:
Webinar:  What Canada can learn from Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan, with Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna with host Linda Solomon Wood , 2:30PM. 
Registration link
------------------

Tonight:
Nature PEI Meeting (room is full, but viewable on Facebook Live), 7:30PM.
Topic: The Invention of Polar Bears and the Spoiling of the Great Arctic Party – Dr. David Cairns will be Nature PEI’s guest speaker with his presentation on polar bears which evolved an eye-blink ago in geologic time. His presentation recounts what happened when they arrived in an unsuspecting and unprepared Arctic world. Meeting starts at 7:30 pm at Beaconsfield, the Carriage House, corner of West and Kent Street, Charlottetown.
This meeting is currently at capacity with pre-registrations but it will be broadcast via Facebook Live starting at 7:30 pm. It will be available here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/479620399987543/

Note that: All meetings start at 7:30 pm, on the first Tuesday of the month.

Government website note for tomorrow:

Scheduled Website Interruption

There will be a temporary interruption for maintenance at princeedwardisland.ca:

Impacted Service(s): All online services
Expected Duration: 3 Hours
Date: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 between 7-10pm

The Official Opposition Green Party has put its May newsletter online, here: https://www.greenparty.pe.ca/greennews210502
and it includes many updates on areas the Opposition has been holding Government to account, or working on their own ideas -- and the links may work or just visit the main link, above.

Subject headings in the May Green News -- Legislative Updates and Events:

• Greens in the Legislature

• Water

• Health Care

• Justice

• Children & Youth

• Economy

• Environmental Bill of Rights

• Events

• "Burgers, Batter & Banter" in Stratford

• May 8 Roadside cleanup in Summerside

New Walking/cycling trails in Britain, if you want to start planning or dreaming of gorgeous, preserved country and coastal views, from today's (U.K.) Guardian:

Ride or walk – A Cornish cycling route that takes in some of the UK’s most spectacular coastal scenery as well as atmospheric old industrial works and bronze age monuments is due to open in the autumn. The West Kernow Way covers 150 miles beginning and ending in Penzance. Cycling UK has plotted the route along bridleways, byways and quiet country roads, taking in Land’s End, the most westerly place in mainland England, the Lizard Point, the most southerly spot of mainland Britain, and St Michael’s Mount.

There is also an article on discussion about making more walking trails in London on historical waterways -- a city that may be working to preserve and enhance its views and history for residents and visitors.

Network of green walks proposed along routes of London’s forgotten rivers

Charity urges mayor to back plans for signage and maps to guide walkers around lost waterways
Article Link

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Strauss’s Elektra, today until about 6:30PM
Starring Nina Stemme, Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud Meier, and Eric Owens, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Production by Patrice Chéreau. From April 30, 2016..  Short (under two hours), intense, psychological drama, and Stemme makes you care about this character of myth as a real person.

Handel’s Rodelinda, tonight 7:30PM until Wednesday about 6:30PM
Starring Renée Fleming, Stephanie Blythe, Andreas Scholl, Joseph Kaiser, and Shenyang, conducted by Harry Bicket. Production by Stephen Wadsworth. From December 3, 2011.  Over three hours.  "Rodelinda is faced with an impossible dilemma: With her husband Bertarido believed dead, she either has to marry the despised Grimoaldo (the elegant Joseph Kaiser), who has usurped her husband’s throne, or see him murder her son. But Bertarido (leading countertenor Andreas Scholl) is alive and eventually reclaims both throne and wife—and makes peace with his enemies."

And  because it is today, May the Fourth Be with You....

somebody's very patient cat,

photo uncredited

Pessimism is an indulgence, despair an insult to the imagination. There are wonderfully positive things out there.
      - Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis

Many MLAs will be have a constituency day today.
Contact information here:
https://www.assembly.pe.ca/members
--------------------------------------------
Later this week:
American-focused, but if of interest:

Thursday, May 6th:
Interview with Senator and former Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, Washington Post's webinar series, 10:30AM. online.

"Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) ran for president as a champion for working families and the middle class and pushes corporations and politicians alike on progressive issues. Warren joins Washington Post Live to discuss her memoir, Persist, as well as her top legislative priorities following President Biden’s joint session speech. (Hosted by )"Power Up” author Jacqueline Alemany."
More information and streaming link:
https://warren.splashthat.com/

As we head into spring, pollination, blueberries, etc., and proper dues to MLA Michele Beaton from Mermaid-Stratford for her pressing on this issue, too.  She spoke in the Legislature last week about this, and here is a link to her blog post from about a year ago:
https://peigreencaucus.ca/2020/05/bee-careful-please/
--------------------
letter: https://www.peicanada.com/eastern_graphic/beekeepers-get-the-short-end-on-two-counts/article_cd5ba4c8-9159-11eb-b10c-ab44a2f33fee.html

Beekeepers get the short end on two counts - The Eastern Graphic Letter to the Editor

Published on Wednesday, March 31st, 2021, in The Graphic publications

The government seems resigned to infecting PEI bee hives with small hive beetle (SHB). It is a serious pest. If you pull your boxes of honey off the hives and leave them without bees to guard them for a few days the beetle larvae can slime them and spoil the honey and even the equipment. If you have weaker hives or mating nucs you are trying to raise queens in, the beetles can kill them. Nova Scotia closed its border to the import of hives in 2017 in order to keep them out and it has closed to PEI as well because the policies of our government are obviously extremely high-risk.

Every year the beetle keeps expanding its range in Ontario and the Ontario government has given up on containing them and ended all movement controls on hives in the province.  And the PEI government keeps reducing the import restrictions on hives moving from Ontario to PEI for blueberry pollination. They want the hives, whatever the consequences, and there are just not enough low-risk hives available.

In 2017 the Minister of Agriculture assured us the department had a robust inspection protocol. Then, just before a load of bees, which had been inspected for SHB (using that ‘robust’ protocol) and passed, SHB were accidentally found by a tech transfer working in that yard. That year New Brunswick was infected with SHB, Nova Scotia closed their border to importations, and PEI did not get imports. After that for the next two years PEI excluded imports from the areas of Ontario where SHB were known to exist. But the question of infected ‘operations’ was raised. One large bee operation (based in the infected Niagara area) bought a smaller bee operation in Grey County and after declaring they would disinfect their vehicles and not transfer any bees or equipment between the smaller operation and their main operation the PEI Provincial Veterinarian allowed those hives to come to PEI. We were lucky that year, but by the next year, 2019, Grey County was no longer SHB-free (likely because that operation spread SHB there).

Last year, the import protocol from the two years before was dropped and there were no ‘restricted’ geographical areas, but most of the hives came from eastern Ontario which was not known to have SHB (and a few from the Newmarket area). But now SHB have been found both sides of Kingston in the east, and also north of Toronto near Newmarket. So we do not have geographic area protection anymore. We do not have much inspection anymore. There will be 10 per cent inspection of the hives by Ontario inspectors. That is it. There will be more inspection in PEI, but the amount is left unspecified in the most recent protocol. It is a far cry from the 100 per cent inspection asked of the candidates in the environmental debate before the last election and it is the first protocol where the number of hives to be inspected here is not stated. Will it be an additional 10 per cent, 1 per cent, 2 per cent?

The PEI Beekeepers Association executive met with the Minister of Agriculture and asked for the most basic of biosecurity measures. They asked that if any apiary of a beekeeping operation had a find of SHB that beekeeping operation should be excluded from exporting hives. Beekeepers move bees and bee equipment between apiaries and trucks get loaded with dead hives. SHB is a little beetle that likes to hide in cracks in the equipment or on the truck. Allowing hives in from an operation that has the pest is allowing the pest in.

But here is what is in the 2021 Protocol Regarding The Importation of Honey Bees into Prince Edward Island ...

3) If any stage of SHB has been detected in at least one APIARY operated by any beekeeping operation in EACH OF the last three consecutive years (i.e. 2019, 2020, and 2021), then NO colonies from that OPERATION will be permitted to enter PEI. (end quote)

So PEI can import hives from any place in Ontario, even areas that have had SHB for many years and from any operation that for one year in the past three did not find SHB. But how much inspection was done that year? The protocol does not specify. So, let us say a big beekeeping operation in the Niagara area did not have any apiaries that showed SHB last year because due to COVID there was little inspection, they can export as long as a few hives in one yard were inspected. There are no numbers quantified. Is that science? Is that protection? Would the Minister of Agriculture want protection like that for his dairy herd? Would he be satisfied if the disease brought in would probably not be able to be eradicated (because no one has eradicated SHB once it has come in, and in Italy they have spent millions burning hives just to contain it: but with containment strategies based on science). Would he be satisfied if we had an eradication protocol that could ask him to burn any cows that became infected but did not say anything about compensation? I doubt it, and the regulations for cows (federal) do specify compensation for destruction. The eradication policy for SHB is very specific on how to burn beehives but says nothing about compensation. Apparently beekeepers will have to bear the cost of destroying their hives in order to subsidize the import of hives for blueberry companies.

I remind the premier of his words during the environmental debate on this issue ‘based on science’. This protocol is NOT based on science. It is based on capitulation to the blueberry companies and their need to acquire hives from Ontario where the locations to access those hives keeps getting smaller and smaller.

Stan Sandler, Iris

Atlantic Skies for Monday, May 3rd to Sunday, May 9th, 2021 "Why Every Full Moon Isn't a Supermoon" - by Glenn K. Roberts

After viewing the Full Pink Supermoon of April 27 (12:31 a.m.), one of my readers emailed me with the following question: "Why isn't every Full Moon a "supermoon"?

The Moon's orbit around the Earth is not a perfect circle, but, rather, slightly elliptical or oval in shape. As a consequence, the Moon's distance from the Earth can vary considerably (as much as 1,000 kms in just 6 hours) as it orbits the Earth; the average being approximately 384,400 kms. The lunar cycle is 29.53 days long; as a result, the Moon's phases vary when compared to calendar months (i.e., a particular lunar phase does not repeat itself on the same day each month). Also, the lunar perigee (its closest approach to Earth) and apogee (farthest distance from Earth) follows a 27-day cycle. Add to this the fact that the Moon's orbital plane around the Earth is not the same as the Earth's equatorial plane, but is tilted, varying between 18.28 and 28.58 degrees), with the result that, at some point in its orbit around the Earth, the Moon is either above or below Earth's equatorial plane. The Moon's orbital path is also influenced by the gravitational pull of the Sun, Earth and other planets.

Given that a supermoon is broadly defined (by astrologers, but not astronomers) as a New or Full Moon that occurs at or near (within 90% of) perigee, when you add the 29.53 lunar cycle, the 27 day perigee-apogee cycle, the Moon's tilted orbit around the Earth, and the gravitational influence of the Sun, Earth, and other planets, it is not difficult to appreciate that a number of things have to synchronize just perfectly for there to be a supermoon. This helps explain why every Full Moon is not a supermoon, and why there are usually only 3 or 4 supermoons in any given year. According to the Farmer's Almanac, there are only two supermoons in 2021 - April 27 and May 26 - although other sources list the June 24, 2021 Full Moon as a supermoon as well. However, according to astronomers, who have a stricter definition of a "supermoon" - the Full Moon that makes it closest approach (perigee) to Earth in any given year - there is only one real supermoon this year, the one occurring on May 26, 2021, when the Full Moon will be only 357,462 kms from the Earth (the April 27 supermoon was 357,615 kms from Earth), thus the closest perigee for 2021. Incidentally, there will be an even closer supermoon on Nov. 25, 2034, when the Moon, at perigee, will be only 356,445 kms from Earth, the closest supermoon of the 21st century..

Although supermoons can be up to 14% larger than a normal Full Moon, it is almost impossible to discern the size differential with the naked human
eye. Supermoons are, however, usually much brighter than a normal Full Moon, up to 30% brighter. The May 26, 2021 Full Supermoon will be the brightest (approximately 30% above normal) and the largest (approximately 14% larger) of the year.

With a clear view of the west-northwest horizon, you may catch a quick glimpse of Mercury (mag. -1.4, in Aries - the Ram) low above the horizon around 8:45 p.m. on May 3. You will have to be quick though, as our solar system's smallest planet will drop below the horizon soon after. Venus is below Mercury, and too close to the Sun (and the horizon) to be readily visible. Mars (mag. +1.6, in Gemini - the Twins) is visible about 22 degrees above the western horizon as the sky begins to darken, before dropping below the horizon shortly before midnight. Saturn (mag. +0.7, in Capricornus - the Sea Goat) rises above the pre-dawn, southeast horizon around 2:50 a.m. this coming week, before disappearing from view as dawn approaches. Saturn will appear just to the upper left (north) of the Last Quarter Moon on May 3 in the pre-dawn sky. Jupiter (mag. -2.3, in Aquarius - the Water Bearer) rises in the southeast about 3:30 a.m., reaching a height of about 19 degrees above the pre-dawn horizon, before fading with the approaching dawn by about 5:35 a.m. It will sit to the upper left (north) of the Moon in the pre-dawn sky on the morning of May 4.

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks during the pre-dawn hours of May 5. One of two meteor showers associated with the famous Comet Halley (the other being the Orionids in October), the Eta Aquarids appear between Apr. 19 - May 28, with a broad peak occurring during the week centered on May 5.  The shower's radiant (apparent point of origin in the sky) lies near Eta Aquarii, the brightest star in the constellation of Aquarius - the Water Bearer, which clears the eastern horizon between 1 -2 a.m. Eta is one of four stars representing the "water jar" asterism in the constellation. The Eta Aquarids are known for their speed (about 237,000 kms/hr), and, as a consequence, often leave glowing "trains" (incandescent bits of debris visible in the wake of a meteor) lasting several seconds (makes for some great photo ops). Expect to see about 10-15 bright meteors per hour under a dark sky away from city lights. You might actually see some of the Eta Aquarids even before the constellation clears the eastern horizon; these are often referred to as "earthgrazers" - long, fast meteor trains that appear to skim the Earth's upper atmosphere starting at or near the horizon. You should also make a point, weather and determination permitting, to watch in the pre-dawn hours of May. 4 and 6; there is likely be as many meteors those mornings as on May. 5. The waning, crescent Moon show not interfere too much, though it may wash out some of the fainter meteors. 

Until next week, clear skies.

  -30-

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Puccini’s La Rondine, today until 6:30PM
Starring Angela Gheorghiu, Lisette Oropesa, Roberto Alagna, Marius Brenciu, and Samuel Ramey, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Production by Nicolas Joël. From January 10, 2009.  A happier time for Gheorghiu and Alagna, in this beautiful, bittersweet, bird-like (La Rondine means the Swallow) opera.

Nightly Opera Streams, May 3–9

Theme: Happy Mother’s Day

"Celebrate Mother’s Day with a week of free streams showcasing some of the best—and worst—operatic moms"

Strauss’s Elektra, tonight 7:30PM until Tuesday about 6:30PM
Starring Nina Stemme, Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud Meier, and Eric Owens, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Production by Patrice Chéreau. From April 30, 2016.  Under 2 hours.  Based on the Greek myth and classic play, and set in modern times.  I think Electra's mother is considered one of the worst, though she's a bit pitiable in this opera.

Innovation: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-garden-share-program-1.6005297 

Charlottetown garden share program launches pilot program - CBC online post by Sara Fraser

Published on CBC online on Saturday, May 1st, 2021

Erin Bateman and Rhea Szarics joke their idea to match up gardeners with homeowners in Charlottetown and Stratford is like Tinder for gardening.  "We've been joking about it quite a bit," said Szarics with a laugh.

The green-thumbed friends met this past winter when they were both forest educators for the Sierra Club's Wild Child Program, and came up with the idea of matching homeowners with gardeners without land but want to grow their own food.

Szarics is an avid gardener who moved into an apartment in Charlottetown this winter. She said she found herself approaching the growing season with no space to garden, and with community garden plots in short supply.   She found a friend with a backyard who agreed to let her use the space to garden.

"She's a busy professional, loves cooking, but definitely does not have the time to grow fresh ingredients herself. So it was an ideal arrangement."

How it works

"I just thought to myself, I can't be the only person in Charlottetown with this problem," Szarics said.  She and Bateman came up with a plan to share the solution with others in the capital-city area. It's called the Charlottetown garden-sharing initiative, and it's free. 

Here's how it works: those who wish to garden, or those with land, can visit the initiative's website, chtowngardenshare.ca, where they can download a form to sign up. The deadline is May 10. 

The women will match up a homeowner and a gardener based on criteria participants indicate are important to them such as location, amount of space needed and what they might like to grow. 

The idea is the gardener provides the knowledge and the labour, and the homeowner provides the land and the tools, and pays for inputs like seeds, compost or tomato cages. If a gardener is inexperienced, they may be matched with a homeowner who wants to mentor them, or they could garden with a third, more experienced gardener. 

There will be a two-week trial period where the two can get to know one another and make sure the arrangement suits them both. There is an opportunity to be re-matched if needed. 

Participants must then draft a written agreement that outlines things such as garden size, a crop plan, a list of tools that will be needed, an estimated budget and how they'll divvy up the garden's bounty. 

After that, the organizers will hold a virtual meeting with both parties to review the agreement and make sure they're on the same page. This is what Bateman and Szarics jokingly call "gardening marriage counselling." Everyone signs the agreement, then the gardening can begin.  

Szarics said she and Bateman will check in on participants every so often, to see how things are going. 

"Part of the beauty of this initiative is that we give homeowners and gardeners a lot of freedom in deciding what they want out of their partnership, so people can kind of choose the route that they want to go." 

Will you let strangers dig in your yard?

So far, six people have signed up for the initiative. Organizers are looking to keep the project fairly small in this pilot summer. 

Szarics said right now they have more homeowners than gardeners looking for garden space, which surprised them.

"Erin and I both thought that we would have the opposite issue — that it might be a little challenging to convince the residents of Charlottetown to let a stranger come in and dig up their yard," she said. 

There are only a few rules. The biggest is that participants must not use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. The program also encourages participants to use organic growing methods as much as possible. Participants must follow provincial COVID-19 guidelines such as wearing a mask when in contact with others and wearing garden gloves. The program is providing a free kit for participants to sanitize any shared surfaces such as tools. 

Other than that, the pairs can decide how they want to handle who does what. Some homeowners may choose to pitch in on garden labour, while others may not.

"We don't really want to tell people what to do," Szarics said. 

Anyone can learn to garden'

Szarics worked at Legacy Garden in Charlottetown for a couple of summers and said she enjoyed the community aspect of public gardening. 

"Having the opportunity to garden with other people was one of the most fulfilling parts of that job. And working with people also offers lots of opportunities for sharing knowledge about gardening, which I always get really excited about. But there is also something fulfilling about creating a space for someone that they'll enjoy being in," she said. 

"I think there is an element of satisfaction both in gardening 'with' people and gardening 'for' people."

A couple of city organizations are partnering on the garden-sharing initiative. The Desbrisay Community Garden will be a central location for any programming and give our participants a chance to connect with a group of gardening enthusiasts. And participants will get a half-price membership to the Charlottetown Tool Library, which loans out everything from rototillers to shovels.

Bateman and Szarics have also reached out to the two Charlottetown-area high schools, which have gardens that may go unused in the summers. They may pair up a gardener with a school.   

Szarics said the goal of the garden-sharing initiative is not just to enhance food security or create meaningful connections among neighbours — it's to create more "beautiful, productive urban green spaces" in Charlottetown and Stratford. 

"There's a number of really fantastic positives that come with having more home garden spaces," she said. 

Worried you don't have what it takes? The women said they're there to offer support and direct participants to resources in the community. 

"Almost anyone can learn to garden," she said. "Doing it on a small scale is a really great way to acquire the skills that you need to scale up."

A similar garden-sharing program was piloted in Charlottetown in 2017 by the P.E.I. Food Exchange. It was designed as a self-serve website, but fell apart because participants needed more support.

"The time is ripe, and perhaps it wasn't when we floated the boat out a few years ago," says Pauline Howard from the food exchange. "I do believe, knowing Rhea and Erin, that this will happen."  

-30-

Bonshaw and Area notes:

I forgot to mention the special meeting last week (Thursday, April 29th) regarding Electoral Ward Boundaries for the Amalgamated Municipality of West River.   Unfortunately, Charlottetown is not alone in having gaps in communication of meetings and such with residents (on issues certainly affecting residents), as it wasn't too widely advertised.  And it appeared no effort was made to live-stream or record it, which isn't really acceptable in this day and age. 

from the Rural Municipality of West River's website, where the maps are: https://westriverpe.ca/

IMPORTANT NOTICES

PROPOSED WARD BOUNDARIES AND NAMES

COMMENTS WELCOMED!

The Electoral Boundaries Commission is proposing the ward boundaries shown on the maps below for each of the six wards. The Commission is also proposing both English and Mi’kmaq names for each of the wards. The proposed names are as follows (Tap Blue Letters to Access Maps):

Rural Municipality of West River Wards Boundaries

Ward #1– RINGWOOD
                   MAQTEWE’K JUPU’JIJ 

Ward #2 – STRAITVIEW
         KWITNEY WALNEY

Ward #3
 – ELIOT RIVER
JI’KA’WE’KATIK

Ward #4 – SOUTHSIDE
                  PITA’Q JIPU’JIJ

Ward #5– STRATHGARTNEY
                   MAQTEWE’K KWESAWEI

Ward #6 – THE HILL
                 UNIKANSUK

Each ward is to be within 10% of the average of all the wards or 410 electors (i.e. between 369 and 451 electors).  A full report from the Commission will be made to the Council at its May meeting.

There are three ways in which to provide comments. 

By email at electoralcommissionwr@gmail.com
By Hand Delivered Mail marked CONFIDENTIAL to the Municipal Office at 1552 Rte. #19, New Dominion
By Phone:  902-566-5584

Questions should be directed to either the email address or the phone number above.

Your comments are welcomed by the Commission up to THURSDAY, MAY 6^th  OR directly to the Council up to THURSDAY, MAY 13^th .
The Electoral Boundaries Commission.

   Funded by the Department of Fisheries and Communities through the Transitional Funding Agreement between the Government of Prince Edward Island and the Rural Municipality of West River.

__________________________________________________
Please note the Council for the Rural Municipality of West River will hold a special meeting on Monday, May 3, 2021, at 5:30 pm at Afton Community Center.

Perspective on the water situation: https://www.peicanada.com/island_farmer/we-have-to-get-this-right/article_a7d393f6-8b3b-11eb-8517-d3a7659d8a7d.html

We have to get this right - Island Farmer article by Ian Petrie

Published in Island Farmer on Wednesday, March 24th, 2021

(things have changed since this was written as we have the Environment, Energy and Climate Action Minister recently declaring he has all the information he needs to apparently ban certain wells for holding ponds but lift the moratorium on high capacity wells for others)

The Water Act should be named for the late Daryl Guignon. The well-respected UPEI biologist was the firmest voice saying no in December of 2013, when it was announced that the moratorium on high-capacity irrigation wells would end.

Not on his watch. By June of 2014, former Liberal Environment Minister Janice Sherry announced a new Water Act would be created. What followed were hundreds of hours of public consultations, thoughtful presentations by dozens of individuals and public interest groups. The Act itself was passed in 2017, and will finally come into force with regulations on June 16th. The moratorium continues, but with a backdrop of continuing drought from climate change during the critical growing season endangering the survival of many farms, there will be new research to determine if the moratorium can safely end.

The Water Act is a singular achievement Islanders should be proud of, not just regulations to protect groundwater resources, but values to guide future decision making. However there’s one skunk at the celebration--irrigation holding ponds.

It’s a challenge to write or talk about holding ponds. Many continue to think or hope that the Water Act will make holding ponds illegal. It does not. It does have regulations about the wells that feed water to holding ponds, and those will come into effect in mid-June. If new ponds are built then multiple low capacity wells that mimic a high capacity well will not be allowed as long as the moratorium is in place.

What’s the controversy? The former Liberal government had written “requirements” for supplying these ponds: one low capacity well (capable of filling an Olympic sized swimming pool in just over a week). Some pond owners followed this rule but many didn’t. The government became convinced that each of these additional low capacity wells on their own were legal, and therefore they’ve been grandfathered in to the new regulations. A legislative committee had recommended a two year compliance period. New Environment Minister Steven Myers has increased that to five years.

I’ve written several times that it was the dozen or so farmers who risked not following these “requirements” and they should have to wait like everyone else for the research to show whether the additional wells can be used safely. It’s also unfortunate to start this fresh era of regulating water use by making an exception everyone is noticing.

The number of holding ponds has increased over the last five years as the impact of climate change, wet springs and falls, dry summers, became firmly established, and farmers saw little hope of the moratorium ending. Used properly these ponds can capture water when it’s flush in the spring, but still no farmer would build a pond if there was any possibility of a high-capacity well in the near future.

However I know for some Islanders these ponds are big, ugly things that represent the physical manifestation of all their concerns: the scale of water needed for irrigation, that selfish farmers will never follow the rules, and government won’t make them.

According to a survey done a year ago there are 30 of these ponds, using a mix of established highcapacity wells, and 67 low capacity wells, to fill them. Two well capitalized operations, Vanco and Indian River Farms, own the majority, with another dozen farms the rest.

I think the trust issue is as important as water use right now. The truth is we really don’t have solid information about water use in these ponds. It’s the impact on local stream flow that’s measured, not the actual amount of water being pumped. The insistence on proper record keeping in the Water Act, the new research that will start this summer, all will build a better understanding of how irrigation is impacting watersheds and should build trust that it can be properly regulated.

Trust and credibility will also be an issue for Island politicians and interest groups. The easiest thing for Premier Dennis King would be to leave this for the next government. He didn’t. In the Environment department, the minister has gone from a series of Steve Yzermans, a cerebral play maker, to Bobby Clarke, willing to whack an opponent on the ankle with his stick to win a game.

Maybe that’s what Steven Myers had to do. Irrigation opponents reminded everyone about Cavendish Farm’s role in all of this, but then ignored that certified organic farmers are also calling for well regulated access to water for farmers. Not surprisingly, the Potato Board was supportive of the new research and the grandfathering of additional wells for pond owners. It also welcomes required new studies on soil health, and one I’ll be watching, what impact is there when plowing is done in the spring leaving fields covered through the winter.

Despite the impact of climate change I don’t think the late Daryl Guignon would have moved off his well-earned conviction that the moratorium is the right thing to do. I remember him talking about the importance of “old” water, our savings account of water deep underground that keeps the salt water all around us at bay. Whatever happens let’s make sure we’re all a part of honouring that. He deserves it, and our gratitude for making us try to do this right.

-30-

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, today until 6:30PM
Starring Anna Netrebko, Anita Rachvelishvili, Piotr Beczała, and Ambrogio Maestri, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. Production by Sir David McVicar. From January 12, 2019.  Confusion, infidelity, rage, revenge.  But such gorgeous singing.

Puccini’s La Rondine, tonight 7:30PM until Monday about 6:30PM
Starring Angela Gheorghiu, Lisette Oropesa, Roberto Alagna, Marius Brenciu, and Samuel Ramey, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Production by Nicolas Joël. From January 10, 2009.  So charming, and so sad.

Local Food:
Farmers' Markets are open in
Charlottetown (9AM-2PM) and
Summerside (9AM-1PM)

The Farmacy on Great George Street, from 9AM-1PM offering produce and ferments,
and other stores like Riverview County Market and the KJL shops are open today.

----------------------------

Also today:

PEI Craft Council Bloom Spring Sale, 9AM-4PM, Delta Hotel, Water Street, Charlottetown, free admissions but donations accepted.
  "The PEI Craft Council is proudly presenting its first ever Spring Market! Just in time for Mother's Day, this market will showcase 56 local vendors, spread across 4 ballrooms at the Delta to ensure social distancing.

Come down and support your local makers at this event!

There is no admittance fee for this event, but donations will be taken at the door. Stay tuned to see who we'll be donating to this year!"
-30-

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, May 5th:
BreatheEasy Presents: Lessons from London with
Gary Fuller Webinar, 1-2:30PM, online, free.

The BreatheEasy Project is excited to present "Lessons from London" with Dr Gary Fuller. A webinar focused on the history of air pollution in London, England, how they are tackling it and what we can learn from them for Ottawa and the rest of Canada. Dr Gary Fuller is an air pollution scientist at Imperial College London. He led the development of the London Air Quality Network to become Europe’s most advanced regional measurement network. His research interests focus on the urban air pollution sources; how these are changing and how they affect our health. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian newspaper. His air pollution book, “The Invisible Killer” is published by Melville House in Europe and North America. This is a free and virtual event. A link to the Zoom meeting will be provided 24 hours before the event to those who register. Registration link   Thursday, May 6th: Webinar: Community Science, 6:30-7:30PM, online, free, hosted by the Nature Trust of New Brunswick DIFFICULTY LEVEL: All levels, kid-friendly The Nature Trust completes various species surveys on nature preserves – many of which are achieved thanks to our hard-working and dedicated volunteers. Join the Nature Trust stewardship team on Thursday, May 6th, for a free, family-friendly webinar to learn about the different community science skills you can gain as a volunteer and how you can get involved in the new Ambassador Program this summer. Space is limited, so please register by clicking the registration link below. This webinar is a part of our digital Passport to Nature, a series of educational webinars and videos created with you in mind, whether you are new to the outdoors or an avid outdoor explorer.. *If you cannot attend this webinar live, please register to receive a recorded copy following the webinar. Link: https://www.naturetrust.nb.ca/en/upcoming-events/2021/04/communitysciencewebinar  Sunday, May 16th: The Latin American Mission Program (LAMP)'s Annual Spring Education Forum, 2PM The theme of the forum: The Land is Alive Inspirational Presenters: Jill McCormack and Julie Pellissier-Lush This forum will be a mixture of Zoom at a central point and smaller regional in-person groups. The in-person groups will be in West Prince, Charlottetown, and Kings County. To register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-land-is-alive-tickets-150797043015 All are welcome! For more information, Contact: Marie Burge 902-569-3504

Interesting short video:

Documenting Changes to the Earth, via timelapse and Google Earth (about 3 minutes):
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/google-earth-timelapse-videos-1984-to-2020

Science Matters with David Suzuki

Leading thinkers call for fossil fuel halt

from the David Suzuki Foundation
sent on Friday, April 30th, 2021

website link
-------------------------------------------

In 1970, to make the world safer from humanity’s worst self-destructive impulses, most nations joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. (Only India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and South Sudan are not signatories.)

Now the world faces a threat as great as or greater than nuclear weapons: global warming. That’s led to calls for a “Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.” Recently, 101 Nobel laureates — in peace, literature, medicine, physics, chemistry and economic sciences, including the Dalai Lama — signed a letter to world leaders endorsing the proposal.

“Climate change is threatening hundreds of millions of lives, livelihoods across every continent and is putting thousands of species at risk,” they write.

The letter points out that burning coal, oil and gas is responsible for 80 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions since the Industrial Revolution and that “pollution, environmental and health costs associated with extracting, refining, transporting and burning fossil fuels … are often paid by Indigenous peoples and marginalized communities.”

It also notes that the Paris Agreement doesn’t mention oil, gas or coal and that the industry — funded by major banks — continues to expand. By 2030, 120 per cent more of these fuels will be produced than is consistent with meeting the agreement’s aspirational goal of keeping global average temperature from rising more than 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.

As the laureates write, “The solution is clear: fossil fuels must be kept in the ground.”

The letter calls for ending coal, oil and gas development expansion; phasing out existing production in a “fair and equitable” manner; and investing in a transitional plan “to ensure 100% access to renewable energy globally, support dependent economies to diversify away from fossil fuels, and enable people and communities across the globe to flourish through a global just transition.”

This isn’t the first time leading thinkers have joined to urge humanity to resolve environmental problems. In 1992 and again in 2017, top scientists issued “warnings to humanity.” The first, signed by 1,700 scientists, including most science Nobel laureates, warned, “Our massive tampering with the world's interdependent web of life — coupled with the environmental damage inflicted by deforestation, species loss, and climate change — could trigger widespread adverse effects, including unpredictable collapses of critical biological systems whose interactions and dynamics we only imperfectly understand.”

It called for action in areas including “ozone depletion, freshwater availability, marine life depletion, ocean dead zones, forest loss, biodiversity destruction, climate change, and continued human population growth.”

Twenty-five years later, more than 15,000 scientists issued a second warning, noting that “with the exception of stabilizing the stratospheric ozone layer, humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges, and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse.” That warning pointed to the increasing threat of climate disruption from fossil fuel burning, deforestation and agricultural production and to the growing mass extinction crisis.

When will we heed these voices of reason? When will we stop listening to those who have been telling us for decades that “we can’t stop using fossil fuels overnight” as they ramp up production and make no attempts to stop at all? Why do politicians continue to talk about their climate commitments while buying and supporting fossil fuel pipelines and other infrastructure, and expanding production of fracked gas and oilsands bitumen?

We talk about the urgency of the climate and biodiversity crises but act as if we have all the time in the world to address them.

The COVID-19 pandemic threw the world into a crisis with immediate impacts on everyone, but it also taught us important lessons and gives us an opportunity to change. It’s shown that we can resolve crises and develop solutions rapidly if we come together and spare no expense. It’s shown that prioritizing the human-created economy over human and planetary health has dire consequences and only prolongs the crisis.

The world has paused to deal with a critical health emergency — also rooted in environmental degradation. It’s a chance to reset, to start governing our lives in ways that won’t lead to possibly deadlier pandemics, or to a planet heated beyond its ability to support healthy life or to continued mass extinction.

We must devote everything to resolving these interrelated crises. We’ve been warned.

Written by David Suzuki with contributions from Senior Editor and Writer Ian Hanington

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Metropolitan Opera Radio "Saturday Afternoon at the Opera" performance, 2PM, 104.7FM, recorded live

Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux
Performance from April 16, 2016
Maurizio Benini; Sondra Radvanovsky (Elisabetta), Elīna Garanča (Sara), Matthew Polenzani (Roberto), Mariusz Kwiecien (Duke of Nottingham)
Marvelous cast, sad (possibly embellished) tale of later life of Elizabeth I and relationships that were not meant to be.

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Verdi’s La Traviata , today until 6:30PM
Starring Ileana Cotrubas, Plácido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by James Levine. Production by Colin Graham. From March 28, 1981. 

Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, tonight 7:30PM until Sunday about 6:30PM
Starring Anna Netrebko, Anita Rachvelishvili, Piotr Beczała, and Ambrogio Maestri, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. Production by Sir David McVicar. From January 12, 2019.  A "killer" cast in this drama of love and political ambition.

Events:

The P.E.I. Legislature sits from 10AM-2PM.

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg 
-----------------
Fridays4Future, 3:30PM, Province House near Grafton Street, all welcome!
-----------------------

Local and sweet and supporting local:

Borrowed Kitchen Sugar Shack (whooose owl cookie fundraiser is for Macphail Woods) is open today 10AM-5PM, in Pownal, P.E.I
More details here

---------------------------------
Rainforest Lounge with Todd MacLean, 7PM, Facebook Live.
The Global Forest author and musician chats and shares live music with Islanders, hosting Bonshaw's own Tim Hamming along with Ashley Gorman.
https://www.facebook.com/todd.maclean

Lynne Lund, MLA for District 21: Summerside-Wilmot and Opposition Environment Critic, made a statement on Earth Day where she compared the Government's Climate Change action to a hockey game.  Very funny.  Under 3 minutes:
Facebook video of Lynne Lund's statement

Guardian article on Legislative Committee's Report (Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability): https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/news/pei-standing-committee-recommends-limits-on-grandfathered-holding-ponds-100581695/

P.E.I. standing committee recommends limits on ‘grandfathered’ holding ponds - The Guardian article by Stu Neatby

Published on Thursday, April 29th, 2021

A standing committee has recommended government not allow agricultural holding ponds to use more water than a high-capacity well when P.E.I.’s Water Act regulations come into effect.

A report by the all-party standing committee on natural resources and environmental sustainability was tabled in the legislature on Tuesday. The committee was tasked with examining the draft water withdrawal regulations of the Water Act, which are due to be proclaimed on June 16. These regulations would govern groundwater wells used for agriculture irrigation.

The committee’s report included seven recommendations. One of these regulations urged government to amend the existing regulations to require low-capacity wells that feed existing holding ponds to reduce the amount of water withdrawn to less than 345 square metres per day – the amount of water used by a high-capacity well.

Farmers using holding ponds will have five years to bring them into compliance with the regulations. But the existing regulations could allow existing holding ponds that are "grandfathered-in" to withdraw more water than a high-capacity well as of 2026.

Cory Deagle, a Progressive Conservative MLA, chaired the committee. He said the holding pond recommendation was the subject of the most intense debate amongst members of the all-party committee.

"Everyone supported the report to the legislature,” Deagle said.  “There was a number of them that had significant debate on them."

Another recommendation called on provincial authorities to develop drought contingency plans for each watershed in P.E.I., prior to issuing permits for wells for irrigation and other uses.

Deagle said this would provide more clarity and fairness for farmers.

"I think the discussion we had at committee was, each person who files an application has to come up with this contingency plan. It's a lot of work for farmers,” Deagle said.  "The committee came to a consensus that it sounds like it would be the department that should draft those."

Environment, Energy and Climate Action Minister Steven Myers said he would be considering the recommendations but did not commit that his department would take on the role of preparing watershed drought contingency plans.

"The basis is we have to do it altogether. It's hard to say any one body should come up with a full plan,” Myers said.

The recommendations are not likely to be incorporated into the regulations before June 16, when they are proclaimed. But Myers said these regulations could be amended after that date, based on the committee’s recommendations.

“We may have several iterations of tweaking the regulations to find kind of what the sweet spot would be," Myers said.

Myers did not commit that he would incorporate the recommendation about holding ponds into the regulations. On Tuesday, Myers announced he would halt construction of new holding ponds that draw from multiple low-capacity wells due in part to concerns from conservation groups.

Another committee recommendation called for the regulations to include provisions requiring ongoing testing and monitoring of irrigation permits. The report also recommended a “water budget” for each watershed, and a regime of metering of water usage.

Other recommendations called for a sustainable irrigation strategy based on the needs of each watershed, which would not consider agriculture water permits to be different from those of other commercial or industrial permits.

Myers suggested a metering-based regime for water usage to be more fair than the current moratorium on high-capacity wells for agricultural usage.

“There's been 91 high-capacity wells approved since the moratorium has been put in place. Zero of them are for agriculture," he said.  "So if you talk about fairness, agriculture clearly wasn't being treated fairly at all."

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 The report is here.

If you want to read through the Question Periods for the last week in the Legislative Assembly (and who doesn't?), they are listed here (no indexing, just the text of the day's Question Period, which the Hansard team fast-tracks to make available soon after Question Period for the press and interested citizens :-)  )
https://www.assembly.pe.ca/legislative-business/house-records/question-period

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:

https://www.metopera.org/

Massenet’s Manon, today until 6:30PM

Starring Lisette Oropesa, Michael Fabiano, Artur Ruciński, and Kwangchul Youn, conducted by Maurizio Benini. Production by Laurent Pelly. From October 26, 2019. Gorgeous, but sad and engrossing story.  Oropesa and Fabiano are charming. About 3 hours.

Verdi’s La Traviata, tonight 7:30PM until Saturday about 6:30PM

Starring Ileana Cotrubas, Plácido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil. Production by Colin Graham. From March 28, 1981.  Forty years ago!!  Swift production at just over 2 hours.

Events:

The P.E.I. Legislature sits from 1-5PM today.

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg

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Local Food:
Today at 5PM, deadline to order from Charlottetown Farmers' Market 2GO, for pickup at the Market Saturday afternoon between 2-4PM.
https://cfm2go.localfoodmarketplace.com/
----------------------------
Tonight:
Second of two panel discussions on The Bay of Fundy, webinar
Panel Two -- The Bay of Fundy: Natural Wonder of Nuclear Test Site, 7:30PM,
Hosted by RAVEN (Rural Action and Voices for the ENvironment), free, all welcome.  More details and registration link here:
https://raven-research.org/April-webinars/

Notes on Charlottetown with some real Vision for the Future:

1) The New Charlottetown Project author Barbara Dylla has done an excellent job summarizing the public meeting Monday, April 26th about the Master Traffic Plan. 

More at:
https://newcharlottetownproject.ca/

For people unable to be at the meeting, here is a page with contact information for the City of Charlottetown mayor and councillors

(And another note regarding the City's proposed plan, that it's awful that a plan for 2041, from a City with wonderful sustainability people, isn't taking into account Climate Change Mitigation / Greenhouse Gases and pollution caused by vehicles and working to reduce those drastically in future planning.)
---------------------------------------------------
2) from the Future of Charlottetown's Facebook page posting,
Wednesday, April 28th, 2021

PEAT: Public Engagement, Accountability and Transparency - Future of Charlottetown's Facebook page posting

Islanders have three recurring concerns when it comes to many different public issues in our fine province. These are the frequent lack of authentic Public Engagement, the denial or fudging of Accountability, and the avoidance of Transparency.

As Islanders, we live in a wonderful natural setting, but we are in many ways a wink-wink province when it comes to PEAT. Decision-makers often tell the public as little as possible in talking points often as embellished as possible. The strategy is to keep public concerns under control by ignoring or paying lip service to issues while continuing to advance the agenda of narrow special interests who, for one reason or another, often have far more clout with decision-makers than citizens, except on election day.

So, why does this happen? Because as citizens we allow it to happen. The average citizen believes he/she has enough on their plate each day without taking time away from family or making a living to keep abreast of community issues and to recognize that their interests are sometimes not being properly represented by their elected officials. Until it is too late! It is also passing strange that for the four years of the Trump administration, many Islanders daily ranted and raved about the obvious excesses of Trump [something they couldn't do even the slightest thing to change] and yet, in many cases, didn't even seem aware of, or prepared to influence, significant public issues in our own community.

Public apathy is a problem for our community, but it is also the weakness which enables the City of Charlottetown, and sometimes our provincial government, to get away with things it shouldn't. The problem is made worse because our mainstream media situation is bad and becoming worse. CBC PEI, as an Island news organization, is only a shadow of its former self. It does a great job on COVID, but it has a responsibility to be more than the Covid Broadcasting Corporation. The Guardian is struggling for survival, provides an important public platform in its Letters to the Editor, has an excellent provincial reporter, but many days it has more news on downtown St John's than on Charlottetown.

On the positive side, there are many fine community organizations [eg Citizens Alliance of PEI] which are increasing public awareness day after day. Most importantly, citizens/residents themselves are mobilizing with real impacts. For example, many Sherwood residents attended the April 26 public meeting on the Transportation Master Plan and made outstanding comments strong and clear and are not going away until/unless their concerns are addressed.

For its part, Future of Charlottetown has a large and growing following and we will be focusing regularly, with compelling examples, on abuses of PEAT-Public Engagement, Accountability, Transparency at the City and provincial level. We will also be introducing The PEAT Council, a stronger way to ensure and track that politicians better respect the need for public engagement, accountability and transparency. Or those politicians will hopefully be voted out come election day.

-30-

I was planning to copy the essay before seeing the praise of the Citizens' Alliance, but I will add that I don't fault people too much for not being involved, as when they do, jumping through many hoops, they are often patronized and their opinions not taken meaningfully, or they are bamboozled by process, tradition, illusion, hierarchy, etc. 

Two interesting reads, one long and one short and sweet.

About England's patches of rainforest, from The (U.K.) Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/29/life-finds-a-way-in-search-of-englands-lost-forgotten-rainforests

And from astronaut Michael Collins, who died yesterday, but lived with the preconceived notion of many that he was pitiable as he sat in the spaceship Columbia while the other two Apollo 11 astronauts got to walk about on the Moon, his short little essay about his sweet little spacecraft:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/dear-columbia-apollo-11-astronaut-michael-collins?

If you wish to find and contact your MLA about any matters, including asking for their support of the Private Member Bill 108 (Environmental Bill of Rights), information is here:
https://www.assembly.pe.ca/members

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, today until 6:30PM
Starring Maria Guleghina, Wendy White, Stephanie Blythe, Luciano Pavarotti, and Juan Pons. Production by Nicolas Joël. From October 15, 1996.  Two hours.  Star crossed lovers in the French Revolutionary times.

Massenet’s Manon, tonight 7:30PM until Friday about 6:30PM

Starring Lisette Oropesa, Michael Fabiano, Artur Ruciński, and Kwangchul Youn, conducted by Maurizio Benini. Production by Laurent Pelly. From October 26, 2019.  About 3 hours.  "As the young ingénue, Oropesa delivers a stunning performance, marked by brilliant coloratura, melting lyricism, and enchanting stage presence."  Oh, but it ends so badly.

People at birth are entirely good.  I still truly believe [that] even if it might seem the opposite.

This [the Oscar] is for anyone who has the faith and courage to hold on to the goodness in themselves and in each other. This is for you; you inspire me to keep going.

   --- Chloé Zhao, winner of Academy Award for Best Picture

Dr. Heather Morrison may give a weekly COVID-19 update at 11:30AM, but you'll have to keep an eye on news sources if that changes.
-----------------------------
Noon today, deadline for ordering from Charlottetown Farmers' Market 2GO for Thursday pickup.
https://cfm2go.localfoodmarketplace.com/
----------------------------
The P.E.I. Legislature sits from 1-5PM today.  You can watch it at either of these two sites online, or Eastlink cable TV.

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg

from today's Guardian --  succinct, and the Bill may be called this week in the Legislature for second reading.

SUPPORT FOR AN EBR - The Guardian Letter to the Editor

Published on Tuesday, April 27th, 2021

Lynne Lund, MLA, has tabled an environmental bill of rights (EBR). This will establish in law the right to a healthy environment.

People are often surprised and frustrated to learn that this isn’t a right they have currently. The EBR also gives Islanders a right to participate in environmental decision-making. It would establish an environmental commissioner who is independent from government to oversee these rights, and would set out a process for people to be able to potentially have questionable environmental decisions and policies changed. And, with the right to pursue legal action expressly spelled out, we’ll have the accountability that has been sorely lacking in environmental issues. I hope to see this become law and be an example for Canada and the world.

David L.B. Woodbury, Charlottetown, P.E.I.

where the goodness of people is sorely tested... https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/opinion/local-perspectives/guest-opinion-too-much-power-in-too-few-hands-100572231/

GUEST OPINION: Too much power in too few hands - The Guardian Guest Opinion by Wayne Carver

Published Tuesday, April 6th, 2021

The Venus flytrap of provincial legislation has ensnared another group of professionals. As the pleased mayor of Charlottetown likes to remind us, “Council makes the final decision.”

The reality is, there is too much power in the hands of too few people. In this case, the Municipal Government Act assumes that all those involved in the various processes know naught of what they speak and suggests something other than the greater public interest, reason and common sense, drive the decision making process.

The act was hastily passed by the provincial legislature, without public consultation or a public vote. City and municipal councils have been entrusted with extraordinary powers by the former Liberal government. The implementation of the act was a divide-and-conquer operation where anyone opposed to the legislation was labelled as disgruntled and ignored. Citizens in favour of using large amounts of infrastructure money being made available by Ottawa to promote development and the prospect of community growth were eager to better their communities. It was this group that helped guide the program to the final stages.

Representatives of the minister’s office have been quietly travelling the Island for almost two years trying to familiarize and align the municipalities with the requirements of the act. The prospect of benevolent federal government funding is difficult to ignore and has people looking for ways and places to spend money. We watched as prime city properties, including harbour views, were snatched up by developers and real estate investment trusts. We also watched in dismay, as elected city and provincials officials did nothing to intervene. Citizens were being denied their right to historic properties while others prospered from their loss. We realized late in the game "affordable housing“ is not really affordable but a misnomer to allow the federal government to support favoured builders with financial support. It allowed REITs to designate units as “affordable” in exchange for taxpayers’ financial support. But the rent was/is beyond the means of most people on fixed incomes.

Welcome to the Canada Infrastructure Program and the Canada Infrastructure Bank. All part of Ottawa’s plan to grow the economy through immigration, privatization and deficit spending. Money is flowing like water.

It seems the purpose of the Municipal Government Act is to allow Ottawa to earmark every infrastructure dollar delivered to the provinces and municipalities.

Islanders have stood by in disbelief as a heavy-handed city council has overruled professional bodies and organizations to permit further acquisition of properties and continued construction with infrastructure money.

It is against this background that residents and long-standing local establishments have been thrust, to face a “you can’t stop us!” attitude. To say the Municipal Government Act smacks of partisanship and entitlement is laughable. It appears our municipal government’s strong hand on regional development did not happen by chance, but by design. Simply put, politics and profit are driving the Canada Infrastructure Plan. Leading the charge is the Canada Infrastructure Bank and our prominent elected officials.

It is the Canada Infrastructure Bank and its private partners who will make the profit. As always, it is the taxpayer who will pay the cost of our spiralling deficit. 

Wayne Carver is a member of Vision P.E.I.who lives in Longcreek.

-30-  

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Puccini’s La Bohème, today until 6:30PM
Starring Sonya Yoncheva, Susanna Phillips, Michael Fabiano, Lucas Meachem, and Matthew Rose, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Production by Franco Zeffirelli. From February 24, 2018. 

Lehár’s The Merry Widow, tonight 7:30PM until Wednesday 6:30PM
Starring Renée Fleming, Kelli O’Hara, Nathan Gunn, Alek Shrader, and Sir Thomas Allen, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Production by Susan Stroman. From January 17, 2015.  2 hours 30 minutes and in English!

Events:

Local Food:
Organic Vegetable Delivery, order by tonight for delivery Friday, April 30th.
More details here: https://www.organicveggiedelivery.com/

Charlottetown's Farmers' Market 2 Go, order by Tuesday noon for pick-up Thursday
https://charlottetownfarmersmarket.com/online-market/

Local Coffee:
Brett's Caledonia House Coffee, takeout window only,  7AM-2PM, Weekdays, Charlottetown Farmers' Market, Belvedere Avenue.

Webinar tonight:

Panel One: The Bay of Fundy:
Natural Wonder or Nuclear Industry Test Site?, 7:30PM, online

Free, but Registration is required.
https://raven-research.org/April-webinars

Organized by the RAVEN project at the University of New Brunswick

This event date is the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

The Bay of Fundy is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of North America, one of the richest marine ecosystems on the planet and feeding ground for millions of migratory birds.

The governments of Canada and New Brunswick have funded two start-up companies to develop experimental nuclear projects beside the Bay of Fundy on the site of the Point Lepreau CANDU nuclear reactor.

Canadian regulatory agencies have no experience with these technologies and experts have raised many safety concerns. After nuclear industry lobbying, the Canadian government exempted these projects from a federal environmental impact assessment.

Point Lepreau is located on the shared traditional and unceded territories of the Peskotomuhkati and Wolastoq Nations.

The panel features Indigenous leaders and academic and medical experts as presenters followed by Q&A with registrants.

Panel One:

Dr. Susan O’Donnell, University of New Brunswick
Introduction • moderator

Chief Hugh Akagi, Peskotomuhkati Nation
The Bay of Fundy and Peskotomuhkati peoples

Dr. Gordon Edwards, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility
The Point Lepreau reactor vs. the experimental reactors for the Bay of Fundy site

Dr. Dale Dewar, Former Executive Director, Physicians for Global Survival
Chernobyl: What we learned about the health impacts from a nuclear disaster

Free • Registration is required.
https://raven-research.org/April-webinars

Organized by the RAVEN project at the University of New Brunswick

Facebook event link

A short article on Chernobyl (history, and what's going today, from National Geographic Magazine online:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/chernobyl-disaster?

City of Charlottetown letter: https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/opinion/local-perspectives/opinion-100575946/  

OPINION: Where is the planning for the Sherwood area of Charlottetown? - The Guardian Guest Opinion by Philip and Catherine Mullally

Published on Thursday, April 15th, 2021

Sherwood is being rapidly overrun by developments which are drastically changing the character of the community and creating a traffic nightmare for the residents.

Just a few years ago, on the corner of Mount Edward Road and the Towers road, Charlottetown city council approved Sherdale, a subdivision with 80 duplexes. Shortly after, they approved a 41-unit apartment for nearby Pine Drive, despite strong protests from area residents. Last summer they approved Geneva View, a 60-unit apartment building adjacent to Sherdale.

On the north side of the Towers Road, the massive Sherwood Crossing has received the first level of council approval. It will consist of a pair of five-storey apartment buildings containing 88 units; one five-storey apartment building containing 78 units; one four-storey apartment building containing 60 units, 7 townhouses containing 36 units, and one commercial building – in all, a 300-unit development.

Two high-density developments are proposed for the area north of the proposed extension of Spencer Drive – between Towers road and the walking trail.

Now, parallel to the Towers Road, the city is proposing to extend Spencer Drive and Capital Drive to cross Mount Edward Road and open on to Ash Drive. The proposed extension will be widened to four lanes. Traffic from this extension will inevitably spill over into all of the neighbouring side streets of Montgomery, Kenlea, Oak, Pine and Maple, with motorists seeking short-cuts from Capital Drive through to the eastern side of the city. This development will bring thousands of cars through what has been a quiet residential area with a popular community park and a large elementary school.

Traffic volume is projected to exceed 10,000 cars at peak hours with even higher volumes on weekends. These several changes will drastically increase traffic on Mount Edward Road, a two-lane street whose traffic flow is already like that of a busy highway.

All of this development is going ahead before the city has an approved traffic plan for the area.

What effort has been made to address or mitigate the existing and anticipated congestion? Has there been any effort to reduce the number of vehicles using these streets, in particular Mount Edward Road? Where is the planning?

Are developers exploiting the restrictions imposed by the pandemic to push through a landslide of new construction? Is this the way our city council looks after the people of Sherwood? What did we do to deserve this?

Philip and Catherine Mullally have lived on Mount Edward Road for 44 years and are regularly affected by the increased traffic.

Public meeting -- TONIGHT

A public meeting on the traffic master plan will be held on Monday, April 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown. To reserve a seat, phone 902-566-1267 or email info@confederationcentre.com

-30-

Atlantic Skies for April 26th - May 2nd, 2021 "Super Moon Closes Out April in Style" - by Glenn K. Roberts

When our solar system first formed from a primordial cloud of dust and gas approximately 4.6 billion years ago, a lot of the dust that wasn't integrated into the Sun, planets, and asteroids floated free in interplanetary space. Some of this dust eventually got caught up in what is referred to as "orbital resonance" - when orbiting bodies exert regular periodic gravitational influences of one another - with the result that the dust orbits along the same orbital path the planet takes around the Sun. We can see this dust illuminated by the sunlight as the Zodiacal Light when the ecliptic is at a steep angle to the western horizon in the spring and the eastern horizon in the fall.

In varying degrees of size and composition, all the planets of our solar system have dust rings (plus other components). Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, has a dust ring, discovered in 2006, with much of the planet's dust ring surmised to have come from the dust trails of comets 2P/Encke, 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, and 169P/NEAT. Just recently, astronomers managed to photograph the circumsolar dust ring circling the Sun along the orbital path of Venus, using NASA's Parker Solar Probe. The larger than expected amount of dust in this
ring is thought to be due to the presence of a number of unseen asteroids sharing the planet's orbit.

Our own planet, Earth, possesses a faint ring of asteroidal dust, which was discovered in the mid 1990s, and which trails our planet around the Sun. The Juno mission to Jupiter in 2011 detected sufficient dust particles while crossing the orbital plane of Mars to indicate the presence of a dust ring along the orbital plane of the Red Planet. Incidentally, it is thought that Mars itself contributes additional dust to the inner solar system via the huge, annual, global
dust storms that occur on the planet. Jupiter's faint dust ring was discovered by the Voyager 1 space probe flyby in 1979. First spotted by Galileo in 1610, Saturn's ring system consists of large chunks of a mixture of water ice and dust. The ring system of Uranus is composed
of dust particles and larger fragments of rock from small moons that once orbited the planet and, at some point in the planet's history, collided. In 1989, the Voyager 2 space probe flew by Neptune, and discovered a faint, tenuous ring of organic compounds and dust.

These dust rings are of considerable interest to astronomers as they contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of our solar system and its gravitational interactions. For example, one theory posits that the resonant capture and subsequent release of the dust particles within the rings may provide a mechanism whereby carbonaceous material from the asteroid belt (the Kuiper Belt) is transported to Earth. They also demonstrate that there is yet much we can learn and discover about our solar system.

Mercury and Venus are too close to the Sun to be observed. Mars (mag.+1.52, in Gemini - the Twins) is visible 36 degrees above the western horizon by about 9:10 p.m.,dropping to the horizon and setting by 1 a.m. Saturn (mag. +0.72, in Capricornus - the Sea Goat) rises around
3:15 a.m., reaching 17 degrees above the southeast horizon before fading from view by about 5:30 a.m. Jupiter (mag. -2.2, in Aquarius - the Water Bearer) rises around 3:55 a.m., reaching 16 degrees above the southeast horizon before fading with the approaching dawn by about
5:45 a.m.

The Full Moon of Apr. 27 is classified  as a "super moon" - a  New or Full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of perigee, its closest approach to Earth. This month's Full Moon is known by a variety of names, among them - "Pink Moon" (after the ground or moss phlox, one of spring's earliest flowers), "Fish Moon" (for the shad that run up the rivers of eastern coastal North America), "Sprouting Grass Moon" (for the new grass sprouting), and "Egg Moon" (for the eggs laid by the birds at this time of the year). The Full Moon on the 27th will appear slightly larger and brighter than normal.

Until next week, clear skies.

Events:
Apr. 27 - Super Full Moon; 12:31 a.m.
           - Moon at perigee (closest to Earth)

  -30-

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/  

Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, today until 6:30PM
Starring Isabel Leonard, Adrianne Pieczonka, and Karita Mattila, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Production by John Dexter. From May 11, 2019.

Nightly Opera Streams, April 26–May 2

Theme:  "City of Light" -- Spend April in Paris with a dazzling lineup of seven operas, all set in the inimitable French capital.

Puccini’s La Bohème, tonight 7:30PM until 6:30PM Tuesday

Starring Sonya Yoncheva, Susanna Phillips, Michael Fabiano, Lucas Meachem, and Matthew Rose, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Production by Franco Zeffirelli.

From February 24, 2018. 

This is one of the most darling casts.  Yoncheva and Fabiano are so earnest and likeable as Mimi and Rodolfo, and Susanna Phillips is a most marvelous Musetta.  So short,  2 hours 20 minutes of bliss and heartbreak.

Events:
Keeping up with Charlottetown planning issues, and the public consultation going on this week (Monday, Transportation Plan, City of Charlottetown website details HERE), and here are new and very thoughtful sources:

New Charlottetown Project (blog, lots of info, great design and readability): https://newcharlottetownproject.ca/

and the Future of Charlottetown on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FutureOfCharlottetown

but Twitter has their real account and one that looks a little fishy with a similar name and photo:

Actual Future of Charlottetown Twitter account: https://twitter.com/FutureOfChtown

"Official Account of the Future of Charlottetown. We are working together to ensure a better future for the city of Charlottetown, PEI. Managed by @AmberMac"

(notice the "Of")

Not quite right: https://twitter.com/FutureChtown
Prepositions matter, and I am banking on somebody figuring out who is behind this.

This captures what some of us are feeling (please note the column is U.S. based): https://grist.org/ask-umbra-series/why-does-earth-day-feel-so-exhausting/

Does Earth Day need a day off? - The Grist "Umbra" column by Eve Andrews

After 51 years, Earth Day has buckled somewhat under the weight of the world’s environmental problems.

Published on Thursday, April 22nd, 2021

Dear Umbra,

Why does Earth Day make me feel so… weary?

— The Impossible Race to Escape Despair
 

Dear TIRED,

April 22 can feel a bit exhausting if you are someone who cares about the environment or, to go a step beyond, someone who tries to maintain the integrity of the climate on this big old blue ball. You recycle, even though you know recycling is very flawed. You try not to eat a lot of red meat, even though you know individual action won’t fix climate change on its own. You never miss a local election even though some politicians continue to discuss global warming as a hypothetical. And now the day has once again arrived for you to “celebrate” the planet while being acutely aware of just how much we’re trashing it the other 364 days of the year.

Some context about how we ended up here: The holiday started in 1970 as the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson, who had been trying to make environmental issues a political priority in the U.S. for years without any real headway. And the first Earth Day was a resounding victory: With roughly 13,000 demonstrations and events nationwide, it captured the attention of the country on the urgency of the national pollution crisis, which paved the way for the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

But after 51 years, Earth Day has buckled somewhat under the weight of the world’s environmental problems. Perhaps because those problems have become increasingly imminent, life-threatening (on a human species scale), and complicated to address both diplomatically and politically. And rather than stake hope in a widespread societal overhaul, many understandably overwhelmed people have adopted the “do what you can” approach when it comes to personal environmental footprints. Indeed, Earth Day’s 20th anniversary in 1990 helped to usher in the idea of green consumerism, complete with big corporate sponsors. Big brands and corporations really took that marketing angle and ran with it right up to today — which is probably no small part of your disillusionment! 

And now here we are in the year 2021, when the issue of climate is more or less mainstream. On the one hand, growing environmental awareness has given us the best chance in decades of just maybe passing some kind of meaningful climate legislation. And yet when, say,  Coca-Cola instructs its brand accounts to tweet “Love your mother <3” on April 22, it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in our ability to tackle climate change as a society. After all, many of the businesses attempting to greenwash themselves are responsible for the same greenhouse gases, plastic pollution, toxic fumes, illegal land-grabs, and human rights violations that have landed the planet in its current predicament. It can be hard to avoid thinking that a day that was meant to be both celebratory and revolutionary has become so appropriated that it’s a tawdry insult to real progress.

Setting aside a day to wallow in our own cynicism generally does not feel good. It’s exhausting to believe the world is bad or lost.  

I called Elizabeth Kolbert, the Pulitzer-winning environmental journalist who has spent her career covering such uplifting topics as the political machinations that perpetuate climate change, mass extinction, and geoengineering the climate to save ourselves. I imagined that if anyone would be warranted in cynicism, it would be Kolbert. And yet! When I asked her about how she wards off a sense of defeat given her particular beat, here’s what she said: “There just really isn’t any option besides trying to press forward, persisting in the hope that something will be done, even despite a great deal of evidence to the contrary.” Or, as Oscar Wilde famously put it, “the triumph of hope over experience.” (Granted, Wilde was talking about second marriages and not the mitigation of climate change, but it works!)

Kolbert’s response really stuck with me. Earth Day has been ridiculed for being too individual-oriented — something along the lines of the “hopes and prayers” approach to societal improvement. But as I remarked to her at the time, there’s something almost religious about her Wildean approach to environmental action because it’s so dependent on faith in a better future. 

And you don’t seem to be asking about how to fix Earth Day as an institution, TIRED. You are asking about how to resolve your feelings about Earth Day itself. You seem fearful of the effect your own disillusionment is having on your motivation, and that is where some quasi-religious practices might actually help. It’s kind of funny to advocate for something so intangible as “faith” on a day that’s ostensibly to bring attention to scientific fact — the measurable and observable degradation of the environment, that is. But a lot of people engage in religious practice to recenter themselves and reassert their values, and I think that something many of us could use right now.

I spoke with Adam Rome, a professor of environment and sustainability at the University at Buffalo who literally wrote the book on Earth Day and asked what he thought the holiday’s founder would think of its current devolution. He emphasized that Senator Nelson never had any expectation that future Earth Days could match that spirit or legislative success, but the day’s cultural trajectory may have been a surprise. Rome says that Nelson “had no idea that [Earth Day] would become a trade show, which it is in a lot of places now, or that some of the discussions that kids would have in school would be with corporate-sponsored materials.”

Because part of Nelson’s real intention was that Earth Day would be about — believe it or not — soul-searching. Environmental issues are extremely complex. That reality forms the foundation of this very column! And change that addresses the root causes (like structural inequality, consumerism, racism) of something as seemingly straightforward as pollution  requires a real assessment of what we want for the future and why. “That’s never easy,” Rome said. “There has to be some struggle, some hard work that leads to it. Gaylord Nelson, I think, hoped that would happen: that people would grapple with the issues in a way that would be transformative.”

Even — or especially? — people who are very wrapped up in the conundrum of climate change on a daily basis can be in need of the occasional moment of reflection. Elizabeth Kolbert said she considered Earth Day to be a good opportunity to spend time with yourself, reflect, maybe enjoy nature. I personally can’t think of better advice. I hesitate to use the term “self-care” because that’s a concept that’s been as cheapened and commercialized as April 22 itself. But if the idea of Earth Day makes you tired, that probably speaks to your exhaustion with the realities of climate change and environmental degradation writ large. And they are very exhausting realities!

I think everyone can agree it is supremely dumb to devote only one day a year to appreciating the Earth. What if, instead of a day spent wringing your hands over greenwashing, Earth Day were the one day you could make a conscious effort to get some hope and energy back? It could be a kind of annual Sabbath devoted to rest and reset and reflection and reappreciation of what we’re all trying to do here: Live on this planet as carefully and as well as we can.

Take the day off, babe, and feel better tomorrow. 

Restfully,

Umbra

(So perhaps today can be the day to "take off" and enjoy the Earth, however you can.)

An interesting article (LINK only) with some intriguing photos, about highways and planning for the future (though they never quite show places that have the cold and snow we have):
from the Institute for Transportation and Design Policy, from Friday, April 2nd, 2021:

Leapfrogging Past the Urban Highway

Urban highways are obsolete technology. By investing in walking, cycling, and public transit, rapidly developing cities can leapfrog past the outdated urban highway, and skip straight to the future.

Link: https://www.itdp.org/2021/04/02/leapfrogging-past-the-urban-highway/

And you can always pop inside and watch some opera....
Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Beethoven’s Fidelio, today until 6:30PM
Starring Karita Mattila, Ben Heppner, Falk Struckmann, and René Pape. Production by Jürgen Flimm. From October 28, 2000.  The faithful power of love.

Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, tonight 7:30PM until Monday about 6:30PM
Starring Isabel Leonard, Adrianne Pieczonka, and Karita Mattila, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Production by John Dexter. From May 11, 2019. About three hours.
"Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard is the fearful Blanche de la Force, who joins a convent of Carmelite nuns in order to escape the terrors of the French Revolution. The exceptional cast also features sopranos Erin Morley and Adrianne Pieczonka and mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill as some of Blanche’s fellow sisters, with tenor David Portillo as the protective Chevalier de la Force. Maestro Nézet-Séguin leads a gripping performance throughout—from the opera’s chaotic first bars to the chilling death scene of Madame de Croissy (sung by the incomparable Karita Mattila) to the work’s harrowing final moments."   Karita Mattila is the star, 19 years earlier, of Fidelio!

Events:

Local Food:
Farmers' Markets are open in
Charlottetown (9AM-2PM) and
Summerside (9AM-1PM),

The Farmacy on Great George Street has local produce and ferments for sale between 9AM-1PM, and other stores like Riverview County Market and the KJL shops are open today.
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Confederation Trail Cleanup AND Sustainability Booths/Shops event, 1-4PM, at Farm Centre (420 University Avenue)

"Let's get'er done PEI! Come and grab a bag along the Confed Trail at one of:
1)Towers Road
2)PEI Farm Centre
3)Red Island Cider Parking Lot
For showing up, and for every trash bag filled, you will receive a ballot to win tons of local prizes from places like Truckn'Roll, Stir It Up, Urban Daisy Boutique, and more!
Be sure to drop by the PEI Farm Centre at 420 University Ave between 1 and 4 to visit booths and shops. Buy a few plants for your garden, sign-up for a youth program, check out stock fro the new zero waste shop, and so much more!"
Facebook event details

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Marking the two-year anniversary since the Referendum on voting system on P.E.I.

Proportional Representation in Scotland, Viewing Party of October 2020 workshop recording hosted by Islanders for PR, 2PM, YouTube (link below)

"We are having a viewing party for the recording of our event from the fall, 'PR Vision 2020 and Beyond', featuring Willie Sullivan from the UK Electoral Reform Society, explaining the success of electoral reform in Scotland."
You can make comments in the comment section and a couple of people from the group will answer questions.

Watch directly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0suRXVUTTM

Islanders for PR YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjp-aH4f74kHLr_YqF6ZS_g

consider subscribing to the Islanders for PR channel
The video will be available to watch anytime, also, if you can't make it to watch it today.
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Tonight:
Rainforest Lounge with Todd MacLean and special guest Jon Matthews, 7PM, Facebook Live.
Facebook Live link

East Coast Environmental Law (ECELAW) has written a blog post which goes over the submitted P.E.I. Legislative Assembly's Private Member's Bill Environmental Bill of Rights, Bill No. 108, which Opposition Member Lynne Lund has submitted, and is likely to go to Second Reading (to be debated on the floor of the Legislature) next week.

It's a really good primer on what Environmental Rights legislation looks like, too, both this proposed bill and in other parts of country.  I helped in the slightest bit in this excellent work by Tina Northrup, staff lawyer at ECELAW. 

So grab a cup of whatever and do enjoy (and share this).   
And consider getting a hold of your MLA to have them support this legislation, if you wish to see stronger environmental legislation and public participation. (More on the importance of doing that in the next days)

Here's the link to ECELAW's blog:  https://www.ecelaw.ca/blog/why-legislate-environmental-rights-on-prince-edward-island.html

and the proposed legislation: https://docs.assembly.pe.ca/download/dms?objectId=b3e26a6c-433c-4524-ab5a-d9e77a348486&fileName=bill-108.pdf

Some other notes and news:

The Broadbent Institute writes about this week's Federal Liberal budget
(Link only): https://www.broadbentinstitute.ca/a_very_liberal_budget?
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5 Tips for Building Resilience in Your Garden - treehugger.com post by Elizabeth Waddington

Make sure you don't put all your eggs in one basket this gardening season.

Published on Friday, April 9th, 2021, online at: https://www.treehugger.com/tips-for-building-resilience-in-garden-5176119

In an organic garden, it is important to be resilient. That means making sure you do not put all your eggs in one basket.

Gardens can be unpredictable places. And we live in what can be, at times, an unpredictable world. By building diversity in our gardens, we can make sure we have no weak points — we can make certain that even when some things go wrong, there are other things that succeed.

Choose A Variety of Seed Types and Different Cultivars

The first and arguably most important step in boosting resilience in your garden is ensuring you have rich biodiversity within the system.

Boosting biodiversity, when it comes to building resilience, is not about simply cramming in as many different plants as possible. It is about increasing the number of beneficial interactions between unique plants (and animals) in the ecosystem.

Amplifying beneficial interactions in a system makes it a more stable one. It means finding a natural balance and working in harmony with nature over time. As such, it is vital to choose seeds and plants not just for their benefits to you, but also for their benefits to the garden ecosystem as a whole.

Beyond the general ideas of diversity and its benefits to the ecosystem, it is also useful to think about how it can increase yield and reduce losses to you and your family.

For example, planting just one variety of carrots or tomatoes may mean you lose the lot if something goes wrong. Planting two or three different varieties can increase your chances of success. Over time, you can begin to see what works well where you live and what does not and can tailor your choices accordingly.

Don't Focus Exclusively on Annuals

Those new to grow-your-own gardening often focus on creating a vegetable plot and growing annual/biennial common crops. But annual gardens take a lot of work. And through unforeseen events as well as human error, things can often go wrong.

To increase the chances of obtaining a worthwhile yield from your efforts over the gardening year, consider moving away from solely annual production and growing perennial fruit trees, fruiting shrubs, and perennial vegetables and herbs. Food forests or forest gardens offer extremely diverse yields — often with a lot less work from the gardener once established. So these are definitely good growing systems to consider.

Stagger Sowings, Especially Early in the Season

When growing annual crops, timing is key. This is especially true when it comes to sowing early in the season, when sudden, late frosts may descend. Not sowing or planting out all at once is an important way to minimize risk. Stagger sowings and planting so that even if early ones are killed off by surprising weather events, you will still have more to replace them. Always sow a few more seeds than you think you'll need.

Consider Growing Undercover And Outside

Many of us are finding that our climates are increasingly erratic — and we all know why. It is difficult to predict all weather events ahead of time.

Just this week, where I live, we would expect to be well into spring and around our last frost date. A few days before we were sitting outside without coats on and enjoying the spring sunshine. But temperatures have dipped to the low 30s for the last few nights due to icy winds from the Arctic, and we feel like we have been plunged back into winter once more.

I have found that growing both undercover (in my high tunnel) and outside means that I cover all the bases. And even when some plants are lost, there is still plenty of resilience within the system and I still obtain good yields from my garden.

If you do not have a greenhouse or tunnel for undercover growing, this is definitely something to consider. It can make your growing systems more resilient, as well as increasing the range of crops that you can grow successfully throughout the year.

Have Back-Ups and Build In Resilience

Make sure every element in your garden has multiple functions, and each purpose is served by more than one element.

For example, if you rely on a municipal water supply, ask yourself what you would do if it was shut off for some reason. Rainwater harvesting might allow you to build in that backup. And careful water management can allow you to build in further resilience over time, catching and storing water more effectively on your property. This is just one example. 

Stacking functions and integrating elements wisely is one more important way to make sure you do not put all your eggs in one basket.

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More Astronomy
Why the Mars robots are so personable: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/04/mars-helicopter-ingenuity-nasa/618635/

No, You’re Crying About a Helicopter on Mars - The Atlantic article by Marina Koren

NASA just flew a tiny (and totally lovable) robot on another planet for the first time.

Published online on Monday, April 19th, 2021

For the first time in history, humankind has taken flight on another planet. Millions of miles from Earth, on an alien world with a wisp-thin atmosphere, a tiny helicopter rose into the air, hovered for 39 seconds, and then gently touched back down on the surface of Mars.

Today’s historic flight is a tremendous feat of engineering and a marvelous display of—as the aircraft is named—ingenuity. Attached to the robot is a piece of fabric from the wing of the Wright brothers’ first aircraft, an emblem of humanity’s desire to take to the skies. And yet, when I look at pictures of Ingenuity or listen to NASA engineers discuss it, my reaction has nothing to do with the sophistication of the machinery or what it means for the robotic exploration of Mars. My thoughts are mostly Omgggg and look how cute it is and It’s doing such a good job.

I am not a spacecraft engineer, nor do I know this robot personally. But I am mortal, and we mortals tend to anthropomorphize robots and even have fuzzy feelings toward them. (The exception: If their appearance falls into the “uncanny valley” category, they can creep us out instead). A whole assortment of research on the relationship between people and machines shows that we can’t help attaching our little human feelings to the little mechanical robots we build. And NASA knows it. As with other robotic missions, NASA maintains a Twitter account for Perseverance, the rover that brought Ingenuity to Mars in February, and dispatches are written from the perspective of the machine. “I love rocks,” Perseverance tweeted in February to its followers, who currently number 2.7 million. “I’m on the move!” it exclaimed in March as it took its first drive. “I’ve taken my first selfie,” the rover said earlier this month, showing us a picture of its robotic frame, with Ingenuity in the background. NASA has already shared imagery of Ingenuity’s flight—from Percy, stationed nearby, and from the helicopter itself, which captured its shadow flitting across the surface of Mars

Perseverance and Ingenuity were not designed to be lovable. They can’t pout or whir with delight like Pixar’s WALL-E. But Percy can drill, and Ingenuity can wiggle its blades. Although these behaviors are programmed by engineers on Earth, to the public, watching from afar, the movements seem deliberate, as if the robots chose to probe the Martian soil, or to stretch their metal appendages. And when robots show such lifelike behaviors, our social brains react with empathy. (It also helps that Ingenuity, weighing less than four pounds, is smol; we’re more likely to find tiny things cuter than large things, and we tend to feel nurturing toward cute things.) Sometimes, such as in the case of Opportunity, the Mars rover that stopped working after a massive dust storm, people feel grief. In the case of Ingenuity’s first flight, we experience joy.

The Ingenuity helicopter arrived on Mars tucked safely inside the Perseverance rover’s belly. Percy carefully deployed Ingenuity in a delicate sequence over a few days, and then drove away, exposing the aerial explorer to the Martian elements. After a cold, dark

night, Ingenuity soaked up the sun, charging its little solar panel. Percy watched from a distance as Ingenuity took flight and reached an altitude of 10 feet (3 meters), chirping pings of progress back to the rover. The whole scene resembled a mother bird watching her fledgling learn to fly into a big world full of dangers. “I think many people would empathize with the little bird because, to some extent, it’s a big achievement for that bird,” Marynel Vázquez, a computer scientist at Yale who studies interaction between humans and robots, told me. “Now the challenge is with engineering. We see this little tiny thing trying to survive on the red planet, which is a very harsh environment.”

Over the next few weeks, there will be more flight attempts. Ingenuity was designed to be lightweight, with blades that spin 40 times per second, so that it could generate enough lift to rise in an atmosphere that has 1 percent the density of our own. It’s capable of covering a distance of 980 feet (300 meters) at a time, and reaching an altitude of 15 feet (4.5 meters). Because of communication delays between Earth and

Mars, engineers can’t control the helicopter with a joystick, so Ingenuity makes some decisions on its own, analyzing real-time data from its sensors and adjusting course so that it doesn’t stray from its programmed flight path. What a smart little robot!

MiMi Aung, the Ingenuity project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told reporters at a recent press conference that the team will instruct the helicopter to make more daring flights. The Ingenuity mission is what NASA calls a technology demonstration, and it has been allotted just 30 Martian sols, equivalent to 31 Earth days, to do its work. So the team is going all out. “By the fifth flight, if we get that far, we are going to take very bold flights and take high risks,” Aung said, adding that the helicopter is unlikely to land safely after a certain point. The sight of Ingenuity smashed to bits might cause consternation for some people; studies have shown that people feel sympathy for robots when they see them being yelled at or physically abused, even machines that don’t have any human characteristics, such as Roombas.

When Ingenuity’s time is up, Perseverance will drive away to do its own work, searching for signs of fossilized life embedded in the craggy landscape. Ingenuity will remain where it is, possibly in pieces, but maybe as whole as the day it arrived. It might still be

functional, capable of charging itself day after day. But it won’t be able to communicate with Percy, or us here on Earth. The rover won’t come back. Ingenuity will remain alone forever, warming itself in the sunlight that streaks through the Martian skies. Perhaps one reason NASA hasn’t given Ingenuity its own Twitter account is because most of its posts would be something like “Hello? Guys? Can anyone hear me?”

But there is more than empathy at play here. People also have a tendency to project their own feelings onto inanimate objects. When Ingenuity took off this week, I thought of the boat. You know the one. Giant, stuck, blocking traffic in the Suez Canal for days. As my colleague Amanda Mull wrote last month, the story of Ever Given exposed all the messy substratum of the shipping industry, “the persistent frailty of the global system on which corporations have built our physical world.” The boat also seemed, for many people, like the perfect encapsulation of how bogged down they had felt during the coronavirus pandemic. The story of the little Mars helicopter feels like the opposite. We do not see the technical challenges and failed test runs that took place on Earth, only the beautiful, butterscotch-colored expanse of Mars. Ingenuity is very

much unstuck, and its historic flight feels hopeful because it has coincided with a different moment for Americans: the thaw of spring, the steady distribution of vaccines, the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.

For NASA’s part, the agency hopes that Ingenuity is the first in a line of aerial explorers on Mars. The first rover on the red planet—named Sojourner, in honor of Sojourner Truth, the enslaved woman who escaped bondage and became a civil-rights activist—was a technology demonstration too, and its mission led to the development of more rovers: Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance. (NASA is also currently at work on a drone mission to another world: Titan, a moon of Saturn with a thick atmosphere, where it rains methane instead of water.) Scientists and engineers, always looking ahead, say future generations of Mars flyers could explore hard-to-reach spots and carry important payloads during astronaut missions.

But that future is still many years away. For now, robots are our best explorers, on Mars and beyond. With their help, we have roamed, drilled, and gazed on the red planet. We have flown through the rings of Saturn, grabbed a piece of an asteroid, and discovered a heart-shaped plain on Pluto’s surface. We’ve even thrown ourselves into the atmospheres of other planets. Robots have been our eyes and ears and, now, our wings.

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Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, Radio, 2PM, 104.7FM
Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten
Performance from November 26, 2013
Vladimir Jurowski; Anne Schwanewilms (Empress), Christine Goerke (Dyer's Wife), Ildikó Komlósi (Nurse), Torsten Kerl (Emperor), Johan Reuter (Barak), Richard Paul Fink (Messenger)

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Philip Glass’s Satyagraha, today until 6:30PM
Starring Rachelle Durkin, Richard Croft, Kim Josephson, and Alfred Walker, conducted by Dante Anzolini. Production by Phelim McDermott. From November 19, 2011. Ghandi!

Beethoven’s Fidelio, tonight 7:30PM until 6:30PM Sunday
Starring Karita Mattila, Ben Heppner, Falk Struckmann, and René Pape. Production by Jürgen Flimm. From October 28, 2000.  " Jürgen Flimm’s haunting production of Beethoven’s only opera brings the work’s desperate plea for freedom and justice into the modern era, reminding us just how powerful and urgent its story is. Under James Levine’s passionate leadership, Beethoven’s score blazes, as does the superb cast. Karita Mattila is Leonore, the faithful wife who disguises herself as a man to search for her husband Florestan (Ben Heppner), unjustly imprisoned by his political enemy, Pizarro (Falk Struckmann). René Pape is Rocco, the jailor caught between conscience and duty."  Ben Heppner, Canadian tenor legend!!

Events:
The P.E.I. Legislature sits from 10AM-2PM.

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly website https://www.assembly.pe.ca/

P.E.I. Legislative Assembly Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/peileg

Fridays4Future, 3:30PM, Province House near Grafton Street, all welcome!

Borrowed Kitchen Sugar Shack (of the wise owl cookies fundraiser for Macphail Woods) is open today 10AM-5PM, in Pownal, P.E.I
More details here

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 24th:
"PR in Scotland" Talk Replay, 2PM, online (YouTube)
"We are having a viewing party for the recording of our event from the fall, 'PR Vision 2020 and Beyond',  featuring Willie Sullivan from the UK Electoral Reform Society, explaining the success of electoral reform in Scotland."
Facebook event link
YouTube channel link

from the P.E.I. Legislature, Thursday, April 22nd, 2021, with proper dues to Trish Altass, MLA for District 23: Tyne Valley-Sherbrooke, who showed tenacity, grace, patience, and keeping her eyes on the shared goals of better health care on P.E.I. and a willingness to work with everyone to see that we all got there.  An example for every MLA in the House.

News Release written by the P.E.I. Official Opposition Office on yesterday's passage of the Health Services Act  (and the collaboration that occurred), written much better than I could have, so copying here: https://peigreencaucus.ca/2021/04/increased-transparency-and-accountability-in-healthcare-decision-making-with-passing-of-official-opposition-bill/

Increased transparency and accountability in healthcare decision-making with passing of Official Opposition Bill - by the Office of the Official Opposition (Greens)

Published late on Thursday, April 22nd, 2021

Charlottetown, PE – After a fulsome debate in the Legislature, amendments to the Health Services Act introduced by the Official Opposition were passed today. These changes return authority back to health experts to implement our provincial wellness plans.

“I am pleased to see government recognize the need for increased transparency in the decision making process for health care,” said Trish Altass, Official Opposition Critic for Health and Wellness. “The changes I put forward for the Health Services Act give more power and authority to the Health PEI board to implement our provincial wellness plans. This change greatly reduces the possibility of political interference.”

The amendments came to a vote on April 8 and resulted in a tie vote. At that time the Speaker cast the deciding vote to keep the bill alive and continue debate.

“After the tie vote in the Legislature, I reached out to the Minister of Health and Wellness to discuss the concerns government had with returning authority to the Health PEI Board,” said Altass.

On April 15, the Official Opposition sent changes to its proposed legislation addressing feedback received from government back to them and other opposition MLAs for review. These amendments were reflected in the debate today and ultimately accepted into law.

These changes mean that, in limited circumstances, if the board makes a decision that does not align with the strategic plan or is not in the public’s best interest, the Minister can direct the board. In this situation, the Minister would be required to make the reason for directing the board public within 30 days. Today’s changes also clarify the hiring process of the Health PEI CEO. During the hiring process, the Health PEI board will recommend three candidates to the Minister and the Minister will choose from those three candidates.

“I am pleased to see government recognize the need for increased transparency in the decision making process for health care,” said Altass. “These amendments have been something past and current Health PEI board members have been asking for. These changes will increase confidence amongst healthcare professionals, making recruitment and retention easier and more successful.”

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Very sad news:
  Canadian Statesman Stephen Lewis is ill with painful terminal cancer

Stephen Lewis is fighting for his life - tvo.org article by Steve Paikin

This country’s greatest political orator is battling abdominal cancer as he continues to fight for causes near and dear to his heart

Published on Tuesday, April  20th, 2021, online at: https://www.tvo.org/article/stephen-lewis-is-fighting-for-his-life

It was August, during the federal-election campaign of 2015, and NDP leader Thomas Mulcair was giving a stump speech near the west end of Queen Street in downtown Toronto. At this moment in the campaign, the New Democrats were extremely competitive in the polls, and Mulcair’s speech was almost giddy, pondering the possibility of victory.

It was a really good speech. But then Mulcair invited a guest to the microphone, and the electricity in the room just shot up to the stratosphere. The speaker was 77 years old, had been out of politics for almost four decades, was not using a teleprompter, and had the crowd in a frenzy. Moreover, he was having a blast himself.

It was by far the best speech I heard during the entire 2015 election campaign.  

The speaker was Stephen Lewis.

His sister Janet Solberg was at the event. “Janet,” I asked her, “why can’t anyone else in the country give a speech like that?”

“Well, come on,” she responded. “That’s Stephen.” As in, don’t try to compare mere mortal politicians to what my brother is capable of. And I never did again.

I wasn’t alive to hear William Lyon Mackenzie or John A. Macdonald or Agnes Macphail speak. But I can definitively say that, in my lifetime, I’ve never seen anyone move an audience like Stephen Lewis. He is simply the greatest political orator of his time.

That time started in 1963 when he was the newly elected 25-year-old MPP representing Scarborough West for the Ontario NDP. Seven years later, he was the party’s leader — coincidentally, at the same time his father, David, was the federal NDP leader. The Ontario Liberal leader of the day, Robert Nixon (now 92 and living in Paris, Ontario), once told me: “Competing with Stephen Lewis back then was impossible. The guy could read the phone book and make it sound like Shakespeare.”

Today, I’m concerned that others will not have the opportunity to hear Lewis’s mastery of passion, vocabulary, moral outrage, and hopes for a better tomorrow, because the now 83-year-old Lewis is fighting a particularly dastardly form of inoperable abdominal cancer.

To see and talk to Lewis is completely confusing. Despite his illness, he still looks and sounds 15 to 20 years younger than he is.

“Yes, I look in the mirror, and it’s curious,” Lewis told me in an hour-long phone call last weekend. “It’s abnormal to look fine but deal with the unpleasantness of this pain.”

Three years ago, Lewis had surgery for this same thing when radiation and chemotherapy had proved not to be viable options. He got through that agony and hoped that was it. But it wasn’t. A couple of months ago, the cancer returned, and now Lewis has once again put his fate in the hands of trusted doctors and nurses at the Princess Margaret and Mount Sinai Hospitals, who have him on an experimental drug regimen.

“The recurrence of the cancer is obviously deeply unsettling,” he says. “When you come to a point in your life where you’re battling a disease like cancer, you reflect philosophically on life and what you’ve done and what the future might or might not hold. Fortunately, I lived an interesting life, surrounded by bright and principled people and a loving and supportive family.”

If that sounds as if Lewis sees the finish line in the not-too-distant future, disabuse yourself of that notion.

“I’m not depressed or moping about the house,” he assured me with vigour. “I’m feeling I want to beat this thing again!”

Interestingly, Lewis doesn’t just want to get through this so he can watch how his three adult children and four grandchildren pursue their passions, although that would be reason enough for most of us. The fact is, he’s still working full-time on issues that have animated him all his life.

His relationship with the United Nations began in 1984 when a Conservative prime minister, Brian Mulroney, shocked the country by appointing this avowed, doctrinaire socialist to be this country’s ambassador to the UN.

“It’s an example of how you can form relationships with people that you may have visceral differences with, but also a shared understanding,” is how Lewis describes his surprise appointment today. The post gave Lewis a prime perch from which to fight one of the great evils of the previous century, namely South Africa’s apartheid system.

“Apartheid came to an end to some significant degree because of Canada’s role,” Lewis now says. “It was a joy to be engaged with a prime minister who was so active on the case. Brian Mulroney was really the heart and soul of that.”

Lewis also notes the role of Ontario’s former high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Roy McMurtry, whom he also knew from his days at Queen’s Park when McMurtry was attorney general.

“He was in London fighting with Margaret Thatcher,” he says. “That’s kind of a nightmare if you think about it. But he did it with dexterity and intelligence.”

Even after helping consign apartheid to the dustbin of history, Lewis’s lifelong commitment to that continent wasn’t over. In 2001, he became the UN’s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Then, two years later, with his daughter Ilana, he created the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which has raised and directed nearly $200 million to 150 community-based projects all over Africa to fight HIV/AIDS. He still co-chairs the organization’s board.

“HIV is still taking a million people a year,” he says. “There are still 1.5 million infections a year. There’s terrible carnage with these infectious diseases.” Having said that, Lewis allows that “fighting apartheid and HIV are the two moments in life I will forever value. We did humanitarianism with a human face. We saved real lives.”

As odd as it sounds, for a man with such an international pedigree, Lewis now looks back and says his 15 years as an MPP at Queen’s Park “had the single greatest influence on what I did.” As NDP leader from 1970 to 1978, he learned how to give a human face to an issue, to do the research required to make a case, and to do the press conferences necessary to put the spotlight on an issue.

“My political experience proved to be invaluable,” he says. “I learned more than in any other work, even if other work was more important in the grand pageant of life.”

In 1975, Lewis led the NDP to what at that time was its best-ever showing. He became the leader of the official Opposition in a minority parliament and thus had a significant influence over the provincial agenda. He also found in the premier of the day, Bill Davis, “an exceptional politician with whom I had profoundly different political views, but he was such a decent human being.”

Lewis burned to make progress on mental health, rent controls, and occupational health and safety, “and I know I was deeply appreciative about [Davis’s] flexibility and generosity on those issues. They were tough issues for him. The political circumstances of the day often forced him into it, but Davis ultimately accommodated it.”

Lewis recalls an incident where an irresponsible employer in northern Ontario was causing asbestosis in the local population. “One day before question period, he passed me a note saying, ‘I’m closing down the plant.’ This is classic Davis. He will do things that are unusual.”

In their post-political lives, Davis helped Lewis raise money for his foundation, and McMurtry served on the foundation’s board.

“Political behaviour was civilized back then,” Lewis recalls. “It did not raise malice to an art form.”

To be sure, Lewis himself could be a rhetorical nightmare back in the day. He could skewer with the best of them. Not anymore, he says.

“I’ve mellowed into non-descript mush,” he jokes. “I just don’t feel the animus anymore that people feel is required. I have a more subdued view of the world. There’s no point in being brutal with those with whom you disagree.”

I ask Lewis, if not him, who did he think was the best orator in Canadian political history? He mentions the first-ever federal NDP leader, Tommy Douglas, “who was a magnificent stump speaker and raconteur.” He says, “David Lewis was a particularly fine speaker. At his rhetorical heights, he was particularly fine.” (Interesting that twice in our conversation, he referred to “David Lewis” rather than “my father.” I should have asked him why he did that but neglected to.)

On the international stage, Lewis admired the speaking abilities of former president Bill Clinton and the former first lady of South Africa, Nelson Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel.

Did David Lewis ever tell Stephen Lewis what a great speaker he thought his son was? “Yes,” Lewis says, “but he would have said it to mollify me. I’m not sure how much he meant it!”

Does Lewis know why oratorical flourish seems to run in the family? “I guess it’s part of our molecular structure,” he says. “It’s the environment I was brought up in — a family inheritance. Speaking was assumed to be part of your genetic disposition.”

Given that both David and Stephen Lewis became NDP leaders, the speculation about whether Stephen’s son, Avi, will enter elective politics has persisted for decades. You get the sense the father is ready for that to happen.

“He may, in his fifties, emerge,” Lewis says of his author, activist, and documentary-filmmaker son. “But Ilana and Jenny [his daughters] are also very gifted. Just as David vacated his tenure, I’m now vacating mine — the door is open to all of them.”

Then Lewis confesses: “I’m hoping Avi is on the cusp and hoping I can stay around long enough to watch him take down Justin Trudeau’s engaging smile.”

Given his skills and pedigree, it would be reasonable for Lewis to look back on his life with a quite enhanced ego. But he stressed throughout our conversation that “you realize you can’t appropriate unto yourself life’s successes as if they were independent of others. I’ve always relied on others who were so crucial.”

Two things in particular still drive Lewis. First, he is preoccupied with diseases that have perhaps understandably, at the moment, taken a backseat to COVID-19 (tuberculosis, malaria, HIV, and Ebola). Once the current plague is under control, he’s desperate not to have the world suffer fatigue from fighting deadly viruses.

“To the extent that I have any influence, I want to be in that fray,” he says. “We can’t have societies so devastated to another series of plagues.”

He must still have some influence, because Lewis has been asked to testify before a parliamentary committee on the issue of how best to get life-saving pharmaceuticals to those suffering from these diseases.

And then second, there’s the desire to “fight the good fight on the emergence of authoritarianism and the willingness to subjugate and diminish civil society,” he says. “I’m enamoured of democracy. The world has been lurching into an abyss that’s terrifying. I want to be engaged on those issues.”

After a wide-ranging and free-flowing conversation, I ask Lewis a blunt and final question: Is he afraid of dying?

“No, I don’t worry about death,” he says carefully. “I just don’t like the dying part of it: the pain, the discomfort, the sadness that accompanies it.”

I don’t know whether Lewis will have occasion to return to the campaign trail and dazzle yet another audience with a bravura performance. But I hope so — partially for the audience, but mostly for him.

’Cuz nobody does it better.

-30-

Metropolitan Opera video performance streaming:
https://www.metopera.org/

Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, today until 6:30PM
Starring Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Vasile Moldoveanu, Sherrill Milnes, and Paul Plishka. Production by Tito Capobianco. From December 29, 1984.  Two and a half hours.

Philip Glass’s Satyagraha, tonight 7:30PM until Saturday about 6:30PM
Starring Rachelle Durkin, Richard Croft, Kim Josephson, and Alfred Walker, conducted by Dante Anzolini. Production by Phelim McDermott. From November 19, 2011.  About three hours.

"Following the success of his first foray into opera, Einstein on the Beach, revolutionary American composer and musician Philip Glass soon turned to another great figure of the 20th century for inspiration. Set to lines from the Hindu Bhagavad Gita, Satyagraha depicts scenes (arranged thematically rather than chronologically) from the life of Gandhi as he developed his philosophy of non-violent resistance in South Africa between 1896 and 1913. The opera became the second installment of Glass’s Portrait Trilogy, which also includes Einstein on the Beach and Akhnaten and focuses on innovators from across history...."