Good to Know

GANDER AND 7, 000 STRANDED PASSENGERS    20  years ago the World Trade Center was attacked; the Pentagon went up in flames, 3,000 died    on that harrowing day. All the planes in the sky carrying over 7, 000 passengers were ordered not to land in the US, just in case missiles had been ordered to attack all planes – the airspace shut down.   The Us now    faced with an impossible dilemma! Luckily,    the US’s steadfast ally readily opened up an international airport at Gander on the island of Newfoundland, known locally as “the rock”.     People from Newfoundland are known for their generous hearts, their selflessness, and their willingness always to lend a helping hand. They knew the passengers    would be    frightened and    frantic with worry as they had no idea where they had landed nor why. The residents of Gander –a town of 10, 000 and surrounding small villages now faced a logistics night ma...

    THE  NEED TO COOL OUR CITIES   By 2050, 68 % of people are expected to live in urban centers. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin (2019) found that American cities need 40% urban canopy to significantly reduce urban heat.  Unfortunately, very few cities, especially in poorer countries have green spaces with towering trees.  As well as helping to reduce urban temperatures, trees provide a myriad astounding benefits to all of us here on Earth. o trees are the cheapest, safest, and most effective tools for mitigating the devastating impacts of climate chaos  such as famine producing droughts and deadly floods  o the roots of trees prevent good soil from being blown away and turning large tracts of land into sandy deserts o the shade of trees keep spawning grounds for fish and other aquatic life cool so  the eggs do not dry out from the intense heat of the sun o   trees help reduce  flooding and ero...

     AMAZON - DID YOU KNOW? Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon is the richest man in the world and in July 2021 it was reported that he became the first trillionaire in the world! If you want to visualize how much money that is- think about how long it would take to dig a million holes  2000 times and fill each one with a million dollars!  Not only did he not pay any taxes, whatsoever, last year, (2019) but through a series of tax loop holes with complete disregard for the survival of the American economy , this self- serving CEO readily collected  129 million dollars back from the US government. His employees make a measly $ 28, 465 per year!    He has been described as a “cold blooded corporate titan”.   Every time you buy from Amazon you are contributing to the demise of the local businesses in your town. For every  single job  Amazon creates, 2  jobs , often much better, are lost in your local community. Bez...

W HALES AND GHG EMISSIONS Most people on Earth are completely ignorant of the fact that whales actually help reduce global overheating! How is this possible? 50% of the world’s carbon is actually stored in coastal ecosystems.   The oceans actually suck up 25% of the carbon we produce    and 25 % is absorbed by land plants and trees. When most marine animals pop the excrement sinks to the bottom of the oceans. But, that is not the case with whales.   Whales’ poop does not sink to the bottom. It’s like a slurry floating at the surface and when it was analyzed it was found to contain high levels of iron and nitrogen. This nitrogen helps feed phytoplankton which bloom profusely as it   floats on the   ocean’s surface. When phytoplankton photosynthesizes they remove carbon dioxide   from the atmosphere which is   a huge contributor to global overheating. The whale poop-phytoplankton- carbon-reduction relationship  is perfect c...

 R ESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH In 1894 attending residential schools for all Indigenous children was made compulsory. This school operated for over 100 years until 1996.    The purpose of the schools was to remove the Indigenous children from the influence of their own special culture and assimilate them into the dominant Canadian culture. The majority of residential schools were operated by the Catholic Church. One would have expected to carry out the Government’s mandate that the teaching of Christ would have guided all actions in teaching Indigenous children, such as, readily demonstrating love, kindness, understanding, consideration, fairness, and justice.  “Let the little children come to me and not hinder them, the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” And Jesus took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them, and blessed them. As well, would one not more readily embrace a different culture, if the representatives of the dominant cult...

     GIVE A GIFT OF READING    For a special present give your child a gift of very meaningful and fascinating reading!  Each of my signed books can be purchased for a reduced price of $10 plus $ 3.00 for shipping and handling.     Each book will be signed by the author.     If you want a special notation on the inside cover let me know.    Each book comes with a book mark hand crafted by the author.      In the book “Four Great Stories and So Much More” youngsters are introduced to a monster.    When you buy this book you have the opportunity to enter a “Monster Drawing Contest” where I will choose three winners with the following prices of $50, $30 and $20.     Since my passion is to plant as many trees as possible to help reduce global overheating and mitigate the catastrophic impacts of our climate crisis, 10% of all sales will be donated for ...

THE IMPORTANCE OF POLLINATORS For the last 6 months I have been working on a children’s picture book entitled “The Magic of Pollinators.” After much research from sources all around the world, I became extremely concerned about the alarming decline of our pollinators right here in Simcoe and all around the world.  Our future existence here on Earth depends on pollinators. Mammals, birds, insects, and wind that transfer the pollen grain from flower to flower are called pollinating agents. Most pollinators are tiny. But their importance is mighty!   As a matter of fact, over 450,000 species of plants depend entirely on pollinators. A great variety of pollinators actually help pollinate over 100 food crops, including fruits, veggies, and nuts. As a   matter of fact pollinators are responsible for every third mouthful of food that we eat!  And if you eat a lot of meat, you still need pollinators as alfalfa, which is recognized as one of the most n...