Old 99 farm, week of Oct 7 2018

We have tomatoes, kale, carrots, parsley, garlic, cabbage, potatoes, onions, collards, arugula and celariac this week. We have new beef in the freezer: burger and stew and a few roasts. Also chicken and eggs.

It was an important week for climate news: a new report from the IPCC on the difference between 1.5 and 2d C of warming. You can read about it here and here.

Healthy eating
Ian and Cami

2018 Climate Report from ECO issued Sept 25

I hope you could spare a minute to read my post about this on the Ontario Environmental Commissioner (Dianne Saxe) website.

I am writing in support of urgent action from government for the climate emergency. Cancelling the Cap-and-Trade bill is foolish short-term opportunism by the government in power. Stewart says they are only doing what they said they would do, but that is very selective. Finding the government accounts are in worse shape than reported is also grounds for revising even retracting campaign promises.
While it is true that 44 of 45 cap-and-trade plans world wide have not worked, it is because of political pressures to issue too many allowances at start up, downgrading the rules of engagement and manipulating the credit auctions to keep the price low.
But a rigorous plan is better than no plan at all. See analysis here.
There is no easy fix to the climate emergency. Even the 2018 Greenhouse Gas Progress Report, Climate Action in Ontario: What’s Next? lowballs the cost and impact of CO2e pollution. More on that later.
This could be the end of the ECO office, given current government priorities and ideology. I think it is therefore incumbent on Dianne Saxe to point out all the consequences of her politically nuanced report. Just a few examples:
- new nuclear plants but no cost for waste and decommissioning included,
- saying electricity generation has been decarbonized already (off coal but still on nat gas),
- major increase in bioenergy from wood considered decarbonized (it’s not, mainly due to timelag for replacement forest storage),
- industry emissions reduced by still-uninvented Carbon Capture Use and Storage technologies,
- makes least current cost the criteria for proposals (which discounts the future – they use 4%/pa) so lowballs cost by delaying outlays, and
- no recognition of drawdown potential for immediate net reductions from agriculture.

Ontario targets (per Paris) of 30% below 2005 and 70-90% by 2050 (COP22) are inadequate to stabilize below 2dC warming in any humanly relevant timeframe. For reference: Actual Ontario emissions 1990: 179Mt, 2005 205 Mt, 2016 161 Mt, targets 2030 143Mt, 2050 36Mt, all per year. (Ontario’s own target for 2030 in the 2016 Act was actually 113Mt/yr, about 20% steeper than Paris.)

You can comment too and it is important that many of us do. The Ontario govt has introduced Bill 4 to cancel Cap and Trade legislation, at great expense to the public Treasury and the Climate. We have till Oct 11 to comment.
The full report is here.
Webinar (1 hr) with Dianne Saxe Oct 1 signup is here.

Thanks for listening.

OLd 99 Farm, week of Sept 23 2018

We’re having a mild September, likely to continue well into October. Usual first hard frost over last 20 years is Oct 29th or later. We haven’t harvested the sweet potatoes yet, nor the celeriac. But tomatoes are being picked green to put in the cold cellar so the blight doesn’t get a start. Still have lots of tomatoes in the greenhouse as well as kale, arugula and spinach.

We have fresh beef starting this week: stew, ground, organs, eye of round roast and tenderloin.

I found a very useful site for people concerned with privacy and webbrowsing. I got stung a couple months back with a ‘ransomware’ attack, that I thought was genuine Microsoft tech service call. Had to reinstall OS and cost me $200. Wish I had this site then; it’s Privacy Badger.

Old 99 Farm, week of Sept 10 2018

Tomatoes, cabbage, onions, potatoes, chard, beans, peppers are all looking good. I’m amazed how well the tomatoes have lasted this year, and now I have lots of the yellow cherry size that are so popular.

I’ll have new ‘crop’ of activated compost in a month, amended with micronutrient mineral and biochar. Good to put on your garden and turn in, plant a covercrop on top is even better. Never leave your garden bare!

Around the farm I am discovering healthy saplings from my nut trees: Heartnut, English Walnut, Butternut. Often I can tell what they are from the nut shell still at the root. These are excellent shade trees, and the nuts are edible of course. I’ll dig and pot/wrap for you.

What’s up in the climate news? Try reading the blog, Faster Than Expected, for concise clips and nice pictures.

Old 99 Farm first week of Sept

I’m just putting this out on Friday afternoon to let you know we are here on Sunday for any orders. We have lots of tomatoes, cukes, baby chard, peppers, basil, potatoes, onions, garlic, even some zuchini!

Saturday we are at the Rise UP for Climate event at City Hall 1pm, and Locke Street Festival before and after that. Maybe you can join us!

I just got news that this is a global BIG deal: Hundreds of thousands expected to join global climate marches this weekend.

Protests against politicians’ failure to tackle the environmental crisis will take place in more than 90 countries.

See article in the Guardian

Hundreds of thousand of people in more than 90 countries are expected to take part in demonstrations this weekend to protest about the failure of politicians to tackle the global environmental crisis.

Organisers say more than 800 events – from marches to street theatre, acts of civil disobedience to mini festivals – will take place in towns and cities amid growing frustration at the lack of meaningful political action over the emerging climate breakdown.

WALK WITH US

MEET AT LOCKE ST. LIBRARY

HERKIMER AND LOCKE

11 am SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH (also 2 pm and 4 pm)

AND /OR

JOIN THE RISE UP CAMPAIGN

https://riseforclimate.org/

1 PM Saturday SEPTEMBER 8TH

CITY HALL HAMILTON

Nick Bryer from campaign group 350.org which is organising the event said: “Politicians are failing. They are still protecting the interests of the fossil fuel companies over the interests of people, despite mounting evidence of the devastation these companies and this system is causing the planet.”

He said the day of global demonstrations was about people around the world “rising up and demanding a different cause of action, a different future which puts people and a sustainable future before the interests of these huge corporations”.

One of the biggest protests is expected in Paris where up to 100,000 people are expected. Events in other European cities including Copenhagen, Brussels and Lisbon are also expected to attract tens of thousands of protesters.

The events come ahead of the Global Climate Action Summit that starts in San Fransisco next week and will see politicians and city leaders from around the world gather to discuss the climate crisis.

—
The real choice we all face is not what to buy, whether to fly or whether to have children but whether we are willing to commit to living ethically in a broken world, a world in which human beings are dependent for collective survival on a kind of ecological grace.

Old 99 Farm, week of Aug 25 2018

The Rise up for Climate public rally is at 1pm Sat Sept 8 at City Hall, not 7pm. Sorry bout that, please make a choice to stand up for emergency action to preserve a habitable climate in our lifetimes. Register your intent here

Here at the farm, we have tomatoes, Amish Paste, will texture of beefsteak type. Still ripening on the vines.

Cukes are doing well, as are beans, basil, arugula, potatoes, peppers, kale, spinach and beets.

My fav climate site this week is a 10 min doc on youtube, blending clips of leading spokespersons on the nature of the emergency. See coming disruption of the carbon bubble

I have collected my best of the best in this public folder on googledrive

Hamiton Rise up for Climate Sept 8

Hey it’s about time, the message of urgency is getting out there: leaders, governments, NGOs are facing the reality of climate emergency.

Hamilton Rising Up For Climate

Hamilton is one of hundreds of localities worldwide to take to the streets. Come out to City Hall 7pm Sat Sept 8th to make your stand in solidarity with the future.

I’m attending Hamilton Rises for Climate Action at 7pm at City Hall, Hamilton downtown.

On September 8, thousands of rallies will be held in cities and towns around the world to demand our local leaders commit to building a fossil free world that works for all of us.

Join us as we hold leaders on all levels of government accountable and demand that they walk the talk on climate action.

Can you join me? Click here for details and to RSVP

Thanks! Please pass this on to friends and relations.

Old 99 Farm, week of Aug 19 2018

Lots of tomatoes, cherry reds and yellows, Amish paste/beefsteak for eating and making sauce.

Cukes are beautiful, right sized for pickles or larger for juicing and stuffing. Cami has been finding all sorts of cuke recipes. Cold cuke soup from Joy of Cooking was one of hte best.

Beans (purple, yellow, green), yellow sweet peppers, hot peppers, NZ Spinach, kale, parsley, basil, beets, cabbage (red, green and savoy), potatoes, rounds out the list this week.

Eggs: lots

Roasting chickens Lots.

Time to order your beef quarter for the fall. $100 deposit.

My web site discovery this week for climate news is Climate and Economy News. Two or three headlines for weekdays.

Healthy eating,
Ian and Cami

Old 99 farm, week of Aug 11 2018

Lots of cukes, just right for pickling, peaches, beans, kale, spinach, tomatoes, herbs, eggs, beef and chicken.

Come on by.

Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm, week of Aug 3 2018

This week: cucumbers, tomatoes, arugula, chives, basil, beans, beets, chard, potatoes, peppers, onions, parsley, red and green cabbage, NZ spinach, aronia berries and peaches (Red Haven).

Climate site: Public address by Dahr Jamail, March 2018, climate journalist for Truthout.org. Update on the State of the Planet: How Then Shall We Live?

Healthy eating,
Ian and Cami