Health

Healthier Options of Plastics in Food Packaging

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Plastics are widely used to store and package foods and beverages. Plastic is convenient, lightweight, unbreakable and relatively inexpensive. However, there are both environmental and health risks from the widespread use of plastics. 

Environmental problems: Most plastics are made from petroleum, a non-renewable and mostly

Share the World's Resources

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Excerpted with permission from Share the World’s Resources

As the 21st Century unfolds, humanity is faced with a stark reality. Following the world stock market crash in 2008, people everywhere are questioning the unbridled greed, selfishness and competition that has driven the dominant economic model for decades. But the economic meltdown is just one of a long series of interrelated crises that have combined to leave billions of people in the Global South without access to the basic necessities of life.

As the devastating costs of climate change and financial turmoil continue to unfold, it is no longer possible to ignore the urgent need for transforming our social, po­litical and economic structures along more just and sustain­able lines.

Are Bt Toxins Safe to Eat?

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by Anne Sherrod

The pesticides Bt and Roundup loom large amongst the many concerns regarding genetically modified (GM) foods. The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) was once hailed as a completely natural, safe insecticide, because it produces toxic substances that target certain insects, but do not affect animals or humans. But are the toxins safe for humans to eat? That is the question that arose when agrochemical companies set about modifying and transferring genes from the bacterium into food plants, which then make their own version of the insecticide.

Disappearance of Bees and the Pesticide Link

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by Anne Sherrod

Canada has been suffering unusually high losses of bees each winter since 2006. That's the year when a new and unexplained set of symptoms called colony collapse disorder (CCD) began to be recognized, in which all the worker bees in a colony simply disappeared.

Very high commercial honeybee losses have continued since then, with 30.9% of hives lost in Canada in 2010/11. This doesn't include the serious decline of

Sunscreen - Hazard or Protector?

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by Susan MacVittie

Studies are showing that some of the ingredients in sun screens may have adverse affects on our health and the environment. As summer heats up it's time to learn about the pros and cons of lathering on suntan lotion.

Ultra-Violet Rays

Fukushima Updates

The Watershed Sentinel is proud to share Nelle Maxey’s Fukushima Updates prepared for the BC environmental community.

Every day, Nelle pours over the media and other reports of the status of the reactors at Fukushima, comparing figures and trying to make sense out of the conflicting reports.

You can read the daily updates here.

Do You Need Germ-Killing Soaps?

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by Philip Dickey

Turn on the TV or read any home-oriented magazine and you'll see them. Ads for all kinds of household products containing germ-killing ingredients are everywhere. Hand soap, dishwashing liquid, underwear, kitchen sponges, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mattresses, cutting boards, window cleaner, socks, cycling shorts, chop sticks, and facial tissues are all being marketed for their ability to kill germs.

It's been estimated that more than 700 antimicrobial-infused products are now available, including 76% of

Pesticides Place Children and Pets at Risk

Children are not simply small versions of adults-they can be affected more easily, and more seriously, by pesticides and other contaminants.

In recent years there has been increasing concern about the health effects of exposure to pesticides, especially in children. This is partly due to the mounting toxicological evidence that children's exposures can be more hazardous than adult exposures, and because of the number of health effects in children that can be attributed to pesticide exposure.

No Labels For Genetically Modified Foods On Market

Suddenly, and without much warning, biotech companies are rushing to get gene-altered products onto the shelves of local stores.

Review by Colin Graham, of
The Ecological Risks of Engineered Crops, Jane Risseler and Margaret Mellon; The MIT Press, 1996, 128 pp.

Consumers can help puncture the inflated claims of giant agrochemical companies. The science of gene splicing has appeared rather suddenly as an arcane, sometimes hopeful, but more often threatening technology. Polls show that 80% of British Columbians would, if given the choice, avoid transgenic food.

Rural Traditions - Seed for the Future

The community marketplace not only provides health benefits, it also contributes to the quality of life in rural settings.

Community marketplaces and related endeavours, such as farmers' markets, seed exchanges, and simple networking, are among the best features of rural life. Indeed, such amenities also produce benefits for city dwellers, as produce is frequently brought into urban settings to be sold country style. Vancouver's Granville Island is one of the most successful of such city marketplaces.

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"This is it. It's done!" was the message in Alaska in 2008, 19 years after the Exxon Valdes oil spill.  Dave Janka, who runs Auklet Charters in Prince William Sound, ran his boat over to Smith Island to snap this photo.  Dave says, "It's far from done!"

W.L.M. (Bill) Wilson writes: 'Attached is my rewrite of Anne Feeney’s “Have You Been To Jail for Justice”. Anne granted permission to do non-profit performances of this Enbridge version.' Video by Ester Strijbos.