Photo gallery - MALE HOUSE FINCH - THE ORANGE VARIETY - Debbie

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Photo gallery - June 26 sunset after the thunder storm. - Debbie

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RDNO Information Bulletin.

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Readers write - Searching for volunteer botanists.

To Friends of Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park:

BC Parks is looking for a few keen volunteer botanists!!

Next Friday July 6, a Conservation Specialist and a Range Officer will visit Kalamalka Park to train Rangers on methods for setting up and conducting Long Term Ecological Monitoring (LTEM) in the grasslands of Kal.  LTEM plots track change over time in plant communities, and help identify species at risk. 

  

This could be a wonderful opportunity for the right Volunteer(s) – we are looking for Volunteers who fit the following criteria:

-  enthused and informed botanists

- willing to do technical and thorough work (identifying different plants and grasses in the plots is tricky!). 

-  able to attend the training July 6

Interested people should contact me before Thursday July 5.

Wendy Pope, North Okanagan Park Ranger 

Office:  (250) 260-3041

Cell:  (250) 549-5488

Email:  Wendy.L.Pope@gov.bc.ca

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Guilty Pleas And Fines In Tainted Water Case.

  Written by Peter McIntyre  107.5 KISSFM Wednesday, 27 June 2012 16:36

 

The District of Coldstream and a dairy farmer have both received fines after pleading guilty in a water contamination incident more than two years ago.  Manure spread onto a field in Lavington got into the Antwerp Springs source in January 2010 which was caused by a unusual weather event of warm weather combined with heavy rain. The fallout led to a week-long Do Not Drink the Water order for 1,800 residents. There were no proven cases of illness tied to the incident, although one girl got sick, was treated and recovered. Under a joint sentencing deal, Rod Palfrey and his company Pan-o-Ramic Farms pled guilty to introducing waste that caused pollution under the Environmental Management Act. Palfrey was fined two-thousand dollars, and will also contribute 14-thousand dollars to the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund. The District of Coldstream --which operated the water system--pled guilty to failure to provide potable water under the Water Protection Act and was fined 16-thousand dollars. A 30 per cent victim surcharge was also added to the fine, making the total $18,400. In a statement released by Coldstream, Mayor Jim Garlick stated despite the guilty plea and fine, "the District believes that it had acted with due diligence in operating the well and that extraordinary external circumstances interfered with the District's ability to provide potable water. He goes on to say, "It is important that the public know that Coldstream Council strongly believe that we would have been completely successful in defending ourselves on all four of the charges against the District. However, proving our case in a lengthy and complex trial could have cost substantially more. Coldstream Council therefore did not believe that defending this charge in court would be a prudent use of taxpayers' dollars." The Regional District of North Okanagan--which owned and managed the system--is fighting the similiar charges it faces, with a trial set for next January. 

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Readers write - No spray demonstration.

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Some things beyond our control?

http://artificialclouds.com/

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Coldstream Council Meeting - June 25, 2012

Agenda package.

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Genetic engineers publish damning evidence-based report about GMO food

A damning new evidence-based report about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has just been published – and it reveals that most of the claims made by the pro-GM camp are nothing more than hot air. Genetic engineers on genetic modification of food This comprehensive and fascinating report, published by non-governmental organisation Earth Open Source, is entitled GMO Myths and Truths: An evidence-based examination of the claims made for the safety and efficacy of genetically modified crops.  What makes it so powerful is that two of the authors are genetic engineers – Michael Antoniou PhD, of King’s College London School of Medicine in the UK, and John Fagan PhD, a leading sustainability expert in food system, biosafety, and GMO testing, and founder/chief scientific officer of the Global Id Group.    Dispelling the GM myths The report effectively dismisses the “far reaching claims” used as the basis for extensive promotion of GMO crops by the biotech industry, governments and government agencies and proponents of GMO technology.  It reveals that the exact opposite of the pro-GM claims is true pretty much universally.  Most notably, the reports shows that GMOs are associated with hazards to health and the environment – none of which comes as a surprise to those of us who have been following GMO developments closely. Rather than representing the solution to world hunger, GMOs, according to these authors, not only fail to deal with the problem, but they also distract from its real causes: “Poverty, lack of access to food and, increasingly, lack of access to land to grow it on”. Traditional plant breeding outperforms GM The report provides evidence that conventional plant breeding outperforms GM crops in terms of yield, drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance – all of which confirms the findings of a 30-year study comparing organic with conventional farming methods, including GMOs.  GMO-free farming is absolutely able to meet our present and future food needs, without all the risks and damage being wreaked by GMO technology! The new report also echoes the findings of 400 scientists from 60 countries who concluded, back in 2008, that GMOs were no solution to food shortages in the developing world.  This research was detailed in the UN’s International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) report. The 2008 report concluded that GM raises numerous contentious issues for developing countries, such as gene transfer, contamination of organic crops, undermining of local practices, reduced food security and unpredictable or reduced yields. The biotech industry and government agencies must now be answerable Opposition to GMO technology can no longer be dismissed as emotional anti-science or pseudoscience.  With every uncomfortable truth and dirty trick now exposed by solid science from genetic engineers themselves, GMO food and agriculture now looks less like an impressive, modern technology, and more like a dangerous and foolhardy con trick designed to secure ownership of the world’s food supply for highly unscrupulous and unethical corporations. *************************************************************************** The most insidious consequence of the GMO food and agriculture is the fact that corporations holding proprietary rights will control prices of seed and production further increasing food prices.

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Please SUPport SPrKL’s SUPporters!

Please SUPport SPrKL’s SUPporters!

See attached poster and join us for movie night 7 pm  tonight – Thursday - at the  Town Cinema!

Tickets $10 at Kalavida Surf Shop or the Bean Scene

Louise

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Phot gallery - SPrKL hard at work! - Debbie.

The above photos were taken of the SPrKL wetland clean-up, next to the RDNO office last Friday.

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RDNO Board Meeting - June 20, 2012

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Water issues to be discussed at Coldstream COW meeting.

The following reports will be discussed at the next COW meeting on Monday, June 18 at the Coldstream Municipal Hall. The meeting is open to the public. Note: right click image and select "view image" then left click again to get best quality image!

Cost of water treatment at the two treatment plants.

 

Analysis and results of the analysis of the above report.

 

Available water licenses in Coldstream and BX Creeks.

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Photo Gallery - Happy Father's Day - Debbie

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