Monthly Archives: March 2020

15 Questions on Emergency Food and Farming Planning for British Columbia

COVID-19, , , ,

by Guy Dauncey, March 27th 2020 Updated March 30th.

Our food chain in BC is hugely dependent on imports, making it extremely vulnerable. On Vancouver Island, 95% of our food arrives on the ferry. 

BC has tens of thousands of acres of farmland that are lying fallow, or growing hay for horses that serve no agricultural purpose. In the Cowichan Valley Regional District there are 17,700 hectares of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve, of which in 2010 only 10,840 hectares were in agricultural production, and only 2,120 hectares were set up for irrigation.

The COVID-19 pandemic is growing in its reach every day. Now is the time to be planning for worst-case scenarios, including:

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50 Ways to Stay SANE During the Coronavirus Pandemic

COVID-19, Democracy, Economy, Education

Strong, Active, Neighbourly and Energetic (SANE)

By Guy Dauncey

How can we stay strong during this crisis? With love, careful planning, and care for others – and total lockdown.

The end of the tunnel may be a long way off, but if we treat it with the utmost seriousness, keep our social distance, wash our hands regularly, and look out for each other, we can stop the spread of the virus and reach the light at the end. When we emerge, huge numbers of people will hopefully want a more caring, cooperative approach to life, and a new kind of economy, based less on greed, selfishness and the destruction of Nature, and more on the economics of kindness. 

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100% Climate and Nature Friendly by 2025

Books, business, Climate, energy, Nature, ,

by Guy Dauncey

The pandemic has seized our attention, and so it should – but the climate and ecological emergencies haven’t paused out of sympathy, thinking “Let’s give the humans a break.” That’s not the way Nature works.

We can’t afford to relax our climate and environmental concerns just because we’ve got other concerns. We have to do both. And being stuck at home gives us an opportunity to do some serious planning. Serious, as in “Let’s make our family 100% climate and ecologically friendly within five years.”

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