Remember that scene from Honey I Shrunk the Kids where the shrunken kids end up in the yard, completely engrossed in towering blades of grass and weeds? Well, such a reality -- minus the shrinking -- could be on us at any moment. According to officials in eastern Ontario's Renfrew County, a giant and dangerous weed is now present in Ontario.
Known as Giant Hogweed, it can stand as tall as six metres and its sap can cause blindness and skin damage similar that of a fire or chemical burn. Apparently it has also been spotted in southern Ontario. You can read a lot more about it here. Interestingly, it is already present in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. Of course, when it finally hits Ontario -- ever closer to the Centre of the Universe -- it becomes big news.
The spread of big dangerous plants reminds me of the film The Happening, which I just watched a few days ago. SPOILER ALERT. In the movie, people start killing themselves -- in ever so creative ways -- when an airborne toxin gets into their system. What's causing the toxin? Pissed off plants, of course. We better keep Mark Wahlberg and M. Night Shyamalan on speed dial, just in case this Hogweed starts going after us. They'll know what to do.
On a movie-related note, I recently watched Daybreakers, where vampires have taken over the world in 2019 and are running low on human blood. You'd think eventually someone, somewhere, even vampires, would learn from the collapse of the cod fishery in Atlantic Canada.
Well, those people that might be translating such learnings into the protection of natural lands are now being branded as fascists. Bill Bennett, the Liberal Minister of Mining in British Columbia, lampooned proponents of the Keystone Valley receiving National Park status as eco-fascists. Bennett already has a history of lashing out, so Mr. Campbell, I suggest you get rid of this guy before he further derails your already wimpering 'green' provincial mantra. And Mr. Bennett, if you're going to compare environmentalists to the likes of Mussolini and Hitler, I suggest you at least spell the term fascist correctly.
And finally, I am impressed but feel oddly unsettled with the news of a solar powered airplane completing a 26 hour test flight. I'm all for renewable energy and air travel is a major source of carbon emissions, but knowing that solar energy is the only source fueling the plane would not inspire great confidence. I know, I know, give it time so it can prove itself and soon the world will be a better place, but at least I know that top-notch airplane fuel is fairly trustworthy. Then again, just over one hundred years ago, they thought the Wright Brothers were crazy. Maybe it just takes time to normalize to the situation.
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