Canola and rapeseed I asked my seatmate in the bus to Edmonton last week if theyellow field that was abundant by the highway was planted with "rapeseed". I was told it was "Canola" for the richvegetable oil with a healthy dose of Omega-3 widely used for cooking.
From the fields in Manchuria towards Nei Menggu, I saw thesame type of fields covered with "rapeseed" but I kept my mouth shutwhile I googled (yes, the bus had WiFi) the subject. Sure enough, the oil comes from the seed,Canola being a brand name that either refers to "Canada oil" or"Canada oil low acid". Like it made much difference! Still, our thought for now is about the oiland the seed.
I am using this innocuous incident and subject to get mepast the month of July. The first of Augustis a significant turning point in my journey, and since evidently, the Canadaportion held more tails of recall and tales of encounter simply by brain wave proximitythan anything else, I thought I would close the month with its mention. It also gives me one more stroke at therecently completed journey and farewell to North America. But first, the oil. There is the edible oil for cooking, Canola or the rapeseed. It is abundant in Alberta's agriculturalprairie. The other is the subterraneanoil, evident as pumps seen from the highway brought out the fluid fossil fuelin fields around Red Deer. The Athabasca tarsands (diplomatically referred to as oilsands) are now subject of international debate; a pipeline to transport theliquefied gas to Nebraska is the subject of intense protest amongenvironmentalists in Canada and the U.S. But as one retired Pinay Med GP in Edmonton opined, the oil sands are indemand, and if one was going to mine and process it, "it might as well beconscientious Canada." Some might consider the lady delusionary, but there is noquestion about the strength of her convictions. Nor do 80% of the folks I talked to at the local parish in Calgary whereI attended Mass who are employed by one sector or the other of the energy industryhave any doubts about the reputation, integrity, and reliability of theiremploy. Planting of seeds in Alberta is more focused on the businessof Agrium (the chemical inputs like fertilizers, insecticides and pesticidesinto the commercial growing of field plants) though the growth of rapeseedproliferates. Also, of hay, which goesto feed cattle and horses, and the other exotic animals in ranches (e.g., elkand bison) and farms recently on display at the Calgary Stampede grounds. The bales of hay lie under the summer sun inthe fields, and Alberta this season is adequately watered and gets enough sunto make this year's growth a bumper crop. Ag in Alberta this year, compared to drenched Saskatchewan and Manitoba,will be a good year. But like the drenching of Manitoba, we are undergoing amajor shift in the global climate that began more than a decade ago. Weather patterns are shifting so much thatthere was one day not too long ago when it was warmer in Alaska than it was inAlabama. "Weird and unusual"has suddenly become "casual and normal" as the flooding and thedrought strike different parts of the world that had not been the focus of suchweather extremes before. But even thefamiliar ones, like typhoon in the Philippines, Rasossun came with Mama Gaia's vengeance this week. Back to Alberta's oil. Though I am sympathetic to our GP friend's sentiment that conscientiousCanada can responsibly handle oil harvests, there is a larger picture on oildrilling, production and distribution that has been the province of corporatemanagement not previously known for environmental friendliness nor distributivejustice. All of this is nothing but mental masturbation without theurgency of challenge on our individual lives. We used the Canola and the rapeseed obviously as a metaphor to ourdependency as a society on fossil fuel for power, and the need to seed ourfuture with alternative sources of energy. Hydrogen is an example, now in use and commercially viableas supply and demand increases. InCanada, I learned of the auto industry's efforts to stamp down electric carssince it would really revolutionize production methods that might threaten anexisting industry. The production of photovoltaic cells has been a source oftension between China and U.S., with the U.S. charging China at WTO of tradepractices inimical to U.S. interests. The WTO just handed a ruling exonerating China of alleged illegalprotection of the nascent industry. Oil isnot abundant in China, so harnessing a free resource like the sun comesnaturally. Hydropower and biomass arealso in the running, along with wind and ocean wave turbines. The point is that the technologies that do not endanger thelife of a planet whose holding capacity now exceeds by more than half itsinnate regenerative power are present and affordable. Albertans need to go beyond the comfort of familiarfossil fuel extraction, of crude oil, natural gas, and oil sands, to be theCanada of ethics and conscience it claims itself to be. j'aime la vie pinoypanda2031@aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!