Congratulations to all the volunteers that participated in the second annual barn sale. Thanks to all those that donated their lightly used items and a big thanks to all the shoppers! It was a great success.
On September 13th, Fort Erie Town Council passed the zoning and bylaws which will allow the construction of a motor speedway in conjunction with other ancillary uses.
By-Law to amend zoning by-law 129-90 1746391 Ontario Inc. (Canadian Motorsports Speedway) southwest corner of Bowen Road and Sunset Drive, Town of Fort Erie.
Country Barn Sale
Members of the Concerned Citizens of Greater Fort Erie recently held a huge barn/yard sale in order to raise funds in prepartion for the upcoming Ontario Municipal Board hearings regarding the proposed development of a motor speedway in Fort Erie. As well as having a lot of fun, residents were able to obtain accurate updates regarding the speedway project, buy a few treasures and enjoy a hot dog. Thanks to the generous folks that donated items for the sale, and to those who stopped by to purchase a membership for the Concerned Citizens of Greater Fort Erie, sign our petition and present cash donations. Of course a huge thanks to the shoppers! ALL PROCEEDS will go toward the cost of legal council and expert witness fees that will be incurred as part of the OMB court appeal.
If you do not have your CCGFE membership yet, drop us an email. Memberships are $10., $15 for a family or call the CARS hotline at 905 994.7422.
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CCGFE recently participated in ECO FEST, Climate Action Niagara's 3rd Annual Trade Show of environmental products and services helping to benefit the planet with better practices, alternative products and products that can be purchased locally, held at the Glendale campus of Niagara College.
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| CCGFE member Roseanne Skinner and Kim Craitor, MPP. | ||
| CCGFE members were on hand to educate participants about the proposed motor speedway in Fort Erie that will compromise over 800 acres of agicultural land including a Provinicially Significant Wetland. Much support was gained including many new members from across the peninsula. |  |
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| Door prize winner of CCGFE's environmentally friendly gift basket, Jim Streadwiciz | ||
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is an all encompassing term to describe the variety of all life and natural processes on Earth.
The Convention on Biological Diversity defines biodiversity as “the variability among living organisms from all sources [...] this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems” (Article 2, CBD).
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Why is biodiversity so important?
Have you ever considered that the glass of clear, cold, clean water drawn from your faucet may have been purified for you by a wetland or perhaps the root system of an entire forest? Too often people take the availability of products and goods for granted. If we follow the chain of production for many products back to the source, more often than not we arrive back at biodiversity.
Continued loss of biodiversity will result in a rapid decline of the Earth’s natural wealth and a dramatic reduction of future ecosystem services. Agricultural production will dramatically decrease if bacteria and fungi, which make soil fertile and breakdown wastes disappear. The same will happen if insects, bats and birds – which ensure flower pollination – reduce in numbers. With 42% of anti-cancer drugs coming from natural sources, biodiversity loss will force us to face unprecedented challenges.
We are losing both the beauty and richness of our natural environment as well as destabilising the very ecological processes on which we depend. There can be no life on Earth without biodiversity.
To fight the continuous loss of biodiversity which is threatening the survival of the world as a whole, in 2002 world leaders committed to reduce this loss by 2010, following the pledge EU countries had already made in 2001. Find out more on the 2010 Biodiversity Target <http://www.countdown2010.net/biodiversity/the-2010-biodiversity-target> .
Facts and Figures
- The abundance of species has declined by 40% between 1970 and 2000. Species present in rivers, lakes and marshlands have declined by 50%.
- Declines are alarming in amphibians, mammals, birds in agricultural lands, corals and commonly harvested fish species.
- In the North Atlantic, fish have declined by 66% in the last 50 years.
- Since 2000, 6 million hectares of primary forest have been lost each year.
- In the Caribbean region, hard coral cover has declined from 50% to 10% in the last three decades.
- 35% of mangroves have been lost in just 20 years.
- The value of global ecosystem services is estimated at $16-$64 trillion.
- 99% of threatened species are at risk from human activities.
- Habitat loss and degradation are the leading threats. They affect 86% of all threatened birds, 86% of the threatened mammals assessed and 88% of the threatened amphibians.
- Introductions of alien species. Some of the worst include cats and rats, green crabs, zebra mussels, the African tulip tree and the brown tree snake. Introductions of alien species can happen deliberately or unintentionally, for example, by organisms “hitch-hiking” in containers, ships, cars or soil.
- Over-exploitation. Resource extraction, hunting, and fishing for food, pets, and medicine threatens many species.
- Pollution and diseases.
- Human-induced climate change is increasingly recognized as a crucial threat. Climate change is altering migratory species patterns, causing coral bleaching, etc.
Niagara Social Justice Forum 2010
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Sandy Vant of CCGFE addresses a workshop at the Niagara Social Justice Forum at Brock University on March 20th (L); along with Tim Seburn with The Bert Miller Nature Club (R).
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Niagara’s Threatened Beautiful Landscapes
Niagara has a beautiful mosaic of a natural and human influenced landscape, which has evolved over the past 10,000 years since the retreat of the last glaciers. This spectacular mosaic, of forests, farms and buildings which go back to the 18th century, is threatened by reckless urban sprawl and insensitive development.