The inconvenient “good old” days contained some very “good old” ecological ways.
I grew up seventy-two years ago in a small seaside town in England. To anyone under thirty-five, seventy-two is ancient; the rest of us marvel at how fast time passes. With no refrigeration, you shopped once a week or you ate something out of a can for dinner. Before plastic, people all over the world used some sort of cloth shopping bag. It might be a fancy store-bought item or something simple, sewn from a piece of left over cotton. The burlap that potato’s used to come in made useful shopping bags. Thankfully the cloth bag has re-appeared, but the supermarkets still have thick rolls of smaller plastic bags for vegetables and bulk items and the ‘I will not disintegrate for about twenty thousand years’ plastic bags are still very much in place.
DID YOU KNOW?
# Food safety experts have identified the five most common food-borne pathogens. The “Big 5,” easily transmitted through food and the cause of severe illness are: Enterohemorrhagic E.coli or Shiga-toxin producing E. coli, Hepatitis A virus, Norovirus, and Salmonella Shigella. Salmonella is one of the most common pathogens and it has many different strains. Salmonella Shigella is only one strain. Since 1971 there have been at least 20 outbreaks of food-related poisoning.
Asian clams collected at Frenchman’s Bar, Vancouver
Asian clams collected at Frenchman’s Bar, Vancouver
Recent water quality monitoring efforts in the Columbia River have relied upon the analysis of clam tissue to determine the levels of dangerous toxins that have been absorbed by aquatic organisms. In Vancouver, high levels of PCBs, a cancer-causing agent, have been identified in clam tissues taken from samples in front of Alcoa at the Port of Vancouver, and downstream toward the mouth of the flushing channel to Vancouver Lake.
This editorial was published by the Columbian newspaper:
Sunday, December 14, 2008
By Dvija Bertish, Rosemere Neighborhood Association and Lauren Goldberg, Toxics and Conservation Director, Columbia Riverkeeper
The recent story regarding the City of Vancouver’s move to increase protections for our local creeks and rivers from the stormwater that carries thousands of pounds of heavy metals, pesticides, and oil from city streets should be welcome news to everyone who values clean water, salmon or the chance for your family to enjoy a swim in a local river or lake.
bass
Largemouth Bass
Anglers frequent fishing spots along the Columbia River and Vancouver Lake, and have done so for many years. However, Toxic Monitoring Data from the Washington State Department of Ecology indicates that fish in Vancouver Lake are not safe to eat. This is particularly dangerous for low-income folks who fish in this area out of necessity.
ELEVATED LEVELS OF PCBs IN RESIDENT FISH FROM PORTLAND HARBOR
Press Release from Oregon Health Services
June 16, 2004
Contact: Bonnie Widerburg (503) 731-4180
Technical contact: Dave Stone or Ken Kauffman, DHS (503) 731-4012
Elevated levels of PCBs in resident fish from Portland Harbor
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The Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), in cooperation with Multnomah County Health Department, is advising the public today of high levels of PCBs in fish caught from Portland Harbor, in the lower Willamette River.
