Recently, a cashier at an Extra Foods grocery store told this reporter that customers will be paying 5 cents per plastic bag on April 1 (see story below). I wrote a letter to the company to find out more. In their letter response to my inquiry, they write: "It is clear that global warming and other environmental and health challenges require fundamental changes in the way we live and work as a society. We are driven to act because we care, and are mindful of our opportunity to make a difference with simple, but committed actions because of our size and impact in the surrounding communities."

As we now are within a year of the 2010 Olympics being held in Vancouver/Whistler, and there are a growing list of magnifying glasses being put on Canada.  One that has been there for years is Canada's human rights record.

On February 23rd, an appeal will be heard on a historic judgement handed down on April 30th in South Africa.  On that day, the Johannesburg High Court declared prepaid water meters both illegal and unconstitutional and ordered the City of Johannesburg to provide residents with 50 litres of free water per person/per day. Meanwhile, Canada's Harper government continues to block a UN resolution that would make access to water a universal human right.

Recently, a cashier at an Extra Foods grocery store told this reporter that customers will be paying 5 cents per plastic bag on April 1.  A query was sent into Westfair Foods but there has not been a reply yet as to the extent of this initiative.  Now this is not necessarily a surprise because we had been given directions from Westfair Foods that they had an interest in reducing the number of bags used.  When that announcement came out, they also began to sell cloth bags in their stores.

Will this change the behavior of the Regina customer?  If this change is across Regina and in every store, including the Superstore locations, then it will likely have some impacts.  At the same time as the cashier told me the news, a customer before me took probably 20 bags.  Now if they have to then pay $1.00 on that same food bill, it should be somewhat more influential.

Now, those that have not reduced their plastic bag use even with the announcement or the ongoing need to reduce waste, they are likely not going to change, especially those that don't see a $1.00 inducing them to change.  But, for those that are looking at pinching pennies, they will likely start to work on reducing their by either purchasing cloth bags if they haven't any at this point.  They may also bring along past used plastic bags as a way to substitute purchasing new ones.  Those that are currently using cloth bags will feel that they are  ahead of the game and maybe they will do even more to protect the environment or reduce their carbon footprint.  What this will not do, unfortunately, is reduce the cost of food sold to us.

Dr. John O'Connor was the doctor who raised serious concerns about the cancer rates in Fort Chipewyan and how they might be related to being downwind and down river from the Tar Sands.  At that time, over two years ago, Alberta Health and Health Canada registered four complaints against Dr. O'Connor.

Recently the Alberta Cancer Board confirmed Dr. O'Connor's concerns by finding that cancer rates were indeed higher than normal in the community.  So, one would expect that the complaints would be withdrawn.  Unfortunately, one still remains.  It is identified as "causing 'undue alarm' in relation to the cancer rates".  This still remains unresolved as a complaint against Dr. O'Connor.

One of the participants in a panel presentation in Regina on January 20th on the Tar Sands in Alberta told those present of the increased cancer rates in his immediate family who live in Fort Chipewyan.  When it is your family that this is happening, is it  'causing undue alarm' for the physician to give the family and the community around them your concerns and advice as to what the cause of the cancers might be?

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Newsweek Magazine  recently posed the question: will Afghanistan be Barack Obama’s Vietnam War? During the years of the Bush Administration, the Democrats in the U.S. Congress insisted that Iraq was the wrong war, and U.S. policy should emphasize winning the war in Afghanistan. In his recent interview with CBC, President Obama said that the war in Afghanistan could still be won, but that it would take much more than additional troops in the field to do so. During his campaign for the nomination, Obama pledged that if elected he would expand the war across the border into Pakistan.

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For over a year, there has been concerted efforts to get the lead out of lipstick.  Unfotunately the U.S. FDA still has done nothing to support not having lead put on your face every day.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has told the public that popular brands of lipstick still contain lead.  The FDA said it would conduct an independent investigation. Despite repeated calls from the Campaign and many of their allies and supporters, as well as pressure from U.S. Senators, the FDA still has not released any data on its own lipstick tests or taken any action to protect people from dangerous ingredients in cosmetic products.

The report, "A Poison Kiss: The Problem of Lead in Lipstick", was covered by many news medias across the U.S.  Many people sent in letters telling their government that they did not want potential neurotoxins like lead in their lipstick or any other consumer product.

The European Union and Canada actually regulate cosmetics.  And large cosmetic companies are now selling safer products in other countires but because they are not mandated to remove lead and other harmful substances from their U.S. products, they do not.

More extensive testing has been done in October 2007.  The results of that testing can be found on the website, www.safecosmetics.org.  They also identify the ones with the highest levels of lead like L'Oreal and give suggestions about finding safer cosmetics.

Photo by Deerstop

There's no doubt mercury contamination exists in Saskatchewan. A sure sign of a problem is that there are fishing lakes where a catch and release program is in place to limit the amount of potential mercury that could be received from catching and eating contaminated fish. One source of mercury in this province are the coal-fired power plants near Estevan. If that's not enough, we can get additional mercury from canned albacore tuna on our grocery shelves.

Today, prior to the United Nations meeting next week to discuss the international treaty on mercury, 75 organizations from around the world are releasing a report on the global health hazards created by mercury contamination in fish.  The report was developed by the international Zero Mercury Working Group.  They have reported that the worldwide health impacts of methylmercury in fish is substantial and are therefore demanding a strong response from governments and the United Nations.