Let's Talk Environment - Environmental Sustainability

As a cow/calf and grain farm operation, our land and our environment are very important to us.  We rely heavily on our soil and the weather to produce healthy, lush crops as well as grasslands to feed our cattle and trees to shade them.  We make our living off our environment and the animals that thrive off of it.  

What exactly is environmental sustainability?

Simply put: protecting and sustaining our environment so that it lasts for generations to come.  

Environment Canada defines sustainability as 

The process of developing land, cities, businesses and communities so that our current needs are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs 

You may think that environmental activists and environmental rights groups are worried about nothing; maybe you're sick of hearing about environmental problem; or maybe you just try to put it out of your mind.  It doesn't affect you right... Wrong.  
When talking about environmental sustainability, you will often hear people say "we need to protect this world for the future generations".  Of course this is true, we want to keep earth functioning and sustainable for the future.  But here is the catch.  If we don't get our act in gear and as a whole start cleaning up our environment, it isn't only the future generations that we need to worry about.  There are issues affecting us, here and now; issues that put our health and well being in jeopardy.  
The environmental issues that Canadian's face affect not only the environment, but also us as humans. 

Think about it for a minute.  If we continue producing smog and unhealthy air in the cities, how high are the health costs of the people living in these cities? (lucky for me, the nearest city is an hour away, and the nearest town 20 minutes).  The bad air quality isn't good for respiration by any means.  
How about the amount of water people waste watering their lawns and washing their vehicles, ever think that maybe that water isn't a renewable resource? 
And what about the garbage.  SO MUCH GARBAGE! If you have ever been in 4-H and done highway clean-up you will understand how disgusted I feel when I see someone throw garbage out their window.  Animals don't litter in your home, so why litter in theirs?  Garbage is probably one of the easiest environmental problems for humans to fix, how simple is it to recycle empty bottles, paper, glass and various other products, or even to clean your truck out into a garbage can at a gas station? Why do you feel that you need to dump it onto the ecosystems of so many other creatures?  All you people who litter, didn't your parents ever teach you to respect others, and to appreciate what you have? To litter your garbage wherever, whenever, is so disrespectful, not only to wildlife, but also to everyone else in this world.  We have dumps all over the world, ruining our environment, but at least they are designated areas where the waste can be managed, why make the entire world a dump?  
And what about global warming.  As farmers, my family has had an interesting past few years.  First came droughts, and then last year with the amount of moisture during haying season, we struggled to get any hay bailed.  Obviously this affects our income and our lifestyle.  But it affects yours too, yes, our problems affect you as consumers.  
When drought happened, many farmers sold cattle and some even farms. My family was pasturing off everything we could, including the ditches of roads.  People everywhere were in a panic to find feed for their animals.  No one wanted to buy cattle, because no one could afford to feed them.  People struggled to get crops off, and with a shortage of crops, less people were selling them, meaning less to the plants and factories producing consumer food products.  This was an issue, not only for the farmers, but also for the consumers.  
This year with the extra long, and cold winter, farmers everywhere had to start their seeding later than normal which could throw off harvest this coming fall.  Last year when we had an overabundance of rain we had problems getting our crops dry enough to bale and harvest.  Crops went to waste.  
On our farm, we feed our cattle using our own produce as much as possible.  We bale our own hay, harvest our own grain, and use our own pastures to feed our cattle, and all of the extra we sell to the markets, such as our canola and extra barely and oats.  So when we don't have good crops, we don't have much extra to sell.  And this means the market prices for the cereal crops goes up, and the cost of producing beef goes up, and that means that for all you consumers out there who like eating meat or bread, or butter, or milk, or vegetables, or any of the other millions of things that you consume from farmers in a day, all of your prices for food goes up.  And then you complain.  You don't want to pay for the expensive food, you don't want price hikes.  And I get that.  But if you don't want to continue paying extra for your products, don't you think it's time we start paying in a different regard, and look into paying attention to our environment and how we abuse it!  

Reduce.  Reuse. Recycle. How hard is it? Especially when there are recycling centers and bins everywhere now a days! 


I got to thinking a great deal about what my family does to save our environment. 

Other ways that we save our environment:

• We recycle everything. 
• When we were younger, our parents used to make our lunches for us for school.  All of our food was sent in reusable containers, glass dishes and in reusable bags.  My parents believed in buying things in large quantities so that we weren't using as much plastic with individually wrapped items.  It was also healthier for us as kids to be heating our food up in glass containers rather than plastic.  
• My family keeps water in the fridge, and we have a drawer full of water bottles that we fill and take with us places
• We hang all of our clothes to dry in the spring and summer outside, and when it snows or rains my mother has long racks in our laundry room to hang things.
• We use rain water from barrels to water all of our plants, and we let mother nature take care of our lawn.  
• We give our dogs our table scraps, and any fresh produce waste goes to the field for compost. 
• We have dugouts and creeks with natural springs by which we water are cattle
• We try to minimize the sprays we use on our crops, and pay close attention to our soil needs and the fertilizers that we use
• We reuse as much as we can, and find uses for old things
• Old filters, batteries and old tires from our tractors all get recycled and we make sure all old oil is contained and dealt with properly
• We never, ever litter
• We all take quick showers, and there are never lights, televisions or computers left on in our house
• We use reusable grocery bags and make sure that we try and minimize our garbage production as much as possible
• We have a wood burning stove in our house which helps heat the house in the winter
• My first two years of university I lived in residence so that I never had to drive to school, and this year I am hoping for a condo within walking distance
• This year I won the Grant MacEwan University Environmental Sustainability Scholarship, and will be attending the Alberta Emerald Awards on June 15, in Edmonton!  The Emerald Awards showcase and recognizes environmental leaders in Alberta.  Check out their website for more information - Alberta Emerald Foundation

My family does our part as much as possible to save our land. This country. This world.  While at the same time helping to keep ourselves and our animals healthy.

In our national anthem we say "the true North strong and free".  Our true North is beginning to melt due to the climate change, and green house gas emissions, and Canada as the "true North strong and free" needs to do our part in being STRONG and start a trend to move away from our bad environmental habits.  

So what is everyone else doing about it?

Where does Canada fit?

What action needs to be taken?

"We can avoid danger, and exploit opportunity"

Now what will you do to take your part in saving this world? 

What you can do! 

• Go outside, instead of watching so much television and playing video games, enjoy nature.  Go to the lake, go for a walk, go skiing, go biking, go to a park, take your dog for a walk, do anything to avoid all the electricity we use! Not only does this make our earth healthier, but it also makes you healthier!
• Use energy efficient appliances and light bulbs
• conserve the amount of paper that you use.  When you print, use both sides of sheets, reuse scrap paper, watch the amount of toilet paper, paper towel and napkins that you consume.  Wipe spills up with reusable cloths instead of napkins.  Not only does this save the world, but it also saves you money.
• Put rain barrels outside under eaves troughs and use the rain water to water plants and even your lawn
• Be realistic on the amount you wash your car.  If it came down to it, you would need that water a lot more than your car
•   Conserve water.  Fix dripping taps, put water in the fridge so you don't have to let the taps run to get cold water, always fill the dishwasher full, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.  Less baths, more showers, and shorter!
• Carpool, or better yet, use the bus, the LRT, or walk.  It is harder for people out of town to do the whole walking thing, but my family carpools a whole lot.  My mom works in the same town that my sister goes to school in so they always ride together.  Whenever my grandparents are going to the city, they always see if there is something that they can get for us, to save us from making an extra trip.  They schedule appointments and meetings on the same days, days when they know they will need groceries. All in an attempt to manage the amount that we use our vehicles. 
• Plant a tree, or two, or ten! 
• Plant a garden and get fresh vegetables out of it! My family has a very large garden and we love the fresh vegetables and fruits that we grow! Small greenhouses in the back yard are great too!
• DON'T LITTER

All of these ideas seem so easy and so obvious, but the problem is that the now generation is so lazy! It isn't that we can't do these simple things, it's just that no one can be bothered to do them.  We all need to realize, we aren't only hurting the environment, we're also hurting ourselves, we're making our living conditions unhealthy and unsafe. 

Environment Canada does a great job of summing up just what the environmental issues are, how they affect the world, how they affect humans and what we can do to help stop it! I encourage you to click on the link! 

It is beautiful, isn't it.  So why are we trying to throw it all away?

I challenge you to do something, even if it is only turning your lights off when you leave a room, conserving water, and refraining from littering.  Every little bit counts! Together we can save our world, our animals, and ourselves.

For more information, check out Environment Canada's Channel on Youtube - environmentcan! They have fantastic videos and ideas on how to save the environment!  Or go to the Environment Canada website!   

Let's talk environment.  Let's talk sustainability. 


Sam