Editions

Overprescribing common among elderly

Portrait of columnist Alan Cassels

Some healthcare professionals see this as a serious problem

DRUG BUST by Alan Cassels

Portrait of columnist Alan Cassels

• If you plan on getting old, or are looking after someone who is old, you need to be ready for one stark reality of medical care in the elderly: it involves a lot of drugs. Anyone who looks after senior citizens says the same thing: any new ache, pain or concern often means a new prescription. What’s a trip to a specialist without a few new prescriptions added to your daily regime? And a stint in the hospital? If that doesn’t end in a bunch of added medications too, then something seems wrong. They all add up, sometimes horribly so.

Over the last 20 years or so, I’ve spent a fair amount of time researching the relentless marketing of pharmaceutical companies that are driving so much of the overdiagnosing and overprescribing, but lately I am starting to sense a growing uneasiness among health professionals. In fact, physicians groups, medical directors in seniors’ centres and individual doctors are starting to get serious about the problems of too much medicine. They are initiating medication reviews and ‘deprescribing’ programs, recognizing that polypharmacy – the use of multiple drug prescriptions – is a serious problem in the elderly. But I’ve also discovered that anyone trying to change attitudes towards overprescribing faces many obstacles.

As prescribers, physicians may be reluctant to stop a patient’s meds because they don’t want to contradict an order by a specialist, even if the patient is obviously not having a good time with their new drug. Because patients often have multiple doctors treating them, sometimes your doc won’t know why someone prescribed a particular drug to you in the first place. Perhaps they don’t have the time or energy to go through your entire list of medications to eliminate the ones that don’t seem that helpful or that are possibly dangerous. Things might seem overwhelming, but I’ve met many doctors who want to get things back to the basics, especially when they see intolerably large drug regimes burdening their older patients.

Starting a new medication is like the bliss of marriage; stopping it is like the agony of divorce. Surprisingly, stopping drugs is difficult even when the patient is experiencing adverse effects or when there is zero rationale for the person to continue taking some medications. Don’t believe me? I learned recently that a fair proportion of seniors in palliative care – those given ‘end of life’ care – are still taking statins to lower their cholesterol! That’s right – it’s as if these dying people were enrolled in the “he who dies with the lowest cholesterol wins” contest.

I’m learning there is considerable emotional stress when it comes to taking away medicines because drugs are imbued with a certain symbolic significance and prescription writing is a powerful ritual. Does stopping them signal that your doctor has given up or that your health isn’t worth preserving? Even in studies of patients who think they are on too many medications, patients say they are reluctant to ask their doctors for fewer drugs because they don’t want to anger them or appear difficult. This means some people take drugs just because they don’t want to displease their doctor. If the doctor doesn’t engage the patient and find out what is important to him or her, the miscommunications can fuel an unending supply of useless and potentially harmful drugs.

No one knows this better than a local BC expert in ‘deprescribing,’ a Vancouver doctor named Rita McCracken who is making a name for herself in this field. She is doing original research on deprescribing as part of a PhD program at UBC and spends a lot of time tending to frail, elderly patients and taking a scalpel to their medication regimes. She talks of the simple mathematical reality of prescribing in the elderly, where the chance of something bad happening increases exponentially as you keep adding new medications.

The intuition that doctors like Dr. McCracken work with is grounded in the imminence of death. She sees that one of her major tasks is to discover her older patients’ goals and try to translate those into making the patient comfortable and maximizing their ability to function. Again, there is no pill for being old and to better meet those goals, it usually means subtracting a lot of unneeded medicine.

People who talk about prescribing in the elderly call it an “evidence-free zone.” The reality is that most of our widely used drugs are tested on younger people with single diseases like high blood pressure and then get used on older people who might have a whole host of conditions such as arthritis, dementia, gout and high blood pressure. “You see,” Rita McCracken explained during a lecture I attended in Vancouver in April, “frail elders are typically excluded from most trials and therefore the clinical guidelines don’t really apply to these older people.” Then what do you do?

Actually, blood pressure makes a very poignant example of the kind of care the elderly can often be subject to. Many older people are on multiple antihypertensive drugs – drugs to lower blood pressure – sometimes two or three of them to drive down their blood pressure to a level that might make some sense if the patient was 40. The problem is that trying to get blood pressure that low for someone who is 80 is almost totally irrational. Why? Because the physiology of old people is different and most blood pressure studies have specifically excluded people aged 80 and over. Those few studies that have focused on the elderly find something terribly surprising: the patients in the trials who had lower blood pressure had a higher risk of death.

Overprescribing of antihypertensives in the elderly is a concern to Dr. McCracken not just because the evidence suggests it might be counter-productive, but also because the quality of life of the person with low blood pressure could be suffering. In the talk I attended, she spoke about one study done in Florence, Italy, that found a lower daytime blood pressure was associated with “accelerated cognitive loss,” probably the last thing you want to cause by chasing lower blood pressure targets.

Dr. McCracken is going to see if there is good evidence to support the link between low blood pressure and dementia. Now, wouldn’t that be something if we discovered that, in our aggressive attempts to lower grandma’s blood pressure, we’re causing her to lose part of her memory and thinking abilities?

At the end of the day, if you are old or are concerned about an older loved one, you have to stay engaged and make sure the doctor is aware of your goals. You have to communicate your needs and be clear about your preferences. If you think you’re taking too many drugs, you could be in luck because the doctor might have been waiting for you to initiate the ‘deprescribing’ conversation. This is the time for frank conversations and truth-telling. In the words of Dr. McCracken, speaking to her fellow doctors, “We have to be honest about the quality of evidence and what a patient can expect from a pill.”

There is no magic pill to treat frailty, but there might be a magic word – and it’s called deprescribing. It might be worth asking your doctor if you are ready to take that concept for a test drive. Stopping a medication does not have to be like the agony of divorce. Maybe like any other transition in life, it’s all about moving on to a better place.

—

Alan Cassels is a drug policy researcher at the University of Victoria. He writes about medical screening and drugs, consults with unions on drug benefits plans and is helping research tools to make deprescribing easier for physicians. You can read more of his writings at www.alancassels.com or follow him on twitter @akecassels

Safe food advocates organize

safeFoodPoster

• Renowned Health Canada whistleblower and food safety crusader Dr. Shiv Chopra will headline the launch of The Canadian Council on Food Sovereignty and Health on May 24 in Windsor, Ontario.

Chopra’s fiery speeches last winter called citizens to action to take back a corrupted food supply, inspiring a group of Windsor food activists to start a national movement. John Jones, organizer and campaigner in the Windsor organic food movement, says establishing a national food advocacy organization in Windsor Essex, the largest food-producing region in the country, makes perfect sense.

“The launch of the Council,” says Jones, “is meant to be the beginning of a national movement of Canadians mobilizing against government corruption of the food system.”

The European Union and other jurisdictions banned non-therapeutic uses of hormones and antibiotics in food-producing animals years ago. However, these and others toxins continue to be approved in Canada – thanks to government deregulation – and make their way into the food supply via injectable products and animal feed. Dr. Chopra calls these contaminants the ‘five pillars of food safety.’

“You take these five products out of the food system – hormones, antibiotics, GMOs, pesticides and slaughterhouse waste – then everything is automatically organic,” Chopra says.

Both Jones and Chopra agree that these ‘five materials’ must be banned and that the public has the right to demand it.

“We have to start a movement at the municipal and local level,” says Chopra. “If government isn’t doing its job, let the people take food sovereignty into their own hands and take charge of their own food production.”

On May 24, Jones and Chopra will share the stage with other speakers to launch the Canadian Council on Food Sovereignty and Health and to unpack its mission. Speakers also include Elizabeth May (Leader, Green Party), Alex Atamanenko (MP, NDP), Paul Dewar (MP, NDP) and David Yazbeck (Counsel).

Beyond hope

A conversation with Chris Hedges

by Bruce Mason

Chris Hedges speaking at the St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church, Vancouver, last February
Chris Hedges speaking at the St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church, Vancouver, last February

Chris Hedges is a controversial Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of best-selling books. He has covered Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans for two decades and writes and speaks extensively on war, terrorism, climate, culture and conflict. On February 19, as part of the SFU Vancouver Speakers Series, he gave a 90-minute talk entitled “Rules of Revolt: What do citizens owe ourselves, each other and our governments?” In late March, he returned to Vancouver to give a keynote talk at the public Conference on Mining, Fossil Fuels and Common Resources. He also touched off a local controversy with his Truthdig column posted from Vancouver on March 8. Entitled “The whoredom of the left,” it began with: “Prostitution is the quintessential expression of global capitalism.” For several hours before and after his February talk, Bruce Mason had an opportunity to interview Hedges for Common Ground.

Bruce Mason: Welcome back to Canada.

Chris Hedges: Thanks. Those of us who care about climate change look to you as the front-line in fighting tar sands and pipelines projects that would be truly catastrophic for the planet. And we must come up here and join you. My wife, the actress Eunice Wong, is Canadian and one of my daughters is taking a year away from her studies at UBC. Of course, there’s that infamous interview on CBC in 2011 when Kevin O’Leary mocked the Occupy movement and called me a “left-wing nut-bar.” I discuss issues and don’t go on anything like Fox News so I walked out of the studio. After hundreds of complaints, the CBC apologized and I understand Kevin moved on [laughter].

In the US, half the population now lives at near poverty levels. We don’t have Canada’s social safety nets and are a more deeply violent society. However, Harper’s new terrorism law, Bill C-51, is as bad as anything in the US, which has all but eradicated privacy. In the aftermath of the Occupy movement – because communication was electronic – leaders have been hauled into court and forced to plea bargain, preventing them from further activism. Of Muslims who have been caught up in terrorism charges since 9-11, 95+ percent have been framed / set up.

BM: You, in fact, sued the President over legislation, which created new powers.

CH: Yes Hedges vs. Obama fought the overturning of 150 years of legal due process through authorizing military to carry out nebulous, extraordinary rendition and indefinite incarceration, including on US streets. We won the case, but the administration aggressively and successfully appealed because we suspect they were already using these powers and could be in contempt, otherwise. In a subsequent case, we were told that our fears of being monitored were “speculative” – if the government were spying on us, we would be told (laughter). After the Snowden and other revelations, of course, we knew this was a lie.

BM: What are your thoughts on the rationalizations for the war on terrorism and the calls for increased security and surveillance?

CH: In every war I’ve ever covered, the first step is to dehumanize others before exterminating them. The awful movie American Sniper is, at its core, an excuse for murdering hundreds of thousands of innocents, including burning women and children in their homes and beheading people with bombs from drones. The corporate media has done a good job of presenting a mythical, false narrative of who we are and our supposed virtues. Our refusal to grasp what we have done, ongoing anti-Muslim rhetoric and the inability to understand our culpability in creating this rage over many years helps to produce a false belief that violence is the remedy, not the cause. It’s part of our collective insanity. Externalizing evil, instead of looking what’s inside us. And it’s terrifying.

BM: The question from the people who know I am speaking with you is “Why is there so little hope in your work?”

CH: I’m not in the hope business. I’m in the truth business. I prefer hope’s daughters, anger and courage. Social movements and art must become conduits for unvarnished moral outrage and passion. Mania for hope is a kind of sickness that prevents us from seeing how dire and catastrophic our situation really is, if we don’t radically reconfigure our relationship with each other and the ecosystem.

I’ve borrowed a phrase from Canada’s John Ralston Saul – “the corporate coup d’état.” It’s complete. One percent now owns one-half the world’s wealth, live in luxury, with obscene military and economic power, which is growing exponentially. Eighty percent of people in the world share five percent of the rest. The system no longer works on our behalf and is beyond reform or appeals to rationality. All resistance must recognize and ingest this fact in order to rise up in a mass global movement.

Irreversible climate change from a 500-year rampage, driven by wilfully destructive, greedy and self-deluded fossil fuel and other industries, a political system completely corrupted and dominated by the wealthiest and most powerful corporations, while their media lavishly diverts attention into delusion, fantasy and escapism.

That is contemporary reality – the truth we must know emotionally and intellectually and live and resist in, if we are to wrest power while we still have a chance.

BM: You continue to argue against property destruction and to favour non-violence.

CH: The only tools left are bodies in the streets in a different kind of mass resistance. I’m not a pacifist and may be naive. I understand that the interests of citizens, and indeed the planet, are utterly irrelevant to global capitalism and must be resisted forcefully. But violence is most effective in civil wars and foreign occupation. Non-violence has proven to be twice as successful for more than a century and can be internal. I’ve witnessed the dividing and paralysing of power structures, winning over civil servants, even police, who have told us “keep on protesting” while we were being hand-cuffed. I may be gambling on non-violence, but I hope I’m right.

BM: What sorts of activities are possible / desirable?

CH: Personal choices – which is why I became a vegan. The animal/agriculture industry is one of the engines of climate destruction. Local farmers’ markets and such are important. Building sustainable communities that give you the energy and support to carry out resistance. The more you remove yourself from the wider consumer culture, the more you have the capacity to resist. And we have to pull people into the streets in large numbers for sustained resistance. Going to jail is more than I care to donate, but putting our bodies into the street is all we have. That’s it. And we don’t have much time.

BM: What advice do you have for those who despair?

CH: Revolutions and acts of resistance come in waves. They can’t be measured as they take place or be predicted, even by purported leaders. They may appear to be futile and be ignored by the wider society. However, the actions of an active one to five percent of the population have a moral force, which keeps a flame alive and triggers greater consciousness in dismantling a corrupt, unjust and destructive system. People who block pipelines, etc., must have faith that a time will come when they will not be alone, when fear, conformity and passivity melt away and the numbers of resistors will multiply. I’ve seen it at the Berlin Wall and many other places, all over the world.

Throughout my career – including teaching in a maximum security prison – I’ve learned that to manage and not succumb to despair, real despair such as many of us now feel, requires having a personal relationship with the oppressed and the poorest of the poor. They can’t become abstractions, but must have a face and more importantly, be loved. This act of human imagination makes endurance and resistance glorious and keeps me going.

Remembering Mike Carr (1942-2015)

A father of bio-regionalism

by Kriszta Hernadi

Mike Carr with Susan's grandson
Mike Carr with Susan’s grandson

Mike Carr’s social and environmental activism spans four decades. As an organizer, founder or member, he worked with a number of grassroots groups: TCLSAC, People’s Food Commission, Vancouver Walk for Peace, Aurora Institute, Eco-City Network, Barefoot Cartographers, Tin Wis Coalition, Native Education Society, Northwest Ecosystem Alliance and Vancouver Coop Radio. In 2008, he ran as a federal Green candidate in East Vancouver.

Mike received his Doctorate at SCARP (UBC, 1999). His dissertation focused on the history and analysis of the bioregional movement and theories of civil society. UBC Press published it as “Bioregionalism and Civil Society: Democratic Challenges to Corporate Globalism in 2004.” Concurrently, Mike worked with Bill Rees and Mathis Wackernagel on the “Ecological Footprint” concept. Dr. Rees described Mike as “one of North America’s foremost bioregional thinkers and advocates for a socially just and sustainable society.”

Mike was a founder of the 1994 Vancouver Greening our Cities Conference, a founder of the Eco-City Network, an editor and writer for Eco-City Act Locally and the founder of the “Barefoot Cartographers,” a bioregional mapping group that mapped Salmonopolis, among others, for eight years. He wrote magazine articles and served as a board member for the Grandview Woodlands Area Council, a local citizen’s organization in East Vancouver. His activism included disability and GLBT rights issues.

For 20 years, Dr. Carr taught courses in First Nations studies, urban studies, geography, sociology, anthropology and bioregional mapping at SFU and UBC.

—

Mike lit a cigar and poured himself a shot of seven-year-old Mulata rum. He then put on some salsa music and walked Susana up on the stage where they started dancing. He was always on stage and “in the zone” when he was teaching, making love and dancing or when he was discussing politics and culture. He put on a brilliant performance every time – impeccable, passionate, non-conformist and beautiful.

I met Mike at a party in 1985 after the Vancouver Peace Walk in his co-op house. The rest (30 years) is history. Our relationship evolved from romantic love and cohabitation/marriage to friendship of the highest order.

Mike’s social activism led him to do more and his studies led him to more reading, knowing and teaching. Mike’s dream for the world was a bioregional society of peace, cooperation and love. He participated in continental and local bioregional gatherings. He was inspired and reenergized by the love of his friends and his various families. For Mike, family did not strictly mean bloodlines. He was adopted by an aboriginal family in the interior and will be buried by them in his beloved Mother Earth.

Mike made sure long before he passed away that his very valuable library went to groups that could make use of them the best possible way. He also donated his maps of Salmonopolis, the body of work by the Barefoot Cartographers he founded, to the Planning School at UBC, a benefit to present and future students.

In the last few years of his life, Mike lived part-time in Cuba with his Cuban wife Susana and her family. He wrote his last book (awaiting publication) there; it gives a brief and accessible historical analysis of the US banking system and present day capitalism. At the end of the book, new peoples’ movements of resistance and change in the US, China, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador are presented as hopeful examples that, contrary to Margaret Thatcher’s claim “There is no alternative” – there are indeed many possible alternatives already rising up.

Mike did not identify with any particular religion, but he was deeply inspired by native spirituality and nature. His life is an example of how consciousness and heart are one and the same and that a meaningful, authentic life allows you to follow your hopes and dreams.

Feds ready to ram through Bill C-51

Independent Media

by David Christopher

Author David Christopher

Over 200,000 Canadians have united to Reject Fear and Stop Bill C-51, but will the government listen?

It’s rare in Canadian politics to see intense public interest in government legislative proposals, let alone to see Canadians take to the streets in the tens of thousands to protest a piece of legislation by name.

Yet that’s exactly what has happened in the case of Bill C-51, which critics, including the Globe and Mail’s editorial team, say will undermine basic democratic values and lead to the creation of a “secret police force” in Canada.

In the space of a few short months since Bill C-51 was announced, hundreds of thousands of people have taken action to stop it: signing petitions, writing letters to local newspapers, phoning and writing their Member of Parliament and hitting the streets in nationwide demonstrations in over 70 communities across Canada.

It’s not hard to see why so many people are concerned. Canada’s top privacy and security experts warn this legislation will undermine democratic rights Canadians have enjoyed for generations. For example, according to professors Craig Forcese and Kent Roach, who have conducted a detailed legal analysis of the legislation, Bill C-51 will:

1) Undermine Canadians’ privacy by allowing widespread information disclosures among government agencies and by giving the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) access to personal information held by up to 17 government departments. Even Stephen Harper has admitted these kind of dragnet surveillance measures are ineffective.

2) Chill free speech online by criminalizing what is loosely defined as the promotion of “terrorism offences in general,” showing “reckless disregard” for whether a particular post may encourage a violent act. As Forcese and Roach point out in their testimony to the Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence, “The new speech crime in our view violates freedom of expression because it reaches well beyond the sort of speech that threatens actual violence.”

3) Dramatically expand the powers of CSIS, without any commensurate increase in oversight or review measures. The legislation even allows CSIS to obtain a warrant permitting them to break the law and contravene the Charter Rights of Canadians. Under C-51, such warrants would be granted in a secret hearing, with no representation from the target of such measures and with no right of appeal.

So it’s no surprise that Canadians are worried. What is unprecedented, however, is the sheer number of Canadians taking part in the campaign to stop the bill. My organization, OpenMedia, has been campaigning on privacy issues for years, but in all our time, we’ve never seen a public outpouring quite like this.

Our joint efforts are clearly having an impact: public opinion has swung dramatically against Bill C-51 since it was announced and support has plummeted, with a recent Forum Research poll finding that 56 percent of Canadians now oppose Bill C-51, with just 33 percent in favour. The business community, civic society groups and principled conservatives have all spoken out.

Sadly, there’s no sign that the government is listening. At the time of writing [end of April], the government seems determined to use its majority to ram the legislation through the Commons in the coming weeks.

Even more worrying is that this reckless, dangerous and ineffective legislation will further undermine Canadians’ privacy rights – rights that have already been seriously damaged by the government’s Bill C-13 passed late last year and by the government’s failure to address the mass surveillance activities of its CSE intelligence agency.

This government has left Canadians with a stark privacy deficit and we will all need to work together to address it. We need a coordinated plan to roll back mass surveillance and restore our traditional privacy and democratic rights.

You can learn more about how we plan to do so by joining the Protect our Privacy coalition at OurPrivacy.ca

—

David Christopher is communications manager with OpenMedia, a community-based organization that works to safeguard the possibilities of the open Internet. OpenMedia.org

Wally’s farewell

by Eliza Olson, President, Burns Bog Conservation Society

Wally Davyduke, 1936-2015 Burns Bog Society co-founder and “Captain of the Boardwalk”
Wally Davyduke, 1936-2015

Burns Bog Society co-founder and “Captain of the Boardwalk”

Wally Davyduke was a founding member of the Burns Bog Conservation Society and the Burns Bog Conservation Foundation. He took over the supervision of the Delta Nature Reserve’s boardwalk construction in 2002. Proud of his work on the boardwalk, he would stop and ask users, “What do you think of the boardwalk?” When they said it was “wonderful,” he would beam with pride. He was Ikea’s worst nightmare, but he could build a boardwalk! Wally Davyduke died on February 20, 2015.

Wally and I joined Toastmasters Club in 1979. We were founding members.

After I had said, “Yes” to Wally’s [marriage] proposal, the next big question was, was I going to change my last name? Wally said that he didn’t care either way. I solved the problem by giving a speech called the “Modern Bride’s Dilemma” at Toastmasters.

Afterwards, Wally talked about watching the faces of the other men as I talked. I had presented issues that none of them had thought about. I kept my “previous name,” as Wally called it and he was always quick to let people know that he “wasn’t Mr. Olson. And so did I.

The final challenge before we got married was Wally’s smoking. I had a house up for sale, Wally had a house up for sale and we were buying a third. Wally smoked so much one weekend that I developed a massive headache. I went home, called him and said I was breaking off the engagement. I told him I didn’t want to start our marriage with me nagging him over his smoking. We would sell our houses, buy the third and then we would sell that one.

He quit smoking! This time he chose me over his cigarettes. The date? November 23, 1980. Later, Wally would tell people we didn’t get married for the tax break. I said it was so Wally wouldn’t forget the date. The government has since closed that loophole.

We got married in front of the fireplace in our new home with our friends and family. Our house became known as the “party house.” Wally and I got involved in politics; I had made the mistake of telling him on our first date that I belonged to his favourite political party. You should have seen the look on his face when I said that.

I encouraged him to run for president of the Canadian Merchant Service Guild. He encouraged me to run for Delta council. And that started our romance with Burns Bog. We worked to stop the development in 1988. Based on our experience with Toastmasters, we knew people would drift away from the group after the proposal was turned down. We knew we had won the battle, but not the war. The developers would be back and we had to be ready. So we started the Burns Bog Conservation Society. We joined the first board and stayed on the board for the next 27 years.

The membership directed the society to set up a foundation. They figured it sounded like a good idea. No one really knew the difference between a society and a foundation. The foundation’s purpose is to build a capital campaign and create an endowment fund to help operate it. Wally was a founding member of the Burns Bog Conservation Foundation as well. He returned to the Foundation’s board last year.

Wally took over the Delta Nature Reserve Committee in 2002.

He was all thumbs when it came to putting anything together; I have shelves to prove it, but he could build an amazing boardwalk. It was his pride and joy. I can only remember him telling me once that he was too ill to go down to the boardwalk. And that was the Monday before his passing. Wally beamed with pride when people would comment about the boardwalk. He enjoyed driving the little tractor carrying wood and nails back and forth to repair and build it. He was truly the “Captain of the Boardwalk.”

Wally was my biggest supporter. He encouraged me to take on challenges I couldn’t have done without him. He never wavered in his faith in me. “Buck up, old girl, you can do it,” he would say when things got bleak. We did a lot together. We were the only two non-scientists at the 1995 International Peat Society Congress in Scotland and again in 2008 in Ireland.

Wally received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for his work with the Society. I overshadowed him but he never resented it. Wally was the “wind beneath my wings.” I promise to keep flying. Thank you for joining me in celebrating Wally’s life.

China’s pollution a toxic lesson to all

Portrait of David Suzuki

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki

Portrait of David Suzuki

Beijing’s 21-million residents live in a toxic fog of particulate matter, ozone, sulphur dioxide, mercury, cadmium, lead and other contaminants, mainly caused by factories and coal burning. Schools and workplaces regularly shut down when pollution exceeds hazardous levels. People have exchanged paper and cotton masks for more elaborate, filtered respirators. Cancer has become the leading cause of death in the city and throughout the country.

Chinese authorities, often reluctant to admit to the extent of any problem, can no longer deny the catastrophic consequences of rampant industrial activity and inadequate regulations. According to Bloomberg News, Beijing’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention says that although life expectancy doubled from 1949 to 2011, “The average 18-year-old Beijinger today should prepare to spend as much as 40% of those remaining, long years in less than full health, suffering from cancer, cardiovascular disease and arthritis, among other ailments.”

China’s government also estimates air pollution prematurely kills from 350,000 to 500,000 residents every year. Water and soil pollution are also severe throughout China. The documentary film, Under the Dome by Chinese journalist Chai Jing, shows the extent of the air problem. The film was viewed by more than 150 million Chinese in its first few days, apparently with government approval. Later, it was censored, showing how conflicted authorities are over the problem and its possible solutions.

Many people in Canada and the US – including in government – refuse to believe we could end up in a similar situation here. And so US politicians fight to block pollution-control regulations and even to remove the power of the Environmental Protection Agency or shut it down altogether! In Canada, politicians and pundits argue that environmental protection is too costly and the economy takes precedence.

Some people even point to China as a reason for Canada not to do anything, arguing that what we do or don’t do to confront climate change and pollution will make little difference because our contributions pale in comparison to countries like China and India. But while Canada’s air quality is better than many places, half of us live in areas where we are exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution.

We can and should do more to curb pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, especially as demands from industry and a growing population continue to increase. That means making homes and workplaces more energy-efficient and driving less. Transportation is a major contributor to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. But despite the fact a large percentage of the emissions and pollution come from SUVs, trucks and vans, sales of those vehicles are rising while car sales are decreasing.

As individuals, we can take action to reduce pollution and emissions, but greater gains should be made at the policy level. We may never experience the kind of deadly pollution China is struggling with, but we can do a lot to make sure our air, water and soil are as clean as possible, now and into the future. We must do our part.

—

Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation’s senior editor Ian Hanington. Learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org

May 29: David Suzuki gives a talk at UBC: “Letters to My Grandchildren.” 7-9:30pm, Old Auditorium, UBC, 6344 Memorial Rd. $10, all proceeds to charity. Tickets limited, register early at www.banyen.com/events/suzuki

Playground politics in the workplace

Portrait of Gwen Randall-Young

UNIVERSE WITHIN by Gwen Randall-Young

Portrait of Gwen Randall-Young

Every situation – even a disaster – is an opportunity to be your best.
– Rosalene Glickman, PhD

How often do you hear yourself or others grumbling about the workplace? Indeed, it is very common. Ideally, the workplace should be a more mature environment than the schoolyard, but if we really look at what goes on, it often isn’t that different.

Sadly, some of the workplace dysfunction may be more common with women. We all know the gossiping that goes on. This can elevate to isolating some colleagues to outright bullying.

If a supervisor is harassing an employee, it is for that employee to take action by talking to Human Resources or union representatives. Often though, little things are the topic of gossip, such as complaining about management, putting down a fellow worker or spreading rumours that have nothing to do with work.

For some, inner child issues often unconsciously arise in the workplace. One feels the boss favours another or feels a need to compete with a fellow worker. Jealousy issues arise and insecurities may be triggered. When this happens, behaviours can regress to times in childhood when we felt the same way. Clustering together and saying bad things about someone seems to make the inner adolescent feel better – but it does not make the situation any better. It makes things worse. We are at work to do an adult job and discussing our personal feelings about others at work is unprofessional. It undermines the workplace environment and can cause great distress for the one being vilified.

Ego likes to see things from its own limited perspective. Ego gets into polarity – the good-guy/bad guy, right/wrong dichotomies. “But it’s true!” ego protests. Well, terrorist groups believe they are right, Putin thinks he is right, American police who target black youth think they are right.

Supervisors and employees both think they are right. One employee thinks she is right and another one thinks she is wrong. On it goes. When we insist we are right, we are making the other wrong and therefore establish the polarity.

What we really need to do is establish understanding. Wisdom means seeing the big picture and understanding both sides and working toward solutions. Wisdom means wanting it to be comfortable for everyone and caring about everyone despite our differences.

It means being the adult who helps solve problems, not the child who complains, gets angry, lashes out at others or tries to garner support for his or her position from others in the workplace.

It also means recognizing the workplace is not set up for our benefit. Yes, we have rights, but not liking something does not necessarily equate to violation of rights. If there is abuse or harassment, by all rights use the proper channels.

However, if you simply do not like the boss or cannot stand some co-workers, you need to find a different job rather than staying and stirring up stress and tension for all involved. Few workplaces are perfect so there may always be something that is annoying. The wise adult concentrates on doing the job and doesn’t participate in behaviours or conversations that lack integrity. This contributes to a healthier work environment as well as a healthier mental/emotional environment within ourselves.

—

Gwen Randall-Young is an author and psychotherapist in private practice. For articles and information about her books, Deep Powerful Change Hypnosis CDs and new “Creating Healthy Relationships” series, visit www.gwen.ca.

Food for environmentalists

Portrait of Vesanto Melina

Nutrispeak by Vesanto Melina

Portrait of Vesanto Melina

Do you champion wise usage of water resources, clean oceans and a reduction in greenhouse gases? A newly released book by a BC author demonstrates exactly how your dietary choices can support your values.

In The Restore-Our-Planet Diet: Food Choices, Our Environment, and Our Health (www.restoreourplanetdiet.com), Dr. Patricia Tallman shows the precise environmental savings that result when you choose a bean chili over a beef chili. For each serving, you’ll save 418 gallons of water, reduce manure production by 9.7 pounds and reduce greenhouse gas emission by three kilograms of CO2e or the equivalent of driving seven miles. And, of course, that’s just one part of your daily menu. When you make such choices on an ongoing basis, you can really make a difference.

Tallman illustrates the impact we can have when we forego beef, pork, chicken, eggs and dairy and substitute them with plant protein foods. Simply replacing beef in a Sloppy Joes recipe (four servings) generates the following savings: 1,765 gallons of water, 38.5 pounds of manure and 11.3 kg of CO2e or the equivalent of driving 42.8 km (26.8 miles). As a bonus, the plant-based version contains 25 percent fewer calories, 50 percent less total fat, eliminates 32 grams of saturated fat and all 320 grams of cholesterol while providing the same amount of protein and iron.

Alternatives are given for eggs and dairy that result in delicious baked goods. By using non-dairy milk in blueberry cinnamon muffins or banana bread, you’ll save a further 118 gallons of water, two pounds of manure and about 0.6 kilograms of CO2e. A tablespoon of ground flaxseed mixed with three tablespoons of water makes a great egg replacer in pancakes or baking.

Fortunately, the action you take to mitigate climate change, water pollution, rainforest destruction and water shortages also empowers you to combat diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer. In fact, Kaiser Permanente, the largest healthcare consortium in the US – comprising nine million members, 37 medical centres and over 600 medical offices – recently advised its 17,000 salaried physicians to recommend plant-based diets as the standard therapy for most major chronic diseases. Here’s a recipe from Restore Our Planet:

Yam and Black Bean Chili
Makes 6 to 8 servings

The contrasting colours of orange and black give great visual appeal to this chili. The combination is delicious and a very pleasant combination of textures and colour.

  • 2 cups yams, peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large bell pepper, chopped
  • 3 cans of 14-oz (400-ml)) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 tbs vegetable oil
  • 1 tbs chili powder
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 15-oz (420-gram) can crushed tomatoes
  • Cayenne, to taste (optional)

In a small pot, cook the yam pieces until tender; drain and set aside. In a larger pot, sauté the onion, garlic and bell peppers in oil for about five minutes. Add the chili powder, vegetable broth, tomatoes and cooked yams. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chili thickens. Add cayenne for extra pizazz. Serve over brown rice if desired.

—

Vesanto Melina is a BC dietitian and award-winning author. Her Becoming Vegan: Comprehensive Edition (with Brenda Davis) is one of REAL’s Top Ten Books of 2014. Their more condensed version, Becoming Vegan: Express Edition won a 2014 Canada Book Award and numerous other accolades. www.becomingvegan.ca, www.nutrispeak.com
Email vesanto.melina@gmail.com.

Star Wise

portrait of Mac McLaughlin

by Mac McLaughlin

• Aries | Taurus | Gemini | Cancer | Leo | Virgo | Libra
Scorpio | Sagitarius | Capricorn | Aquarius | Pisces

portrait of Mac McLaughlin

• What are we going to do when the big one hits? No, not the earthquake; we know that will happen someday and we have no say in the matter. I’m talking about the big oil spill that is inevitable, foreseeable and preventable. Our mini spill was a true wake-up call and although it was just a drill and not a big spill, we’re able to witness the Tweedledee and Tweedledum effect of our local and federal agencies, ministers and other officials pointing the finger and passing the buck with a whole lot of weak excuses about their unpreparedness. It is sickening, but rather than whine and cry the blues we should be motivated to truly do something about it. The stars are in very good position for this type of action and protestation. The past we cannot change and the future hasn’t come, but the present is in our grasp and it is up to us to make a difference regarding how the future unfolds.

Can we really call ourselves ‘green’ when we have a bunch of steel tanks full of very toxic material sitting very close to our shores and we’re inviting giant tankers to move up and down our coast? It’s just insanity, greed and short-sightedness and one day we will pay the price for it. The planet Uranus is moving through Aries for the next few years and then through Taurus for several more years bringing us up to 2026. Uranus is the planet of invention, revolution, innovation and ingenuity and he is moving through Aries, the sign of new starts, fresh beginnings and pioneering action. I don’t profess to be a scientist at all, but don’t we have the technology to implement solar and wind energy, thermal heating and many more technologies that will protect us from serious environmental hazards?

When Uranus moves through Taurus from 2019 to 2026, it may be harder to make changes and the changes we don’t make consciously will happen suddenly, without warning and probably with disastrous results. We can nip this in the bud if we get a move on and act now. It is a time of awakening and a time of striving for better ways. The planets are offering their help, but will we take heed and pay attention? Or will we just slumber and one day hold our collective head in our hands as we weep at the loss of our very precious resources and pristine natural environment? We are the guardians and we must think and act before it is too late.

ARIES
(March 21 – April 19)
It’s time to take stock and an inventory of where you’re at. You were born at a time signifying that the gift for pioneering is in your blood and spirit. Revolutionary Uranus visits Aries until 2019 and won’t return for 84 years. Now’s the time to make your move and do what you were born to do.

TAURUS
(April 20 – May 21)
Although you might be snug and comfy with all your earthly possessions, it won’t always be that way. A few years from now when Uranus moves through Taurus, it’s likely big changes will take place. It’s not necessarily a negative thing, though, especially if you are willing to accommodate changes when they come your way.

GEMINI
(May 22 – June 20)
SMercury and Mars visit Gemini bringing all kinds of energy and activity your way. They’re not the best of friends and when they meet up there is always some sort of controversy that needs to be sorted out. Truth and honour, honesty and valour get you through nicely while anger and impatience bring more concerns.

CANCER (June 21 – July
22)
Venus pays a visit for most of the month providing a perfect setting for reunions and gatherings of all sorts. Time spent with loved ones fills the bill nicely or a special love manifesting may be the case. Cancer loves antiquity and antiques and it’s probable you will come into possession of something quite valuable.

LEO (July
23 – August 22)
Jordan Speith is the 2015 Masters champion. The golf world is agog with this 21-year-old Leo’s dominance of the field. He smashed just about every record out there. He’s one example of how Jupiter can bring his blessings and abundance. Jupiter is all about competition and he’s moving through Leo now. Hint, hint.

VIRGO (August 23 – September
22)
Mercury and Mars are moving across the top of your solar chart. It means you should be busy, very busy. So busy that you might overdo it or ignore important details of a job etc., which really isn’t Virgo’s way. Pay attention and go slowly or you may have to redo what you’ve just done.

LIBRA
(September 23 – October 22)
Journeys might be on your mind. It is likely you will make important decisions regarding relationships. The truth is revealed or exposed offering you an opportunity to set the scales aright once again. A move to a new place of residence or a job change might be in the wind. Go with the flow.

SCORPIO
(October 23 – November 21)
The full Moon on May 3 brings revelations and realizations your way. Jupiter has a hand in the play and it might be wise to say less, otherwise, you may rue the fact you overreacted and said way too much. Then again, you probably will see the true facts and might state them no matter what.

SAGITTARIUS
(November 22 – December 21)
Mercury and Mars travel opposite to your sign and it might be a sign of some type of clash or crash. Possibly, a clashing of ideals will manifest. “A soft answer turns away wrath” is a good mantra to keep at hand. Sagittarius is known for releasing thunderbolts of truth from time to time.

CAPRICORN
(December 22 – January 19)
It might be time to re-evaluate what is important and what is real or not. The stars are aligning in such a way that some people may go away or you may move away from situations that are no longer viable or sustainable. Children and youth in general are topics for consideration.

AQUARIUS
(January 20 – February 19)
The earth may shake beneath your feet as the full Moon takes place on May 3. The shaking may not be literal, but more psychological as you come across some realizations of certain realities. While this sounds ominous, it may not be that way at all. Epiphanies come that help you decide how to go.

PISCES
(February 20 – March 20)
The month of May has its challenges that must be dealt with. Certain frustrations and limitations hold sway and it will take some hard thinking to sort it all out. Confusion and distortion could be in the play, but once the air is cleared, you may feel some relief. Honesty is the best policy.

—

Mac McLaughlin has been a practising, professional astrologer for more than four decades. His popular Straight Stars column ran in Vancouver’s largest weekly newspaper for 11 years.
Email mac@macsstars.com or call 604-731-1109.

© 2016 Common Ground