An appeal to mercy
University of Toronto Peace Week asks for the release of the four members of Christian Peacemaker Teams being held hostage in Iraq. We were privileged to have a presentation by CPT at a panel discussion we organized in November. We were impressed by their commitment to non-violent resistance and peacemaking in Iraq and other parts of the world. CPT has consistently opposed the war and the continuing presence of multinational forces in Iraq.
As we ask for mercy for our friends we are aware that the Iraqi people have suffered greatly and that many have already died. We grieve for all the dead and work towards the day when there will be enduring peace and justice for everyone.
-University of Toronto Peace Week
Hemp to the rescue
One way to reduce greenhouse gasses that no one seems willing to discuss is to grow lots of hemp. Hemp is the non-drug version of marijuana, and has over 25 000 industrial applications. The plant filters both the air and the soil as it grows, it needs none of the chemical fertilizers and pesticides of most other crops, and will grow on even marginal land. This would do wonders for Canada’s struggling farmers.
With hemp, we could make cheap ethanol fuel for cars, and throw clean-burning dried hemp curd into our coal-fired power plants. We could save trees by printing our newspapers on hemp, and can also use non-toxic, bio-degradable hemp polymers to replace all of our plastic needs. Hemp is also full of essential fatty acids and protein, and has the one of the highest nutrition-per-acre ratios of any crop.
But that would be stiff competition for Big Oil and Big Corn who have a lot of stroke with our government, so it is no wonder we aren’t doing it.
-Russell Barth
