Wednesday 7 May 2014

I'm BEGGING you here!

MOUSES!  MOUSES!!  MOUSES!!!

Hmmm...   Did I happen to mention, MOUSES?

You're probably wonderin' what has got my fur all ruffled especially, since as a short-haired kitty, my fur very rarely ruffles.

Well last Saturday morning, Ol' Peepers here went to hang out her laundry.  As a peep, she does her laundry usin' soap and water unlike us cats who use spit and polish but I digress...

Peep #1 was all set to hang up her laundry when she discovered that someone in our neighbourhood was burnin' brush.  BURNIN' BRUSH ON LAUNDRY DAY?  Well let me tell you, I had one cranky peep on my paws, for sure.

There was my peep, tryin' to do the right thing by hangin' her laundry on the line instead of usin' a power-suckin' and carbon-emittin' clothes dryer, bein' thwarted by some other peep who decided to burn yard waste instead of compostin' it.  So what was my peep gonna do?  Was she gonna hang out her laundry on the line?  No way!  She wasn't gonna hang it out and have it come in stinkin' of smoke.  It's a pretty sad thing when your laundry is dirtier and stinkier AFTER bein' washed, you know.  Yes, a pretty sad thing, indeed.

Had the peep hung out her laundry, she would have had to have re-washed it when it came in to get rid of the stench of the smoke.  That would have used more water and even more electricity and then, in the end, she would have ended up puttin' it in the dryer after all.  MOUSES!

DOES NO ONE CARE ABOUT OUR PLANET?

Of course, bein' a considerate cat, I allowed the peep to give me some chin tickles and tummy rubs until she calmed down and felt better.

After calmin' the peep, I went to work investigatin' the crime at paw.  You heard me correctly... CRIME.  'Cause what I had just witnessed was a crime against nature and the environment, for sure. It's no wonder Mother Nature has been dishin' out such nasty weather lately.  She's probably feelin' pretty cranky, too.  Just like my peep.  MOUSES!

Turns out, the people down the street who were burnin' brush last Saturday mornin' were doin' so illegally.  Turns out, NO DOMESTIC BURNIN' is allowed anywhere in the Province of Nova Scotia durin' the hours of 8am and 2pm.  Nowhere, not under any circumstances.  I have to admit, I was quite proud of my province after findin' out about that.

But then I got to thinkin'...  Why can they burn brush in the afternoons?  Hmmm...  This required more investigatin' on my part, for sure.

No one really needs to burn brush or leaves.  It's simply not necessary.  Leaves, of course, can be composted.  They should be composted.  No doubt about that.  My peep composts leaves all the time and uses them as mulch, too.  They make great mulch for the primroses and whatnot growin' in my garden.

As for brush, there are other ways to get rid of it. Peep #1 has never in her life burned brush.  She has two little brush piles for the wildlife that appreciates such things and when she needs to get rid of stuff that can't go in those piles - like the bramble canes that scratched her to bits last week - she puts it in the green bin where it'll be taken away for composting.  Sure, she's limited by what she can fit into the bin but what doesn't fit one week, will surely fit the next time around.  Kind of goes without sayin', I should think.

Now I know, some peeps out there just like to burn things.  Strange but true, unfortunately.

But why do they have to burn stuff in the afternoon? Why can't they burn stuff startin' in the evening? When it won't interfere with peeps tryin' to do laundry or openin' their windows to let fresh air into the house or just enjoyin' the great outdoors?

It seems to me that it would be far better to PROHIBIT ALL DOMESTIC BURNIN' during the hours of 8am to to 7pm, no matter what the weather.  As it is, dependin' on the weather and the forest fire probability, there are already some days when this occurs.  Why not every day?  Then, if peeps have their hearts set on lighting a fire, they can do so in the evenin' and throughout the night.  They can still burn their brush - no matter how unnecessarily - but do so without interferin' with everyone else.

But what about camp fires?  Could you roast veggie dogs and tofu burgers on a camp fire for lunch if burnin' was prohibited durin' the day?  Peeps are gonna wanna know 'bout that.

Unfortunately, the answer to that question would be no but...  BUT THERE'S A WAY TO FIX THAT. Seriously, when makin' these regulations someone should have consulted a cat.  You know, to work out the kinks and whatnot.

Currently, a camp fire is considered an open fire just like a burnin' pile of brush.  Why not EXCLUDE camp fires bein' used for the purpose of cookin' food?  All it takes is a simple little clause statin' that during the hours of 2pm and 7pm, camp fires used for cookin' food can be lit providing that it's a day where burnin' will be allowed after 7pm.  MOUSES that was easy.  Why can't peeps think of stuff like that?

But back to the peep's dirty laundry and the welfare of the planet.

When someone burns brush, they pollute the air.  The burnin' of brush sends carbon emissions up the wazoo and into the atmosphere.  You're thinkin', it's just one little brush fire but no, it's not.  It's not 'cause rest assured, if one person is burnin' brush, so is another one on the next street over and another on the street beyond that.  All those little brush fires add up to one monstrously big one. MOUSES!

If an ocean is made up of tiny drops of water, the mother of all mother-carbon-emitting brush fires is made up of small little fires scattered around the neighbourhood.  Again I say...  MOUSES!

What's more, as a result of one person burnin' brush, a whole lot of other people are gonna be puttin' their wet clothes in the dryer instead of using a clothes line.  And instead of openin' their windows to allow fresh breezes to cool down their houses, they're gonna keep those windows closed 'cause of the smoke and instead, turn on their air conditioners.  With all those clothes dryers and air conditioners runnin' on high, the carbon emissions are addin' up even more.  They're addin' up EXPONENTIALLY!

It seems to me that the issue at paw is this.  Currently, the burnin' of brush is bein' handled solely by the Department of Natural Resources and it's all about forest safety.  But burnin' brush shouldn't just concern them.  There's more at stake here than the forests.  THERE'S THE PLANET!

The peeps workin' in the Department of Natural Resources are tryin' to keep our forests safe from wildfires.  That's their job but it's high time that the Department of Environment weighed in on this matter to keep the planet safe, too.

I, Nerissa the Cat, am personally imploring the Nova Scotia Minister of Environment to put his head together with the Minister of Natural Resources and to come up with a plan - TOGETHER - that will keep both our forests and our planet safe.  I'm BEGGING you here and as a cat, I very rarely beg.  What do you think I am?  A dog???

It seems to me that all the little bits we can do to help the environment add up to one big bit.  Remember those oceans.  One drop at a time, does an ocean make.  One drop at a time...

Ban all burnin' of brush from 8am 'til 7pm every day with the exception of allowin' small, open fires for the purpose of cookin' food between select hours.  Easy peasy, if you ask me but then, I'm a cat and you know...  cats are smart.  Certainly smarter than your average peep.

'Nough said.  MOUSES!

35 comments:

  1. Out here in L.A., where it is try and the hills are full of brush, there are no fires allowed, EVER! In fact, my human doesn't even like using the fireplace (when we had a working one), because she worries about fire danger so much.

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  2. Oh thats not good. Mom knows the feeling - the downstairs who is also the landlord, burns in the middle of the driveway without a permit OR watching it. Some other bean though called the fire department on him and he got in trouble we think. He no longer burns stuff in the driveway. Glad you are okay now!

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  3. We have bins for garden waste and they are emptied every other week apart from 2 months in the winter when it is unlikely any one would want to be out there in the rain and snow. This has stopped bonfires from polluting the air.
    Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

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  4. A very worthy cause to take up Nerissa - we're with you!

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  5. We are on your side. Our Peep likes to hang laundry outside too and would never burn plant material. In fact, she takes hers to the city recycling center where they compost or make mulch out of it.

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  6. Go nerissa go girl. I havr thr same colours as u. We cud be twins. Im 5 and called poppy. And u nissa?

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  7. Great plan Nissy,but....and this is a big but (not butt) we see one flaw. Your plan involves two Government departments talking to one another.See what we're saying?
    You'll find a way though...all our lungs (that includes the planet's) are depending on you.
    The REAL Maple Syrup Mob xxxxx

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    1. MOUSES! Never thought about that. Hmmm... Maybe if I was to take one of 'em over....

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  8. dood....veree wise werdz inn deed...we think ewe shuld run for like mayor ore sumthin....they haz electshunz goin on rite now heer...well...they did yester day.....what bout wear ewe live.....never two late ta get on bored....we will vote for ewe :) ♥♥♥♥♥

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  9. My peep used to get mad when neighbours would burn if she had laundry out.She would always go and tell them off as a consequence hardly any of our neighbours were on good terms with us but hey-ho we had lovely clean washing!!!love and purrsXXX

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  10. Yep, someone is always burning stuff where we live, even when told it is not safe to do it.

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  11. Well no wonder your fur is all ruffled!!!! I agree with the above comment! I would totally vote for you!!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  12. We agree Nissy! Start small but dream big!
    Marty

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  13. We's always on a burn ban here becuz we's in a permanent drought, so we don't gotta put up wif dat junk.

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  14. So, did you report them if it’s illegal? I would have and so would my peeps. It shouldn’t be legal at any time cos it causes pollution and forest fires, etc. Our marsh areas all over NJ are burning up due to careless humans.

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  15. We can't burn stuff here...though some peeps have fire pits where they can make fires. We don't like when they do that because it stinks up the neighborhood!

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  16. We hear ya, Nissy. People really need to take better care of our planet and resources...

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  17. Hmmm, lots to think about, Nerissa. We mulch our brush (limbs, tree that fell during storm) to use or let the city mulch it to use. Mulch is very impawtant to help keep our plants, trees, and flowers alive during the hot, dry season here.
    Another problem we have here is the dreaded 3-leaf poison ivy, poison oak, problem. If you burn it, it goes into the air and some people (like my Mommy) have severe health conseqences from it.

    Wonderful post, Nissy.

    XOXO

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  18. Fires are frowned upon here, but I'm in the city. I never understood people's fascination with burning leaves either. People are weird.

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  19. Well, wees liv in a 24 houw wowld now so yous day is sumpawdy elses night. And an open fiwe needs tendin' or it kuld get outta hand and buwn yous house down. So da last fing yous want is sumpawdy buwnin' fwu da night while deys sleepin'. As fuw da leaves and compostin' 'em, most of da leavs wound hewe awe diseased and dey's da last fing yous wanna use as mulch. Deys will kill yous woses and uddew plants. So much bettew tu buwn dem den tu lose yous whole gawden or yawd tu diseas. And wees not allowed tu fwo lawn pwoducts in da gawbage cans, so wees gotta du sumfin wiff 'em. And buwnin' kills off da bad and diseas and causes fwesh new gwowf. As fuw openin' up windows, wiff allergies on da wise and 100 degwee temps, ders no way any windows awe goin' up wound hewe. Dis planet will be hewe fuwevew as God intended it tu. Hav a Pawsum week.

    Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses ♥♥♥

    Dezi

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  20. hehe oh you! you talk funny (^・o・^)ノ"
    but i agree. starting fires in neighborhoods is never a good idea. I'd be mad if my neighbor just started burning things right next to my house. that's dangerous!

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  21. Oh no, not bonfires on laundry day - that's a heinous villainous thing to occur - there's nothing worse than smoky linens!!! EEEEEEEEEK!

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  22. When are you going to stand for some sort of office pal, you'd have everything sorted in a matter of weeks!

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  23. Dat iz pawful. Dey do da same fings here light fires on clear nice days and pollute the air. Then the wind comes up and has burned thousands of acres. Silly Hoomins dey nevva learn. ~Willy

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  24. Mum gets mad over stuff like that as she doesn't have a dryer,xx Speedy

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  25. 842 pawz up Nerissa!! WE fink ya shuud be da Purrime Ministur of diz countree...ya haz pawsum ideaz n we agreez 'bout da burnin firez too!!
    We finkz dere iz such a rule in Ontario...Mum sayz each purrovince doez dere own fing...shuud bee one rule frum coast to coast.....den peepz wuud nott get confused easylike ;)
    Lub Nylablue =^,,^= n Sherriellen Mum too xoxoxo

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    1. Even more confusin' than that. At times, here in Nova Scotia, each county and municipality are all doin' their own thing. MOUSES!

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  26. Hope you can enjoy some open windows and fresh air soon ~Rascal and Rocco

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  27. You are right Nissy So many people around the world show little respect for others and the planet.
    My Nat à Chat try her best ... but from time to time she has to burn things. When your live in the south of France, you have to clean your garden before summer time. It's an obligation !
    Good luck !...
    Ronrons
    Hisia

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  28. Hope this post encourages people to do more composting and less burning of garden rubbish - especially when the neighbours have washing hung outside.

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  29. Dad and our family do all we can to preserve the planet. We recycle and are very careful about all energy use. Dad says when he goes shopping he is always amazed at the huge vehicles these tiny peeps drive. Maybe that is the issue. Small peeps small heads small brains. Then again there must be larger peeps driving those same huge vehicles. Maybe the small brain has nothing to do with head size. Now I think I am on the right track
    As you say Nissy, Mouses
    Or is that Mouse Size Brains?

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  30. Hi Nerissa, First, I am sorry we've been scarce--the Human says this is her "busy" time of year--as if anything should come before *me*! Pffft.

    But you're totally right! Here in the SF Bay Area, no kind of outdoor "domestic" burning is really allowed (except BBQ's & in some places a campfire). In fact, lots of cities have laws that new homes cannot have fireplaces, and there are "Spare the Air" days when even older homes with fireplaces are not allowed to use them. But of course there are still a bazillion cars and plenty of other bad stuff. Sigh. Those Humans--very careless of OUR planet!

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  31. Exactly, I think one drop at a time is a good way to start. After a while it all adds up.

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  32. You got it right Nissy, the peeps are not treating our planet well at all. Can't recall the last time anyone was allowed to burn yard waste in Calif. In Nevada they are still burying away...Mom L just learned that while at BP

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I love hearin' from my pals. I really, REALLY do. PURRS.