Dump at small Russian arctic town attracts 50 polar bears

Dwindling sea ice and a garbage dump buffet are probably two causes of a huge influx of polar bears to towns in the Russian arctic. The situation is risky for both polar bears and humans as their proximity increases the potential for conflict.

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Over fifty bears enter small town

The Washington Post reports:

Fences have risen around kindergartens. Special vehicles transport military personnel to their work sites. Residents of the island settlement are afraid to leave their homes. Novaya Zemlya is a Russian archipelago stretching into the Arctic Ocean..Officials in the Arkhangelsk region, where the archipelago lies, declared a state of emergency Saturday because of the marauding mammals. Polar bears are typically born on land but live mostly on sea ice, where they hunt and feed on seals. But as Arctic ice thins, an occurrence linked to the acceleration of climate change, the animals move ashore, ravenous. They scavenge, sometimes coming into contact with human populations.

The town of Belushya Guba on Novaya Zemlya islands in the Russian Arctic has seen an invasion of at least 52 polar bears during the last few months. The town of about two thousand is the main settlement on the islands. The bears are not only at the dump but come into town invading homes and office buildings. The appended video shows the bears at the dump and in town. The invasion is a prelude of things to come as the sea ice melts driving polar bears into settlements with their garbage dumps.

Geoff York, senior director of the non-profit Polar Bears International said that polar bear attics are relatively rare but he notes that when polar bears and humans exist close together the risk of conflict will increase. Human food is a major attraction to bears of all kinds At many campgrounds trash is thrown into bear proof containers. However, in the arctic towns open dump, the bears have an outdoor buffet.

Anatoly Kochnev, a senior scientist at the Russian Academy of Science noted that its hard work for a polar bear to catch a seal but the dump is like a free luxurious restaurant. They will no doubt stay in town until they have eaten everything they can. Bears tend to return to wherever they have found food before, so they are likely to return again to the dump. Kochnev says that getting rids of trash in the settlements on Novaya Zemlya will be key. He said everything needs to be destroyed that attracts polar bears.

The Churchill Manitoba solution

The northern Manitoba community of Churchill on Hudson's Bay was also concerned about polar bears at the town dump some of whom would occasionally wander into town. In 2006 they decided to close down the dump and bury the garbage. The garbage will be stored in an old shipping and receiving hub left at a former military base. Shawn Bobier, district supervisor with the provincial Conservation Department said: "It's a big building with a concrete floor. All the windows and doors have been covered up with metal bars to keep all the animals out." Tourism officials hope the dump closure will help the image of the town as tourists will no longer see bears at the dump surrounded by burning trash.

The Siberia town may not have such an old building available although it is possible. Meanwhile even an electric fence could help and burning or burying trash when possible. As it is now everything is out in plain view and accessible.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Cannabis Co-ops may help small marijuana operatives go the legal route

Many small producers who were already producing marijuana before it was legalized claim that the new marijuana legislation framework excludes many small producers with much experience.

Marijuana co-ops to the rescue

A recent CBC article notes: " British Columbia may be famous for its bud but some say Canada's new marijuana legalization framework is excluding the small producers with established know-how. A movement is growing in the province to address that problem with a common idea: cannabis co-operatives."

Barinder Rasode, the founder and CEO of Grow Tech Labs said: "Some may argue we've lost our place to either Ontario or Alberta based on the number of licensed producers based out of those provinces. We're very focused on making sure that B.C. remains a world leader in the area." Rasode, who also formed the National Institute for Cannabis Health and Education, says that she has traveled throughout BC talking to small producers who had been growing marijuana well before legalization.

Rasode reports that small producers complained that entering the legal market is too costly for them and the regulations too complex — including such restrictions as having a 195 square meter production limit. The security clearance criteria are also non-specific.

Grow Tech Labs and Victory Square Technologies have launched a cannabis co-op this month that is to begin with a consultation province with small producers and processors Rasode claimed. Grow Tech will provide startup funds, but it will be up to the members to choose an executive and set bylaws and a governance model.

Rasode notes: "To have a co-op based model where there is a collaboration on not only success but risk mitigation and learning outcomes from each other is a model that has worked in Canada and definitely in B.C. with other commodities like wheat and cranberries."

Other Cannabis Co-ops

The Cascadia Agricultural Co-operative Association is trying to create a medical marijuana co-op that would include not just producers and processors, but also consumers and retailers. The co-op would provide shared access to resources such as accounting and legal support.

A CBC article reports that, "Current regulations prevent such a marketplace from operating independently. All distribution has to go through the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch." This is true of recreational marijuana, but unless things have changed, medical marijuana goes through licensed producers: "There are over 40 Licensed Producers (LP’s) that operate under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). These LP’s offer a wide range of cannabis products that are currently being sold in dried cannabis and cannabis oil form. Prices vary from LP to LP and most offer patients a compassionate pricing discount if the annual household income is less than $30K. Patients can choose between products that contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Cannabidiol (CBD) or a combination of both cannabinoids."

No doubt the co-op does not fit into current regulations. That is a problem that will need to be dealt with before the Co-op can begin operating.

Kootenay Outdoor Producers Co-op

In Kaslo, BC, Todd Veri said he was inspired to start the Kootenay Outdoor Producers Co-op after he read a federal government task force report on cannabis which claimed there would be space for small growers.

The co-op has 35 local outdoor properties lined up to join. It is reducing costs by using a "community garden" approach in which several growers will cultivate the same piece of land. The co-op also has a 460 square meter nursery in Salmo ready to begin operation but Health Canada has yet to process the application he had submitted last December.

Licences are expensive and take time to get

Veri said: "Our biggest concern now is we've been going on the hope that the licence application will take 60 to 90 days. If they take 120 or even 150, that's going to really impact whether our farms get licensed this year."

Each property requires its own licence, a fact that makes the community garden approach for small producers sensible. Each licence involves a $23,000 regulatory fee, a $3,000 application fee, a $1,700 security fee, plus other costs. At the end of January this year, Health Canada had received 83 micro-cultivation licence applications. This included 54 for cultivation only, 7 for processing only, and 22 for both. Only one company so far has received a micro-cultivation license.

There are no special rules for co-ops

Uruguay and the state of Massachusetts have special regulations for co-ops. Rielle Capier, a researcher at the BC Centre on Substance use notes: "The regulations here don't have a separate category for co-operatives like they do in those other jurisdictions, but our regulations also don't necessarily preclude that from happening."

The system of having many small local producers worked while marijuana was illegal. The small growers simply want to preserve that arranged within a legal structure Capier claims.

Previously published in Digital Journal