Category Archives: this and that

Paper made from Agricultural Waste

Major Bet Pays Off for Cascades and Canopy: New Book Printed on Straw-Based Paper

Created by Julie Loyer March 6, 2012,

 {orginally posted on blog.cascades.com/2012/03/06}

Through a unique partnership with Canopy, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the world’s forests, Cascades participated in a unique pilot project: the publication of a special edition of In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination, by renowned Canadian author Margaret Atwood, on Second Harvest Paper made from agricultural waste.

This revolutionary paper is manufactured from a mixture of recycled fibre and leftover straw recovered from cereal crops after the harvest. The Cascades Fine Papers Group produced these remarkable sheets at our Rolland plant, at Saint-Jerome,Québec,Canada. The quality of the finished product is so exceptional that it’s very difficult to distinguish from “normal” paper. Since that was our goal, this is great news!

Our work began when Canopy, who was in charge of the project, turned to us for assistance thanks to our longstanding relationship. From the outset, we shared the same goal of making our products more environmentally friendly. With this special edition of the Margaret Atwood book, we wanted to demonstrate the viability of Second Harvest Paper as an alternative to traditional paper. Second Harvest offers a great way to diversify the sources of North American fibre used to make paper and reduce pressure on forests, while recycling waste products from another industry.

“There is enough leftover straw in North Americato keep up to 800 million trees standing every year and Canopy has already identified customer demand to keep four pulp mills running full time,” says Nicole Rycroft, Executive Director of Canopy. “Shifting paper production from our endangered forests to our fields would yield a new resource sector with benefits to farming communities, our economy, and forest ecosystems around the world.”

Cascades has been manufacturing Rolland Enviro100 paper for several years, and our desire to innovate has led us to ask “where do you go after 100% recycled?” This project has provided an answer.

The crucial next step between the pilot project and the marketing of this product is to establish an infrastructure inNorth Americato convert straw into pulp suitable for paper production. A project of this magnitude will require the participation of several partners.

This initiative is an example of a successful partnership that advances the state of the art and sets the stage for projects that once seemed unfeasible. With teamwork and courage, nothing is impossible!

Mayan Milpa

Mexico is the centre of origin for maize (corn) and there are estimates of aproximately 20,000 (some estimates are up to 40,000) varieties of maize. The ancient peoples of Mexico were amazing farmers and scientists really as they developed all these varieties over thousands of years. Unfortunately the native varieties are becoming contaminated with GMOs brought in from the U.S.

leavingthesafeharbor

There are different kinds of working hard, and by no means am I saying we do not work hard in the US. However, the work that goes into these milpas for such uncertain returns is incredible. A milpa, for those of you that don’t know, is a field for self-sufficient farming. The food really is for the family. A little may be used to pay off debts, sell to families without milpas, etc. The majority, however, is for the family to be consumed fresh or stored to be used to the entire year. The land is mostly used for corn with squash growing near the ground and beans growing up the stalks. The three of these create a unique combination and all three of the plants do better when planted together. Neat, huh?

Another section is cleared off for fruits and vegetables. I know there were tomatoes, peppers, watermelon and…

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from Surrey Medieval;

Looking carefully you can see the intricate carving from a thousand years ago.

It is quite beautiful.

Surrey Medieval

…but this is pretty special in my eyes.

Last week I visited the remains of the Roman amphitheatre below the Guildhall Art Gallery in the City of London. It’s well worth a look (with free entry as an added sweetener), even if the illuminated graphics on the walls are more Tron than Gladiator (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve been already). In the corridor area just above the amphitheatre floor there are some display cases containing some of the more notable Roman, medieval and post-medieval artefacts recovered from excavations in and around the Guildhall site. What you see above is the jawbone of an ox, onto which has been carved an interlacing knotwork pattern (another eight similar carvings were found in the excavations). Dating from the eleventh century, it is all the more remarkable because the carving was done as a practice; presumably the craftsman’s intention was always to discard it when…

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Happy Birthday Mr. Darwin

Charles Darwin 1809-1882

Birth date:  February 12 1809

Not the Discovery Channel

So, on this day 203 years ago, Charles Darwin was born.  He was the fifth child of a wealthy doctor and the daughter of an industrialist. Not exactly a destitute come-from-nothing story. The family had a history of forward thinking, as both his maternal and paternal grandfathers were strong supporters of the abolitionist movement, which sought to end slavery.  His paternal grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was also a natural philosopher of some standing. It would be a better story if he had some mythic origin story, with trials and adversity surrounding his birth, or if he overcame repression and diversity to change the world. But given his social standing and family history it’s actually not that surprising that Darwin ended up being the researcher he was.

Not exactly a romantic beginning for a man who’s name would become a rally point for some of the most heated debates in…

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Solidarity!!!

Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant

By The Canadian Press

LONDON, Ont. – A national casual clothing chain has pulled Caterpillar boots from its London, Ont., stores after the heavy-equipment giant shut down a local locomotive plant.

Mark’s Work Wearhouse says it is showing support for hundreds of workers who lost their jobs at the Electro-Motive.

The retailer announced the move on its Facebook page Saturday, a day after U.S-based Caterpillar revealed its plans to close the plant following a labour dispute.

The company had asked its 450 employees to take a 50 per cent pay cut to help keep Electro-Motive going.

The CAW union members rejected the proposal, prompting the company to lock them out Jan. 1.

Caterpillar subsidiary Progress Rail Services said the cost structure at the London plant was unsustainable, even though Caterpillar last week reported a 58 per cent increase in its quarterly earnings with a record profit of nearly $5 billion.

 

What is most amazing to me is the lack of strong response from the Canadian government, who gave the company millions in corporate tax cuts and lack of strong response from the Ontario government.