Tick Removal Courtesy of CDC

https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html

Tick Removal

If you find a tick attached to your skin, there's no need to panic. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers will remove a tick quite effectively.

How to remove a tick

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible.
Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.
Dispose of a live tick by submersing it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet. Never crush a tick with your fingers.

Avoid folklore remedies such as "painting" the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible–not waiting for it to detach.

Clipart image showing how to remove an embedded tick with a pair of tweezers.

Follow-up

If you develop a rash or fever within several weeks of removing a tick, see your doctor. Be sure to tell the doctor about your recent tick bite, when the bite occurred, and where you most likely acquired the tick.

Page last reviewed: June 1, 2015
Page last updated: June 1, 2015
Content source:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
  Division of Vector-Borne Diseases (DVBD)

Preventing Tick Bites on Peopl

https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/prev/on_people.html

Preventing Tick Bites on People

Image montague of a man treating his clothing with permethrin

While it is a good idea to take preventive measures against ticks year-round, be extra vigilant in warmer months (April-September) when ticks are most active.

Avoid Direct Contact with Ticks

Avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter.
Walk in the center of trails.

Repel Ticks on Skin and Clothing

Use repellent that contains 20 percent or more DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on exposed skin for protection that lasts several hours.
- Always follow product instructions. Parents should apply this product to their children, avoiding hands, eyes, and mouth.
Use products that contain permethrin on clothing. Treat clothing and gear, such as boots, pants, socks and tents with products containing 0.5% permethrin. It remains protective through several washings. Pre-treated clothing is available and may be protective longer.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has an online tool to help you select the repellent that is best for you and your family.

Find and Remove Ticks from Your Body

Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors (preferably within 2 hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that are crawling on you.
Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body upon return from tick-infested areas. Parents should check their children for ticks under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, around the waist, and especially in their hair.
Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats, and day packs.
Tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing after you come indoors.
- If the clothes are damp, additional time may be needed.
- If the clothes require washing first, hot water is recommended. Cold and medium temperature water will not kill ticks effectively. If the clothes cannot be washed in hot water, tumble dry on low heat for 90 minutes or high heat for 60 minutes. The clothes should be warm and completely dry.

How is one reborn after a fall? by Muriel Barbery

14. From Passageway to Pathway

What is this war we are waging, when defeat is so certain? Day after day, already wearied by the constant onslaught, we face our terror of the everyday, the endless passageway that, in the end--because we have spent so much time walking to and fro between its walls---will become a destiny. Yes, my angel, that is our everyday existence:dreary, empty, and mired deep in troubles. The pathways of hell are hardy foreign; we shall end up there one day if we tarry too long. From passageway to pathway; it is an easy fall, without shock or surprises. Every day we are reacquainted with the sadness of the passageway and step by step we clear the path towards our mournful doom.
Did he see the pathways? How is one reborn after a fall? What new pupils restore sight to scorched eyes? Where does war begin, where does combat end?

Thus, a camellia.

From "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barberyhttp://www.monrovia.com/plant_collection/camellias/

Image may contain: flower, plant and nature

Petitioning Jody Wilson-Raybould Justice For Serenity - The Voices of Change Keri Whitebear Canada

https://www.change.org/p/jody-wilson-raybould-justice-for-serenity-the-voices-of-change/c/610431494

SUPPORTER COMMENT

Justice needs to be served for this Young girl and her family. The voices of our aboriginal children who are dying in care should be heard. It's like the residential schools all over again

Jessica Yellowbird, Camrose, Canada

7 hours ago

https://www.change.org/p/jody-wilson-raybould-justice-for-serenity-the-voices-of-change

Justice For Serenity - The Voices of Change

Keri Whitebear Canada

As you all know, my granddaughter, Serenity, is the face of a 4 year old who suffered the utmost unimaginable experience of life. Fighting for her safety and requests made to child and family services were ignored leading up to her final destination. These images you see plastered in the media were taken 4 days before her last breath was taken.

The people responsible for the death of Serenity still has not been put to justice because of the current laws in the government has in place that people who are in kinship are not being held responsible for the death of Serenity.

I had someone from the government promise me changes in the policies, shortly afterwards, he was released from his position. I wonder why? What if this happened to one of their own family member, guaranteed, they would be working hard to ensure answers. Nobody is doing anything. Calgary homicide investigations are putting this down as a cold case until solid information comes forth. As far as I am concerned, all individuals who lived in that house should be held responsible for the results of this beautiful angel who is now in heaven.

Because this is such a sensitive case, we are not posting the links of her on here as it is a trigger for those who had to see her this way. 4 days, a grandmother who tried to help her grand baby, was shunned and was never allowed to see Serenity due to inner family fighting. Family of Serenity had fought and tried to get her help, but was told Serenity was fine. Shortly after, Family was called to the hospital.

Wanting to be the voice for children in care and Serenity, it is a mission I decided to take on and to ensure her face and name will never be forgotten. My Grand daughter Serenity Deserves Justice - Please help me get this message to the people and sign this petition that the people who kept her are help responsible for her death. #justiceforserenity

This petition will be delivered to:

Jody Wilson-Raybould

#usecitizensto pullsocietyforward

http://readingchildrensbooks.blogspot.ca/2015/11/for-when-we-unite-in-his-words-once-you.html

Monday, November 9, 2015

for when we unite institutions will alter themselves for our requirements--------In his words “once you have a mission, you can’t go back to having a job”.

best not to get your knickers in a twist
best instead to work for years

best not to be perceived as adversarial
(whatever government doesn't agreed with is feared)

best not to look to the places of push
for what needs changing instead use citizens to pull society forward

best not to expect change
instead make change happen work relentlessly outside government

best understand that government is there to assist citizens
and then get government to do the work for you

best to be as sweet as pecan pie
and yet not be cut up by the knives of power

best to work day after day like a lively machine
for when we unite institutions will alter themselves for our requirements

best to be motivated by a mission you'll be like Shai Agassi
In his words “once you have a mission, you can’t go back to having a job”.

the Secret Path project,

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/arts/secretpath/gord-downie-s-secret-path-airs-on-cbc-october-23-1.3802197

13k shares

Watch The Secret Path film and Road to Reconciliation panel live now

On October 22, 1966 near Kenora, Ontario, Chanie Wenjack died when he walking home to the family he was taken from over 400 miles away. Fifty years later, Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie has taken Wenjack's story and turned it into the Secret Path project, which consists of a solo album, a graphic novel and an animated film. The intention for Downie — went public with his diagnosis of terminal brain cancer in May — is to utilize his celebrity to draw attention to Wenjack's story and the legacy of residential schools.

"Secret Path acknowledges a dark part of Canada's history – the long-suppressed mistreatment of Indigenous children and families by the residential school system – with the hope of starting our country on a road to reconciliation," the project's website states.

Downie's music and award-winning cartoonist Jeff Lemire's illustrations will also come together in an animated film to be broadcast by CBC in an hour-long commercial-free television special on Sunday, October 23, 2016, at 9pm (9:30 NT) — and livestream here on CBC Arts at 9PM ET.

Why all Canadians need to follow in the example of Gord Downie

'The most emotional thing I've ever done': Jeff Lemire on illustrating Gord Downie's Secret Path
With Secret Path, Gord Downie is illuminating a way forward to Indigenous artists

How can Chanie Wenjack's story make a difference? Immediately following The Secret Path broadcast, CBC will live-stream The Road to Reconciliation, a special one-hour panel conversation with CBC's Jesse Wente, filmmaker Tasha Hubbard, and National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation director Ry Moran, live from CBC's Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. In an engaging discussion, these Indigenous leaders will reflect on how art can help us face the past and work together to change Canada's future. The panel can be streamed in Canada and worldwide at cbc.ca/secretpath starting at 10 p.m. ET on Sun. Oct. 23.

The ten song album associated with the projects is now available on Arts & Crafts, accompanied by an 88-page graphic novel illustrated by Lemire. Proceeds from the Secret Path will be donated to The Gord Downie Secret Path Fund for Truth and Reconcilation via the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.

The struggle to find care

By Marcia Love, Spruce Grove Examiner/Stony Plain Reporter

Friday, July 29, 2016 9:57:02 MDT AM

Photo supplied

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The system is broken. It’s shattering lives and must be fixed.

That’s the message an area family is trying to get out after they say their mother suffered as a result of a deeply flawed health care system.

Cynthia Jonasson and Elizabeth Podgurny spent years trying to get the proper care for their mother, Grace Denyer, as her health declined. The sisters recounted the struggles they went through — from misdiagnoses to delayed treatments to lies.

Now, Jonasson has released their story in the pages of her book, On My Mother’s Behalf, which came out last month. The book was edited by Podgurny.

“We hope to give a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves — to bring about awareness,” said Podgurny. “Most people are unaware of what many seniors and their families experience in ‘the System’ until they encounter it themselves.”

Denyer’s health problems began in 2008 when she was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. With her eyesight also failing, memory issues and physical decline, her daughters sought appropriate care for her within their community.

Denyer passed away in 2012.

On My Mother’s Behalf tells of the family’s journey “through a system that has lost its compassion and where indifference is pervasive,” Jonasson writes.

Denyer was placed in a long-term care facility in 2010, where her daughter said the care she received was inadequate. This progressed to the point her family decided she would not be returning to the facility.

They then learned of a private long-term care home in the area, and Denyer moved there in December 2011.

According to Jonasson, a monthly rate was agreed upon, however, the owner was soon asking for an additional $1,500 a month. They later learned it was not a licensed long-term care home, but a group home. Shortly after that, they received an eviction notice.

Political battles followed, and eventually an appeal panel found staff at the long-term care facility had failed to provide adequate medical attention resulting in serious bodily harm.

But the family said this doesn’t change what happened to their mother, and it hasn’t solved anything.

“Even though the facility and staff were found guilty, the private care home broke the law and governmental policies, there was no accountability,” Jonasson stated. “There was no penalty, little to nothing was done. There was no change.”

The sisters, who live in the Spruce Grove-St. Albert riding, had several meetings with the deputy premier at the time regarding their struggles with the health care system.

Jonasson began the process of writing down their experiences as a cathartic exercise, with no intention of publishing it, but Podgurny insisted their story needed to be heard.

After the struggles with long-term care, Podgurny equipped her home to care for her mother’s needs, and the family hired staff to assist.

Since the book was released, Podgurny said they have been approached by many people who have loved ones in the health care system.

“They have shared their past and ongoing struggles — often in tears,” she said, adding they have even heard from health care employees who are afraid to speak out but have spoken privately to them about their concerns.

The sisters hope sharing their story will bring awareness and spark changes in a system that should be offering care and compassion to the most vulnerable.

“If nothing changes in our medical system,” Jonasson writes, “potentially this could be you and your loved one’s story.”

On My Mother’s Behalf is available at Indigospirit in the Westland Market Mall and online at www.onmymotherbehalf.ca.

Project Value----This is about projecting our value.

https://www.facebook.com/projectmyvalue/?fref=nf

Project Value

July 25 at 7:00am

As we enter complex discussion in Canada about doctor-assisted suicide, we worry that Canadians are only getting one side of the disability story – that death is a natural choice for these poor suffering disabled people. But this story doesn’t speak to the experiences of many with disabilities.

This project seeks to explore a different perspective; to share stories and experiences that contradict the narrative that disability is a fate worse than death.

This is about projecting our value.

Want to participate in ‪#‎ProjectValue‬? Help us by liking/sharing our videos and if you're a person with a disability who lives in opposition to your diagnosis, send us a private message and we'd be happy to help you make your own #ProjectValue video!

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Julie Ali Families should speak about issues raised regarding their disabled family members. My handicapped sister was nearly prematurely terminated by doctors at the Grey Nuns Hospital. This is unacceptable medical practice in my opinion and should not be tolerated in Alberta but it is. We have the minister of health indicating our concerns to the CEO of AHS and the CEO of Covenant Health but what action has been taken? Why did the doctors persist in their attempts to prematurely terminate a severely handicapped woman on repeated occasions at the Grey Nuns Hospital when her blood CO2 levels indicated that she wasn't capable of making a competent decision about her care? Why did doctors at the University of Alberta Hospital not do what the doctors at the Grey Nuns Hospital attempt which was "Do not Resusciate", "Do not intubate" and "no ICU?" Why is there any sort of unilateral termination decisions by doctors at the Grey Nuns Hospital contrary to the legal requirements of the personal directive document? My sister has a personal directive indicating full resuscitation and yet doctors failed to honour this document and persisted in their decision to terminate her. She's not dead yet but doctors would have ensured that she would have died and indicated that it was her decision when it was not. I suggest that all families make public such precarious situations of the handicapped in our society and support the Not Dead Yet movement.http://notdeadyet.org/.../video-the-disability-community...

VIDEO: The Disability Community Responds to Me Before You movie

NOTDEADYET.ORG

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Project Value Your point is very well made, Julia. As long as the dominant perspective of the medical community, media, movie-makers and society in general is disability = fate-worse-than-death, we will be vulnerable. #ProjectValue is trying to crack that perspective by projecting light on our values and the many and varied possibilities life offers us.

UnlikeReply14 hrs

Julie Ali Project Value Thank you for your work. The severely handicapped in our society face a system that is unable to comprehend their challenges, is overwhelmed by their repeated requirements for aid and hospitalization and furthermore remains obdurate in their stance that the system knows best. This results in endless problems for severely handicapped patients who lack insight. Many of the problems my sister faced were blamed on her. And yet none of the doctors involved bothered to do the necessary scientific investigations that I did. Why is a stay at home mummy doing the work of the health care and continuing care system in Alberta? Why did I have to do the data card downloads of her BIPAP machine when this is the responsibility of the continuing care respiratory department or the Covenant Health staff? These downloads done over the period of a year proved that staff did not put on the BIPAP machine for my sister resulting in two major hospitalizations. These are not "allegations" but confirmed abuse cases that have been written up by Alberta Health's division of Protection for Persons in Care and yet what changes have been made to this incompetent system? I am curious to find out and yet the respiratory review that I requested of Alberta Health Services is nowhere to be found. The quality audit by Alberta Health remains unpublished. We only have a single CCHSS (Alberta’s Continuing Care Health
Service Standards ) audit that shows multiple non-compliances. My follow up abuse complaint referring to further "allegations" discovered in my sister's medical report was not followed up by PPIC which appears to be a sanitizing body at the ministry. Why would the PPIC department not follow up on every abuse case in continuing care? It's a travesty of justice and is allowed simply because the handicapped citizen is powerless and has no voice in our society. When advocates publicly advocate in Alberta there is retribution including banning, eviction of family members from continuing care and legal consequences. This junk will only stop with sustained action by the disability movement with concomitant full media exposure.

LikeReply2 hrsEdited

VIDEO: The Disability Community Responds to Me Before You movie

http://notdeadyet.org/ndys-non-violent-direct-action http://notdeadyet.org/activists-protest-disability-snuff-film-me-before-you Activists Protest Disability Snuff Film ME BEFORE YOU! “Me Before You” is the latest Hollywood film to grossly misrepresent the lived experience of the majority of disabled people. In the film, a young man becomes disabled, falls in love with his ‘carer’ and they have an incredible 6 months together. Despite her opposition, however, the hero does the “honorable” thing by killing himself at a Swiss euthanasia clinic – leaving his fortune to her so she can move on and he is no longer a “burden” to her. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, “Me Before You” is little more than a disability snuff film, giving audiences the message that if you’re a disabled person, you’re better off dead. WAYS YOU CAN PROTEST: Two or more people can peacefully hand out a LEAFLET (National: Black & White or Color; for California protesters, version with an added sentence about the assisted suicide law going into effect on June 9th: California flyer) Display a “Me Before You” protest banner which can be made at local print shops Send a press release (you can use NDY’s template release, including local contacts) to send to your local media. Twitter using #MeBeforeYou #LiveBoldly #MeBeforeEuthanasia #MeBeforeAbleism National Protest Banner Banner description: The left side of the banner is a color photo from the ads for the film, including the lead actress in a red dress, sitting on the lap of the lead actor in the film who is slightly reclined in a wheelchair, and they are looking at each other lovingly. To the right of the photo are the words, “Me Before You is not a romance. It is a disability snuff movie, giving audiences the message that if you’re a disabled person, you’re better off dead. #LiveBoldly? We already do! #MeBeforeEuthanasia” Centered at the bottom of the banner is the logo of Not Dead Yet, The Resistance.

Abused by 'the system'

http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/Abused-by-the-system-20160622

Abused by 'the system'

A daughter's story of her elderly mother's mistreatment in long-term care

Wednesday, Jun 22, 2016 06:00 am

By: Scott Hayes

Comments |

A A

Cynthia Jonasson wrote this incredible and terribly upsetting book about her mother's mistreatment in a local long-term seniors' care facility. The book receives a launch and discussion event this weekend.
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Details

On My Mother's Behalf
by Cynthia Jonasson
157 pages
$14.25
Can be purchased in store at Chapters or online through Amazon.ca or PageMaster.

It’s a tragic story that simply had to be told. Cynthia Jonasson’s mother, Grace Denyer, passed away four years ago. She was a resident of a local long-term seniors care facility and was mistreated time and time again by staff and managers alike.

Mistreatment is an understatement.

The story made the headlines, but media coverage doesn’t fix what happened. It can only work to prevent the problem from happening again.

That’s why Jonasson (along with her sister Beth Podgurny acting as editor) decided that the story was too important to fade into the background. After all, it’s not the only story that has come out of people’s experiences within ‘the System.’ On My Mother’s Behalf is their new book, recently published and set to receive a book launch and discussion event this Saturday.

For all intents and purposes, it’s one of the most difficult stories that I have ever had to read. It’s also one of the best written: astute, precise, and brutally honest. The only thing that allays the anger that arises from hearing what happened to this woman and her family is the pleasure of reading a piece of non-fiction so professionally produced despite being from a novice author.

Some stories are that important. Jonasson said that it all started as a simple journalling as a way of recording the traumatic events instead of having them always in her head.

“The process of writing started as a cathartic exercise for me,” she began. “Beth took my writings, edited and organized them, and insisted that the story be shared. The decision to publish was tough. At times, I wanted to put my writing on the shelf. However, Beth encouraged me to share the story. In my heart, I knew she was right.”

Sharing the story is one thing but On My Mother’s Behalf is very careful to not name either the facility or the people in the health-care system who were involved. One could simply search through websites of organizations such as the Elder Advocates of Alberta Society to get an education on this and many other cases.

This book very carefully details not only Grace’s physical and psychological mistreatment but also the legal and political fallout that included legislative debate and Jonasson nearly being thrown in jail for her continued calling out of such systemic abuses.

While Grace’s story is now all a matter of record in the newspaper articles and the government reports, it was far more compelling for Jonasson to be non-specific because of how far-reaching the mistreatment goes. Grace, the author says, wasn’t alone.

“Ours is not a unique story. Many seniors and families have had and continue to have similar experiences in many different facilities. To focus on one facility would diminish the pervasiveness of these issues.”

The issues revolve around the lack of basic care and extend into outright abuse. Several times while reading the book, I found myself unable to tolerate even the thought of a person having to suffer as Grace did. I have no personal connection with anyone currently in such a facility but I was outraged. Such is the power of this story.

At the very beginning, Jonasson suggests that people wouldn't believe that it was an accurate retelling of actual events. She later clarified that she wrote this because she couldn’t believe it herself.

“I was experiencing my mother being neglected and abused right before my very eyes and couldn’t do anything about it or stop it. I hope to give a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves. To bring about awareness. Most people are unaware of what many seniors and their families experience in ‘the System’ until they encounter it themselves.”

“I hope that if I require the same level of care, by that time, ‘the System’ will have improved and no one will be experiencing what many are experiencing today.”

The book has already had two book launch events including one at the Chapters store here in St. Albert. Jonasson and Podgurny indicated that people continue to approach them to tell them their own stories from past and ongoing experiences “often in tears.” They have received thanks even from people working inside these facilities, some of whom she suggested were too afraid to speak out on their own. She encourages readers to be aware of agencies such as Public Interest Alberta and Persons for Protection in Care to get help.

The event takes place on Saturday, June 25 from noon to 4 p.m. Audreys Bookstore is located at Jasper Ave. in Edmonton. Visit www.onmymothersbehalf.ca for more information.

On My Mother's Behalf A Daughter's Story

Public Interest Alberta
February, 2012
Media Statement
March 14, 2012
Release Date June 6th, 2016!

About
Discussion

Julie Ali The Podgurny sisters are amazing and everyone should read their book. The unacceptable suffering of their mother is an indictment of the callous disregard of all governments -PC and NDP to the plight of our most vulnerable at risk seniors in continuing care. For those seniors and handicapped citizens who have family to advocate for them -there is always the risk of retribution; this risk has not been remedied by the weak response of Sarah Hoffman. Why has there been no effort by Sarah Hoffman and the NDP caucus to amend the Trespass to Premises legislation that allows any continuing care provider or hospital facility to ban and restrict families from contact with their loved ones? Instead of amending this unfair piece of Tory developed legislation we have a weak internal to AHS appeal policy that has no ability to correct injustices of any sort. Such an appeal policy is for show and not for correction. A just society model requires true remedy. When will Sarah Hoffman and the NDP folks do the job we have hired them to do? Or will they be fired and we will have to hire new people to government to do the will of the people of Alberta. Stand up for your families folks. Do what the Podgurny sisters courageously did--speak out, write about the hell family members go through and the failures of the government of Alberta to do anything about these abuses in continuing care.----------------On My Mother's Behalf A Daughter's Story------------------------Follow the story behind the headlines: blackmail; top political leaders ‘washing their hands’ of the situation, while other leaders wanting a front row seat; politicians debating her private care eviction in the legislature; nearly being thrown in jail; lawyers holding back disclosure; witnessing their mother's neglect and abuse by those entrusted to her care; and government watchdogs unwilling to fulfil their mandate.

The Giving Farm --Diana Daunheimer

http://www.givingfarm.com/alberta-clean-energy/

THE GIVING FARM

GROWING IS GIVING

FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY NEWS

List

Welcome to our energy section, an honest, educational and scientific approach to our unsustainable, dishonest and toxic energy choices.

All our information was gathered after our family experienced immense and irrevocable impacts from intense non-conventional resource extraction projects around our home. Instead of operating and enjoying our organic farm to the best of our abilities, these past few years we have been trying to save it.

incinerators

It was decided that instead of throwing all that time and energy to the wolves, we will endeavour to make the best of what has been some of the worst experiences we have had as a family.

The discrepancies of what one is told by oil and gas companies and what is actually occurring are vast, almost incomprehensible and the public must be educated on the real landscape of fossil fuel dependency. From the toxins used and produced to the falsified economic benefit, our predominant energy choices are harming us. This section of our site is here to present the truth on oil and gas operations, from the financials to the actual chemicals used in fracks, if they are ever to be disclosed, that is.

Only when each and every person is educated will we have the power to insist on change. Ignorance and apathy are the cornerstones of keeping this horrible industry in control of our communities, they also prey on our trust.

It has also always been a goal to transition our farm to renewable energy and will post our experiences with that process here. I actually promised Angle's construction supervisor our farm would be off-grid in the years to come. I will honor that promise to the best of my ability.

Dual incinerators burning sour gas, that operated non-compliantly, with visible flame, for 19 days south of our home.

Incineration, especially during well testing can result is less than 70% combustion efficiency, creating more than 150 hydrocarbon toxins. The noise generated from these tin telescopes is described by the AER as "sonic jet noise" yet the Directives state that a company cannot create more than 50 decibels of noise during the day and 4o at night. However, the AER has given industry a loop hole and now if a company tells you that operations will be excessively loud for the duration of drilling and completions they have no obligation to keep noise within these limits. The AER provides no scientific information for the public on the actual efficiency and subsequent health harm from exposure to incineration and flaring. This activity is potentially lethal and you have the right to request companies relocate you and your livestock for the duration of drilling and completions, especially during a sour gas operation. This event received a historical non-compliance as an audit revealed Angle did not submit a request via the AER DDS system for an extension of flare time, from 72 hours to 19 days. However, the AER refused to levy a high risk non-compliance for the operation of an incinerator with exposed flames.

If we are successful in our litigation against Angle Energy, now Bellatrix Exploration, any punitive damages we receive will be invested back into our community and towards programs that protect our natural resources, public health and help further education and development of renewable energy. If you have experienced adverse effects from oil and gas operations near your home and would like to submit a statement for our action email the: givingfarm@gmail.com

My apologies ahead of time, digging deep into what is happening regarding energy in Alberta and our entire planet is disheartening. I have nothing good to say about it, but hope that in saying it, something good will come of it. Please get involved in your own way. This should not be happening in our backyards, thousands, millions of times over.

DSC 0429

5-15 sour crude oil site, used for 3 years as waste and pipe storage, no secondary containment, top-soil push backs not replaced, drainage directly into Rosebud River and with the potential to impact our water well, also 100m away from an abandoned Bonavista well. The 500 barrel tank in background is one of two that held sour crude oil and vented the sour gas that disassociates from the liquid to atmosphere. These emissions were not properly disclosed to us during notifications, evidenced by a high-risk non-compliance upon audit of the well. Decline rates of wells are steep within the first year, 60-70% in the Cardium. One tank was removed because of this decline, the other removed after the AER investigated the well sites near our home, the sites that were venting hydrocarbons were tied into the local pipeline.

Hydraulic fracturing uses a small amount of chemicals or additives. This is criminally not true. The chemicals used and produced by the drilling, fracturing, processing and consumption of tight/shale hydrocarbons is so large, it's hard to comprehend. Harder yet to understand is just how companies, synergy and regulators can advertise such mis-truth about the volumes involved here. They get away with it because very few people look into it and no-one can really see it's accumulations and harm. They shove it in the folds, caverns and underground rivers of deep Earth, with overt assurances it will never surface, or interact with highly fractured environments, that are under intense and continual pressure.

The world is a churning, spinning, tilting wonder of physics. This eternal cyclic force is simply represented by the molten core of Earth ever creating and consuming land. There are no static environments on Earth, the waste we make not only will harm, it has already harmed. It's not a small amount.

SkyTruthMeetTheFrackFamily3

Times this by 6 (now 7) and make it all toxic hydrocarbon chemicals, this is our home and was not imaginary. This DOES NOT include drilling chemicals used, produced water from the formation, the methanol continually injected into the well bore or the waste gases and emissions from flaring, venting, acidizing, cementing, pigging, incineration, fugitive sources,(instrumentation, valves, thief hatches, etc) spills, loss of circulation and intense equipment and vehicular traffic.

Natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing chemicals with 10 or more health effects

• 2,2′,2″-Nitrilotriethanol

• 2-Ethylhexanol

• 5-Chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one

• Acetic acid

• Acrolein

• Acrylamide (2-propenamide)

• Acrylic acid

• Ammonia

• Ammonium chloride

• Ammonium nitrate

• Aniline

• Benzyl chloride

• Boric acid

• Cadmium

• Calcium hypochlorite

• Chlorine

• Chlorine dioxide

• Dibromoacetonitrile 1

• Diesel 2

• Diethanolamine

• Diethylenetriamine

• Dimethyl formamide

• Epidian

• Ethanol (acetylenic alcohol)

• Ethyl mercaptan

• Ethylbenzene

• Ethylene glycol

• Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (2-BE)

• Ethylene oxide

• Ferrous sulfate

• Formaldehyde

• Formic acid

• Fuel oil #2

• Glutaraldehyde

• Glyoxal

• Hydrodesulfurized kerosene

• Hydrogen sulfide

• Iron

• Isobutyl alcohol (2-methyl-1-propanol)

• Isopropanol (propan-2-ol)

• Kerosene

• Light naphthenic distillates, hydrotreated

• Mercaptoacidic acid

• Methanol

• Methylene bis(thiocyanate)

• Monoethanolamine

• NaHCO3

• Naphtha, petroleum medium aliphatic

• Naphthalene

• Natural gas condensates

• Nickel sulfate

• Paraformaldehyde

• Petroleum distillate naptha

• Petroleum distillate/ naphtha

• Phosphonium, tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)-sulfate

• Propane-1,2-diol

• Sodium bromate

• Sodium chlorite (chlorous acid, sodium salt)

• Sodium hypochlorite

• Sodium nitrate

• Sodium nitrite

• Sodium sulfite

• Styrene

• Sulfur dioxide

• Sulfuric acid

• Tetrahydro-3,5-dimethyl-2H-1,3,5-thiadiazine-2-thione (Dazomet)

• Titanium dioxide

• Tributyl phosphate

• Triethylene glycol

• Urea

• Xylene

http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/02/28/Alberta-Mother-Fights-Fracked-Wells/

Alberta Mother Fights Five Neighbouring Fracked Wells

Diana Daunheimer's lawsuit follows years of policing industry in her own backyard.

By Andrew Nikiforuk, 28 Feb 2014, TheTyee.ca

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Sump pit

Diana Daunheimer found this large sump pit, or dugout designed to store drilling waste, at a wellsite northeast of her property in July 2012. Photo: Diana Daunheimer.

Home, Fracked Home: Lost Hair and Dead Cows
Alberta landowners say nearby industry has fractured their lives. First in an occasional series.
How Much Does Western Canada Subsidize Fracking?
Compared to US gov'ts, which take home a greater percentage of revenue, quite a bit.
Fracking Foe Ernst: Alberta Regulator Not Immune to Charter
Landowner's appeal argument foreshadows what could become a major court battle this May.
Read more: Energy,Environment

When a tight oil boom invaded rural Alberta five years ago, Diana Daunheimer was, as she puts it, just another "ignorant landowner."

The mother of two and vegetable farmer knew little about the practice of horizontal drilling or multi-stage hydraulic fracturing.

The practice involves the injection of highly pressurized fluids into mile deep wells that later mole out horizontally for another mile or two, in order to break open shale rock as tight as granite.

To coax lower-quality oil out of the Cardium Formation as well as other pancakes of shale rock deep below west-central Alberta, industry increased its use of the practice around 2009 and created a black gold rush that has industrialized many rural communities with constant traffic and polluting flare stacks.

Daunheimer knew even less about the Alberta Energy Regulator, formerly the Energy Resources Conservation Board, which referees the industry in the province.

But as the number of horizontal fractured wells in the Cardium Formation jumped from 70 to 2,000 over four years, and oil production skyrocketed from 2,000 to 80,000 barrels a day, Daunheimer quickly became informed.

And with five fracked wells owned by Calgary-based Angle Energy, and another one by Bonavista, about half a kilometre from her home, she's formed some strong opinions on the mining process -- and become a royal pain in the butt for industry and regulators alike.

Daunheimer, who studied science in university, recently warned a Yukon legislative committee currently studying the benefits and risks of fracking in that territory to "courteously decline" the technology.*

"Wait and see the fallout from what's happening in the United States and what's going to happen south of you, folks, and then if you still feel it's an economically-wise decision, then look at it," she said on Feb. 13.

The 39-year-old is also suing Angle, now owned by Bellatrix, for $13 million. Filed three months ago, her claim alleges that the company did not exercise reasonable care while fracking its oil and gas wells near her home between 2008 and 2012.

It also alleges that Angle's drilling activity resulted in damaged property, dead livestock, a tumour on Daunheimer's daughter's neck and contaminated well water, along with two years of unrelenting stress.

A statement of defence filed by Angle in early February denies all of Daunheimer's claims.

Daunheimer is handling the lawsuit, which she calls "extremely frustrating and life-altering," on her own, because she says she likely knows more than most lawyers about the industry and couldn't afford to do it any other way.

"I call myself mommy bear," she says. "I protect my young, and I love where I live. I put my heart and soul into this house. I got married here. Why should I get pushed out of my home just because someone is doing stuff illegally? It's insane."

Industry routinely claims fracking is "safe and proven," and the Alberta Energy Regulator, likewise,assures landowners that the practice is "responsible" and that "cumulative impacts are minimized."

But that's not what Daunheimer says she experienced around her home, which her family purchased in 2002. "We've had all the cumulative impacts any family can handle," she says.

In Alberta, several landowner groups, municipalities, the city of Lethbridge, water experts, and politicians have also raised concerns about the practice.

Number of horizontal well licenses granted in Alberta

Number of horizontal well licenses granted in Alberta. Source: Alberta Energy.

Brian Mason, Alberta's New Democrat leader, recentlycharged that fracking is not only "out of control" but "is increasing on a dramatic scale without any understanding of what the potential consequences will be."

A sour new neighbour

For years Daunheimer, a former environmental coordinator for the city of Airdrie, raised organic vegetables for high-end Calgary restaurants on her acreage.

But in 2008 her life started to change, when Angle drilled and fracked two wells simultaneously 25 metres apart with highly-pressurized fluids some 400 metres from her farm, west of Didsbury in south-central Alberta.

It caused endless traffic, noise and diesel fumes, but the Daunheimers figured that was normal activity in a province dependent on hydrocarbon revenue.

The family sat up and took notice, Daunheimer says, when the company drilled and fracked a sour gas well south of the property in Aug. 2010.

After performing a propane fracture on the well, located 377 metres from their house, the company then burned off unwanted gas for 19 days.

The company flared off "all the non-profitable gas to get to the money-making oil," explains Daunheimer -- a common practice in the oil patch and now recognized as wasteful and a potentialrisk to public safety in North Dakota.

Two incinerators that sounded like jet engines roared day and night. The smoky pollution terrified her chickens and goats and gave the family headaches, spells of dizziness and chronic respiratory infections, she says.

People in the industry (Daunheimer's husband, Derek, is a rig manager in the oil patch) told the family that they should have been evacuated during the event.

Three weeks afterwards, the family's goats aborted 50 per cent of their offspring, while Daunheimer's 10-year-old daughter developed a tumour on her neck.

It took Daunheimer a while to take action. Only after using freedom of information laws to access drilling and other records last year did she realize the potential danger and scale of chemical exposures posed by the nearby wells.

As a consequence, the family will be seeing an Edmonton toxicologist next month. "The look you get from doctors when you try to explain your concerns regarding industry activity affecting your family's health is one of pure disregard and disbelief," says Daunheimer.

Sour gas, a cyanide-like poison toxic to humans and animals at low concentrations, sinks and collects in low areas, and the Daunheimer's house is located in a depression. The family says they could smell sour gas for years.

Sour gas site

Sour gas site about 400 metres south of the Daunheimer property. Photo: Diana Daunheimer.

The company swore the fumes didn't originate from their operation.

Daunheimer later discovered that the well was licensed to vent waste gases, but that no one notified the family. An email from an Angle employee informed her of that fact. Regulatory records also revealed that compressor stations at two wells each released 15,000 cubic metres of waste gas every month.

Jacked up flaring

At that point Daunheimer began studying industry regulations, as well as the combustion efficiency and contents of flares.

She found studies by the Alberta Research Council that showed flares often burned with 62 per cent efficiency more than a decade ago, meaning landowners downwind often breathed as many as 150 highly toxic hydrocarbons.

Based on general emission reports filed with the regulator, as well as material safety and data sheets on fracking fluids, "We know now that we've been exposed to raw benzene," says Daunheimer.

More and more Albertans are being exposed to the same kind of materials that have contaminated airsheds wherever tight oil booms and fracking have exploded, such as Texas and North Dakota.

Due to a dramatic increase in fluid injection down horizontal wells driven by fiscal and royalty incentives, the amount of waste gas being vented or flared from oil wells has mushroomed in the province since 2006, as it did in North Dakota.

In its 2013 flaring report, the Alberta Energy Regulator directly attributes a 25.9 per cent increase from 2011 to 2012 in the disposal of flared waste gas into the air "to an increase in new crude oil production and low gas prices, which makes the economic viability of conservation more challenging."

The regulator blamed the increase in flared gas to "the number of horizontal multistage fracturing operations in 2012. It takes longer to recover load fluids and clean out wells in these operations, which results in greater flare volumes and flaring duration."

Daunheimer also encountered large sump pits, or dugouts designed to store drilling waste, at a newly fracked wellsite northeast of her property in July 2012. (Another wellsite south of her home sported stacks of pipes leaking oil.)

She suspected the sump pits were illegal because they could leach water contaminated with hydrocarbons into groundwater or the nearby Rosebud River.

Alberta Environment, one of two provincial agencies responsible for groundwater protection, expressed concern, but said it couldn't do anything, Daunheimer says.

Concerned about the safety of her own well water (chemical tests revealed problems), she then complained to the Alberta Energy Regulator.

One of its inspectors eventually checked out the unlined and unfenced pits. His report noted that the pits smelled "heavily of hydrocarbon-based drilling fluids." As a consequence, the regulator issued "a high-risk compliance order" against Angle to clean up the mess.

Daunheimer filed a freedom of information request to the government in order to get a copy of the enforcement order, which shut down the company for a day in 2012 while it removed the oily waste from one pit. It took the company another year to fully clean up the site.

Meanwhile, another branch of the Alberta government botched a drinking water well test that Daunheimer requested after a routine chemical sampling showed evidence of hydrocarbon contamination.

The government initially reported that its test "did not show anything of concern" last December, but after Daunheimer raised concerns about the quality of the testing, it later admitted in an email that "there were so many mistakes made by the lab in the first testing event" that they would have to resample the well.

There were also noise concerns. In Alberta, the oil and gas industry must keep its equipment at 50 decibels during the day and 40 decibels at night.

But a compressor station roared away in violation of regulations for two-and-a-half years, Daunheimer says, adding after she pointed out the violation to the regulator, the company quietly removed it.

By 2012, the company refused to talk to the family, while the regulator expressed frustration at Daunheimer's scores of emails and phone calls, she says.

Lost down the well

Although industry and government typically advertise fracking fluids as water-based and as harmless as guar gum in ice cream, Daunheimer found the opposite.

One well near her home, based on information she found on the industry website FracFocus, was primarily fracked with diesel fuel, light aromatic solvent naptha, and kerosene.

FracFocus, a voluntary registry set up by industry, lists the contents of hazardous fluids injected during fracking operations in North America, often three months after the fact. A Harvard legalstudy concluded in 2013 that the industry registry "prevents states from enforcing timely disclosure requirements, creates obstacles for compliance for reporting companies, and allows inconsistent trade secret assertions."

Other wells by Daunheimer's home were blasted with frac oil, synthetic frac oil or diesel invert (drilling fluid). Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on frac oil warn that the product is "highly flammable" and "contains benzene, a proven human carcinogen."

Diesel fuel also contains benzene, toluene and xylene. All can contaminate groundwater and cause cancer, kidney damage, liver damage, or harm to the brain if ingested by humans.

After checking well reports, Daunheimer raised particular concerns about the loss of 362,000 litres of diesel invert down one well near her home.

Industry refers to the disappearance of drilling fluids down the wellbore as "lost circulation."

At first the regulator explained to Daunheimer that industry never lost drilling fluid and that the hazardous substances couldn't migrate anywhere, she says.

But industry data she later found indicated that every well in Western Canada loses between three and five cubic metres of drilling fluid per 100 metres drilled.

Daunheimer also raised questions about 20,050 litres of frac oil that disappeared down a well. After the regulator again told her not to worry, she checked industry data.

During fracking operations, industry only recovers about 20 per cent of the frack fluid sent down the well. Frack breakouts or hits that spill fluid and water into nearby wells have happened scores of times in British Columbia and Alberta.

The issue has been particularly intense for drilling and fracking tight oil formations along the Rockies in Alberta.

One servicing company recently explained that fracking in these fields without a good reading of reservoir behaviour often runs "the risk of intersecting and/or reactivating geological structures such as faults during hydraulic fracture stimulation."

In addition, "faults may serve as conduits for large volumes of fluid, acting as a thief zone and re-directing fluid and proppant [sand] away from the treatment zone and wasting valuable time and money. In naturally fractured formations, an additional risk of diverting frac fluid into faults is the risk of generating induced seismicity of large enough magnitude to be felt on the surface."

According to Daunheimer, the regulator later assured her that the loss of the drilling fluid couldn't be classed as a spill or toxic release. Its employees reasoned that "the chemical was lost most likely in a hydrocarbon bearing formation so that would not constitute a known loss to the environment," says Daunheimer.

A 2012 study by U.S. hydrologist Tom Myers estimated that man-made fractures combined with natural faults in heavily drilled fields might well speed up the rate of fluid migration from drilling or fracking such that "contaminants could reach the surface areas in tens of years, or less."

'I'd say it's got to stop'

Daunheimer also raised questions about methane leaks at the wellsites, or what industry calls surface casing vent flow. That's when methane bubbles out of the wellbore into groundwater, soil or the atmosphere.

It's an issue that particularly plagues wells that have been subjected to the wear and tear of hydraulic fracturing. According to Alberta studies, nearly one-third to 70 per cent of all deviated or horizontal wells leak.

The methane leaks are also expensive to fix. One 2010 Alberta industry paper ruefully noted: "The repair of these situations is a non-revenue generating exercise with the potential to reach significant expenditures."

An inspection by a summer student found one leak on an Angle well near Daunheimer's home in 2010. Daunheimer checked Alberta's regulations and found that the company hadn't reported or fixed the leak for three years. The energy regulator later confirmed her analysis, but did little else, she says.

"As I mentioned previously you are correct that Angle Energy did not report the surface casing vent flow at the 14-15-031-02W5 well to the AER in the proper manner," emailed Tyler Callicott, a manager of enforcement and surveillance in the Red Deer office of the Alberta Energy Regulator, earlier this year.

After Calgary-based Bellatrix bought out Angle for a half a billion dollars last year, it assumed all of Angle's liabilities.

The regulator did not reprimand Bellatrix because Callicott "did not find sufficient evidence that they were aware of the vent flow."

Explained Callicott: "I did find evidence that Angle Energy was aware of the vent flow and failed to report it, as Angle Energy is no longer the licensee of this well and no longer an active licensee I will not be issuing a non-compliance to them."

Daunheimer now regards the regulator's claim that they protect landowners and the environment as a joke. "I have come to see the [regulator] as nothing short of a bodyguard to the industry," she says. After Daunheimer filed her lawsuit against Angle last December, the regulator told her that it was done with her and was closing her file, she says.

On Feb. 10, Daunheimer alerted the board that three wellsites near her home had flared beyond their legal 72-hour period. She wondered "if the companies had properly requested extensions to flare further."

Diana Daunheimer photos

The Daunheimer farm, west of Didsbury in south-central Alberta (top left). Daunheimer's kids (bottom left) and mother Diana (right). Photo: Diana Daunheimer.

The next day she received a reply from Jen Lutz, director, community relations, Alberta Stakeholder Engagement Branch of the Alberta Energy Regulator.

It read: "On Dec. 19 we discussed Angle's facilities near your location. The files have been closed and we are not going to review further historical operational performance concerns. These files have been thoroughly reviewed and enforcement actions were issued."

Carrie Rosa, senior advisor for the Alberta Energy Regulator's public affairs, explained that "Any non-compliances that were identified at the time, were dealt with and the follow up was completed. Any new complaints regarding current operational issues continue to be accepted."

Furthermore, "The [regulator] was not able to verify or confirm Ms. Daunheimer's assertions regarding flaring contraventions and therefore could not take action."

But Daunheimer hasn't closed her file on the impacts of horizontal hydraulic fracturing.

"I'd say it's got to stop," says Daunheimer. "The volumes of benzene and other highly toxic substances that have been used, burnt, spilled and injected into the land, air and water about us is staggering and frightening."

Meanwhile, Daunheimer is preparing to take her case to court. "I'm taking this to the next highest level possible."

Angle denies all of Daunheimer's claims. In its statement of defence filed in early February, the company writes: "None of these instances of non-compliance resulted in the escape of toxic chemicals, drilling waste, flare gases, or other noxious substances onto the Daunheimer Property."

The company "denies that its oil and gas operations contributed to or caused the injuries and damages alleged in [Daunheimer's] Statement of Claim."

It adds that "allegations in the Statement of Claim that are critical of the [Alberta Energy Regulator], its investigator, its directives, and [allegations] that the AER is funded and controlled by the oil and gas industry... are false."

The regulator is funded 100 per cent by the oil and gas industry and is directed by Gerard Protti, a former lobbyist and founder of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Last December Bellatrix offered Daunheimer $50,000 to drill a new water well and plant some trees if she would withdraw her lawsuit. But the determined mother declined the offer.

"Are you kidding?" she says. "I'm so not done yet."

*Correction, Feb. 28 at 12:30 p.m.: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Diana Daunheimer has a university science degree. [Tyee]

THE GIVING FARM

GROWING IS GIVING

THE FARM

We have farmed west of Didsbury for 12 seasons and it sure is a labour of love. But when nothing can compare to the rich, colorful eggs and the crisp, amazing produce you realize that good work is not hard work.

We tend over an acre in gardens and greenhouse, wild harvest crops in season and keep chickens, bees, goats and a menagier of other domestic fauna. Products from our farm include honey, heritage seeds, organic herbs and teas as well as eggs, produce and plants in season and even a bit of art and journalism.

Our farm is holistic, organic and we only use natural and homeopathic methods of care. Our health and that of our enviornment is paramount to us; the nutrition in your food depends on the integrity of a farm.

We want to encourage diverse and natural agriculture and consumerism; everyone and everything benefits from a sustainable and toxic free lifestyle.

Life here is humble, hale and at times monotonous or even gory. There is an accepted burden to having a farm. You are committed to it every day and there exists a wide web of creatures and systems dependent on your skills, approach, timing and endurance. A good farmer builds strong bridges with his environment to bring healthy agriculture to the people. Well rounded, "for the good of the people farming" is a lost art. Your educated consumerism is the best way to change this.

This site exists to share the highlights and shadows of farming . The stunning scenery, the meals fresh from the fields. Also, the natural connection we need to repair in order to sustain abudance and health in the closed, eternally recycled system we call Earth.

Finally, I want to emphasize how valuable it is to grow, buy, eat and truly enjoy, natural whole foods. Agriculture is the epicentre of our biosphere and the most important industry to mankind. Simply by choosing natural options for your family you cascade goodness throughout the industry and into the environment.

Monday, April 10, 2017

Velvet Martin Self Advocacy Federation Community Workshop : Activism 101

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Alberta Mother Fights Five Neighbouring Fracked Wells

Home, Fracked Home: Lost Hair and Dead Cows

How Much Does Western Canada Subsidize Fracking?

Fracking Foe Ernst: Alberta Regulator Not Immune to Charter

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