Only short flights

"We can't fly anywhere!" Chris complains, meaning that this year we've been thwarted from undertaking a trip by air to stay overnight in a place that's new to us, or to land somewhere like Ithaca, say, in New York State, to revisit its attractions on the ground. Instead, we've only been for short flights, "round the block", usually up above the Gatineau River to the Wakefield area and back, which we can do in under an hour. Once, at the end of October, we extended that loop and overflew the dam at Low. We have memories of the "log-driver" canoeing trips that used to be offered by Aventures Radisson in the 1990s, on that stretch of the river, through spectacular scenery. 

Scenery near Low, QC

Nostalgia trips. On another afternoon, at the end of May, flying through bands of rain visibly falling from grey clouds as we approached them, where squalls of wind blew into us, we had a there-and-back outing by air to Whitewater Village on the banks of the Ottawa River, via the Luskville and Shawville areas, so that I could take aerial shots of Barbara's cottage where we'd stayed last November (in 2019). Barbara was there at the time of our flight, and came out on her deck to wave to us, even. Chris repeated that ride with Chuck, later, who takes better photos than I.

Whitewater Village

A similar ride was the one when, during the pumpkin harvest season in mid-October, we took the plane (without stopping) down to Cornwall airport (CYCC) and back, one Saturday afternoon, doing a "touch-and-go" landing on the runway and getting fine views of the St. Lawrence from the circuit there, with the international border very close. On the way there and back we overflew the farm where I'd been for a wagon ride through the pumpkin fields the previous day, with people in the Diplomatic Hospitality Group.

Pumpkin farm from the air

St. Lawrence River, near CYCC

Twice this year, we did land somewhere else and got out for a walk, again just repeating short trips we'd had many times in the past. It's almost exactly an hour between Rockcliffe airport and Kingston (CYGK), so that's a popular excursion for members of the Rockcliffe aviation fraternity; it's traditionally one's first solo cross-country flight when working towards one's Private Pilot Licence. Chris and I walked through the conservation area to the edge of Lake Ontario, that day. Another walk in the woods that we relished was on the day we flew north in September, also for about an hour, to Mont-Laurier airport (CSD4), our walk after lunch at the nearby roadside café following the ATV trails part way around the airport fence, on the outside, that is, through some wild-looking shrubland.

All worth doing, and we appreciate how extraordinarily lucky we are to have those experiences, and to be able to afford what it costs to use our little private plane, but none of the above is the same as a real flying adventure, such as we've boasted of in most previous years.

The Riverkeeper Meeting

I hosted the second of my guest-speaker meetings (Webinars, in effect) for my Environment Action group on November 9th. After the previous speaker (my daughter!) had described how scientists can assess the damage to our planet from outer space, by means of satellite technology, I said, making a bad pun, we were now "Zooming-in" to something closer to home, the state of our local rivers. Our speaker this time was Elizabeth Logue, "Riverkeeper". On Twitter, she calls herself @nibilogue. She is the policy developer and spokesperson for the Ottawa Riverkeeper organisation.

The Waterkeeper Alliance, soliciting the help of citizen scientists to keep waterways healthy,  is an international network of about 300 organisations, Ottawa Riverkeeper being one such. Its team of 12 organisers, plus their dedicated friends and assistants, are "the eyes and the ears of our watershed", monitoring the quality of the water we play in, swim in, fish in, and drink. Next year is its 20th Anniversary. 

Elizabeth loves the rivers, especially the Gatineau River on whose nearby banks she grew up. She still puts its rocks in her pockets, she said. At the start of her presentation she acknowledged her Indigenous heritage, the first guardians of this region being the Algonquin-Ashinabeg nation. She herself has Indigenous blood; her Irish grandfather married an Algonquin girl, and Elizabeth uses words from the native language. 'Thank you', in Algonquin, is Miigwetch.

The Ottawa or Kitchissippi River rises (not far from the source of the Gatineau River) in the Val d'Or region, meandering for about 1300 kilometres to Montreal where it merges with the St. Lawrence seaway. The Ottawa Riverkeeper sells maps of that watershed, an area that supplies drinking water to some two million people. The Ottawa River needs to be swimmable and fishable, in other words, safe. That means that sewage overflow must not go directly into it. The Riverkeeper team has been working with the municipalities of Ottawa and Gatineau to ensure that it doesn't, or that as little sewage seeps in as possible, so during these last few years a new sewer overflow pipe has been constructed beneath the city. (In fact it runs through our neighbourhood and we could hear the pile-drivers across the river from us making the hole for the tunnel in New Edinburgh park). When the construction was officially completed, on November 20th, Elizabeth Logue was standing alongside the Mayor and MP Catherine McKenna ("Climate Advocate" and Canada's Minister of Infrastructure and Communities). The Combined Sewage Storage Tunnel (CSST project) has been a $232.3 million investment, was constructed by the Tomlinson Group and is part of the Ottawa River Action Plan.

Other pollutants that ought to stay out of the river are the fertilizers and herbicides that kill the fish in it and are harmful to humans. Patches of algae blooms indicate where these contaminants are. Road salt is another problem, leaking into the drains through any small crack. After her presentation, in answer to a question about this, Elizabeth pointed out that it would be better to tackle the ice on city surfaces with urea rather than salt. 

At 58 sample sites where sediment had been investigated, micro-plastics have been detected. Nuclear waste is another huge hazard to health and biodiversity, from the reactors at Chalk River and Rolphton, near Renfrew (the latter was Canada's first nuclear reactor).

Other concerns of the Riverkeeper are the changing shoreline of the local rivers and the endangered species of flora and fauna. 50 (hydro) dams that have been constructed and / or decommissioned: the dams on the Lièvre are out of date; the Carillon dam is being reconstructed to include fish ladders. In collaboration with the Museum of Nature, the interaction of different species is closely observed. Zebra mussels are invasive. At risk are the American eel, the Lake Sturgeon carrying the embryos of hickory nut mussels, and the turtles. 

Groups of young people aged between 17 and 25 help with Watershed Health Assessment and Monitoring (WHAM) investigations, taking part in the Youth Water Leaders program. A recent initiative of the Federal Government is the Indigenous Guardians project. One Aboriginal community in our vicinity collaborates with scientists to help them understand the threats to fish, investigating mercury levels, for example, and there's a similar collaboration with people at the First Nations Reserve near Lake Timiskaming, upriver. 

Goal 6 of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals is the one about Clean Water and Sanitation. The UN declared this a Water Action Decade, so the Riverkeepers' work is very à propos. Canada's representative at the UN, Stéphane Dion, stated that "our future depends on a water-secure world," adding that "Canada is here to contribute, to be part of the solution."

Elizabeth left us with a hotline number to call if we have something to report concerning the rivers:

1-888-9KEEPER

For the record, a historic moment

 Screenshot taken this afternoon:

At this moment of tremendous relief, Shakespeare, as often, springs to mind, with Feste's remark in Twelfth Night, Act V, Scene I:

And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.

... as does this line by Goethe:

Denn alle Schuld rächt sich auf Erde.

Emma's two talks

This year my daughter Emma Woolliams, a metrologist who works with climate change scientists, has given a good few online lectures and I had the good fortune to be virtually present at two of them. I and 15 people from Maryland were at the first one, back in June, her American friend Laura (an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Sustainability) hosting that meeting. At the end, one of the students in Laura's class paid Emma a compliment, saying "This has been one of the greatest hours I've ever spent thinking about climate change!" 

Emma began her talk by quoting the 'Apollo 8' astronauts who'd said "We went to the moon and we discovered the Earth." When the photos were published the realisation also dawned for others that no political borders are visible from up there, and that our earth is fragile and precious.

The science of climate change starts with light, she said, describing her youthful enthusiasm for exploring light-waves. The earth is a thermal body, emitting at wavelengths that we can't see. Infrared cameras in satellites look at this part of the spectrum, detecting the heat radiated from earth. Its temperature is stable when the energy taken in = the energy given out. Visible and "near infrared" light from the sun can easily penetrate the atmosphere; it's the infrared radiation not getting out again that causes the warming.

99.9% of the earth's atmosphere is composed of nitrogen, oxygen and argon. If that were 100%, then a stable temperature of -18°C could be maintained, as on the moon. For more warmth on earth we need the "greenhouse effect". H₂O, CO₂ and methane molecules vibrate in the atmosphere when the thermal radiation excites them, thus balancing earth's temperature. Water is the most prominent of these greenhouse gases. Warmer air holds more water, which makes more energy, causing more / bigger storms. The planet seems to breathe, its temperature rising and falling.

The super-computers used by meteorologists analyse atmospheric models, and from these models, predictions can be made. The Global Observation System — thousands of computers working together — processes the data concerning the Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) measured from satellites, from balloons, from weather stations, by robots in the oceans, and so on. She mentioned masts erected in the Namibian desert that measure the reflectance of the ground and the transmittance of the atmosphere. Emma and her colleagues can use such data (and from sensors elsewhere on the earth's surface) to check the performance of the Earth Observation Satellites. She also showed us pictures of a device monitoring the leafy canopy in Oxfordshire woodlands.

Satellite cameras themselves are sophisticated enough to detect the Leaf Area Index (LAI) of our planet's forests and allow scientists to draw conclusions about the ocean water from measuring its colour, affected by the amount of phytoplankton, sediments and so on. Half of the CO₂ in the ocean is absorbed by   phytoplankton floating in it. (The rest is absorbed by the water itself and acidity monitors on buoys can measure that.) The satellites observe changing sea levels, too, and can even provide supportive information in disaster relief situations.

We're seeing retreating glaciers, the destruction of coral reefs. The reduction in sea ice is closely watched; a 2° rise in temperature would submerge some of the world's populated islands.

From 8000 BCE to around 1900 the earth had a fairly stable climate. Things have changed since then. The evidence of man-made global warming is overwhelming. 

She said it was time for feminist thinking. Men prefer to tackle one thing at a time. Women are more capable of considering lots of input together. Humanity is making progress and partnerships are crucial. Since the United Nations created its Sustainable Development Goals, every country on earth is making progress towards them. Emma quoted her heroines, Mary Robinson and Christiana Figueres, both of whom have injected "stubborn optimism" into the climate change conversation, and she spoke of Project Drawdown, which suggests 100 solutions for lowering the carbon dioxide we emit. Because of Covid-19, people are beginning to think locally and globally rather than nationally. We have been obliged to listen to scientists this year; it's a good habit to acquire.

Emma left her audience with the words Courage - Hope - Trust - Solidarity.

For the Environment Action meeting I hosted in Ottawa on October 19th, I had asked if Emma would repeat this presentation. To my delight she was very willing to do so, but she added and subtracted some slides, to suit the audience I'd mustered. We had 29 participants at this first guest-speaker meeting on our program, mostly CFUW people, though we had a couple of extra people along as well.

Again, Emma stated that global atmospheric models predict an increase in temperature. She said that islands were bound to disappear and it would be better if their inhabitants would be able to leave with dignity than as helpless refugees, so the world should start thinking about how to manage this. She also mentioned people who currently live on mainland coasts and near rivers. Many will be displaced. Canada is likely to become one of the havens for climate refugees, and with warming temperatures, this country could become as the food basket of the world. 

She described how governments are competing in their pledges to achieve 'net zero' carbon by the mid-century. Can it be done? There was a fall in CO₂ emissions during Covid shutdowns, worth noting. Again, she mentioned Project Drawdown and the 100 solutions that could save us. We need to get organised to tackle our problems; the effectiveness of our action depends upon whom we can influence.

Scientific observations play a crucial role in finding ways forward, being powerful motivators for change. Measurements ensure that everyone can see the impact of global warming. Metrology fixes the broken links in the chain of information, she said. Again, she listed the different kinds of metrology taking place around the world — satellites, radar, planes, weather stations, etc., all contributing. Emma's own job is to look at composite measurements, correcting for differences between measurements past and present, and to calibrate new satellites before they are launched. She also chairs a European Metrology Network whose purpose is collaboration between scientists and between these scientists and the "stakeholders" with whom they communicate.

Aerial views north of Ottawa

We saw these views from C-FPTN during a half hour flight over the Gatineau Park on Thanksgiving Monday. So much to be thankful for! If you look carefully at the last two photos here you can see a mysterious Bird in the landscape. It's part of the water maze at Éco-Odyssée, near Wakefield.

Alarms and Excursions

Never mind the misery of the pre-election excitement in the USA or the resurgence of COVID-19, this is a verbal snapshot of our personal lives at the moment. 

Here, in Ottawa, at least one drug addict spent the night on our doorstep, last weekend. Her voice woke Chris up, but I, still half-asleep, assumed he was dreaming. He wasn't dreaming. She (they?) left a crumpled tarpaulin, two pairs of women's black underpants and a syringe wrapper outside our front door and strewn over our front garden; we found these things when we opened the door to go out in the morning. Police and neighbours have been told about it and our porch is now lit throughout the night. This was a disturbing incident in more senses than one, reminding me of the wild animals that take shelter round about our house. Only this time it was humans.

On Monday, still thinking about vulnerabilities, I went to a lecture about Long Term Care Homes and how they are going to be "transformed" into something less institutional than at present. Chris and I like the possibility that there might be more interactions between elderly residents and young people, in the care homes of the future. Meanwhile we have COVID-19 to contend with and all our local care homes are in lockdown again, due to the Second Wave. My friend Sue, for example, is once again forbidden to visit her 98 year old mother.

News from London this week; our daughter Emma thought it possible she was catching the virus again, came down with the symptoms of a cold brought home from school by one of our grandsons, but her COVID test result turned out negative. All four of her family have been stuck at home again. 

Emma is preparing a talk about satellite metrology for me and my new CFUW-Ottawa Environment Action group. She'll give the talk later this month. I have been recruiting people for this group since July, as well as soliciting help from other guest speakers near and far, and now have over thirty people on my contact list and a 6-part speaker series ready for our Programme. I'm proud of the plans, but nervous of what might thwart them. I created a website for the group last weekend, as a substitute for sending constant messages that get lost, haven't had the Club's permission to make it public yet. Many emails back and forth about that, and about the fact that one of my group members wants to invite another thirty external people to attend these meetings. 

The Environment is very much on people's minds these days, a political hot topic. Even Prince William, the Queen's grandson, is getting involved, so I read today. I don't think he'll attend my Environment Action meetings, though.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I attended an online public lecture Zoomed from McGill University about Facilitating the Transition to Sustainable Water Resources Management via Participatory Systems Modeling. The title seemed off-putting, but the content was so interesting that Chris stopped what he was doing to come and listen with me to the Prof's description of feedback loops in his models of water consumption in Cyprus, Guatemala, etc. and the co-option of different water management stakeholders.

 

I've also been concentrating on the November issue of the newsletter I edit, now that the October issue is out.

At the end of last week Chris drafted a formal "I am retiring" announcement and handed it in on September 24th. A colleague commented, did Chris actually mean he was retiring or was he resigning from his job? That was a thought-provoking question, as was the question he got from another department at work this Tuesday: did he really want to leave, or would he be interested in a change of scene? Even though the insurance benefits company had been notified of his date of departure, it wouldn't be too late to reverse the process. So after a flurry of communications, among which someone advised him to practise "mindfulness" for the sake of inner peace and equilibrium, Chris has now decided to stay with his company indefinitely, for the time being, instead of resigning / retiring. He will be 71 next month.

This morning my German conversation group talked about the German artist Gabriele Münter and her circle of fellow expressionist artists in Murnau, Bavaria. The other one we focused on was Marianne von Werefkin who grew up in Lithuania and died as a Swiss citizen in Ascona. I had seen paintings by both of these famous women and by the men they lived with (Kandinsky and Jawlenski) at the Lenbachhaus in Munich last January. Much to talk about, so we'll continue with that topic next week.

We are in the midst of "Fall" with coloured leaves falling everywhere, especially in the strong winds and showers of rain. Chris has been singing Der Stürmische Morgen from Schubert's Winterreise to my accompaniment (our online music teacher, Gavan, led us through a thorough practice of this one on Tuesday) and I have been scooping up the maple leaves in our garden into leaf bags. Our walks are lovely, at any time of day. We walked home from town under a limpid sky this evening (it had cleared up) after supper on the Khao Thai restaurant, I wrapped in a fleece supplied at the patio table.

Twelve Bishops

I have once again been discussing family history with my cousin Wendy, who sent me this photo of our grandfather (on the left) with five of his brothers. 

The brother missing from the photo is Charlie, who emigrated to Canada as a Methodist minister (a missionary) and  in 1912 married a girl called May Wilson, who had followed him to Toronto. They later moved to Alberta and in 1996 I met a few of their descendants in British Columbia.

Because I tend to mix them up and get the names wrong, below is the correct list of names and dates-of-birth for this remarkable family whose parents were married in December 1873. My great-grandfather Benjamin spotted his wife Catherine Willis (whose ancestors were another interesting family) singing in a Darlington Methodist chapel choir during a long walk north from Somerset, and to judge by the frequency of their children's births, it was obviously a love-match. Benjamin senior, whose family were iron-foundry engineers, died in 1904 and his son Benjamin (my grandfather) died in 1940.

The Bishop siblings, as recorded in the "Family Register" and "Family Events" pages of the Bible they kept at home:

Will, b. October 1874 (musical director of a theatre company)

Ben, b. March 1876 (choirmaster at the Chapel, and a painter-decorator by trade)

Kate, b. September 1877 (she never married, became a formidable nurse instead)

Alice, b. March 1879 (did not marry either; lived to the age of 99)

George, b. August 1880 (see below)

Charles, b. November 1881 (see above)

Nell (Helen), b. March 1885 (directed a Secretarial College which employed her brother Walter)

John, b. July 1886 (his son is still alive in his late 90s)

Lil (Lily), b. June 1888, a teacher, married name Hardy

Ethel, b. September 1889 (a milliner), married name Blaylock 

Fred, b. July 1891 (a stationer), father of my aunt Ruth who married her cousin, my uncle Frank

Walter, b. 1896 (the only one of the brothers to go to university)

This is the whole family in a photo taken around 1901:

Left to right, back row—Ben, Lily, George, Helen, Charles, John; middle row—Kate, Benjamin Senior, Walter, Catherine, Will, Alice; front row—Ethel, Fred.

George was imprisoned during the 1st World War for being a Conscientious Objector. In spite of this he had a tremendous sense of humour (he was my mother's favourite uncle). At one point in his life he tutored Aldous and Julian Huxley when they were boys, I forget why and for how long.

Lily had one child, Douglas, who died as a young, pacifist member of the Friends' Ambulance Brigade in China during the 2nd World War. I wrote a blogpost about Douglas in November 2010.