3 minute read
TADHG STOPFORD
Tadhg Stopford: With our votes, have we all chosen life?
Jacinda called climate change our nuclear moment, and now we have given her the power to face that challenge. Will she? Can she? How?
We need to fill the foreign student/tourism holes with billions of dollars of activity and resources. So, here’s what I think she should do.
Create a Ministry of iHemp/iCannabis, and kick start some SOEs (State-Owned Enterprises) to enable Kiwis to innovate. Hemp’s coming back, let’s lead the pack. (We are behind). If we can have a Minister of Racing, we can have one for iCannabis; it’s much more valuable.
Here’s the thing - more than thirty countries grow ihemp (Cannabis Sativa) as an agricultural crop for food, fibre, medicine, and more. The UN recognises the right to grow ihemp as a crop.
The corruption of US capitalism saw ihemp prohibited under the guise of ‘marijuana’ in the 1900s. Ihemp was cast out and its use was made a crime. Toxic monopolies flourished in its absence.
President Carter installed solar panels on the White House because ‘peak oil’ and the looming energy/climate crisis was known and accepted then. (And not because he had read the 1912 Wanganui Chronicle article on fossil fuel was causing climate change). But the conservative order struck back. Oil & Gas, war on drugs, divide and conquer, culture wars, class wars, privatise public wealth, cut social services; all short term thinking and pure self centred greed. Reagan ripped those solar panels off as soon as he moved in. Nothing much has changed since.
So, our nuclear moment is here. It’s time to progress independently and sustainably as a country. Growing better food, fibre, and medicine will help.
But, even as the world is turning back to hemp, all our models are based on monopolies again and our government still won’t acknowledge its disruptive potential. Should our team of five million have a stake in our new green economy and help it bloom and ecourage Hemp SOEs as honest competition to private monopolies, to fund essential national infrastructure, and to ensure that the public share in the dividends of providing life’s essentials?
Or should we just be consumers?
What do you think? Write in. (TADHG STOPFORD) PN
#SOEHEMP #KIWIWEALTH #KIWIHEALTH www.tigerdrops.com
Purchase your... THC free Holy Oil and Novel Cannabis Collectable at www.tigerdrops.com
Not Intended for the Treatment or Prevention of any Disease or Condition. Prohibited Food (FSANZ) THC Free Holy Oil and Novel Collectable. Contains: Organic Hemp CBG & Terpenes, MCT Oil. Tigerdrops.com / Grow your own
These stripy little critters are mankind’s best friends, pollinating at least a third of our food crops, and playing a vital role in many ecosystems. As much as we need bees, they depend on us too.
Here are six ways to be a hero to bees.
A bunch of flowers Any bee friendly garden starts with plenty of flowers for pollen and nectar. Consider planting blue, white and yellow flowers that are easy to land on, or have tubular blooms with nectar inside. Plants with flower spikes let bees move easily from flower to flower.
You and bee Bees like a lot of the same plants we do. Fill your garden with useful plants like Lavender, Borage, Marigolds, Sunflowers, and culinary herbs like Coriander, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme and Basil. If you have a lawn, let it grow a bit longer – bees enjoy the wildflowers.
Nurture natives Try locally eco-sourced natives – they’ll thrive in your area, and perennial species often bloom early or late while introduced species are devoid of flowers. Try New Zealand Jasmine, Harakeke, Pohutukawa, Manuka, Rewarewa and Lemonwood.
Give them a drink Bees can’t swim, so water sources in your garden should have shallow, sloping sides, or a stone in the water they can stand on to drink. Bees gravitate towards moving water, as do butterflies. Walk away from spray Avoid toxic pesticides – particularly neonicotinoids – and try to minimise your use of systemic herbicides like glyphosate. If you must spray, follow usage and safety instructions carefully; do it late in the evening and avoid while plants are flowering.
Eat local honey Honeybees depend on beekeepers to keep them safe from disease, predators and parasites like varroa mites. By eating locally harvested honeys, you’re helping beekeepers protect their bees and our environment. PN
ECOSTORE, 1 Scotland Street, Freemans Bay, T: 09 360 8477, www.ecostore.co.nz
