Farms and Forests

The story of rural areas is easy to envision - because it is much as we know it now. Farms, large parks, forests, wilderness, cottages, some resource extraction. The only differences are:

• We must return to organic agriculture
• We must set aside more wilderness corridors
• Forestry must become sustainable
• Resource extraction will decrease as reuse and recycling becomes more common
• Vehicles must use carbon-neutral fuel

The main differences will be a cleaner, less polluted rural scene, with towns connected by trains. The feedlots, clearcuts, and slag heaps will be no more, but who will miss them?

The return to organic

Fortunately, organic agriculture has been proven to be as productive as our current factory-farming system, which requires massive inputs of costly and polluting chemicals: fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and so on. While organic farms more-or-less hold their own when the growing season is a good one, they do significantly better when the climate is adverse, As we're heading toward a more variable climate - rain when it's not expected, higher highs and lower lows, longer dry spells - organic soils will be needed.

Factory-farm soils, because they lack 'tilth' and humus, dry out more quickly and also allow rain to run off more quickly - carrying soil with it. The soils have become depleted of nutrients and the food is less nutritious. Fortunately, we are already beginning to return to organic farming methods as demand grows, and as more farmers choose a healthier way of life.

Where the wild things are

Corridors of wilderness and semi-wilderness (where activities like camping, hiking, and some sustainable logging occur) will ribbon the landscape. These areas were needed anyway, but are even more important now because climate change will drive many species to migrate northward - or become extinct. By providing these corridors, we will help to preserve many plants and animals that would otherwise be lost forever.

There is no reason we cannot share some of these areas. In semi-wilderness areas, our usage would be sufficiently light to allow the migration of the animals and to preserve the wealth of the forest. Backpacking, camping, and sustainable logging are some activtiies that can co-exist with the natural world. Really, it is essential that we spend more time in nature, so that we do not forget our connection to the natural world. We are part of nature, and she of us.

Sustainable is the only way that works

All logging activities must become sustainable; there is no way around it. Our boom-and-bust forestry industry clearcuts all the easy-to-harvest, high-value timber and then must stretch to get the rest. Lumber prices rise, desirable types of wood become scarcer, and suddenly it costs less to buy particle board junk from China and Sweden than real wood furniture Made in Canada. Which would you prefer in your home, to pass along to your children someday?

The 3 R's make a cleaner world

Much of our energy use comes from resource extraction activities. Mining and pulp-and-paper operations also cause significant pollution. Moving to an economy that reuses and recycles drastically reduces both our energy usage and pollution - and related sickness, death, and impact on the land. Piles of tailings, black lung disease, massive hydro projects, and much more will no longer be necessary - and neither will subsidies to mega-energy and resource projects, reducing taxes.

Our standard-of-living will be higher. Those who live in the countryside will enjoy greater peace and a cleaner environment. Those of us who visit will find nature, farmer's markets, cottages, and more closer to reach, more rejuvenating, and more plentiful.

Mobility

Rural Canadians have always required vehicles, starting with horse-powered and now largely fossil-fueled, like the rest of us. While city-dwellers in the denser areas can readily get by without a personal vehicle, those in the country need something.

There are really two types of vehicles required: personal and cargo/work. Personal vehicles get farmers, loggers, park rangers, and others to-and-from where they need and want to be: fields, church, town, volunteer firefighter duties. They may also be critical in the event of an emergency. Personal vehicles might be cars or pickup trucks; the same sorts of vehicles that are used now.

Cargo and work vehicles are another matter. Trucks haul product to market or factory, whether that be vegetables or logs, and tractors and combines do labour-saving work. It is hard to imagine that we would go back to ox-drawn plows except in the direst of circumstances, and farm productivity would drop tremendously - and with it, everyone's standard-of-living. If more of us had to work on farms, food prices would increase, disposable income would decrease, and our ability to produce and purchase non-farm goods would be reduced. The larger, more expensive equipment could be owned by farm cooperatives, saving farmers the full expense of purchasing costly equipent that is used only at harvesttime.

While farm fields are often good locations for wind turbines, it is doubtful that heavy farm machinery could run on battery power. Possibly, they could use hydrogen generated by electrolysis, using electricity from the turbine. More likely, this farm-generated electricity would power the farm, be used for personal vehicles, and be sold to the grid. At least for now, work vehicles would be fueled by biodiesel.

There is not nearly enough land on the Earth to grow fuel for all our vehicles, so we must be sensible about those we do choose to run on biodiesel, and also use the highest-efficiency crops, like switchgrass. The biodiesel plants should be located close to the source of the crop and market, meaning that the plants would be near rural towns, providing employment.

One thing that must change is towns linked by highways. Rural towns must return to being tied together by trains - which can now be electric and can purchase electricity from farmer's windmills. This cuts the carbon and provides a safer and more efficient way to get from town-to-town, or to the big city - for people and crops.

Imagine driving to the town train station, where you can park underground out of the weather. The train station is covered because it's part of a larger, town-centre complex that includes a grocery and department store, shops, theatre, and more. You can shop in comfort in the town centre or catch the train to the big city. Once you get from the farm to town, no more slippery roads. While shopping in the city, you arrange to have your purchases delivered to your return train, so you don't have to carry them around.

Next: The Train Story