Tres. The Green Issue

Tres. Indulgent thoughts on irregular topics

“Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.”
                                                                          Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Uno: Golf and the Order of Canada
It is not an overstatement to say that Canadians love golf. It is the country’s most popular sport with a participation base of 5.7 million people who enjoy more than 60 million rounds annually. The golf industry represents more than 1% of Canada’s total GDP with contributions to the economy exceeding $14.3 billion. According to a report by Golf Canada published last year, there are 37,587 golf holes in Canada. If we say that the average distance of each hole is 400 yards (365.76 m) that means there are over 15,034,800 yards (13,747,821.12 m or 13,747 km) worth of green grass golf holes in this country. To put this into context, the Trans-Canada Highway between Victoria, BC and St. John's NF, which is the world's longest national highway, is only 7,821 km (4,860 mi.) in length.

Out of the 37,000 plus holes, 18 of them in Cabot Cliffs overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Inverness, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, are simply magical. Golf Digest, one of the most prestigious and widely read golf publication ranked Cabot Cliffs as the 19th best golf course in the world. This is an incredible achievement for a course that opened just over a year ago; however, I would argue the list is deceiving. If we take a closer look at the courses that ranked higher, two patterns emerge. They are either private or they are in Europe. If they are private, getting a tee time is actually harder than getting an audience with the Pope. While this may sound ridiculous, it’s not. The Pope has a public website (https://www.papalaudience.org/) which describes the process required to join a Papal Audience; Pine Valley and Cypress Point do not even have a public website. Pebble Beach is the only North American public course ranked ahead of Cabot Cliffs.

Yet, the most important aspect of Cabot Cliffs is not the game itself. It is the transformation and the positive impact to the community of Inverness, including thousands of jobs which have been created. The Order of Canada is the cornerstone of the Canadian Honours System, and “recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. The Order recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society. Their contributions are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country.” Membership is accorded to those who exemplify the order's Latin motto, desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning "they desire a better country." I can’t think of anybody more deserving than Cabot’s owners, Mike Keiser and Ben Cowan-Dewar. Let me know if you agree and let’s nominate them.

Dos: Guacamole Por Favor
Mexico, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, the United States and Colombia are the top five producing avocado countries in the world. About 90 percent of the avocados consumed in Canada come from Mexico. Last year, we imported more than 65,000 tonnes and imports have grown by 27 percent over the past twenty four months. Canadians consume more than 250 million tonnes of avocados per year. Surprisingly, the average per capita consumption in Israel stands at 5 kg per year, making it one the largest consumers worldwide. Of the 80,000 tonnes produced annually, about 35 to 40 percent is sold on the domestic market.

Avocados are a superb food. Half an avocado contains 3.4 grams of fibre, including soluble and insoluble, both of which your body needs to keep the digestive system running smoothly. Plus, soluble fibre slows the breakdown of carbohydrates in your body, helping you feel full for longer.

Avocados are also a great source of lutein, a carotenoid that works as an antioxidant and helps protect against eye disease, plus they contain 20 different vitamins and minerals and have more potassium than bananas.

Curiously WebMD cautions that if you have a latex allergy, you should talk to your doctor before adding avocado to your diet, as people with a serious allergy to latex may also experience symptoms after consuming this wonderful green fruit.

Tres: Raising Green for Great Causes
PGAtour.com reports that unlike other professional sports organizations, the PGA TOUR relies on more than 100,000 volunteers annually to run its tournaments. The vast majority are structured as non-profit organizations designed to donate 100 percent of net proceeds to charity. Since 1938 the PGA tour has donated over $2.3 billion. Of that total, more than $1.3 billion has been generated since the TOUR surpassed the $1-billion plateau in 2005. The $2 billion mark was passed in January of 2014. That’s a lot of greenbacks.

If you ever wonder where the term greenbacks originated, Sensationalcolor.com, establishes that “in the 1860s, the US government printed new currency. One side of the bulls were printed with green ink to prevent counterfeiting since cameras during this time could only take black and white photographs. Paper currency has henceforth been called “greenbacks.” In 1929, when the government regularized the sixe and denomination of its currency, green ink was chosen because it was both plentiful and durable.”

As always, I look forward to your feedback.

?apa: Felicitaciones a toda la hinchada verdolaga, incluyendo a Catalina Lozano por la victoria del Nacional de Medellín en la Copa Libertadores. Veeeerde, Veeeerde.