Letter to Govt via Nature.com

You can write a letter too, @ this link:
NATURE.COM

Here's mine (cuz i care):


Dear Premier Rachel Notley and the Bighorn Country consultation team,

I’m writing you to express my grave concern for the future you wish to build --ie. Honing status-quo [harmful] fossil-fuel developmemt & tar sands expansion:  We are at a crossroads where protecting old-growth forests & wildlife habitat is critical to our future existence -- noT destroying them to make room for more of what is killing us, ie. the cumulative CO2, GHGs & pollution exacerbated by fossil fuel extraction, fracking, tar sands etc..

I am asking you, for the sake of all our futures, to stop supporting deadly polluting projects -- & instead support the creation of a new provincial park to protect Bighorn Country. I believe we need a Wildland Provincial Park designation in the area that prioritizes wildlife habitat and responsible recreation.

The current proposed park boundaries, from Banff and Jasper National parks in the west to the Forestry Trunk Road in the east, are the best way to safeguard the area from development pressure and protect species-at-risk like Grizzlies, Bull Trout and Wolverines. Preserving our wild rivers, forests and mountains is a legacy for all Canadians, & ought to be your govt's top priority -- rather than honing yet more building/mines for polluting tar sands development/ expansion :  THAT is unacceptable today given the tenuous climate we are facing, along with Canada's pledged goals thereto, largely caused by the ravages of unsustainable industries - e.g.. forestry, fossil fuels, mining - on our environment, health & our very future..

Thank you for listening, & for prioritizing this important project.  Real Canadians care about our parks & wilderness, & we take our job as stewards of the land seriously.  We can no longer keep ignoring the toxic wasteland that's replaced carbon-sequestering oxygen-rich forests/ wilderness by the tar sands industry:  ie.   ie. A mega-calamity that will (& already has) put us in dire straits vis-a-vis emissions targets, future prosperity  & renewable-energy goals if allowed to grow unchecked:  that's not climate action!

What we need now is real leadership - ie. helping us transition into thriving sustainability, of which protecting wildlife & their habitat is a key part.
Please protect Alberta wilderness by creating this new provincial park - which will not replace the precious old-growth forest further north, e.g.. The Boreal - along with the legislation/ policies to ensure their protection.

Yes it's time for our leaders to focus on strengthening Canada's wilderness/wildlife protection laws, which are a woeful testament to years of stodgy old-boy politics preoccupied largely with corrupt wealth accumulation of the few &  unsustainable resource mgmt instead of building a prosperous thriving province for all.  Please don't be another backward economic-growth-addicted self-serving premier leading this province into ruin at the expense of our natural environment's health, upon which our own depends:  we cannot afford such idiocy at this critical point..

Yours sincerely,

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman
Vancouver, BC, Canada

CLeanBC: GovT's iNTeNT 2 FAiL Us ALL [Updated Jan 2019]

[My response to The BC Govt's 'Clean Growth Intent Papers' -- rhetoric for 'Business As Usual']

'Clean growth' is a purely political term which impLies change without acTuaLLy disrupting the existing order. While the Papers' intro/ summaries suggest Govt 'intends' to transition away from fossil fuel/ polluting industries & toward decarbonization/ renewables, its contents propose few if any ACTUAL changes to the current status quo.

So much for the internationally- accepted UN-supported 2020 deadline for drastic reductions in our C02/GHG emissions..m?rr.n

Abstract mentions of a "climate response" aside,  there are no indications ANY Govt measures taken up until now have done anything but worsen BC's l))l recorded fact.  Yet this 'Intent Paper' proposes NO NEW LEGISLATION - NO SOLID MEASURES that will mitigate effects of continuing approval/ use of polluters such as fossil fuels as our main source of power in all sectors -- construction, industry & transportation.

BC's Intent is apparently to CLAIM (=PRETEND) to support low-emissions/ renewable energy while continuing to allow for expansion of Alberta’s oil sands & BC’s fracked gas industries via new bitumen pipelines & LNG terminals.  According to these Papers, BC intends to continue its lax hands-off-biz M.O. of taking NO REAL MEASURES to lower GHGs, reduce our reliance on polluting fossil fuels oR properly incentivize ACTUAL 'Clean' energy (eg. 100% renewable Geothermal?)  A huge mistake..

Not even ONE SMALL MEASURE is planned to address BC's #1 critically endangered rainforests, to put an immediate stop to logging precious old-growth forest & protect their giant carbon-sequestering advantage (which turns into emitted C02 when logged, something we cannot afford) for future generations' very SURVIVAL..?  WTF #BCNDP..?

One can only conclude that the kind of continued 'Growth' intended by the BC Govt is ever-rising emissions, fires & pollution.. along with increasing ruin of efficient carbon sinks like forests & wilderness. With this obvious INTENT TO FAIL --including failing their responsibilities to Canada's constitution as Stewards of Nature-- I propose this provincial Govt resigns & gives the BC GREENS a chance to improve BC's future outlook:  it's evidently the only way to save BC from certain RUIN as laid out by past Liberal & present [equally unfit] NDP Govts' dereliction of duty, of which these latest 'Intent Papers' = documented proof thereof!? UNBELIEVABLE..

UPDATE JAN.4 2019:
So it's been put thru as 'CleanBC' & here's Sierra Club's Hannah Askew's MiLD too-tame review..
CleanBC-SierraClub'sResponse

UEGENT CALL TO ACTION: SAVE BC's ENDANGERED OLD-GROWTH FORESTS!

 

From our friends at Ancient Forest Alliance: ACTION ALERT: Support Expanded Protection of the Endangered Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem in British Columbia!

Link here:  https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/action-alert-support-expanded-protection-of-the-endangered-coastal-douglas-fir-ecosystem-in-british-columbia/

Please take just a couple minutes to WRITE to the BC government, telling them you support their proposal to expand protections in the endangered Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem on Vancouver Island and in the Gulf Islands!

The BC government is seeking the public’s input on their proposal to increase the amount of Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem protected on public (Crown) lands on Vancouver Island’s southeast coast and in the southern Gulf Islands.

The Coastal Douglas-Fir (CDF) ecosystem is home to the highest number of species at risk in BC, including Garry oak trees, sharp-tailed snakes, alligator lizards, and Vancouver Island screech owl and pygmy owl subspecies. With less than four percent of the region’s ecosystems currently protected by the province, the proposed protection measures are greatly needed and are a significant step forward, although by themselves are not sufficient to halt the loss of biodiversity from the region.

The BC government is proposing to protect 21 parcels of public land in Bowser, Qualicum Beach, Nanoose Bay, Gabriola Island, Ladysmith, Galiano Island, and Saltspring Island. The proposed new protected areas total 1,125 hectares and expands upon a similar process in 2010 that resulted in the issuance similar land use orders, which protected 2,024 hectares of public lands on southeast Vancouver Island the Sunshine Coast.
See:https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/TASB/SLRP/southisland/CDFAmendment.html

Please write to the BC government until Monday, January 15th 2018, to express your support for this proposal and for greater protection of the Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem.

Email your written comments toCDFOrderAmendment2017@gov.bc.ca and Cc Forest Minister Doug Donaldson at FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca and Environment Minister George Heyman at env.minister@gov.bc.ca.

Tell them:

1. You support the BC government’s full proposal to increase the amount of Coastal Douglas-Fir (CDF) ecosystem protected on Crown lands through their proposed Land Use Orders.
2. In addition, you also support the creation of a provincial land acquisition fund, which would allow the BC government to purchase and protect private lands of high conservation or recreational values to establish new protect areas in the CDF ecosystem and across BC. Because private lands constitute the vast majority of the region, this fund is needed to ensure the sufficient protection of the CDF ecosystem.
3. You recommend they read the report Finding the Money to Buy and Protect Natural Lands by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre, which details over a dozen mechanisms used in jurisdictions across North America to raise funds for protecting land (found online here:http://www.elc.uvic.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FindingMoneyForParks-2015-02-08-web.pdf).
4. You would like the province to consider a third phase of similar land use order protections on additional Crown lands in the Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem.

*Be sure to include your full name and address so that they know you are a real person.

More details:

https://www.ancientforestalliance.org/action-alert-support-expanded-protection-of-the-endangered-coastal-douglas-fir-ecosystem-in-british-columbia/

See the Ancient Forest Alliance’s media release about the proposed expansion of Coastal Douglas-Fir zone protections at: http://ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=1162

Letter to PM re. #StopKM (via 350.org)

The fight to stop the Kinder Morgan pipeline from being built is going strong as KM hurls toward their May 31st deadline to decide.  WE Cdns are cringing @ Justin Trudeau (ouR own PM!) desperately offering to bail out the Big Oil giant with billion$ of PUBLIC DOLLARS!  Disgusting.. (He's supposed to be on OUR SIDE!)

Here's what the pipeline is expected to support: (Expansion  of Tar Sands!)
Rainforest Rescue petition

THRU 350.ORG I wrote this letter to PM Trudeau:


PM Trudeau: Bailing out the Kinder Morgan pipeline = Canada's RUIN

Like many Canadians who wanted to 'Stop Harper', I was hopeful for a fresh, gReeneR way when you were elected Prime Minister.  What Canadian wasn'T excited about a platform that promised reaL action on climate change, reaL Reconciliation with First Nations & an end to fossil fuel subsidies?  Like the rest of the world, we've been waking up to the horrors humans conTinue to  inflict on our environment --& our future.  Science confirmed results of its most in-depth research on the past century of industry on the natural systems on which all life on Earth depends to live --30 years ago-- & we cannnoT aFFoRd to continue clearcutting life-sustaining forests & poisoning our air, earth & water by prevailing unsustainable means of agriculture, energy, industry, manufacturing ET AL..

We're now @ a critical crossroads --& YOU are the leader Canadians elected to take us out of the polluted darkness into the lighT:  AWAY from corporate-sponsored, unlimited (+ unlivable)  'convenience'/ 'growth'/ pollution/ profiTs/ waste.. & TOWARD livable, sustainable processes that put requisite RENEWAL/SOWING back into aLL WE REAP --before it's too late..

WE CANNOT ACCEPT that your government now wants to use biLLion$ of public dollars to build a massive climate-disturbing pipeline that supports toxic Tar-Sands expansion, withouT Indigenous consent!???

WE ARE DEPENDING ON YOU, JUSTIN TRUDEAU & Co., to act in OUR best interests & serve YOUR public as promised!  If you continue to back this destructive project, you wiLL LOSE THE RESPECT, SUPPORT & TRUST OF THE CANADIAN PUBLIC..

OUR EYES ARE OPEN:  this generation is NOT FOOLED BY YESTERDAY'S STATUS-QUO/ BIG-BIZ BS:  OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE STARTS NOW --by transitioning out of Climate-warming GHG-emitting processes like deforestation & fossil-fuel extraction/ use into renewable-energy innovation & reduced-footprint sustainability-- OR NEVER.. (Please DO NOT let us down!)


You can write a letter too -- @ this link:
Act.350.org/letter/no-big-oil-bailout/#action-