LetteR 2 BC GovT: PROTECT SKAGiT VALLEY! [UPDaTed]

KEY UPDATES ON THIS HEINOUS PROPOSAL:
The Narwhal: Coalition Determined to Save Skagit Valley
&
The Narwhal: U.S. Senators to BC: Clean Up Your Mining Mess!

To write your own letter, use this LINK:
Wilderness Committee's tool to save Skagit Valley from logging


Here's my letter (sent to Premier Horgan & MLAs)

I am writing to express my horror upon learning of BC Timber Sales' plans to log in Silverdaisy Valley & in 26 Mile Valley this year.  This is devastating news for one of BC's most biodiverse ecosystems & key conservation imperatives..

Both of these valleys, the areas being targeted, encompass beautiful old-growth forests within the Donut Hole (surrounded by Manning & Skagit provincial parks) which contain critically endangered species' habitats & provide clear clean water to the Skagit River system, renowned for its abundant wild fish populations.  Logging this thriving ecosystem --one of the last old-growth forests in BC's interior-- would have calamitous effects on all living species in this area & beyond..

More than ever now, as our survival depends on Nature-friendly non-violent activities, we have a duty to uphold our responsibilities as stewards of the land (per our Constitution) by protecting wildlife & their habitats from severe human-caused degradation which cannot be mitigated.

I am asking the BC government to act now to cancel current AND future logging plans in Silverdaisy & 25 Mile valleys, to place the entire Donut Hole off-limits to logging.. & to extinguish ALL logging & mining tenure in the Skagit watershed immediately.

Please uphold BC's best interests & First Nations Reconciliation with a public show of faith by LEGISLATING protection of the Skagit watershed & surrounding lands, ASAP, to instate a critical addition to BC’s protected area system supporting Manning & Skagit Provincial Parks.  Our future depends on retaining such protective zones to avoid dire loss of biodiversity & critical eco-health, as well as honoring previous agreements with Washington re. groundwater health.

It cannot be stressed enough, strong legislation protecting this important WILDLIFE HABITAT from all forms of development is required by the BC Govt. immediately, in order to ensure reversal of any & all pending destruction via logging--> water pollution etc.

SAVING OUR FORESTS & WILDLIFE HABITAT IS CRUCIAL TO BC's SUSTAINABLE FUTURE:  please prioritize conservation & protection of this key BC wilderness, before it is too late.  Time is of the essence with this urgent initiative!

Thank you very much.

HeLp STOP SITE C DAM: Key LiNKS

I urge all my fellow BCers to join the fight opposing Site C dam, a massive wasteful harbinger of doom.  The research is too compelling to ignore:  heRe are just some of the key articles, links, sites + updates with which to become informed on this travesty that is Site C:

Aug. 2016 Article by Emma Gilchrist for DeSmog.ca

OPEN LETTER Re. Economic Reality of BC HYDRO's vis-a-vis SiTE C

Peace Valley Landowners Association FB page

Probing Dereliction of Duty in Site C Approval by MLA Andrew Weaver

Article: BC govt. should have deferred Site-C dam decision

BC's Failure to Investigate Alternatives to Site C

BC BIZ COMMUNITY SLAMS ASTRONOMICAL COST of BUILDING SITE C

MAKE FOOD NOT DAMS: Collection of Arguments + Links to STOP SITE C

PHOTOS: Site C dam would flood this valley

[Please use 'Search' option @ top of page to find all my blog posts on this + other topics]

Letter from GREENPEACE re. Arctic drilling..

Dear Sarah, At last! Shell has left Canadian Arctic waters! Two months ago, I wrote to you with the news that Shell was trying to block the creation of a protected area in Lancaster Sound, Nunavut -- using oil exploration permits that expired in the 1970s. What’s worse, Shell said it wouldn’t give up its expired permits and allow the region to be protected, unless it could carry out seismic blasting there first. But today, I have good news: Shell has finally given up its dodgy oil permits in Lancaster Sound! Public controversy around Arctic oil and a lawsuit that was launched to force them to give up the permits have worked. Share the news and call on Trudeau to protect this region for good.  With Shell once again fleeing the Arctic with its tail between its legs, the way is finally cleared for this very important area to be protected. Lancaster Sound, located in the Northwest passage of the Canadian Arctic, is a stunningly beautiful landscape home to a spectacular array of wildlife including polar bears, seabirds and narwhals. Local Inuit - who depend on the region for their food, livelihoods and culture - have been fighting to protect this region for decades! It’s now up to the Trudeau government to protect Lancaster Sound permanently. Share the news and call on Prime Minister Trudeau stand up for Indigenous rights by protecting the Arctic.  Every day we’re seeing more indications that Arctic oil has no future. In order to fight climate change and safeguard the livelihood of millions around the planet, the Arctic must be protected. Working together I know we can secure permanent protection for this amazing region. In solidarity, Alex Speers-Roesch Arctic Campaigner, Greenpeace Canada P.S. Prime Minister Trudeau has pledged to protect the Arctic, defend Inuit rights and take leadership on climate change. Let's hold him to that promise.

We don't accept any money from companies or governments so we can be independent and challenge anyone who threatens the planet or peace. To help us keep fighting climate change, defending our oceans and protecting ancient forests, please make a regular donation. Thank you! Greenpeace Canada, 33 Cecil Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1N1

Oppose SITE C DAM-age to BC {Part I: my letter}

[via LeadNow.ca]

RE:  Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 'Site C' Dam

Dear Mr. Bennett/ Ms. Jones,

I am writing to let you know that the EIS for the Site C dam fails to adequately assess the significance of potential and cumulative impacts of Site C in the following ways:

* Constructing Site C would necessitate a third reservoir on the river, which would destroy virtually all of the historic Peace River that remains within B.C.

* Site C would flood a wildlife-rich landscape that also contains important aboriginal burial & other archeological sites.

* The EIS does not consider the impacts of the existing dams & reservoirs on the Peace River.

* Fracking & tar sands extraction are NOT environmentally-sound energy production methods, at a crucial crossroads vis-a-vis global directives to reduce our C02 emissions by 2020.  Site C & other assists to fossil-fuel/tar-sands extraction would raise Canada's carbon 'footprint', already at unsustainable levels.  See http://climate.nasa.gov/causes for further info.

[Image from www.bcpeace.com]

* Peace River is the largest agricultural region in British Columbia, & its grain production is a crucial source of food/income for this province.  Flooding the area would negatively impact this important BC industry.

* While other countries are spending money & working hard to develop clean-energy sources/ technologies, Canada has been negligent vis-a-vis its global responsibilities by continuing to hone emissions-heavy, non-renewable fuel extraction – of which Site C would be another part.  Canada needs to stop polluting & start operating sustainably. 

* Wide-ranging animals – such as wolverine, lynx & woodland caribou – are virtually excluded from the assessment.  This is not an example of forward-thinking assessment in any sense, not only in terms of healthy biodiversity but in the basic planning for a clean-energy future.  Canada is situated at the outset of becoming the wildlife-watching hotspot in the world, with billions of dollars in potential tourist income – but only if we preserve what wilderness remains.  The proposed area for Site C dam is one of the premier wildlife habitats in the world, which would be – stupidly – destroyed for short-term financial gain to help China further pollute the global atmosphere using unsustainable methods of fossiel-fuel extraction - i.e. fracking - right here in BC: UNACCEPTABLE!

* Peace River region wildlife populations already are unacceptably impacted by intense human activity & development. The only appropriate response is to deny approval of the Site C dam and implement a comprehensive management approach that will ensure the recovery of at-risk species like grizzly bears & caribou.  Site C would require development of an enormous area of Canadian wilderness, placing undue stress on our fresh water supplies which our native wildlife species also depend on for survival.  Such a compromise is, of course, unthinkable.

* Canada needs to better utilize its extensive research/science resources to update & upgrade the stale old status quo plugged ad infinitum by Resource Minister (& national embarrassment) Joe Oliver.  We need to step away from over-emphasis on superficial politics & stop spending money on expanding polluting industries.  INSTEAD, we must get down to serious business forming/ funding/ negotiating/ planning/ regulating clean-energy technologies in order to lessen our impact on wilderness habitats AND become sustainable (i.e. win-win).

* We the public have not been given adequate information on this project, nor full accountability from our public servants as to exactly WHAT purpose – if not province-wide energy supply – its construction would serve.  Meanwhile encroachment into wildlife habitat areas continues with as little public consultation/ process as govt. & industry can get away with – AS IF BOTH OPPOSE THE PUBLIC'S INPUT/ INVOLVEMENT! Such reckless disregard for the very sources of their own livelihoods AND for existing/ necessary legislation indicates a FAILING at the basic fundamental level of their sworn parliamentary pledges.  We do not pay our  govt. officials hefty salaries so they can get away with pandering to industry's demands, at our expense. Govt.'s JOB is to protect & serve its people – not sell out our autonomy/ environmental health to the lowest bidders. In light of dangers/ dilemmas before BC'ers vis-a-vis polluting industries (IT'S WHAT THEY DO:  FRACKING IS ONE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE, HARMFUL & THREATENING ACTIVITIES ON EARTH!!), we simply can't AFFORD to have our own elected public servants operate behind our backs, ignore us & allow destruction of our most valuable resources - i.e. our FRESH WATER & our WILDERNESS.  A Govt. that tries to pull the wool over its own people's eyes about danger growing in its businesses/ industries is a threat to our own best interests & well-being.  And since Site C specifically allows for increased fracking operations, largely for an overseas market, its construction would be environmentally irresponsible & unsustainable, & therefore untenable.

* Pretending Site C dam is not one of the most devastating projects ever proposed in Canada, of a scale that would affect an enormous landmass comprimising healthy ecosystems (i.e. a renewable resource & key source of sustenance), suggests that Govt. is gung-ho on allowing the future degradation of this province's biodiversity, freshwater resources, landmass/soil quality etc.  It is no exaggeration to surmise that any Govt. who can stand before its people touting Site C as a project that would benefit BC's economy/ environment in any way is either corrupt, duplicitous, ignorant, irresponsible, weak or all of the above (& a federal resource minister who questions the validity of scientific findings & TOUTS INCREASED FOSSIL FUEL EXTRACTION AS A NON-POLLUTING, SUSTAINABLE ACTIVITY IS NOT SOMEBODY ACTING IN CANADIANS' BEST INTERESTS!)
Article: PR proposed to compensate climate-change cuts

*Why is Canada so slow to act on global calls for clean-energy production/ pollution reduction?  Unlike other parts of the world (eg. Amazon Rainforest, Bolivia, Malaysia, Tibet), most Canadians have not yet had to deal with the devastating results of widespread wilderness destruction in their daily midst – eg. deforestation in Malaysia – since much of BC's ravaged countryside (mostly from logging & mineral extraction/mining) is located in sparsely-populated parts of the province.  The effects are no less devastating.  Yet unsustainable operations - largely approved if not promoted by a fatuously self-serving & short-sighted government - continue to wreak havoc on the environment & put our futures at risk.  Site C Dam, however - if approved - would crank up the devastation several notches by its intended primary purpose of supporting Canada's fracking/tar-sands extraction industry to supply overseas (Asian) markets.  Whereas the 20th century saw corrupt leaders of what quickly became 'third-world' countries handing rich nations approval to freely degrade, harm, poison & rape those regions by deforestation, drilling, excavating & mining (i.e. the most destructive human activities on the planet) - thereby disabling their own populations' self-sustaining agriculture & in turn initiating today's global climate/food crisis - the now-'developing' world looks to exploit their former exploiters in the same way.  Approving fossil-fuel projects like Site C dam is another step along that road - & recent history has shown where that road leads.  Except now, with dangerous emissions & diminished wilderness (eg. essential forests) at critical levels, such approval would put not only Canada's climate/self-sustaining agriculture in jeopardy but that of the entire world.
Article: BC mining favours foreign workers

* If allowed to continue unabated, activities like deforestation & fracking will literally kill all life on Earth in due course.  Why?  BECAUSE THESE ACTIVITIES DON'T JUST COMPROMISE THE AIR WE BREATHE, THE QUALITY OF OUR ENVIRONMENT & THE BALANCE OF OUR CLIMATE – THEY GRADUALLY DEPLETE THE VERY SOURCE OF OUR OWN SUSTENANCE, ON WHICH WE ARE, ULTIMATELY, 100% DEPENDENT – i.e.  NATURE – AT A RATE THAT IS UNSUSTAINABLE, meaning Nature cannot regrow/renew quickly enough to keep up with their rate of destruction...

* & since Nature provides all the elements needed to support life on Earth - i.e. is, literally, our ONLY PROVIDER - we need to quit stupidly, unsustainably, depleting those supplies & operate at sustainable levels that guarantee continual, indefinite regrowth/renewal.

* WE HAVE MUCH CATCH-UP TO DO VIS-A-VIS DAMAGE ALREADY DONE BY POLLUTING INDUSTRIES.  The fact that Canada's own contributors to climate change still operate unsustainably is a horrifying testament not to industry's greedy lack of scruples (that's old news) but to our GOVERNMENT'S weakness in allowing the ruin of this land.  Scientists, our last bastion of impartiality, have proven why we can't AFFORD a Govt. that permits remaining wilderness to be recklessly - unnecessarily - destroyed/killed - let alone to make way for further pollution/risks of fossil-fuel extraction.  The CEAA should reject Site C Dam on the basis alone that such damage CANNOT BE MITIGATED.  Our government needs to follow their directives, which align with our best interests, with responsible initiatives/laws/legislation that will keep BC clean, healthy, flourishing & productive for future generations.  Without these basic prerequisites as government's guiding principal force, the 'legacies' to which Christy Clark referred throughout her provincial election campaign will be as barren & valueless as those promised to Albertans to justify the wilderness destruction that made way for their ill-fated foray into fossil-fuel extraction...

Thank you for considering my points above in your assessment of this cripplingly costly, destructive & ultimately untenable Site C dam proposal.  Please deny Site C, now & in future.

[Part II addendum of this EIS public input letter here:  Oppose SITE C DAM-age to BC {Part II}

Some ARTWORKS by ME...

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'FAUMa'

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'CoLoRiFiCaL-ME'

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'MeLTiNGLoBe'

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 'MoNoCHRo-ME'

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'EmeRgenCe-ME'

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©  SARAH CHESTERMAN

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