Amid forestry struggles, panel finds ‘surprising’ consensus on old-growth logging concerns in B.C.

[This is my - since-deleted - comment to the above-named article in The Narwhal 1 year ago]

But our C02/ GHG emissions continue to RISE --& logging our last remaining old-growth forests ADDS to those emissions daily, due to the massive amounts of C02 they SEQUESTER (& CONTINUE TO, IF LEFT INTACT!!)

It is simply sheer CLIMATE SABOTAGE for our Govts. to keep giving forestry co's the right to CLEARCUT -- at criminal rates, as this expert source elucidates: www.ancientforestalliance.org -- our onLy significant safeguards against accelerated eco-breakdown by climate change, I.E. HEALTHY ANCIENT RAINFORESTS, which must be protected & allowed to expand AT ALL COSTS..

When you factor in the added GHGs logging itself emits (which is considerable --see that same link) it's clear that cutting down these life-saving forests along with their rich biodiversity AND massive C02 sequestration powers --KNOWING the proven rapacious effects of deforestation exacerbating global warming-- amounts to DESTRUCTION of our best (if not onLy) defence against the dire effects of climate change..

There can be no other way to assess it (as Australia has proven): NO GOVT. can credibly argue FOR allowing continuation of clearcut logging of our last remaining 10% intact old-growth forests!?

Of course most Canadians are concerned Canada isn't dealing with global warming, as our elected GOVTS. ARE FAILING TO ACT ON ANY OF THEIR PLATFORMS/ PROMISES of 'REAL Climate Action', 'Reconciliation' ETC. In BC, Premier Horgan has betrayed constituents AND his minority GREEN PARTY opposition by reneging on aLL NDP climate plans/ promises & instead simply furthering same-old Colonial/ corporate status quo BS that's directly diminished our defences against looming climate disaster..

Informed BCers (rightfully) REJECT Govt's ongoing --infuriating-- inaction/ ineptitude in legislating the changes we desperately NEED to revise our fortunes/futures. First plan of defense = BOLSTER EXISTING DEFENSES -- I.E. enact immediate moratoriums on all old-growth logging -- & any activity that requires destruction of our drastically-diminished (life-saving) forest ecosystems -- including aLL new projects involving eco-ruin, eg. polluting dams, fracking (LNG), open-pit mining ETC. that current infrastructure does not need to function NOW IN THE INTERIM WHILE TRANSITIONING TO CLIMATE-SAFE/ RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES, regenerating/soil-replenishing agriculture/ non-GMO farming, locally-focused production cycles ETC.. ALL of which will create & require new employment growth/revitalization, & ALL of which should already be INCENTIVIZING leading suppliers in all sectors (eg. Big Oil's ongoing UNCHANGED, UNSUSTAINABLE resource extraction, cited as global warming's main culprit by the legit global scientific community!?) motivating ECONOMY-DRAINING, TOP-HEAVY POLLUTING CORPS TO TRANSITION TO ECO-SAFE & SUSTAINABLE OPS.. OR GET OUT OF THE WAY TO GIVE SUPERIOR SCIENCE-BASED SYSTEMS (EG. RENEWABLE ENERGY -- ELECTRIC VEHICLES..) OPPORTUNITIES TO PHASE IN C02-NEUTRAL LOW-FOOTPRINT DISTRIBUTION/ MANUFACTURE/ PRODUCTION METHODS THAT OPTIMIZE RESTORATION OF ESSENTIAL NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS.. NOW NOT LATER!

(Anything else insults us all -- & justifies the widespread panic & despair seen in areas already most affected by devastating global warming, eg. Australia) We are next if we don't get on it & ACT - NOT JUST DISCUSS..

[Since then, logging of BC's rare old-growth has continued.. Premier Horgan has broken his election promise to protect these ecosystems from logging (as predicted by many).. Wilderness Committee has estimated all but 1% of these precious forests have been ruthlessly clearcut.. & forestry giant Teal Jones has been allowed to bring an injunction against the brave forestry defenders blocking their destructive designs on the important Fairy Creek key ancient forest on Vancouver Island.. These are shocking times for BC on the brink of catastrophic climate change - & our govts. MUST step in & save these last intact habitats of 1,000s of species at risk of extinction (which the BCNDP also promised to work on legislating, crucial if our kids are going to thrive in a sustainable future)  If we don't work together to protect nature's health NOW, we're going to be in big trouble.. (i.e. Califerno's coming here next)]

Just for good measure, here's another comment i made on this same crucial issue..

In this perilous time of global-wide biodiversity loss & eco-degradation --on top of the cumulative GHGs emitted by logging & resultant loss of large valuable C02 sinks-- this recent rash of clear cuts (& subsequent threats to native wildlife habitats) is a dire sign that prov. Govts past & present have wilfully mismanaged BC's key natural resource, to the detriment iF NOT EXTINCTION of the many species dependant on these forests for their very survival. Including humans..

It is noT enough for politicians to pay lip service to critical policy changes needed now: the extreme severity of this unmitigated devastation wreaked by greedy industrial corps with no respect for nature's balance --ie. A huge & unconscionable dereliction of duty that's directly contributed to the climate 'emeRgency' that threatens our very EXISTENCE-- demands immediate & drastic corrective measures, eg. Curtailment of aLL clearcut logging & binding legislation restricting forestry in BC to sustainable 2nd-growth mgmt. & stringent protection of aLL old-growth forest ecosystems, as well as strict 'Protection of Trees' LAWS in every BC jurisdiction!!

But since the current BC govt. --like each one b4 it-- has clearly chosen NOT to act responsibly in the best interests of BC/ taxpayers, thereby exacerbating not preventing probable catastrophes arising from these criminal acts of rainforest deforestation, an emergency court/ panel needs to take over & enact these measures for them..

Drastic? Yes it is -- thanks to a century+ of governmental failure to protect BC's natural ecosystems, the health of which is key for survival & for future generations..

Govt. is obviously out of time required to save our life-supporting forests: despite increasing urgency of rising GHGs, diversity/habitat loss & degraded natural ecosystems threatening all dependent life forms, OUR GOVT. HAS FAILED TO TAKE ONE MITIGATING MEASURE TO OFFSET THESE LOOMING --SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN, INDUSTRY-CAUSED-- THREATS TO THE HEALTH & SAFETY OF ALL BC RESIDENTS!

In fact, our provincial govts past & present have done nothing but green-light dangerous/ polluting projects, encouraged massive environmental degradation by extractive industries & even subsidized high-profiting corps while taxing residents to destroy our forests/ ecosystems!?

If this is not a desperate CALL 4 IMMEDIATE LONG-OVERDUE INTERVENTION --from collective/ federal/ Supreme Court/ UN/ whatever forces more capable than prov. govt.-- to take action preventing further eco-ruin & to save BC's remaining ecosystems/ livelihoods, then WHAT IS?

Dear PM Trudeau, Albertans & all TMX Pipeline supporters..

I just spent more energy & time responding to another Cdn. who scornfully insisTs Canada NEEDS the TMX Expansion that was approved last week by Justin Trudeau (our resident Tot-in-Chief) -- to which I had this to say:  From a free-thinking fellow Canadian..

[Person's name withheld] TROUBLE IS, yours is hardly a 'different perspective' but rather the typical Cdn norm furthered by Govts since first contact - & only 300 or so yrs later we're in a #ClimateEmergency, thanks mostly to our unsustainable reap-without-sowing natural resource 'mgmt.' practices still going strong (despite warnings from global Climate summits since 1992, where all participating nations agreed to slow their rising GHGs/pollution & protect old-growth forests ++)  Canada has talked good intentions while continuing to allow destructive logging/ mining/ waste-mgmt practices - eg. Cutting down our precious ancient forests (best carbon captors - til felling them emits massive amts of CO2), approving massive dams like Site C & & allowing mining exploration in sacred Tsilhqotin First Nation/ tourist ranch country like Taseko's diabolical (twice Feds-rejected) 'Prosperity' open-pit disaster.. SHAME on #BCNDP!

Look up Genus Capital (Vcr.) with their successful fossil-free funds & fact-filled literature on climate change:  a forward-thinking corp that divests fossil fuels while answering the uRgenT call for changes to our UNSUSTAINABLE STATUS QUO:  if a financial institution can do it, why can't we?

BECAUSE OUR 'DEMOCRATIC' GOVTS MAKE ALL DECISIONS, WITHOUT RESPECTING THEIR SWORN OATHS TO BE GUIDED BY THEIR CONSTITUENTS & PROTECT THEIR (our) BEST INTERESTS!?

Bottom line = we MUST rein in our GHG emissions & protect our dying biodiversity from extinction --ie. Paris Agreement goals-- & spending billion$ on building a new pipeline for expanding polluting tar sands & shipping all that dirty bitumen via BC to the most polluting country on Earth just DOESN'T DO IT!!

Sorry Albertans, but aren't your kids' futures worth more than that brand-new gas-guzzling truck you were counting on? Come ON! Upgrading doesn't NECESSARILY mean austerity/ powerlessness --think Geothermal energy & snap outa that poor-me pouting to join Canada in finding solutions that don't subsidize already-wealthy Oil&Gas co's that have HAD their heyday & turned N. Alberta into a fire-ravaged toxic wasteland in the process..

We need to be sustainable.. Quit deforestation & unnecessary pollution.. to be proper stewards of the abundant green world we (once) knew & loved.. to reconcile with our First Nations natives in the way that they wish:  acknowledge all the wrongs conmitted - & adopted - by our Govts since Confederation & give them back sovereignty over their unceded territories for them to manage (as they did, sustainably & keeping abundant growing populations of diverse wild species, for millenia..)  Then we ask them - nicely? - if they'll lead us to sustainability, THEIR WAY - as we should have from the start:  isn't THIS the way to carry out due Reconciliation with our First Nations?

Canada's Constitution has a prominent section outlining our responsibilities of conservation & stewardship of all our native fauna/flora -- with which Govts ought to be familiar, as reminders that humans are not the only animals sharing planet Earth:  ie. aLL living beings should be respected & allowed to roam freely in their natural habitat without human interference..

Remember that next time you consider approving another destructive, smelly, waste-heavy human industrial endeavor whose main purpose (besides gutting all the rich natural resources of an area without regard for existing ecosystems) is to enrich the personal accounts of its officials while paying barely-liveable wages to its workers:  hardly acceptable for a polluting project costing billions in a 'Climate Emergency'..?

& don't insult Cdns' intelligence by promising to use the profits therefrom (!!?!) to fund fresh new green initiatives:  we've heard your promises before, & we are noT convinced!  (At least I hope we are smarter than lemmings)

PS. #GoVegan - I did, & it's easy if you love animals as I do..

Oppose SITE C DAM-age to BC {Part II}

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

As an addendum to my (April 5th) post on this crucial BC matter - to which all BCers would be unequivocably opposed if properly informed of Site C dam's repercussions, i.e. its resulting degradation of BC's air/ land/ water quality (eg. our precious natural resources, without which we have a 3rd-world future) - via the letter template found @ StopSiteC.org hsent to relevant government officials...

I am extremely concerned about Site C's effects on the following:

- Hundreds of productive working farms in this fertile region would literally be washed away by flooding, along with their invaluable, sustainable food-security benefits & services! To even contemplate such irreversible destruction of BCers' livelihoods & future self-sufficiency - which could not be mitigated - is a terrifying testament to BC's inept (if not willfully corrupt) business/government/utility leaders re. environmental/ resource mgmt. protection issues impacting this province.  NONE OF THESE ENTITIES have the constitutional right to green-light such misuse of our province's human/natural resources without due process comprising carefully considered analysis of any such project's effects.

- My fellow BC citizens operating viable agricultural outfits in the Peace River Valley - many for several generations - are naturally concerned that Site C Dam would forever RUIN not only their own livelihoods but those of BC's richly fertile agricultural industry as a whole & the Peace River Valley's prolific part in it.  Such a prospect is not merely conjecture but an inarguably predictive adjunct of Site C's development, which would turn longtime Peace River inhabitants out of their established farms/homes & render them refugees in their own province - as well as turning one of the world's richest agricultural oases into a derelict floodplain (i.e. adding to unsustainable waste production) NOT TO PROVIDE FOR BC'S ENERGY NEEDS BUT TO SERVE INCREASED FOSSIL-FUEL/ FRACKING/TARSANDS PRODUCTION FOR EXPORT TO CHINA, ALREADY THE WORLD'S WORST POLLUTER.  Thousands of BCers have expressed repeated opposition to this appalling direction & called for transition to clean, renewable energy production in the face of government's negligent disregard for its own citizens' futures.

I.E. Building Site C Dam would entail AN ENSUING DISASTER SITUATION OF CATASTROPHIC PROPORTIONS FOR BC'S LAND & PEOPLE. This is irresponsible, short-sighted & unacceptable...

- Further deleterious effects of Site C Dam include putting BC's indigenous wildlife species in peril, include destruction via flooding of already-diminished critical habitat which would further limit access to the ecosystems on which wild species such as Cariboo, Grizzly Bear, Coyotes, Wolves & many others depend for their survival.  Such serious threats to BC's healthy biodiversity (= also a measuring-tool of human health) are significant.  Yet Site C's proposal looms over this precarious balancing-act as a very real threat highlighting another foreboding aspect of governmental ignorance that would signal failure to meet their most basic pledges dedicating allegiance to BC's best interests - which includes protecting BC's precious wildlife species, along with their habitats & our province's healthy biodiversity in general.

- The above points do not even take into consideration  Site C Dam's necessary destruction (through flooding) of First Nations heritage sites, including burial grounds & places of cultural/spiritual significance along with their low-footprint way of life which they have sustained (& which have sustained BC's natural riches) for centuries.  Such disgraceful (mis)treatment of our native people ought to be deal-breaking grounds for refusal by ANY assessment panel. If Government were smart, & forward-thinking, our First Nations would rightfully hold top consulting positions in all land management matters & our required critical transition to clean-energy/sustainable technologies which need to take place NOW, as per global directives on climate-change & emissions reduction. THAT is the forward-thinking business of any modern government entity, in order to secure futures - the LEGACIES to which Ms. Clark referred so frequently in her recent electoral campaign.  If there are to be any 'legacies' for BCers then economic returns must be bolstered by smart, sustainable resource management - i.e. safeguarding our forests, lakes, mountains, rivers etc. from unsustainable development/ industry.  If we don't, pollution will poison our fresh-water sources & cripple any chances of providing legacies for future generations. Building Site C Dam would further contribute to environmental damage via rising carbon emissions, in polar opposition to NASA's warnings that these levels MUST decrease to reverse global warming trends...

- FOR ONCE let's be smart vis-a-vis conservation of BC's precious native fauna/ flora (= the bulwarks of future survival/ sustainability) & respect for our First Nations, without whose knowledgeable/ skillful preservation of its ongoing bounty/ renewal BC's valuable forests & natural resources would be non-existent today.  Building Site C Dam would degrade both, jeopardizing BC's health & the lives of future generations.

  

- The financial cost to B.C. taxpayers, who would have to shoulder this $8 billion megaproject - NOT for the purpose of domestic consumption but to facilitate further unsustainable fossil-fuel/operations & increased pollution - makes this proposed project that much more untenable to BC & our future as a thriving province.

Why is BC, apparently a wealthy part of the world (for many), so desperate to continue favouring big-money POLLUTERS??

STEP IT UP -- & STOP SITE C DAM, BC!!

(photo by Graham Osborne of WildernessCommittee.org)