A Simple Tweak to Drastically Improve Life for Every Single Species on Earth..

Although I’m 'in recovery' from the Comments sections of mass-media sites like ‘Instagram’ & ‘X’, I'm a dedicated 'Deep Green' activist / environmentalist who's always seeking opportunities to broaden my Nature knowledge & disseminate Science-based solutions to the biodiversity / climate / extinction crisis we humans have brought on ourselves..

So far, hands down the most critical component of saving Life on Earth is CONSERVATION - & restoration of Nature's functions AT ALL COSTS. “Giving up” is not an option! Leaving our future up to the evil last-century perpetual-growth leaders, moneymongers, oligarchs & space-travel charlatans already holding us back from making a doable hopeful future is SELFISH & SUICIDAL — & tells our kids life’s not worth saving!

But it’s delusional thinking we can accomplish this & set a better course for humanity while continuing to blindly plunder & rape healthy intact ecosystems just to maintain the illusion that our lavish wasteful lifestyles are flawless ‘sacred cows’ that can’t be improved. They can - & musT - improve.. by deconstructing / laying bare / UPDATING perceived factors of the Good Life, STARTING WITH OUR UNNECESSARY USE OF NON-HUMAN ANIMALS!

Science shows animal agriculture is the 2nd-largest contributor to human-made GHGs after fossil fuels — & leading cause of deforestation, air/water pollution & biodiversity loss, comprising 44% of anthropogenic methane emissions — 34X more potent than C02 — & 44% of nitrous oxide (the most potent GHG) AND is the largest contributor to global water pollution. That’s just part of its heavy footprint..

I.E. We drastically need to lighten the strain animal ag puts on Earth’s finite resources. Replacing dairy/meat with plant-sourced foods would reduce C02 emissions alone from the industry by 96%, to just 73 pounds of CO2e.

Not only that, but plant-based diets are much healthier for humans, with our long winding intestines (opposite of carnivores’ short GI tracts) — ask any doc/naturopath! I switched long ago, & it’s easily the best change I’ve ever made.

We can’t just IGNORE the Science of CO2's/ ecocide’s/ GHGs’/ pollution’s effects on global warming — & saying “it’s too late anyway” & letting govts get away with murder serving polluters instead of people is a morally destitute way of sabotaging all efforts to ensure a liveable future! We must find ways to organize & get this info OUT THERE to as many peops as humanly possible, so everyone can make a difference for Earth's future... ESP. for the non-human creatures that face imminent extinction if we don't ACT to save their natural wild habitats..

This is basic knowledge that kids should learn at school - yet don't, prob cuz Big Oil & other extractive industries have even co-opted our kids' education (the latest pamphlet touting LNG as a "sustainable" energy source is almost laughable it's so chock-full of lies... (We must get back to caring for - stewarding - our natural ecosystems as 1st Nations did for thousands of years.  Tho sadly, much of their knowledge was stripped by Residential Schools per the early BC govt's evil agenda..)

Ironically, our present govt leaders are in many ways much more corrupt than before, pretending to serve BCers' needs while catering to polluting mega-corporations' profits.. 

So it's left to us to galvanize & make the needed changes to prevent the worsening of  catastrophic climate change, together with the scientists who have the answers.    Going vegan en masse is the obvious way to rein in  & shut down exploitation  & extraction of finite resources that must remain alve & intact (protected) if we hope to have a future..

(The alternative is unthinkable.)

Shots of Sumallo Grove old-growth forest biôme in Manning Park, which is critically at risk of species extirpation, wildfire spread+++ - & California's fires warn of what could happen here if we lazily keep pounding the same-old Road to Ruin that's directly led us to this crisis:  without widespread awareness combined with proacTion, our kids don't stand a chance..

#1 ECO-ACTION: BAN CLEARCUT LOGGING & PROTECT FORESTS!

Me @ Hayward Lake park, by Frank V.

Here's a letter to Govt. I customized thru Sierra Club BC - & encourage you to write your own, at this link;

https://t.co/JPeTvZWs7U

Dear Minister Conroy, 

RE:  PROTECT OUR PRECIOUS FORESTS NOW!

Your govt's announced intentions to protect BC's old-growth forests by deferring logging contracts are a step in the right direction, but recent events have shown we need lasting changes on the ground today, not tomorrow. 

The climate crisis is jeopardizing the health & safety of BC's communities -- & clearcut logging is further increasing the likelihood & severity of droughts, erosion, fires, floods & landslides.  

Yet your govt can effectively mitigate & prevent these catastrophes before the crisis worsens by protecting endangered old-growth forests, restoring healthy ecosystems & reforming forest management.

Without immediate action, not enough old-growth forests will be left to sustain the web of life, support a diverse economy & limit the climate risks communities across B.C. are facing right now. 

As 1 of millions of affected citizens, I demand that you:  

- Do your sworn duty & apply the [sizeable] federal grant $$ to its intended purpose of enacting & enforcing BC's long-overdue Species At Risk law, to support threatened wildlife species & their habitats.

- Immediately commit to adequate funding for forestry workers & Indigenous Nations to address the impacts of logging deferrals, as well as conservation financing for effective Science-based solutions.

- Reform B.C. forestry practices & climate adaptation strategies with actual LAWS that PROTECT healthy forest/watershed ecosystems & REDUCE risks of catastrophic climate impacts -- including BANNING harmful clearcutting & spraying of our forests!  

- Expedite real engagement with [rightful hereditary] Indigenous decision-makers to implement all recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review, in line with the B.C. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. 

Your govt's woeful inaction on these urgent measures defies all logic.  In fact, it's inexcusable that few intact old-growth forests remain standing across BC — & worse, that most are slated to be logged despite clear evidence that these forests are KEY DEFENSES against impacts of the EMERGENCY in our midst.  

These deadly impacts promise only to increase in magnitude unless we transition to Nature-restoring sustainability in all sectors now.  Time is running out.

Science says so.  & Science doesn't lie.

I implore you to do the right thing NOW to save our precious forests -- 'Lungs of the Earth' -- & thereby ensure the health & safety of communities across BC.

Sincerely, 

[your name will go here]

[your email address will go here], [your location will go here]

CC: Premier David Eby; Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Nathan Cullen; Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman; and my local MLA.

MY [banned!] input on Financial Post's pro-AB-oil article..

[COURSE this was blocked --it's anti-#BigOil & thus a threat to their conflicting interests, which they guard obsessively, like monkeys..]

Link to that article:
https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/jack-mintz-canadians-have-taken-alberta-for-granted-thats-dangerous-for-us-all

Here's my comment..

Reply to @Brian Barbour: 

"And Alberta's oilsands industry isn't an ecological disaster that's turned northern Alberta into a belching oozing toxic wasteland that makes a mockery of Canada's [clearly nonexistent] climate 'leadership'? But as the world --finally-- clues in to the devastating effects of 150+ years of aggressive industrial pollution/rape (of which fossil fuels is only a --albeit large-- cause) & scrambles desperately to turn back time, rein in polluting GHGs, operate sustainably & undo the worst damage..

THAT's when good ol' Cowboy Canada decides to roll up & slap down a few billion bucks of stolen taxes (the die-hard Colonial way: appropriate don't ask.. natch) & announce Canada's ALL IN on the works --brand-new pipeline, tar sands expansion.. INCLUDING the world's largest open-pit mine, right next to the globally important Great Bear Rainforest, protection of which is a critical imperative due to its role as the 'lungs of the world' -- a status certain to suffer from its proximity to Teck's monstrous ode to obsolescence.. 

*** 

"That oughter cheer up them pesky cousins up north --yew know, those hard-livin Albertans eh? Lord knows they'll whine if they don't all get new trucks fer Xmas...Course we'll keep its reaL purpose --exportin it ALL to the most pollutin continent on the planet-- hush-hush til the deal's done, & those uppity BCers protectin their 'precious' coastal livins can cry all they want that the extra tankers will drive orcas to extinkshun --serve em right fer denyin us our god-given right to dirty jobs & new trucks.. Eh?" 

Nope, they'll still whine. It's what they DO.. Tar sands = their world, & we're forced to tolerate their polluting embarrassment for a few extra bucks back East? 

"Kinda CORRUPT.. Eh?"

The UGLY REALiTy of TMX [Trans MounTain pipeline]

Being Canadian is a virtual EMBARRASSMENT these days, as we suffer thru an obnoxious new round of irresponsible media - even TV ads! - advocating the [polluting & uneconomical] 'benefits' of constructing the Trans-Mountain pipeline in BC - as if the deadly risks did not exist..

Au contraire, these advertisers are Clearly operating unethically, selling false & misleading - biased & unbased - pro-industry BS to a largely misinformed target market, obfuscating the realities of this TMX Pipeline's intended purpose & belying their own selfish interests & excluding serious, valid concerns - including inherent byproducts like eco-destruction/ poisonous waste which are taxing ecosystems to the max..

  

YES the indisputable science of the impacts of industry on the ecological balance that sustains us pRoves we humans hold the decisive cards of our destiny - ie. We made the mess we're in - severely disrupting the eco-balance which sustains all life on Earth - so we must fix it.. NOT by green-lighting disasters like Site C Dam & AB Oilfields expansion or by subsidizing polluting gigs like LNG, but by legislating protection of our air/ ecosystems/ forests/ waters & transitioning to science-based renewable, sustainable ops in all sectors..

Ie. WE MUST SOW WHAT WE REAP! =ECoLogy 101 

Only those who are paid by polluting industries are [still] denying the facts of Climate Change, tho they must witness firsthand the havoc wreaked by their polluting activities over time!?  Money may make ignorance bliss - for those without a conscience - but the cost of valuing money over Nature risks our FUTURE & WELL-BEING for the short-term wealth of a selfish few..

[GOVTs MUST QUIT GIVING GREEDY CORPS LICENSES 2 KILL - cuz they will!]

Canada's once-lush diversity, forests, waters & thriving agriculture are being threatened by accelerating eco-imbalances/ extinction/ overproduction furthered  by ongoing Govt approval of destructive/ polluting projects instead of financing/ incentivising eco-smart outfits, transitioning to renewable zero-waste energy & properly reducing our C02/GHG counts!?

Where's ouR Govt's progressive legislation ensuring, @ the very least, protection of our most critically important carbon sinks - eg. BC's overlogged ancient old-growth forests [approximately only 3% of which remains unlogged] & our most vulnerable wildlife - eg. Orcas, whose extinction would be imminent if bitumen/oil were to spill into BC's coastal waters..

AS for intended plans for the Trans-Mtn pipeline, currently held up in the Courts for failure to seek/obtain 1st Nations' consent, here are the ugly facts:

[from RainforestRescue.org]
Tankers carrying tar sand oil are a serious threat to the habitat of endangered Orcas. Yet Alberta is planning the world's largest open-pit tar sand mine. If realized, it would wipe out 292 square kilometers of forests and wetlands and be a disaster for the climate. Tell Canada to keep tar sand in the ground!

To: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Environment Catherine McKenna

Teck Resources' planned Frontier Tar Sand Mine would be an ecological disaster with a global impact..

READ LETTER

The pipelines needed to export tar sand oil are environmental disasters waiting to happen: the Trans Mountain Pipeline crosses the Rocky Mountains to British Columbia’s Pacific coast. Oil spills are virtually pre-programmed, and a tanker accident could devastate the coastline and the habitat of 75 endangered orcas.

Further inland, the tar sand mining industry is turning swathes of northern Alberta, Canada, into a wasteland: Forests are being felled to make way for open-pit mines. Tailing ponds contain water laden with heavy metals. Refineries pollute the air.

Tar sand oil is the world's dirtiest fossil fuel, and extracting and refining it requires far greater amounts of energy than conventional oil. This project would make a mockery of Canada’s commitment to protect the climate – leaving it in the ground is the only sane option.

UNESCO is alarmed by the prospect of the mine: the guardians of World Heritage Sites see grave danger for Wood Buffalo National Park at the mouth of Athabasca River. The river is already polluted by existing oil sand mines and its condition would become much worse.

Local people are also impacted by the environmental destruction. The Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations reject the project and have declared the land north of Firebag River to be a no-go area. This has not stopped the mining company from running roughshod over the rights of the indigenous peoples.

An official hearing for the pipeline project is currently in progress. Together with our Canadian partners, we want to bring international pressure to bear against the dirtiest fossil fuel on the planet. Please sign our petition: Tell the Canadian government to keep tar sand in the ground!

Teck Resources' planned Frontier Tar Sand Mine would be an ecological disaster with a global impact..

Rainforest-Rescue.org/petitions

Links to pertinent articles: Article in The Energy Mix

The 'Rule of Law' & Notley's/Morneau's misuse thereof..

@

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

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-

Auntie Sedge, pleased ta meet ya!

Yes my newborn nephew is terribly sweet! (William Chesterman Hales, I am honoured) Congrats, Cath & Matt - you did it! 

i LUVS!


MWAW... MWAW! MWAW!! MWAW!! MWAWW!! XOXO