CANADA NEEDS A NATURE-FIRST ECONOMY! (Letter to PM Carney++)

In response to Wilderness Committee's STELLAR recent publication, Nature Can't Afford the Banker (Building A Nature-First Economy) written by campaigner Eric Reder, I used their special letter-writing tool here:
WildernessCommittee-BankOnNature to write the letter (below) sent to these recipients:

Mark Carney (Prime Minister), Nepean, Liberal

Julie Dabrusin (Minister of Environment and Climate Change)

Pierre Poilievre (Leader, Conservative Party of Canada)

Marc Dalton (MP), Maple Ridge, Conservative

Feel free to use that link to send your own personalized letter!  It's been shown that when govt officials receive 20 or more letters on a certain issue, they take notice - so don't underestimate the power of your actions:  they CAN make a difference.. [Here's another relevant W.C. article about PM Carney's disastrous new measures that double down on corporate profiteering and accelerated climate crisis while leaving Canadians - incl. Indigenous communities - IN THE DUST:  O&G expansion: NOT in the national interest!]

Here's my letter ~

As a born-and-bred BCer I am deeply dismayed by recent policy developments brought by PM Carney & the federal govt, characterized by glaring omissions of biodiversity loss (Species at Risk), climate & eco-based considerations.  Like a slap in the face, the message stings:  that future-forward nature care & stewardship are not important to Canada's federal govt - contrary to what we were led to believe.

With Earth's web of life literally staggering on the precipice of human-caused demise, these developments are blatantly myopic in the extreme.  As a major culprit, Canada cannot afford to ignore this global crisis any longer!

A gutting example here in Ridge of this backward slide on Climate sticks out like an open wound, just up the road:  a devastating clearcut of a vast swathe of forest along Dewdney Trunk Rd that's left this community reeling over the loss of that endemic ecosystem's assets, & dreading the resultant impacts of looming 'fire season' heat events.  Compounded by this year's record-low snowpack levels.

Such worrying scenarios, escalating across the nation, signal the untimeliness of your retreat on biodiversity & ecosystem protections - falsely in the name of economic growth & affordability.  As the [conservative] World Economic Forum's recently-published Annual Global Risks Report clearly states, the next decade's biggest economic threats are biodiversity loss & climate change!  This backs what Science has stressed for years: there is no economic argument for excluding nature in any govt decisions going forward.

While countless Canadians struggle to get by, PM Carney's nescient focus on costly "nation-building" projects that double down on last-century fossil-fuel reliance offers scant relief for most Canadians while highlighting a gaping disconnect between our climate-affected reality & the federal govt's "new" priorities - at the cost of rolling back hard-won eco-protections & Indigenous commitments!  This dangerous regression is nothing less than abrogation of duty by our public servants!

The costs of climate change are already driving up our bills, through climate-disaster clean-ups like the Hwy 3 washouts costing million$ from public taxes.  Yet your govt continues to pour money & energy into fossil-fuel-run projects that only promise to make the problems worse.

Firm fact:  we've already found proven ways to protect Canada's natural habitats, that reduce emissions & make life actually affordable in this cost-of-living crisis!  And they don't include building O&G-run 'data centers' requiring massive amounts of water (amid BC's ongoing drought emergency!!???)- besides being arms of USA's resource-grabbing hegemony of billionaire-owned Tech giants, with potential consequences that undermine our very democracy!  Canadians of all walks of life are unanimously rejecting A.I. data centres, with good reason:  forcing their egregious climate-wrecking effects across the country is a flagrant misuse of taxpayer's money - with NO tangible benefits!

Please, respect the values Canadians hold dear, including (overwhelmingly) climate action & nature protection - eg. by building/ upgrading homes with sustainable materials & renewable power; & funding our necessary transition to clean green industries +++ - i.e. much-needed measures that support society sustainably AND economically, while aligning with our emissions-reduction commitments.

Therefore I implore your govt to:

• Immediately remove the Impact Assessment exemption from the Build Canada Act;

• Grow both nature & climate budget expenditures to at least two per cent of GDP annually;

• Enforce the Species at Risk Act in all jurisdictions across Canada;

• Establish tests that rate cumulative & downstream emissions for every Major Project;

• Plan to meet our international emissions-reduction commitments;

• Strengthen Impacts Assessments & waste regulations for ALL mining projects in Canada.

Without thriving Nature's priceless benefits, "Canada Strong" will remain unattainable due to our over-reliance on (chemicalized/ outdated) Agricultural exports, Fossil-fuels, over-harvested forests, rejection of Science-advised solutions, & USA's unneeded obsolete imports - i.e. products of ramped-up pollution, contamination, ecocide, GMOs, overdevelopment ETC.  Canada CAN be strong - by countering those failed excesses with quality, locally-made, sustainable production values & future-forward TRANSITION into the clean, green future we CAN achieve. Because we've already proven so!

THAT is where our taxpayers' money should be invested, guaranteeing quality jobs/ re-training in renewables / organic regenerative agriculture / clean public transport / eco-tourism +++ sectors for a healthy economy that LASTS.

For too long, our policies have prioritized short-term GDP growth at the expense of ecological stability & social well-being.  Surely we've LEARNED BY NOW that merely perpetuating same-old last-century unlimited-growth economics will subvert our own success!!??

Leaving legacies of thriving Nature & circular economies represents REAL Science-led prosperity - as opposed to cowering in the face of oppressive billionaire-owned U.S. 'Big-Tech' grifts engendering nothing but more inequality & unaffordability.  We have a global duty to protect what we have left in our priceless biodiversity, forests, grasslands & waters - THOSE are sources of lasting, regenerating value that will build Canada's resilience.. now & in future.

It's time to UPGRADE:  respect Nature's directives instead of recklessly destroying what remains - eg. Canada's last 4% intact Lungs of the Earth - for financial gain of a wealthy/ foreign few.  That's like demolishing the Great Pyramids for the price of their stones:  NIHILISM THAT MAKES NO SENSE - economically or otherwise - at any time!  Today's govts are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring liveability of our world for future generations, & Canada's leadership must be no exception.

The interconnected crises of climate change, resource depletion & economic inequality demand that we transition toward a sustainable, healthy economic model. Our metrics for national success must evolve to prioritize resource conservation, community resilience, and long-term liveability over infinite expansion.

As my elected representatives, I urge you to support policies that move beyond traditional growth metrics & invest in a regenerative economy.  The alternative is unthinkable.

Please live up to your democratically-elected duties, as leaders serving Canadians' best interests!

Thank you very much.

[SaRah (Saz) ChesTeRman]

Before & after shots of that Maple Ridge clearcut: [Pix by me]

BEFORE:

 

                                 AFTER:

                                                                 

Emergency in BC's Forests NOW

(Situation:  CRITICAL)

As warned in previous articles on this blog, BC's forests are in deep trouble now due to Govt's dereliction of duty in the cont'd clearcutting --i.e. mismanagement-- of the precious forest ecosystems that make 'Beautiful BC' & which support myriad species of [at-risk] biodiversity, fight climate change/ wildfires, store CO2, clean watersheds:  their lifesaving benefits are countless -- & threatened..

With wildfire season starting earlier, spreading faster & continuing to grow to record sizes throughout summer as never before, we need to ACT NOW & urge our govts to do their duty to protect these last globally-rare forests -- before they've all been logged for TP/woodchips.. (& emitted all their stored C02 into the atmosphere)

To understand what's at stake, quoted from the experts at https://sierraclub.ca:

"Our forests are our best ally in fighting climate change. Old-growth temperate rainforest has the largest carbon storage capacity per hectare on earth. Halting logging of endangered old-growth forest will help reduce BC’s carbon footprint and allow salmon, bears, wolves and many other species a fighting chance to adapt to a warming world." Learn more about forests and climate here.

Clearcut logging -- esp. of Old-Growth forests -- as well as dire SPRAYING OF GLYPHOSATE (= Bayer's Roundup) in forests throughout BC is the #1 cause of rapidly-spreading wildfires, as evidenced by the countless forest fires ripping thru cutblocks, endangering not just invaluable trees but numerous dependent flora & fauna, incl. Species At Risk that should be protected by law..  

We're fighting a war VS. big-industry timber corps (backed by OUR GOVT!) & SO FAR, LOSING.. Forests need us now.  So I'm compiling links to helpful allies defending BC forests, with ways you can join the fight to #SaveOldGrowth, #EndClearcutting & #StopTheSprayBC :

Good intentions aren’t enough to save the last old-growth - Sierra Club BC

Protect Nature - Greenpeace Canada

Tell BC: stop logging spotted owl habitat, permanently | Wilderness Committee

https://stopthespraybc.com/ 

(More will be added)

Following is my latest letter to Govt --1 of MANY-- customized via SierraClubBC's letterwriting tool here: 

https://sierraclub.bc.ca/tell-bc-forest-minister-to-protect-old-growth-forests-now/

Dear Minister Ralston, 

RE:  STOP SPRAYING BC FORESTS NOW! 

To add to the 2 letters I've recently sent to your govt. re. the perilous state of BC forests, I strongly urge you to STOP THE SPRAY PROGRAM YOUR GOVT. IS ABOUT TO IMPLEMENT -- TODAY -- which, along with clearcutting, jeopardizes our natural ecosystems & the many dependant species therein.

Are you aware the destructive spraying of glyphosate (a toxic carcinogen) increases wildfire risks & kills off sensitive flora & fauna that help protect our forests -- & our communities -- against Climate change, pollution, water contamination, wildfires ETC?

The triple whammy of development, industrial logging & severe climate impacts means intact forests -- & esp. Old-growth carbon sinks -- are shrinking faster than ever, while ecological recovery of industrially degraded landscapes is failing.

Drenching these struggling natural biospheres with harmful chemicals that kill off all but the species pegged for harvest by logging co's -- eg. Lodgepole pine -- turns cutblocks into drought-prone wastelands & tinder fuel for spreading fires, devoid of the essential lifeforms found in healthy forests (incl. C02-absorbing ferns & fungi, & fire-resistent deciduous native trees like alder & birch). 

With far too many BC forests felled & sprayed this way by logging co's focused solely on max profits (& blind to the resultant ill effects on harvest trees themselves, apart from the wholesale destruction of beneficial wilderness habitats), vast areas of BC's once-thriving natural landscapes are thus degraded & vulnerable to further harms. 

Global heating is putting the health & safety of communities in danger, & clearcut logging -- esp. of old-growth forests -- is making things much worse, increasing instances of flooding, erosion, fires & landslides.  Adding toxic chemicals exacerbates the number & size of these disasters.

David Eby promised to "accelerate" action on old growth when he became Premier in 2022 -- but to this day, NONE OF THE PANEL'S 14 RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED, & AT-RISK OLD-GROWTH FORESTS CONTINUE TO BE DESTROYED AT AN ALARMING RATE!!

You must act quickly to save our remaining intact forests, as they're our best hope for maintaining natural carbon sinks, reducing climate impacts & supporting the wildlife species that depend on healthy ecosystems for their survival.

I implore you to STOP THE SPRAYING OF BC'S FORESTS TODAY.  Not doing so violates Canada's constitution, which outlines forest stewardship as a key responsibility.  Stop allowing industrial practices to dictate your inaction on the Climate crisis, which is 'the Challenge of our Time' & the biggest threat to our thriving future..

It's your govt.'s responsibility to support the health & safety of communities.  Please do your job, by BANNING THE SPRAY immediately -- before the situation becomes even more untenable!

Thank you very much, 

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman

CC: Premier David Eby; Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman; Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Nathan Cullen; and my local MLA. 

*Readers, I know it's hard to admit that Climate change is real & caused by us, & that the crisis has only gotten worse due to Big-Industry's outsize influence over our corrupt leaders.  Thanks for caring -- please add your voice to as many forest-saving campaigns as you can, & share widely with your networks!  With enough people-power, we can change the outlook for endangered biodiversity & irreplaceable forests in BC.  But it's urgent -- Govt needs to know that we won'T let our remaining forests be decimated by greedy, profiteering & polluting co's that DONT BENEFIT US AT ALL:  their giant machines do most of the work & employ as few workers as poss while destroying irreplaceable wilderness faster & more thoroughly than ever B4.. But WE NEED OUR FORESTS MORE URGENTLY THAN EVER B4!!

🫒💚🐾

PS. VOTE GREENS in upcoming elections:  the onLy Cdn party that cares about our future, & works for US not for polluting megacorps -- see their website here:  https://www.bcgreens.ca/ 🌿 

FAX BLITZ: to BC-RCMP/TC Energy gooFs..

 (You can too - in fact, PLEASE DO:  For justice!  Here's the link from the aws Wilderness Committee:  https://www.wildernews/ChannelYrRage

& here's my letter, for inspiration:

I'm writing to express my profound horror that you & TC Energy back the BC-RCMP's deplorable treatment / trespassing of Wet’suwet’en 1st Nations to make way for your (CGL) pipeline : Whatever you may believe/ were told by the BC-NDP, THESE are the FACTS:

●Article 10 of U.N.D.R.I.P. (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which BC HAS instated) is V clear that “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories": NOW U KNOW

●RCMP action on Wet’suwet’en territory is a shameful violation of Indigenous rights & ignores the Supreme Court of Canada ruling that recognizes Aboriginal title TO THAT AREA

●Pointing machine guns at unarmed women & journalists is totally unacceptable! These officers must be held accountable for putting civilians at risk & continuing to use force where they have NO JURISDICTION 

●That the RCMP saw fit to carry out this crass operation on behalf of a gas pipeline co. EXACTLY WHEN emergency resources were needed for flood relief in southern BC proves who the force - & YOUR CO. - prioritize (& it's NOT US BCers!)

●TC Energy has exhibited nothing but entitled arrogance since starting this "economic dud" (experts' words, not mine) - a reckless endeavor which belies ALL science re. Fracking/ LNG: I.E. it's polluting, uneconomical, unsustainable.. & ruins ANY chance we have at meeting BC's/ Canada's climate goals

PLEASE: Quit acting like you're God's gift to BC (you're not even BCer-approved, let alone lawful.. or even liked!) DO THE RIGHT THING & STAND DOWN. Leave Wet’suwet’en territory & the Yintah - as you were asked, by its rightful leaders/ residents, many times. Abide by the Courts & allow the Chiefs to exercise their sovereignty - before you spark an ugly war.. (YOU are the criminals here, & will lose!)

Consider yourselves warned, by just 1 of the MANY who support the Wet’suwet’en people defending their hereditary lands from your diabolical operations.

FYI: informed BCers oppose ALL fracking, LNG & new FossilFuel projects in this province. So you know.

Thank you very much.

SARAH (SAZ) CHESTERMAN

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?

My reply to BC Greens' 'leadership' email..

- in which i shouLd have included my outrage at BC Govt's gross inaction RE. Coastal Gas Link's trespassing on unceded Wet'suwet'en territory, as succinctly explained by DogwoodBC:

B.C. is refusing to meet with Wet'suwet'en chiefs, and is instead passing off the responsibility to the very pipeline company trespassing on the Indigenous community's land. Where is B.C.'s newly promised approach to respecting Indigenous rights and title 

[REF.: thetyee.ca/News/Wetsuweten-Chiefs-Government-Talks ]

UPDATES:  thetyee.ca/Newsearch

Re:  BCGreens Leadership Contest 2020

Jan. 7th, 2020

Dear Adam Olsen,

Thanks for your email.  As an active supporter of the BCGREENS for the past decade+, I feel my continuing activism on your party’s behalf has helped contribute to its increased successes. While further advancing GREENS’ policies/values is bound to enable the huge shifts needed for effective climate action, the latest in-party structural shifts appear to have stalled the necessary progress..

TBH I’m extremely discouraged by the apparent absence of BC Greens’ influence on BCNDP’s actions/policies in supporting the provincial minority government.  Where is Greens’ presence in Govt’s horrifying decisions to advance harmful LNG projects in BC?  Or affecting Site-C dam’s (/Peace River valley’s) fate??  How have BCGREENS made their mark on critical BC Forestry revisions/ holding NDP to their promises of creating SUSTAINABLE industries going forward & meeting GHG reduction targets??? Why have I not had Greens’ support for my constant efforts —alongside orgs like Ancient Forest Alliance & Wilderness Committee— to stop clearcut logging of BC’s ancient old-growth forests & ban raw-log exports?  Nothing’s more important now! (These key campaigns are very close to my heart)
 
Our fast-shrinking old-growth forests —BC’s best (/ONLY) efficient C02 sequesters/ intact wildlife habitats— URGENTLY need to be protected by a MORATORIUM placed on permits to CLEARCUT these last bastions of hope for effective C02 control!  The BC NDP’s flimsy measures RE. Climate change are woefully inadequate to enable Reconciliation (via U.N.D.R.I.P.) OR safeguard BC’s communities from predicted ecosystem imbalances.. We desperately NEED our Greens to step in & fulfill their official parliamentary duties —to table science-based solutions & REJECT extinction-drivers (eg. a WOLF CULL?)  Please don’t wait until it’s too late to have your rightful say in BC’s future!  (Can’t in-party re-org WAIT?)

If the BC NDP has been unlawfully blocking BCGreens’ rightful input in decisions/policies affecting our province —as many suspect— is it not your DUTY to publicly report such obstacles blocking due process, so we can properly respond & be included in the process, as well as show support for Greens’ inclusion in our future?  The time is NOW to apply Greens’ considerable ethics/ know-how/ resources/ values to our remade future, which will look much better with —& MUCH worse without— the priceless benefits of Greens’ involvement..

I can’t wait much longer to see more of those good public policies & collaboration across party lines mentioned in your email!

Sincerely,

SARAH (SAZ) CHESTERMAN