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..

BREAKING: TRUDEAU JUST APPROVED RUINOUS TMX EXPANSION!!?

[Breaking News June 18th 2019 from Protect the Inlet]

Dear Sarah, Canada just approved the Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker project - so it's time to raise our voices. We're meeting at the corner of Georgia and Hamilton in downtown Vancouver where we will march to show Ottawa that no matter who approves this pipeline and tanker project - it will never be built.  TIME: 5:30 PM Pacific | LOCATION: 700 Hamilton at Georgia, outside CBC Vancouver building Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/453965592084200 This is a Climate Emergency - it's time to act like it. We're organizing for a summer of resistance, check out ways you can join in: https://www.stoptransmountainpipeline.org/ Front Line Defence Door Knocking Phone Banking Community Power Solutions This Saturday, June 22, Protect the Inlet and George will be in Victoria for a 22 kilometre walk where local activists have been building a Tiny House to support the Secwepemc Tiny House Warriors, who are preparing for land defence in the Interior of British Columbia. 7 km of Saturday’s march will occupy the highway, before delivering a completed Tiny House to Island View Beach. To join them, find all the info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/331462934205597/ If you can, it's time to build up our resources, please donate here: https://protecttheinlet.ca/asp-products/donations/ There's a famous saying, "Don't mourn, organize." Take a little bit of time to mourn, then let's work together to beat the Climate Emergency and stop this destructive dirty pipeline. Have faith in yourself and each other -- we can do it together.  Yours in solidarity and love, Sarah, Will, Tegan, Howie and the PTI team

Letter 2 Govt: REJECT TMX PIPELINE EXPANSION!

[via letter-writing tool @ DavidSuzuki.org ] --but majorly customized, i.e. re-written by me!

[PS. TRUDEAU:  YOU ARE FIRED!]

Dear PM Trudeau & Cabinet

URGENT:   DECISION ON TRANS MOUNTAIN (TMX) PIPELINE EXPANSION

As an informed Canadian citizen & resident of Vancouver BC, I feel it’s my duty to communicate my deep concerns to Government officials over this critical life-or-death decision.  I urge you to re-consider the far-reaching & irreversible consequences of approving this TMX Expansion, & to use your position as a Government official to reject this onerous project.

The broadest-ranging effects of the TMX Pipeline Expansion relate directly to its status as a fossil-fuel mega-project that entails constructing the world's largest open-pit tar sand mine, which would wipe out 292 square kilometers of Alberta’s forests & wetlands.  Extracting & refining tar sand oil - the world’s dirtiest fuel – has already turned vast swathes of northern Alberta into a wasteland of cleared forests [critical wildlife habitat], poisoned water [eg. heavy metals from tailings] & polluted air [refineries emit increasing levels of GHGs].

Approving TMX would make a mockery of Canada’s commitment to climate action..

The world has already witnessed more than 2 decades of discussion about the reality of a warming planet, starting with the UNFCC’s 1992 Earth Summit where nearly all the world’s nations agreed on a need to stabilize GHG (CO2) concentrations:  http://unfccc.int/meetings/copenhagen_dec_2009/meeting/6295.php

17 years later in 2009, more than 100 world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen committed to limiting global warming no more than 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures - beyond which the UNFCC & other experts predict irreversible & potentially catastrophic climate change impacting coastal regions, food production, water supplies & more. Since global warming is already underway (average global temperature has risen 0.85°C since pre-industrial levels) experts believe we can’t afford a temperature increase of more than 1.2°C above today’s level. The European Commission on Climate Action states, “To stay within this ceiling, the scientific evidence shows that the world must stop the growth in global GHG emissions by 2020 at the latest, reduce them by at least half of 1990 levels by the middle of this century & continue cutting them thereafter.”

2020 is next year.  And Canada’s carbon tax, “Climate Action” & other weak initiatives have failed to slow our steep rise of CO2/GHG levels.  If ever there were a time Govt leaders had to step up & take action to protect our precious natural resources & transition to green energy policies, IT IS NOW.  As Genus Capital’s sheet reads, Canada’s economy will only benefit by moving away from fossil fuels.  Opposition to TMX is backed by science.  Green energy leads oil & gas in both number of employed & growth rate for jobs in Canada. This pipeline locks us into decades more eco-destruction & tarsands pollution, which the global scientific community is desperately trying to tell us we cannot afford if we hope to have a habitable planet in the near future..

This is not a distant threat, it is here & now.. We are living unsustainably. Easy access to cheap, abundant oil has created a high standard of living for many cultures and societies. At the same time, the extraction, refining, distribution & use of this oil – as energy & in products – is increasingly undermining many of our planet’s life forms & the fragile balance of conditions that support climate stability & human prosperity. These effects are occurring on local, regional & global scales.  The Arctic & Greenland icecaps are melting at an increasing rate of speed.  Dead fish are washing ashore in Nova Scotia, & Orcas are struggling to survive in an increasingly industry-heavy Vancouver harbour.  It is imperative that we fight climate change & the ways in which climate change is exacerbated.  Supporting the financial interests of banks & oil barons is not sustainable, & the building of additional capacity to transport oil is simply criminal.  We need to stop producing and exporting more fossil fuels.  Period.  Building more pipelines only increases production of fossil fuels:  simple math/logic.

The public interest in slowing down global warming & preventing more environmental pollution/spills must take precedence over the selfish financial interests of tar sands investors & the political interests of politicians who pander to status-quo industries desperately clinging to yesterday’s consumer-driven economics without compromise.  It is up to YOU, dear leaders, to make up for Canada’s lost time spent ignoring/ suppressing scientific imperatives.. & ACT on behalf of all Canadians to bring about a sustainable future..

We residents of BC are in panic mode over this impending TMX approval, for many reasons.  Expanding the Trans Mountain pipeline will lock in decades of increased tanker traffic & climate-destabilizing carbon emissions. It will also put the incredible ecosystems of Vancouver Harbour, the Fraser River estuary & the Salish Sea at risk from a catastrophic bitumen spill & shipping increases.  The existing & expanded proposal would deliver 890,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day to Vancouver. Oil storage capacity at Burnaby would triple, adding 14 new tanks to store another 3,900,000 barrels. The pipeline would cross more than 500 streams in the Fraser River watershed. Tanker visits would increase by 574% above 2010 levels to more than 400 oil-laden trips through Burrard Inlet, the Fraser estuary, the Gulf Islands, Haro Strait & Juan de Fuca Strait, every year.  The integrity of our waters would be forever destroyed, for questionable economics that have not even been properly analyzed or disseminated..

This is a frightening prospect that we have a responsibility to oppose.

The threat from oil tankers to Southern Resident killer whales, a listed Species At Risk, is insupportable.  Importantly, even if the project goes completely according to plan, with no oil spills & no ship strikes, the increased noise alone from more than 800 tanker transits significantly increases their risk of extinction. When cumulative effects are considered, these whales face more than 50% chance of functional extinction within the next century.  If you approve the TMX expansion anyway, the catastrophic outcome will be on your heads, to explain to your children & grandchildren.

Please read Raincoast’s Executive Summary reporting the risks posed to the Fraser River’s productive salmon populations:

https://www.raincoast.org/reports/salmon-oil-pipeline/

Being emotionally overwhelmed by the number of threats currently endangering BC's environment & the wildlife I care about, I include this link to details on exactly how the TMX Expansion would affect BC, by the unflinchingly hard-working Raincoast Conservation group:

https://www.raincoast.org/trans-mountain-pipeline/

Canada’s recent policy changes aimed at reducing carbon emissions will be undermined by the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Building major infrastructure for oil and gas exportation will have catastrophic implications for decades to come. 

Please take every reasonable action to reject the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Sincerely,

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman
Vancouver, BC

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.

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..

@

Wildlife 'KILLING CONTESTS': W.T.F. BC? (Letter 2 Minister Donaldson)

I am sick to death of being bombarded by local newscasts featuring the most heinous, repellant activities with provoking indifference, adding insult to injury by interviewing the participants thereof more often than the experts who have dedicated their careers/ lives to in-depth studies of impactful relevance today.  Have fearmongering & sensationalism replaced the tenets of good Journalism as BC's media standard? Or is our trajectory into EVIL hastening our demise, by our media's blasé disrespect toward life itself?

The latest assault on everyone's sense of decency & peace of mind --not to mention deeply upsetting to children who are sensitive to such horrific violence-- are depraved groups who openly carry out & promote 'Wolf wacking', ie. egregious 'Wildlife KILLING CONTESTS'!?  Such blatant harbingers of hatred' make my blood boiL --doubtless due to the inexplicable AIRTIME somehow allotted these murdering creeps, to promote mass killings of the wildlife we are beholden to cherish & protect!?  NO:  this shit is THE depth of wilful depravity/ignorance & the opposite of values we hold dear here.  I don'T want to hear the views of sadistic sickos who revel in bloodsports -- i need to know such disrespect for life will not go on unchecked -- & those involved in/ perpetrating these heinous crimes do NOT deserve to operate freely in BC!

Thankfully, thru the LeadNow group of caring activists i took the opportunity to use their easy letter-writing tool to impart my strong feelings on this topic to the BC Minister of Forests Doug Donaldson -- @ this email, if you are compelled to email him yourself (please do) -- FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca


Minister Donaldson,

I am writing this with a heavy heart, having lately been inundated with overwhelming proof  my provincial Govt doesn'T care about its public (ie. those whose best interests you promised under oath to protect & serve).

Nevertheless i must express my deep concern at the recent gross preponderance of BC news exposing sadistic & un-Canadian acts of violence toward our native wildlife -especially the sickening 'killing contests that defy all sense of decency/ respect.  What appalls me most, Minister Donaldson, is youR publicly casual dismissal of these activities, as if remotely acceptable!?  They are noT.

These contests embody gratuitous violence against defenceless animals, have no cultural linkage or science-based purpose & are thus pure bloodsport threatening the lives of BC’s most beloved wildlife.  BCers CANNOT & WILL NOT CONDONE psychotic delight in killing our wild animals!! (Isn't this a given?)

Doesn't this disrespect of Cdns' lifelong caring/duty towards wildlife (as outlined in our Constitution) TELL YOU SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG HERE?  WHY DO YOU CONDONE WHAT OBVIOUSLY OFFENDS OUR LOVE OF THE WILDLIFE WE ARE BOUND TO PROTECT?  DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN SUCH HATE TOWARDS INDEFENSIBLE WILD ANIMALS, MINISTER DONALDSON?

IF as you say these disgusting killing contests run by murdering haters are perfectly legal, then as a lawmaker you must UPDATE THE LAW to ban them ASAP!

Please do the right thing immediately, in keeping with your position as a lawmaker/ leader/ public servant..

Thank you.

CULLING: Yet AN(OTHeR) iNDECenT PRoPOSaL..

(Response to a CTV News report that our Govt. is considering a proposal to cull --ie. KILL-- harmless local wild harbour seals & sea lions to 'balance' wildlife populations here in Vancouver BC --BC.CTVNEWS/CommercialSealHunt )

Govt. should be advised to heed this article by one of Raincoast.org's expert conservationists:
https://www.raincoast.org/2019/02/seals-and-sea-lions-in-the-salish-sea-are-all-part-of-a-healthy-food-web/

In other words, 'CULLING' or 'HARVESTING' a key link in an important food chain, in this case a food source of transient killer whales as well as predators of chinook predators, would more likely DISRUPT the balance of a key food chain --if not result in fewer not more wild Chinook salmon, with more not fewer predators created..

With extinction threatening countless wild species worldwide due to climate change/ poaching by humans, we should not be considering such baseless proposals as this heinous bid by the so-called 'Pinniped Society' to KILL the very species they claim to study in exclusivity!?  In fact I strongly suggest ANY group that recommends slaughtering our native wildlife be investigated -- and, if necessary, charged with fraud or conspiracy to sabotage our precious wildlife populations, which these days need all the help they can get to simply survive..

On what basis do we count existence of wildlife among us to be anything but a blessing?

TOURISM is one of BC's best employers of the future; tourists flock here for the chance to experience our native wild species in their natural habitats, which we Canadians are proud to protect as their stewards - as written in our Constitution.  Our Govts need to support the more sustainable path of stewardship of healthy diversity --along with protecting wildlife habitats from polluting development..

Haven't we learned WE are the only species driving Extinction, by allowing UNSUSTAINABLE commercial HARVESTING --ie. REAPING WITHOUT SOWING (REPLENISHING) NATURE's abundance-- without taking due care to ensure their continued regeneration?  People aRe realizating we NEED to keep Nature's ecosystems healthy & whole --to eat Organic grains, nuts + seeds as well as fruit + vegetables to be healthy ourselves.  We don'T need to support Culling/ Deforestation/ Overfishing/ Ocean acidification/ pollution for sustenance, which are proven factors driving climate change, GHGs & global warming.  This essential knowledge, however, hasn't led to changes that restore the requisite balance of healthy ecosystems:  rather, we're still supporting the businesses/ industries/ processes/ products furthering the eco-destruction that's killing us!

Alternatives --solutions-- to existing polluting ops are developed  constantly to meet the urgent imperatives demanded by science (eg. to curtail fossil-fuel use, reduce GHGs/pollution, stop deforestation eTc.)   But progress is negatively impacted --if not sabotaged-- by existing processes --let alone new projects being proposed-- that fail to meet the need for sustainability going forward:  that Govts. even consider new projects that necessitate destruction of Nature + wildlife habitats is NOT in our best interests!

Forcing ordinary people to suffer while their needs are siphoned into the unsustainable luxury lifestyles of their self-appointed saboteurs is wholly UNACCEPTABLE!

The only way to evolve out of this 'Climate Crisis' is to protect the delicate balance of Nature --ie. LEAVE INTACT old-growth forests & the wild ecosystems that took centuries if not millennia to balance.. and of course, correct the calamitous human-caused CRIMES against Nature (like CULLING, fossil-fuel extraction & OVER-FISHING) to REVERSE/ SLOW their predicted dire effects on all living species..

Yet our Govts still choose to  ignore the OBVIOUS science --along with overwhelming evidence (eg. GHGs)-- of the UNSUSTAINABLE path we're on, led like lemmings by same-old status-quo polluting wasteful ways-- to the point where if we don't transition NOW into non-destructive, renewable + sustainable sources in all sectors & PROTECT essential ecosystems from Extinction, our own Extinction invariably follows..

(Watching a world leader petulantly insisting on building a pointless WALL to keep out people, instead of joining forces to solve this dire global dilemma, is almost as tragic as watching our own Govt consider CULLING SEALS/ SEA LIONS:  I can't stand having to relaunch this sickeningly familiar fight, one which my mom & I fought hard for 10 yrs --with + without orgs like PETA-- & FAILED each year to #StopTheSealHunt, despite joining campaigns as big as 500,000 supporters!?)

With my mom gone (she died Aug. 2017) I am MORE determined than ever to stop barbaric culling --esp. the grossly inhumane Commercial Seal Hunt, the largest slaughter of marine mammals on Earth-- forever..

Conservationists agree CULLING IS NEVER THE ANSWER --because humans are always the problem!  It's OUR ways that need to change, not those of innocent animals just being themselves + struggling to live in a harsh human-dominated world.. They deserve the chance to live their lives free from human dangers/ interference..

We OWE WiLdLiFe this proTected NationaL paRK!

(LeTTR 2 Minister Catherine McKenna, Govt. of Canada)

content://media/external/file/3585

I am writing to support the creation of Canada's newest National Park in BC's South Okanagan.  I feel this is the very crux of our future direction for the benefit of all species, to ensure the health of our air, land & waters for generations to come..

I urge you to pounce on this opportunity to shape the vision for Canada's newest National Park, in the South Okanagan-Similkameen region of British Columbia -- home to the most endangered ecosystem in the world, of which less than 10% of historic grassland ecosystems remain in their natural state.

I feel it is our DUTY, as responsible stewards of Canada going forward, to help create a legacy in our own backyard that will contribute to global grassland conservation, protect habitat for an abundant diversity of species and secure important wildlife-movement corridors in an ever-changing climate.

Park boundaries must be based on the best available science, and supported by the First Nations within whose traditional territories this National Park Reserve will be established.

All decisions related to the establishment, management, and operation of this National Park Reserve must prioritize ecological integrity.  Key areas for connectivity/ biodiversity adjacent to the current proposal, specifically in the White Lake basin, should be considered for future protection + special management, and incorporated as crucial supporting components of the management of this National Park Reserve.

Please do whatever you can to bring this proposal to fruition, including engagement/ cooperation/ commitment of all relevant bodies to complete the process and reach a legally binding agreement for the permanent establishment of this National Park Reserve.

You may call on me at any time, at any stage, to help realize this Park's success however I can..

Thank you for your urgent attention to this critical matter.

Sarah Chesterman
Vancouver, BC

& as i commented recently on the Park's website, NOTHING is more crucial than protecting our forests, parks, waters & wildlife habitats from development/ industry/ RUIN..  the fight of our lives i've been @ 10+yrs --the onLy wIN worth EVeRyThing.. (Time 2 get 'STuck In' --cuz "it's too late" don't mean a thing but FAIL/FOOL 2 our children, if their legacies are less than what we happily received:  a wild Paradise yet 2 show the ill effects of human greed if left 2 breed & seed without a fight..)
It's noT too late 2 win the good fight if we give back Nature what we've reaped, creating havens/habitats like these..

My letter of SUPPORT 4 the WET'SUWET'EN

(Govt recipients' emails listed @ bottom)

RE:  URGENT ACTION DEMANDED DUE TO UNLAWFUL VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS & TITLE OF THE WET'SUWET'EN

Dear Sir/Madam,

I & all BCers with whom I've discussed this appalling event diametrically oppose the forcible removal at gunpoint by 'fully-armed' RCMP of our Wet’suwet’en Nation’s people from their own territories, & we ask that you fulfill your responsibilities as public servants by ensuring the RCMP & Coastal GasLink respect the constitutionally-protected rights of the Wet’suwet’en people on their unceded territory.

WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF GOVERNMENT's INCESSANT & EMBARRASSING PANDERING TO POLLUTING INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH MURDER FOR FAR TOO LONG, & HOLD US ALL BACK FROM THE CHANGES WE NEED TO MAKE TO MOVE FORWARD!

We the public need your cooperation/ legislation - ACTING not just talking on BCers' behalf - to clean up our ways & move into a thriving sustainable world with forests intact, GHGs down & oxygen levels UP.. for future generations, so we can live with ourselves & decisions made.

The decision to attack peaceful people defending their [our] land & trying mightily to help bring good results for BC's future, who've been attacked & vilified by our Govt. 'leaders' for too long, is a $$-based one that favours big-$$ polluting entities rather than the law-abiding citizens rightfully opposing these industries' continuing  [proven] destruction of the ecosystems whose health all life depends for survival.  This project puts environmental health - e.g. drinking water - at risk, & will release massive amounts of carbon pollution/GHGs into the atmosphere.

We NEED our Govts. & industries to do the right thing & start protecting OUR best interests, not those of polluting corporations putting our future, health & welfare - along with those of all living species - in jeopardy..

The principle of free, prior & informed consent requires our Courts and Governments to respect the jurisdiction of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary governance authorities, who have clearly stated that they will not allow Coastal GasLink to build a pipeline through their territory.  And as a BC citizen i agree.

Please respect the following, as per the laws to which you are bound to uphold in your position: 

1) The TransCanada Coastal GasLink pipeline does not have the collective free, prior, and informed consent of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. All the Wet'suwet'en Clans have rejected the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

2) The injunction and enforcement order ignores the jurisdiction and authority of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs' system of governance, and criminalizes land defenders.

3) We demand that the provincial government, federal government, RCMP, and industry  commit to upholding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Anuk Nu'at'en (Wet'suwet'en laws), and that NO RCMP enforcement against Unist'ot'en/Giltseyu-Dark House take place on their unceded lands. Reconciliation and respecting UNDRIP means that Unist'ot'en's rights must be honoured.

If you have any integrity as a so-called 'leader' you must know that the injunction issued by the BC Supreme Court favours the status-quo of polluting industry scientifically proven to wreak havoc on the climate/ environmental balance on which all life depends, while violating the basic rights of legit citizens defending their land for the future benefit of all BCers.  Therefore you have a duty to uphold the "rule of law" as you yourselves claim, by respecting these people's rights & ending this wrongful police occupation immediately. Anything else is unacceptable.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

SARAH CHESTERMAN

VANCOUVER, BC

This message sent to:

AGR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
AEST.Minister@gov.bc.ca
AG.Minister@gov.bc.ca
MCF.Minister@gov.bc.ca
CITZ.Minister@gov.bc.ca
educ.minister@gov.bc.ca
EMPR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca
FIN.Minister@gov.bc.ca
HLTH.Minister@gov.bc.ca

IRR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
JTT.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Minister.TRD@gov.bc.ca
LBR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
MH.Minister@gov.bc.ca
MAH.Minister@gov.bc.ca
PSSG.Minister@gov.bc.ca
SDPR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
TAC.Minister@gov.bc.ca

Minister.Transportation@gov.bc.ca
coastalgaslink@transcanada.com
bcrcmp@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

GRC@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
ralph.goodale@parl.gc.ca
carolyn.bennett@parl.gc.ca
Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc.ca
Jane.Philpott@parl.gc.ca
Catherine.McKenna@parl.B.C..ca

THANK YOU ROBERT AGES FOR YOUR INFO & LISTS!  SOLIDARITY!!

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