Archive for category Uncategorized
On the doorstep of change
Posted by greatbearblog in Uncategorized on April 30, 2013
by Michael Reid
There is no more second-guessing our collective efforts when it comes to defending our coast. Last night’s much-anticipated Provincial leaders debate offered a reminder of how pipeline politics have gone from relative obscurity to the very forefront of political debate.
Words like oil, gas, pipelines and tankers are dominating this year’s provincial election and all the oil money in the world doesn’t seem to be changing the minds of British Columbians as they continue to speak out for this coast. Of course, what was lacking last night was meaningful and courageous leadership that put forward a vision of this coast without a constant stream of oil and gas tankers plying our fragile waters. A vision that focused on renewable energy and a conservation-based economy. But at least the first issue of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline and Kinder Morgan’s expansion were debated and we heard the position of each party.
Now it’s up to us to decide and the stakes have never been higher.
Our current federal government has systematically thrown out nearly all environmental safeguards that once defended our fish and wildlife, our only hope for any environmental safeguards has to come from our provincial leaders. They still have the ability and opportunity to stand up for what British Columbians value.
People from every walk of life are building support and momentum for change. Along with grassroots movements like Idle No More, Occupy and Defend Our Coast we are making the political debate focus on the environment.
Stand up and be counted
Low voter-turnout is a constant issue in B.C. The last provincial election saw only half of eligible voters show up at the polls . It’s up to you make your voice count. So get out there.
What do you care about?
How can you make your voice count?
Vote for the coast.
Diving with Sea Lions in the Great Bear Rainforest
Posted by greatbearblog in Uncategorized on March 12, 2013
Ian McAllister being filmed photographing a playful group of sea lions along the proposed Enbridge and LNG tanker route in the Great Bear Rainforest. This group of sea lions lives less than one kilometer from an estimated 2000 tanker trips being proposed for the BC north coast. Footage supplied by Tavish Campbell 2013.
Rail or Pipe, it is Still the Great Bear Rainforest
Posted by greatbearblog in Enbridge/ Tanker Traffic, Uncategorized, Voices for an oil-free coast on January 24, 2013
By Claire Hume, Pacific Wild Intern
In response to growing opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline proposal, alternative methods of transporting bitumen from Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia are being explored. One such option is rail, with proponents saying use of the existing CN infrastructure is a safer and less environmentally invasive solution. Compared to the devastation that would be caused by major pipeline accidents, the use of trains to move oil seems like a less threatening choice. But is it really?
NathanVanderklippe recently reported in The Globe and Mail, that even Canada’s national railway companies admit to having more accidents than pipelines. As well they should. It turns out that, in comparison to pipelines, trains moving liquids in North America are three times more likely to be involved in an incident leading to loss of human life – and nine times more likely to cause a fire or explosion. Those frightening statistics are compiled not by worried environmentalists, but by the U.S. State Department.
In 2005 a faulty rail caused a CN train to derail at Lake Wabamun, a popular lake 65 kilometers west of Edmonton. The crash spilled a million litres of bunker oil, 700,000 of which ended up in the lake. It took more than two years to clean up Lake Wabamun after the CN derailment, and the fish in this once great angling lake are still unsafe to eat.
The Ecstall River, just one of the countless world-class salmon rivers in the Great Bear Rainforest that would be put at risk by train derailments.
Between Prince George and Prince Rupert the CN Rail Line crosses hundreds of watersheds, including the Fraser and Skeena Rivers – Canada’s two most important salmon rivers. West of Hazelton, B.C. the railway parallels the Skeena, any derailment in this region could be devastating for the future of Canadian salmon.
CN train derailments are, unfortunately, not uncommon events. In fact, in the first week of 2013 two trains flew off the tracks in separate incidents. The first, occurring January 3rd, involved three train cars sliding off an overpass onto the Sea to Sky highway below. A mere three days later, a CN train in Illinois failed to stop when it reached the end of the track, crumpled into a heap, and rolled down a steep embankment. And, on January 23, a train carrying crude oil in Paynton Saskatoon collided with a road grader resulting in the derailment of the engine and sixteen cars, as well as the death of one person. At the moment it is unclear how much oil has been spilt but each tanker has the capacity to hold up to 650 barrels. In response to the collision, CN has temporarily closed its north line and is sending vacuum trucks to try and contain the oil leak.
Faulty equipment, operator fatigue, cell phone, and marijuana use have all been listed as official causes of train derailment by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. If a train can be derailed and sent flying into a lake by as little as a breached beaver dam, as occurred in Nakina Ontario in 1992, I can’t imagine how anyone would thinking running bitumen filled trains along the country’s most important salmon rivers is a realistic solution to the pipeline problem.
People and organizations who are opposed to the Northern Gateway project, of course, are concerned with more than just how industry proposes to move Alberta oil across B.C. to coastal ports. Regardless of whether the bitumen is transported in a new pipeline system or by enormous chains of clanking rail cars, at the end of the line it is still destined to be loaded into super tankers for export off shore. The use of tankers along B.C.’s coast threatens the health and survival of one of the world’s most spectacular shorelines. Navigating the waters of Western Canada in an oil tanker poses a challenging task and any type of spill could inflict devastating damage on the region. There is also growing concern over the impact of engine noise on marine animals, such as whales who rely on echolocation to communicate, travel safely around obstacles, and find food. A drastic increase in marine noise levels could drive animals away from the region, their critical habitat, or injure and kill the ones left behind.
For Pacific Wild, the ‘No Tankers’ stance remains consistent. Regardless of whether the oil is moved by pipes or rail, the end result still involves tankers that would put the Great Bear Rainforest at great risk.
Projecting messages of HOPE
Posted by greatbearblog in Enbridge/ Tanker Traffic, Films and Other Media, Uncategorized, Voices for an oil-free coast on January 14, 2013
LAUNCH EVENT: January 14, 3pm – 8pm outside the hearings at Burrard & Nelson
HOPE IN THE PARK: January 15-18, 8am – 8pm, Nelson Park, Nelson & Thurlow. *Projections will begin at 4:30 pm.
*********************************************************************
Hope the whale is live in Vancouver all week long to help your voice get heard, amplify your message and share content and messaging against the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project.
As the Enbridge Joint Review Panel sits to hear oral statements from the public in Vancouver this week, Hope the whale will sit in Nelson Park and project messages of hope and a vision of a health future.
Hope is a 25 foot interactive, multimedia whale sculpture. Hope is part of a digital/real world ecology of interactions between blogs, tweets, news coverage, Facebook posts, pictures, video and messages written out in sharpies.
Send your messages and photos to Hope and see what hope has to say here.
To Fish or to Kill Wolves? That is the Question.
Posted by greatbearblog in Uncategorized on December 17, 2012
Ian McAllister
December 17, 2012
A few people have contacted me today asking what the difference is between a fishing derby and a wolf-kill contest. Why is it ok to offer prize money to kill the biggest fish but not a wolf? Personally, I am not a fan of killing any animal for prize money but I do hunt and fish for subsistence. Here follows some more food for thought.
First off, the vast majority of people that fish do it for food or practice catch and release. If someone happens to get a big salmon and win the derby, that person is most likely going to bring it home and enjoy it with friends and family. The days of mounting a big fish on the wall are pretty much over. Fishing is also highly regulated with clear limits of possession for each species. There are also seasonal limits, size limits and gear requirements, in addition to special license tags being required for species of conservation concern. There are also mandatory reporting requirements, conservation areas closed to fishing and a host of other legally enforced regulations.
Now, make no mistake you’re not catching me stating that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is some kind of model agency when it comes to fish management in B.C., but compare a few of these regulations to how our provincial government manages wolves.
Wolf hunting in this province is right out of the stone age. Few, if any, of the management policies and laws that I have briefly described with the recreational fishery are enjoyed by wolves. For starters, no one eats wolf meat so hunting them is considered a “non-consumptive recreational sport.” Killing a wolf is done purely for an individual’s personal pleasure or for a trophy – or in the case of this wolf-kill contest – for prize money.
B.C. residents do not need a special license to kill a wolf. In fact, for many large regions of the province killing an entire pack of wolves, including pups, is legal and does not require mandatory reporting or inspection. However, if I want to hunt a deer, a moose or a duck I have to apply and pay for a special license or tag. In large parts of B.C. there is also no limit to the amount of wolves that an individual can kill. Baiting wolves in deep snow and then running them down to exhaustion with high powered snow mobiles just before they are shot is also legal here in B.C.. In fact, some guide-outfitters in the north advertise this sport.
Clearly this is a slaughter of intelligent and highly social animals with
no ethical, scientific or conservation justification.
There is still time to make your voice heard. If you live in B.C., request a meeting with your elected representative. Contact your local media and express your views about wolves. Get in touch with Pacific Wild.
Ian McAllister
PACIFIC WILD – Wolf Action page: http://www.pacificwild.org/site/take_action/wolf-action.html
British Columbia’s War on Wolves Continues with Newly Released Draft Management Plan
Posted by greatbearblog in Uncategorized on November 15, 2012
Yesterday, the B.C. government unveiled its Draft Wolf Management Plan. Beginning with a misspelled scientific name Canis lupis (Lupis is an incurable human disease) rather than lupus in the title, this wolf plan goes on to outline a barbaric and grim future for B.C. wolves that amounts to a government sponsored kill program.
Sifting through the document it is generally difficult to ascertain the objective of the plan but it becomes clear closer to the end under section 7: Current Management Framework. Here the future direction of B.C. wolf management policy is split into two zones. One zone, (where livestock predation is an issue) is to encourage extermination of wolves by all means and “includes year-round open seasons and/or no bag limits, and in some cases targeted removal of individuals or packs.” The second zone describes wolf management as “primarily concerned with providing hunting and trapping opportunities with controls on harvest through specified season lengths and bag limits”.
The plan is full of discussion on the “harvesting” of wolves, as if they are some kind of crop like wheat or barley. It further states the lofty objective to “…ensure self-sustaining populations throughout the species range.” But what does this mean for wolves in this province when the government reports that more than 34% of a wolf population can be harvested “sustainably”.
There is no discussion of quality of life for wolves and of what it actually means to disrupt the social bond of a pack or extended family with trapping, hunting, poisoning, aerial killing and other means legally employed to kill wolves in B.C. The evolutionary impact of reduced genetic diversity in wolf populations that are forced to suffer such high levels of human caused mortality is also not discussed in this plan.
Under section 7.1.1 titled Harvest Management, the plan refers to “…ethics such as fair chase and humane treatment are recognized.” Recognized? How about enforced, but then it would be pretty difficult to have an ethical leg hold trap or a bait station laced with poison. Killing wolves by helicopter is cited as the most humane alternative. It appears the B.C. government would rather “recognize” ethics but not actually enforce such a policy.
The plan goes on to recognize that B.C. already has the most relaxed policies when it comes to humans killing wolves. ”Hunting seasons are long and there is no species license required for residents to hunt wolves.” Note: B.C. resident hunters have to purchase a special license to hunt deer, geese and many other species – wolves require no mandatory reporting and no special license. Under section 7.1.1, it goes on to state that “There is no age/sex restriction for hunting wolves…” This means that any B.C. resident can legally kill pups, pregnant females with out mandatory reporting. Already, the B.C. government has opened up huge parts of the province to open season, year-round hunting without any limit to the amount of wolves killed. 2009 recorded a province-wide record for the amount of wolves killed by hunting and trapping.
The way this draft plan is structured, unless significant public opposition is mobilized in the coming weeks, the B.C. government will further relax and liberalize wolf hunting, trapping and other kill programs for years to come.
Pacific Wild will be following this issue and speaking out for wolves as what is clearly shaping up to be a renewed government-sanctioned assault on B.C.’s wolves.
Ian McAllister
Pacific Wild
Public comments on the draft plan are being accepted until Dec 5th, 2012.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/public-consultation/grey-wolf/.
Please write to:
Hon. Terry Lake
BC Minister of Environment
PO Box 9047 STN Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9E2
env.minister@gov.bc
PS. Cc your letters to media outlets and to Pacific Wild.
Kim Slater is hitting the home stretch!
Posted by greatbearblog in Uncategorized on August 21, 2012
Kim Slater has been running a marathon a day since the beginning of July and is finally hitting the home stretch. On July 8th, Kim left Alberta and she is now approaching Kitimat. Kim has run the length of Enbridge’s proposed pipeline route to raise awareness about the risks of the project and speak with people along the way about what Canada’s sustainable energy future could look like. Here are a few photos from Kim’s journey so far.
Kim is run out of Smithers with NDP MP Nathan Cullen and Mayor Taylor Bachrach
This beautiful backdrop is a great motivator!
A Community Priority
Posted by greatbearblog in Enbridge/ Tanker Traffic, Expeditions, Uncategorized on August 7, 2012
This is an excerpt from friends of Pacific Wild, Mike Reid and Sarah Stoner’s blog. To view the full blog, and read a letter a day to Mr. Harper, visit http://www.dearmrharper.com
July 22nd
Dear Mr. Harper, 
The community of Bella Bella hosted a rally against tankers and pipelines today: Community Voices III. The Heiltsuk people, many of which call Bella Bella home, have been cast as aggressive protestors in the media. There was nothing aggressive about this gathering, only sheer and heartfelt passion. A passion and a duty to protect the lands and seas that are loved by so many, relied upon for nourishment and sustenance.
Over the course of the afternoon, people of all ages flocked to the rally to participate in traditional song, games, food, paint signs and flags, watch an oil-spill demonstration and hear Heiltsuk Chief Councillor, Marilyn Slett, present an informative slide show of her recent trip to Alberta’s tar sands.
Covered in tar for an oil spill demonstration
Councillor Slett’s testament was powerful. She spoke passionately about a visit to Fort McKay, home to Cree and Dene First Nations. They don’t have their cultural way of life anymore,” she said. “To hear from an elder in Fort McKay that they can’t eat the fish there, they can’t hunt, berries don’t grow—it really hit home for me”.
The tar sands tailings leaking into the Athabasca River are causing a cultural genocide in Northern Alberta. The waters, the lands and the traditional foods and ways of life that come from them are too polluted, too toxic, to be consumed. Cancer rates in Fort McKay and Fort Chipewyan, downstream from the tar sands are higher than average. And even though alarm bells were raised in 2006, the Alberta government didn’t agree to fund a health study until the spring of 2011.
Downstream of the tar sands, the fate of First Nations’ health and culture is grim. Not irreparable, but grim. Let’s not let this become the situation on BC’s coast as well.
For the coast,
Sarah and Mike
510km-Band Together BC reaches the halfway mark!
Posted by greatbearblog in Uncategorized on August 7, 2012
Kim Slater is almost at the halfway point of her 1170 km journey across BC that began at the BC Alberta border on July 8, 2012. Along the way, she has been connecting with individuals and communities about clean energy and alternatives to the Northern Gateway pipeline, with 2 notable gatherings in Williams Lake and Prince George.
Some of the ideas for a clean energy future that have emerged from these gatherings include: investing in renewables like solar, wind, geothermal, algae, tidal and micro-hydro; building community capacity for food and energy production; natural and green building, investing in bike and electric car infrastructure; and using energy more responsibly.” According to dialogue participants some of the barriers to making the transition to a clean energy future include a lack of political will, corporate power, an individualistic society and a lack of financial support from government and banking institutions.
“The dialogue participants have expressed a common interest in building resilient communities and finding creative ways of investing in local self-sustaining economies, food systems and renewable energy as well as reducing needless waste and over consumption;” observed Kim. “The sessions have been really optimistic.” Organizations such as Transition Town, which has a chapter in Williams Lake, offer many great examples for growing localism and self-sufficient communities; excellent alternatives to increasing our dependency on fossil fuels and growing the oil and gas industry that relies heavily on government subsidies, foreign ownership and fluctuating commodity prices.
Several more gatherings are planned, with details of the next two as follows: • Smithers: August 7, 7 pm (Old Church Venue) • Hazelton: August 9, 7 pm (Storytellers Venue)
On July 8, Kim Slater began her journey across the province to engage Northern communities in dialogue on renewable energy and alternatives to expanding the tar sands. She is sharing these informal conversations on the campaign website and blog, You Tube, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Taking a Stand
Posted by greatbearblog in Enbridge/ Tanker Traffic, Expeditions, Uncategorized on July 19, 2012
This is an excerpt from friends of Pacific Wild, Mike Reid and Sarah Stoner’s blog. To view the full blog, and read a letter a day to Mr. Harper, visit http://www.dearmrharper.com
Dear Mr. Harper,
It’s been a crazy week. With the release of the US National Transportation Safety Board report, revealing Enbridge’s lack of response and inaction to the Kalamazoo spill in Michigan two years back, the media has been in a bit of a frenzy. Some of your colleagues in the political world have caught wind of this frenzy, and the sheer ineptness Enbridge displayed in dealing with the leak, but we have yet to hear anything from you, Mr. Harper.
The report reveals that Enbridge pipe operators failed to acknowledge the constant drop of pressure in the pipeline to be caused by a leak and instead chose to increase the volume of oil being pumped through in an effort to keep up the pressure. After 17 hours, the leak was reported by an employee in Michigan, not one of the operators choosing to throw in the towel and recognize all the alarm bells going off in front of him.
As a result, 3.8 million litres of crude spilled into the Kalamazoo River causing the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history.
Since the release of this report, we’ve seen action and clear stances being taken by your colleagues, our elected officials, in opposition of this pipeline. Thomas Mulcair declared that the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project be stopped and referred to the NTSB report as “the final nail” in the proposed projects’ coffin. Even the fence-sitting Christy Clark said that if Enbridge plans to operate in BC the way it did in Michigan, then they can “forget it”.
And here’s the thing, Mr. Harper… it all comes down to human error. No matter how state of the art Enbridge’s pipeline technology has become in the last few years, nothing can make up for the fact that 3.8 million litres of crude were spilt as a result of human laziness and incompetence.
We can’t let that be our fate. This place is too special.
For the coast,
Sarah and Mike
