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... the good and the bad.
High Arctic Summer ~ Salt Spring’s Climate Change Action Group
May 1, 2008
What will this summer bring for the Arctic as we tilt toward the sun? Summer 2007 was a grim year. On September 16 last year, the Polar ice cap was reduced to an historic low.
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Percy Schmeiser turns the tables on Monsanto
April 3, 2008
On March 19, in an out-of-court settlement, Percy Schmeiser settled his lawsuit with Monsanto. Monsanto has agreed to pay the clean-up costs of the Roundup Ready canola that contaminated Schmeiser’s fields.
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New Denver says ‘no’ to cell phones
March 20, 2008
Cell phones have been controversial in New Denver for some time. Village administration held the poll to determine residents’ wishes are on this controversial technology. The Village of New Denver will proceed with a formal appeal to the federal government agency Industry Canada, based on the poll results.
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Encounter With The Humpbacks
March 6, 2008 | Pene Hollingworth
Antarctica, a land of ice and snow, is reputed to be one of the world’s last greatest adventures. For me it was also my last continent to visit. I now could truly claim to be a world traveller. It turned out to be a spectacular way to round out my explorations.
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Call to scrap subsidies to oil and gas companies
February 21, 2008
Efforts to cut BC’s greenhouse gas emissions will fail unless the province ends subsidies to oil and gas companies, raises the royalties those companies pay, and imposes tough regulations that end wasteful industry practices, a recent study concludes.
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TILMA a major hurdle to BC’s climate action plans
February 21, 2008 | Commentary by Marc Lee and Caelie Frampton
Premier Gordon Campbell has positioned BC as a global leader on climate change, but his interest in harmonizing provincial standards through the BC-Alberta Trade, Investment andLabour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) could prove to be a thorn in the government’s side. Fighting climate change will necessarily involve a lot of regulation, while TILMA is fundamentally a deregulatory initiative.
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Opposition to LNG tanker port grows
February 7, 2008
Premier Gordon Campbell has positioned BC as a global leader on climate change, but his interest in harmonizing provincial standards through the BC-Alberta Trade, Investment andLabour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) could prove to be a thorn in the government’s side. Fighting climate change will necessarily involve a lot of regulation, while TILMA is fundamentally a deregulatory initiative.
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Give the Gift of Reindeer
December 13, 2007 | Book Review by Christa Grace-Warrick
It only took five months of skiing and hiking 1,500 kilometres through the Arctic living with the caribou to create the story (and the footage).
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Saturna salmon cycle begins again
November 29, 2007
Last week Saturna’s salmon enhancement group went up to Cowichan River to collect salmon eggs destined for Lyall Creek on Saturna.
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Organic food more nutritious say EU researchers
November 29, 2007
Early results of a £12 million, 4-year European Union study on the benefits of organic food suggest that some of them, such as fruit, vegetables and milk, are more nutritious than nonorganically produced food and may contain higher concentrations of cancer-fighting and heart-beneficial antioxidants.
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Ever been attacked by an octopus?
November 29, 2007 | Derek Holzapfel
My big divelight’s batteries died, and I continued to dive with the camera spotting lights (very dim). Down at 70ft I saw a dark shadow emerge from rocks several feet away.
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‘On the Cariboo Trial’ Example of a Campaign to Save A Species
November 1, 2007 | Wildsight
The Mountain Caribou Project’s campaign to protect mountain caribou began six years ago. Since then many thousands of people have been involved in the fight to see this amazing animal receive the habitat protection it needs to survive. Here are some of the long campaign’s highlights as listed by Wildsight a BC NGO that works to protect biodiversity and sustainability.
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LNG tankers through the Islands?
August 9, 2007 | Patrick Brown
Two companies are competing to be the first to establish a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal on the BC coast. They are Kitimat LNG and Westpac Terminals, both based in Calgary.
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Vancouver Island’s marmot — not out of the woods
July 26, 2007 | Ingmar Lee
Wild-born Vancouver Island marmots are now totally extinct, having passed away into oblivion, without obituary, several years ago..
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Fifty Years of Rootstock
July 26, 2007 | Harry Burton
Traas Nursery was the only grower in Canada producing rootstock for the fruit industry.
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Regulations needed for prevention of ship pollution
May 17, 2007
It has come to our attention, and disbelief, that the Conservative government is soon to approve Transport Canada’s new ‘Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (Bill C-30),’ despite the numerous retrograde provisions and implications related to cruise ship vessels.
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Gypsy moth control on Salt Spring
May 17, 2007
The provincial government has announced that it will spray a small, targeted area on Salt Spring Island.
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More than meets the eye in bee colony collapse
May 17, 2007 | Sharon Labchuk
I’m on an organic beekeeping list of about 1,000 people, mostly Americans, and no one in the organic beekeeping world, including commercial beekeepers, is reporting colony collapse.
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New lichen species discovered in BC
May 3, 2007
For many years scientists have been ringing alarm bells that the clearing of tropical rainforest is destroying species of plants and animals that have not yet been discovered.
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Sewage infraction charges approved
April 5, 2007
On March 22, a Provincial Court Judge approved the charge laid against the GVRD and Province of BC for alleged pollution offences at the Iona sewage treatment plant.
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Victoria area sewage considered
April 5, 2007
The Capital Regional District has released the final four in a series of eight discussion papers regarding sewage treatment.
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Garry oak ecosystem restoration and butterfly recovery
April 5, 2007 | Nicole Kroeker
Parks Canada is actively working towards the recovery of several rare and endangered butterfly and plant species associated with Garry oak ecosystems.
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Ten year celebration for BC’s land trusts
March 22, 2007
Since 1997, over 32 land trusts have formed across BC, working as charitable non-profit organizations to protect BC’s diverse natural and cultural heritage.
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NSERC won’t join batholiths project
March 22, 2007
The Natural Science and Engineering Research Council has withdrawn funding and will not participate in the proposed batholiths project on BC’s North Coast.
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Orcas gone south
February 22, 2007
On January 24, 2007 a pod of endangered Pacific Northwest orca whales was sighted along the coast of California just off San Francisco.
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Tax Green House Gas Emissions — No Caps, No Trades
February 22, 2007 |Commentary by Patrick Brown
A number of Canada’s large industrial and electrical generation operations are major producers of greenhouse gases(GHG). Over the years since the Kyoto accord was signed, the expansion of these operations, particularly in resource extraction, has contributed significantly to the growth of the nation’s GHG emissions, resulting in Canada moving farther from its targets rather than closer to them.
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Editorial: ‘Net Zero’
February 22, 2007
It seems that this newspaper has been publishing articles about global climate change for as long as we can remember. We’re delighted at the way our governments have suddenly caught up to us, and our readers.
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The Great Chinese Carbon Credit Scam
February 8, 2007 | Commentary by Patrick Brown
One of the strategies that was proposed by the previous Canadian government (so Canada could appear to meet its Kyoto greenhouse gas reduction targets) was the purchase of GHG credits which are generated by ‘green’ projects in developing countries. We’ve previously suggested that this scheme was vulnerable to misuse (see ‘The Carbon Credit Myth’ in Island Tides’ June 15, 2006 edition). A fascinating example has just come to light.
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Sierra Club map reveals how sea level rise will flood BC’s capital
January 11, 2007
In December, the Sierra Club of BC released a map showing how a predicted sea level rise of 6 to 25 metres will eliminate significant parts of BC’s Capital Regional District.
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Bowen Islanders donate nature reserve to Trust Fund
January 11, 2007
Bowen Island residents Neil Boyd and Isabel Otter have donated 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of forested land to the Islands Trust Fund as part of a neighbourhood rezoning and subdivision process. The land was donated as an ecological gift.
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Comment deadline extended for Batholiths Project
November 16, 2006 | Patrick Brown
Public comment on the environmental effects of the batholiths research project will now be accepted by NSERC up to December 31, 2006. This extension appears to be a result of public concern about the effects on fish and marine mammals of seismic work along BC’s Inside Passage.
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California whales seeking colder water to feed
October 5, 2006
In early September, passengers aboard a small plane flying over Queen Charlotte Strait between Haida Gwaii and Port Hardy were astonished to see a large school of humpbacked whales. They were even more astonished to see five or six blue whales, each fifty to sixty feet long.
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Editorial: Not So Nice
October 5, 2006
Readers of ‘California’s whales seeking colder water to feed’ (page 1) could easily get the idea that global warming could have rather pleasant effects on the Gulf Islands—in fact on all that thin strip of territory along the 49th parallel where most Canadians live. And in the sense that winters might be warmer and drier this may be so for the next few years.
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Environmental groups call for hearings on coal-fired power plants
September 21, 2006
Current BC guidelines would allow coal-fired plants, in Princeton and Tumbler Ridge, to emit more pollution than the proposed Sumas II gas-fired power plant in Washington State.
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US court to hear Canadian views on endangered Orcas
September 7, 2006
The US Federal Court ruled on August 18 that it will grant Canadian environmental groups the right to intervene in a lawsuit brought by industry groups.
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Salt Spring grandmother goes north to to view the climate crisis for herself
July 13, 2006
‘I want our neighbours in the North to know that we care about what is happening to their homeland and their way of life,’ says Cutting, who will travel to Inuvik in her Honda Civic Hybrid and then fly to Tuktoyaktuk and Old Crow.
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Salmon mapping
June 29, 2006
A pioneering study of the out-migration of juvenile salmon through Heiltsuk traditional territory on BC’s central coast is underway this May and June.
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Public education essential for marine conservation areas
June 15, 2006 | Trysh Ashby-Rolls
Visitors must follow the guidelines in marine life protection areas or face eviction.
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The Carbon Credit Myth
June 15, 2006 | Patrick Brown
It’s clear by now that there’s no way Canada can meet its Kyoto commitments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) production to 6% less than 1990 levels by 2012.
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Three lightstations transferred to Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
June 1, 2006
‘These lightstation properties have important ecological values, and their addition to Gulf Islands National Park Reserve also brings to our visitors the opportunity to learn about the history of marine navigation on the pacific coast.’
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Parks Canada and Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group sign agreement
June 1, 2006
A formal consultation agreement that establishes a framework for the First Nations of the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group and the superintendent of Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada to undertake cooperative planning, management and consultation for the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve was signed on May 20.
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Ecosystem Mapping in the Southern Gulf Islands
May 18, 2006 | Todd Golumbia, Park Ecologist
Our office has been overwhelmed with support for this project. However, we also became aware that there were some misunderstandings about the project in terms of its scope and intent.
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Gulf Islands National Park Reserve News
May 4, 2006 | Helene Chabot, Cam Sanjivi, Rundi Koppang
On May 2, CRD Regional Parks and its partners, The Land Conservancy of British Columbia, acquired a piece of property on Galiano Island identified as Matthews Point 3.
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Galiano’s Matthews Point park links to Bluff Park with new purchase
May 4, 2006
On May 2, CRD Regional Parks and its partners, The Land Conservancy of British Columbia, acquired a piece of property on Galiano Island identified as Matthews Point 3.
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Kyoto programs to be cut
April 20, 2006
Cuts planned by the federal government to climate change programs will hurt energy conservation and renewable energy projects in BC, according to the GSX-Concerned Citizens Coalition.
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More of BC’s rare sponge reefs get protection
April 20, 2006
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has altered the boundaries of groundfish trawl closures in Hecate Strait in order to protect ancient living glass sponge reefs.
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CPAWS and scientists call for protection of rare glass sponge reefs
April 6, 2006
Calls for legal protection of the 9,000-year-old glass sponge reefs in Hecate Strait are being renewed as research shows the reefs are important for the survival of threatened rockfish populations off BC’s coast.
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Orcas now listed as endangered species in United States
February 23, 2006
As of February 16, Washington State’s orca whale population is getting more protection under the Endangered Species Act.
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It’s not pollution as long as you keep doing it?
February 23, 2006
An ambiguous situation over Capital Regional District’s sewage outfall into the ocean has NGOs shaking their heads. Sierra Legal Defence Fund, the Georgia Strait Alliance and the T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation are expressing frustration over the response recently received from the BC Ministry of Environment (MOE).
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Condors and Marmots
February 23, 2006 | Doug Carrick
The California condor is a giant vulture, weighing up to 25lbs. With a wing span of nine-and-a-half feet, it is capable of soaring to an altitude of 15,000 feet. The condor population, however, had declined drastically and by the year 1940 it was down to 100. By 1967, it was down to 50 and by 1987, down to 9.
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More Alaska oil could pass Gulf Island shores
December 2005 | Patrick Brown
Public comment on the environmental effects of the batholiths research project will now be accepted by NSERC up to December 31, 2006. This extension appears to be a result of public concern about the effects on fish and marine mammals of seismic work along BC’s Inside Passage.
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Juniper
November 21, 1991 | Brenan Simpson
Did you know that Juniper is used to make Gin?
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Wild Onions
June 6, 1991 | Brenan Simpson
Coastal peoples have enjoyed three native wild onions...
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Oregon Grape
January 17, 1991 | Brenan Simpson
The history and lore of the lowly Oregon Grape...
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Pacific Dogwood
December 6, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
The history of BC's provincial flower.
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Arbutus Berries and Menzies Larkspur
November 8, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
All of the famous British maritime explorers in the 18th and 19th centuries carried naturalists along with them...
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Foxgloves
July 5, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
The German common name for this plant is the ‘fingerhut’, meaning ‘thimble’...
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Honeysuckle
June 21, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
Woodbine is another common name of the Honeysuckle...
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Western Columbine
June 7, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
We have a fairly commendable columbine...here on the Islands, which flowers, mainly by the roadsides, in late May and early June.
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Chocolate Lily
May 24, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
The botanic name of our lovely and endangered Chocolate Lily is Fritillaria lanceolata...
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Scarlet Pimpernel
May 10, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
Drawings of the Scarlet Pimpernel date back to 512 A.D...
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White Fawn Lily
April 26, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
Probably everyone who loves flowers has one particular favourite, mine is known as Easter Lily, White Fawn Lily, White Trout Lily and even Dog Tooth Violet...
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Endangered Wildflower Species on the Gulf Islands
March 29, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
It's not only in the Amazon Basin that wild plants are disappearing forever, it's happening right here on the Gulf Islands too.
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Geranium
March 1, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
What nearly everyone calls a ‘geranium’ is actually a zonal pelargonium and not a geranium at all...
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Sweet Briar and Snow Berries
February 1, 1990 | Brenan Simpson
Virtually none of our native wildflowers bloom at this time of year, yet both the Sweet Briar and Snow Berries offer winter colour.
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