All posts by De Clarke

De Clarke is a sailor, photographer, retired software engineer and intermittent author who since the late 70’s has published both technical writing and essays on various topics ranging from feminism to technology and environmental issues. She has lived on Cortes since late 2011.
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SRD vs Anderson: Further Absurdity?

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Director Noba Anderson’s legal challenge to what she claims is a history of consistently faulty process at SRD has elicited a response from SRD’s counsel. From Roy Hales’ recent coverage of the ongoing litigation:

Last month, the SRD’s lawyer, James H Goulden, filed a response in which he argued, “The Disqualification Petition is not a ‘claim, action or prosecution’ and was brought against Director Anderson in respect of the alleged receipt of gifts that were not in connection with the exercise of her powers or the intended exercise of her powers or, the performance, or intended performance of her duties or functions. The SRD is therefore not required to indemnify Director Anderson for the legal costs incurred.” 

The SRD Board also censured Director Anderson for showing confidential documents to her lawyer, while seeking his legal advice. 

According to the SRD’s Code of Conduct Bylaw, “information discussed or disclosed at closed meeting or the board” or marked as confidential “must not be disclosed or released to anyone.”

I find these responses quite interesting — actually, “gobsmacking” might be more accurate — and worth considering in more detail.

Continue reading SRD vs Anderson: Further Absurdity? →
Transportation

Cortes Island Inventor Completes Cargo E-Trike

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[Cortes Island E-Bikes series]

For a little more than two years, Cortes Islander Gabriel Dinim worked patiently and steadily on the design and construction of an original, custom electric cargo bike with three wheels. By early summer of 2020, his project was ready for its first test-drive… and has since been frequently sighted on Cortes roads.

Gabriel says this bike effectively replaces his truck, and he uses it daily for travel and cargo hauling. Equipped with regen braking, turn signals, mirrors, brake lights, disc brakes and a substantial drive/motor system, Gabriel’s bike is a serious EV. It enables him to travel to Campbell River and back on a single charge, as well as all around Cortes Island.

As part of the Currents E-Bikes on Cortes Island series, I interviewed Gabriel about his project.

Continue reading Cortes Island Inventor Completes Cargo E-Trike →
Cost of Climate Change

By Any Other Name: Climate Cancer

[Editorial/Opinion] Simon Sinek is not the kind of pundit I would usually pay much attention to, I hope he’ll forgive my frankness. Ex-adman, “motivational speaker,” adviser to corporations, someone who can use the word “messaging” without embarrassment — I’m already bored and suspicious. But it’s undeniable that there’s something we can learn from just about everybody, and Mr Sinek gave me some chewy food for thought lately.

He was quoted in a recent online article, saying that the language used to name and describe the destabilisation of our climate is not serving us well. We know so many troubling facts, yet it seems so hard to get any traction or action. Why aren’t people more alarmed? Why such resistance to necessary changes?

We have, so Sinek claims, a marketing problem. We’re not “marketing” the gravity or urgency of the situation in a convincing way, and that’s contributing to denial and inaction at every level of our society.

Continue reading By Any Other Name: Climate Cancer →
Women

Cortes Island Women’s Centre

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The Covid-19 lockdown has sparked an upsurge in domestic violence both in Canada and worldwide, as well as making it harder for support services to offer counseling and shelter for victims.

On April 15, 2020, I interviewed Tanya Henck, founding member of the first Cortes Island Women’s Centre which opened in January 2019. A combination of diligent sanitization and long microphone cables, plus a newly constructed and never-inhabited space, enabled us to set up for Covid-19-safe recording.  (The room was so bare that you may hear a certain amount of natural reverb in the podcast.)

Tanya has lived on Cortes Island for 14 years, and has long been aware of the persistent and under-addressed problem of domestic violence.  Every community whether rural or urban has to deal with this issue, she says, and Cortes is no exception.  Yet Cortes, she feels, has been for years “behind the times” in coming to grips with this problem.

Continue reading Cortes Island Women’s Centre →