All posts by Max Thaysen

Max Thaysen immigrated to Cortes Island from Vancouver in 2007. He has been elected to the board of the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) in 2009, and served as president since 2012. He is one of the story producers for the Cortes Currents Radio Magazine.
Environment

Turning Down the Heat Part 3: It’s Time to Kick Some Ass  (ie – Mobilize People Power)

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By Max Thaysen and the Cortes Island Climate Action Network

“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth’s treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal… To hope is to give yourself to the future – and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.” ― Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power

We’ve got the receipts, we just need to break the door down (aka build and wield power). 

Continue reading Turning Down the Heat Part 3: It’s Time to Kick Some Ass  (ie – Mobilize People Power) →
Transportation

Our deep concerns regarding the airstrip

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(Originally published on the Cortes Tideline)

June 20th 2024

Dear Michael and Martine

We are writing to express our deep concerns regarding the improvement of an airstrip on Cortes Island. This development is likely to lead to the increased use of private aircraft, which are significant emitters of CO2 and other pollutants. At a time when global emissions need to be drastically reduced, encouraging luxury emissions like private air travel is detrimental to our planet. Limiting these unnecessary emissions is crucial for supporting the billions of living creatures – human and otherwise – affected by climate change and preventing further environmental degradation.

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Environment

Extreme heat in May 2023

Does it feel hot out here? It is.

On May 14, 2023, Campbell River, British Columbia experienced an extreme temperature of 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit). This temperature is quite remarkable for mid-May, as it is well above the historical average high for the area during this time of year.

Climate change is caused primarily by the extreme emissions of a minority of super-emitters, corporations that support their consumption – all permitted by lawmakers. We have a rapidly closing window to limit these emissions to prevent catastrophic changes to our spaceship earth.

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Environment

Bruce Harrison receives Jo Anne Green Environmental Award

This January, at the Friends of Cortes Island Annual General Meeting, Bruce Harrison was awarded the Jo Anne Green Environmental Award. The Jo Anne Green award is an honour for leadership in community-based environmental awareness, protection and restoration. Jo Anne Green was a founder of the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) and an inspiration for many on Cortes to care for this place and imagine a reciprocal relationship with our ecosystems.

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Forests

Letter to Mosaic, from FOCI

Hello Colin Koszman and Molly Hudson, representatives of Mosaic:

In the face of a climate emergency and the accelerating loss of biodiversity, the Friends of Cortes Island Society (FOCI) has serious concerns regarding Mosaic’s current plans to cut ecologically significant forests on Cortes. We would like to see Mosaic join the efforts of the Cortes community to create an alternative model for forestry that would sustain the environment and local communities over the long term, rather than spend our time and energy in opposition.

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