Tag Archives: China

Animals

New Virus Associated With (But Not Causing) Mass Oyster Die-Offs

UBC researchers found a new virus in farmed Pacific Oysters that perished during a mass die-off in 2020. 

During the die-off, researchers collected 33 dead oysters as well as 26 wild oysters from neighbouring sites. Pacific Oyster Nidovirus 1 (PONV1) was only found in 20 of the dead or dying farmed oysters.

Dr Kevin Xu Zhong, a research associate in the UBC department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS), explained this does not mean the virus was the cause of death.

“We found this new virus. There is no indication it is causing the mortality mentioned in the database, the study, or the reporting.”

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Cost of Climate Change

International Court of Justice Issues Landmark Climate Opinion

“The Court hopes that its conclusions will allow the law to inform and guide social and political action to address the ongoing climate crisis.” – ICJ Advisory Opinion, para. 456

In a historic and unanimous ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued its Advisory Opinion on the legal responsibilities of nation states to address climate change. This decision, requested by the United Nations General Assembly in 2023, clarifies for the first time what international law demands of countries and what legal consequences may follow if they fail to act.

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Finances, History

The Quadra Project: Globalization – Part 1

Peter Zeihan, in his 2022 book, The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization, offers an insightful and credible explanation for the globalization process that affects us all, and is becoming increasingly relevant because of global economic, political and environmental factors. Although his book might exaggerate the importance of America, his ideas deserve our attention because they provide a framework for illuminating other related subjects.

At the end of World War II, in 1945, the world was in a political and economic mess. Although Germany and Japan had been defeated, most of the rest of the world had been heavily damaged by the conflict. In the East, an imperial Japan was in ruin, as was China after the Japanese invasion of its northern territories. In Europe, Germany, too, was in ruin. Great Britain, Italy, France, Russia and their many adjacent countries had been heavily damaged.

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Business, Politics

RIEP Presentation: US Tariffs & How Island Economies Can Respond

Around 100 people signed up for the Rural Islands Economic Partnership 2025 Virtual Forum. At least 10 were from Cortes Island and there were others from Quadra, Bowen, Texada, Hornby, Denman, Cormorant, Malcolm and the Gulf Islands, as well as the Broughton Archipelago. Several of the topics were of great importance to islanders. One of the foremost was Aaron Cruikshank’s analysis of the impact US tariffs will have on island economies and what we can do about it.

Cruikshank is the founder of CTRS, a Market intelligence company from the Lower Mainland that has worked with hundreds of organizations and governments over the past 20 years.

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Food Security

Food Nutrition, Prices And Security: Local And International  Perspectives

Around the time President Donald Trump started threatening to start a trade war, Cortes Currents reached out to Dr Kushank Bajaj from UBC’s Institute for Resource, Environment and Sustainability and Marc Doll, from Foot Forward Forest Farm on Quadra Island. 

The topic was food security and Dr Bajaj is one of the developers of a website called Canada Food Flows, which traces the amount of fruits and vegetables coming into British Columbia from other provinces and nations. 

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