Tag Archives: Climate Change

West Coast toxic hot spots threaten endangered salmon and killer whales

Editor’s note: Though Cortes Island is not mentioned in the following report, it is on the embedded map of metal hotspots. We appear to be either bordering on, or close to, the areas for cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) copper (Cu) and lead (Pb).

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Newly identified toxic metal hot spots on the West Coast further threaten endangered killer whales and their key food source, a recent study shows.

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A UBC Professor Explains What To Look For At COP 28 & Why He Does Not Believe In Overshoot

With the COP 28 only a little more than a week away, the University of British Columbia held a press conference about key issues. In the breakout session, Cortes Currents asked Dr Simon Donner a former COP delegate and professor from the Department of Geography and Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, two questions.

  1. Many people on Cortes and Quadra Islands believe in the Overshoot theory. What do you say to people who believe that Climate Change is a symptom of a much larger problem: there are too many of us living on a planet with rapidly diminishing resources?
Continue reading A UBC Professor Explains What To Look For At COP 28 & Why He Does Not Believe In Overshoot

Folk U Welcomes Gardener Extraordinaire – Billie Taylor

On Friday, October 27, host Manda Aufochs Gillespie was joined in the studio by gardener extraordinaire – Billie Taylor. Billie shares about her experience gardening on Cortes, the ways her garden has changed in the past few years, and her love of composting. Join in for a spontaneous conversation on adaptive gardening, climate crisis, and resilience.

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Salmon SWAT teams deployed in B.C to help fish during drought

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A provincewide drought this summer dried up B.C. rivers and jeopardized the survival of already stressed salmon stocks. 

But for the first time, localized salmon SWAT teams mobilized quickly to tackle hot spots of concern on rivers across B.C. as part of a new pilot project, said Jane Pendray, manager of the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s (PSF) climate adaptation program.

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Sierra Quadra: How do we proceed? 

Sierra Quadra has been educating Quadra Islanders about the unfolding environmental crisis for close to 25 years, but they have been relatively quiet since COVID. 

This is changing. On September 28 they joined with the Council of Canadians, in Campbell River, to protest the provincial governments failure to implement its strategy to preserve old growth forests. On October 21 they will be sponsoring the world premiere of Robert Bringhurst’s poem ‘The Ridge‘ at the Quadra Community Centre. They will be bringing two widely recognized films to Quadra this winter and plan to host a forum on environmental issues in March 2024. 

Cortes Currents recently asked Ray Grigg, one of Sierra Quadra’s principle Directors, for an update on their vision for the future. 

Continue reading Sierra Quadra: How do we proceed?