Tag Archives: Cortes Island

Environment, Indigenous Nations

Cortes Islanders Support Standing Rock

By Roy L Hales

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The Standing Rock Sioux’s struggle to halt the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, a half mile north of their reservation, has gained international recognition. The Guardian’s coverage began on April 2, with a story of 200 Native Americans who “took to horseback” in a mounted protest. In August, Reuters reported on the tribe’s attempt to obtain an injunction against construction. As of this morning, Democracy Now has posted 154 stories. That’s just the media. Many North American communities have held demonstrations. Two events, in a relatively remote part of British Columbia, illustrate the extent to which Cortes Islanders Support Standing Rock.

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Forests

How Fungi Could Help Replenish Forests After Logging

Originally published on Heartwood, Field Notes

The small community that lives on Cortes Island, a remote and richly forested spot off the British Columbia coast, is known for fiercely protecting its trees. It’s been successful in the past at fending off big timber companies, yet Cortes still hasn’t been entirely spared the chainsaw. Just like the rest of the province, clearcuts are scattered about the island in various states of partial regrowth. Only isolated groves of old growth trees remain.

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Community

Self Reliant Living On Cortes Island

By Roy L Hales

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This is Roy Hales with the ECOreport, which you can find on the web at the ecoreport,com I recently visited David Rouseau for what was to have been an interview about adopting renewables the developing world. Only the story changed when I found myself looking at a model of self reliant living on Cortes Island.

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History

Launch Of The Modern Environmental Movement

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Greenpeace exploded into the public’s awareness after confronting the Russian Whaling fleet off the coast of California. This kind of environmental action was unheard of  in 1975! The next day, there were photographs around the world. Looking back today, Rex Wyler thinks that, in some ways, that moment was the launch of the modern environmental movement.

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Cost of Climate Change, Water

Mega-Sized Drought Coming To BC

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By Roy L Hales

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Though British Columbia’s hydrologists have fifty years of stream flow data to formulate its’ responses to climate change, a recent study from the University of Victoria shows this is not enough. Tree ring data shows that, since 1658 AD, there have been 16 droughts exceeding anything evidenced in the instrumental record. The most recent and severest of  these events took place in 1958. According to one of the study co-authors, Bethany Coulthard, “It was a cool time and yet we still saw these extreme natural droughts.” Add problems like urbanization, deforestation and rising Global temperatures into the equation and we can expect a mega-sized drought coming to BC.

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