Tag Archives: Cortes Island

Environment

Only A Week From Now: FOCI’s 2024 AGM

The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) 2024 AGM is coming up at 5 PM on December 3rd. They are celebrating more than 30 years with their Marine Stewardship program. Sabina Leader Mense will be the guest speaker. 

“That’s the second part of the AGM. For the first part, we will be talking about  the work we’ve done in 2024. We’ve just produced our 2024 Annual Report and that’s bursting at the seams with amazing work that we’ve been doing over the last year,” explained Helen Hall. executive director of the Friends of Cortes Island.  

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Cost of Climate Change

Loss of Electricity and CityWest Internet During Recent Storm

Close to 400,000 BC Hydro customers, primarily on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, lost power during the recent windstorms. Gusts of up to 159 km/h were reported on November 19, the first night of the storm.  By 4 PM on Friday, November 22, all but about 5,000 customers on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands were back online. Parts of Cortes and Quadra Islands were among the last areas to be restored. 

BC Hydro identifies extreme storms like this with climate change and, in their 2023 Climate Change Accountability Report, states:

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Communications

Using AI For Good with Daniel Lindenberger

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U – On November 15, 2024, host Manda Aufoch’s Gillespie was joined by AI researcher and community organizer Daniel Lindenberger, to lead a conversation about artificial intelligence. Along with the students of the Cortes Island Academy and some community members, we explored the potential of AI in various tasks, including data structuring, summarizing, and generating business ideas, while acknowledging its limitations and potential risks. The conversation ended with discussions on the environmental impact of AI, the potential of AI for positive change, and the importance of considering the economic consequences of AI for artists.

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Cost of Climate Change

Hydro says BC is experiencing worse storms and the cause is climate change

Editor’s note: By the time it was over on Nov 23, about 400,000 customers lost their power and CityWest could not provide internet to Cortes, Denman or Hornby Islands for two days.

With winds of up to 159 km/hr the ‘bomb cyclone’ hitting Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland is far from the worst we’ve seen in recent years. As of 3:43 AM this morning, 272,000 people had been deprived of power and that number is still increasing. According to BC Hydro, “Climate change has led to an increase in extreme weather events in British Columbia, and this is something BC Hydro has been preparing extensively for.”

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Rivers & Oceans

First Chum Egg Count Of The Year – Is Terrific!

The final count for Cortes Island’s 2024 Chum run is not yet in, but according to local streamkeeper Christine Robinson, “We have never seen a return like this during the 34 years we’ve lived on Cortes, but the phenomenon is up the coast as far as Alaska. It’s not specific to Cortes and the Discovery Islands.”  

“It’s down into Washington state as well,” added her husband and fellow streamkeeper, Cec Robinson. 

On Monday, November 18th, five Cortes stream keepers and a semi-retired DFO employee from Campbell River gathered in the Klahoose Hatchery to count this year’s first egg take from Basil Creek.  

Continue reading First Chum Egg Count Of The Year – Is Terrific! →