The health of BC’s forest cover is not good. In many parts of the province, our forests are emitting carbon, rather than absorbing it.
According to a story in the Times Colonist, “the province’s own data (shows that) net carbon dioxide emissions from forestland in 2011 were 34.9 million tons, equivalent to more than half of B.C.’s total official emissions for that year. However, only carbon emissions from deforestation and afforestation (new or replanted forests) are included in the province’s official total.”
Category Archives: Articles
Burnaby’s Mayor Compares BC To a Banana Republic
By Roy L Hales
The coal terminals in BC’s Lower Mainland are being enlarged to handle a great deal more cargo. The capacity of Neptune Terminals, in North Vancouver, has doubled. Westshore Terminals, in Delta, has applied to make a $230 million “upgrade.” It has yet to be seen if a new coal terminal will go in at Fraser Surrey Docks. Just before Burnaby’s council passed a resolution showing their opposition to the proposal, Mayor Derek Corrigan commented that BC is turning into a Banana Republic.
“Over and over again we decisions being made by bodies who are not independent,” said Mayor Corrigan. “Port Metro Vancouver is conducting this environmental assessment. The Majority of Directors on Port Metro Vancouver are appointed by the very companies that stand to economically benefit from these decisions. And so here you have a Board of Directors, appointed by the companies that us in charge of the environmental assessment to determine if they are going to make more money.”
What is Killing BC’s Wild Salmon?
Anyone simply looking for evidence that salmon farms could be infecting wild salmon will find enough five minutes into Twyla Roscovich’s documentary “Salmon Confidential Documentary.” The evidence is laid so convincingly that one is tempted to turn the video off. That would be a mistake. Salmon Confidential Documentary follows biologist Alexandra Morton, as she seeks the cause of the massive salmon die-offs before they can spawn. As she gets closer to the answer, the question becomes why is the Department of Fisheries and Oceans not doing something about it?
The Klahoose First Nation & Origins of Cortes Community Forest
Originally published on Heartwood, Field Notes
Their plan is to net out of the equation sensitive ecosystems, riparian zones, areas with very thin soils, and groves of old growth—and do selective, ecosystem-based forestry on what remains of the land base.
Continue reading The Klahoose First Nation & Origins of Cortes Community Forest
Impending Hearings on BC’s Kinder Morgan Pipeline
The next act in what some are already calling a struggle to Save the Salish Sea began on December 16, 2013, when Kinder Morgan filed an application to build and extend the 1,150-mile-long Trans Mountain pipeline that brings oil from Alberta to BC’s Lower Mainland. The impending hearings on BC’s Kinder Morgan Pipeline project could shape the province’s environmental prospects for decades.