Article by Ray Turchansky in the Victoria Times Colonist. “[Jeff] Rubin’s message, delivered during the Canadian conference of the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. in Edmonton, essentially predicts a last hurrah for oil, as cheap conventional supplies run out and the world turns to more expensive synthetics from oilsands.” Read article
In mid-September, Damien Gillis had the rare privilege to capture this year’s astonishing sockeye fishery, off the south arm of the Fraser River. Amidst the largest Fraser sockeye return in nearly a century – some 35 million fish – Damien caught up with the commercial seine boat Snow Queen, hard at work. During one of the last openings of the season, Gillis documented the “set” of a lifetime for Captain Mitch Ponak and his crew: over 35,000 sockeye in one seine. It’s all covered here in vivid detail in this entertaining 6 min video.
Much has been said about this year’s unanticipated sockeye return – including erroneous claims from the fish farm industry that it somehow “proves” open net salmon farms aren’t adversely impacting wild salmon; if anything, it has raised more questions than it has answered. On this sunny September day, however, these amazing sockeye were a welcome sight and reminder of what healthy wild salmon runs mean to the communities, cultures, and economies of the entire BC coast and province – and of why we should be doing everything in our power to give these fish a fighting chance.
Article by Crawford Killian at The Tyee. New research offers more evidence that open-pen salmon farming is causing “major declines in wild fish populations,” according to a news release from the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform. Read article
On October 1 at the World Community Film Festival in Mission, BC, three prominent BC leaders – salmon biologist Alexandra Morton, acclaimed author and Greenpeace International co-founder Rex Weyler, and Chief Marilyn Baptiste of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation – shared the stage to declare their mutual support for the important issues they are each championing. Baptiste is leading her people’s tough stand against a proposed gold and copper mine that would destroy sacred Fish Lake their traditional Tsil’quotin territory west of Williams Lake; Weyler is working to wake people up to a massive planned increase of supertankers from Vancouver carrying Tar Sands crude oil to Asia and the US; while Morton has been battling fish farms on the coast for decades and is now touring the province to unite First Nations and citizens in the protection of wild salmon from fish farms and various other environmental impacts. In this historic 6 min speech, the three leaders vow to support each others’ efforts and work together to protect BC’s environment and democracy.
On October 1 at the World Community Film Festival in Mission, BC, three prominent BC leaders – salmon biologist Alexandra Morton, acclaimed author and Greenpeace International co-founder Rex Weyler, and Chief Marilyn Baptiste of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation – shared the stage to declare their mutual support for the important issues they are each championing. Baptiste is leading her people’s tough stand against a proposed gold and copper mine that would destroy sacred Fish Lake their traditional Tsil’quotin territory west of Williams Lake; Weyler is working to wake people up to a massive planned increase of supertankers from Vancouver carrying Tar Sands crude oil to Asia and the US; while Morton has been battling fish farms on the coast for decades and is now touring the province to unite First Nations and citizens in the protection of wild salmon from fish farms and various other environmental impacts. In this historic 6 min speech, the three leaders vow to support each others’ efforts and work together to protect BC’s environment and democracy.
Article by Mark Worthing at The Martlet. Rex Weyler: “None of the local stakeholders want tankers in these waters. The fishermen don’t want tankers in these waters, commercial and recreational boaters don’t want tankers in these waters, tourism doesn’t want tankers in these waters, whale watching tours don’t want tankers in these waters.” Read article
Story by Global TV for BC. A small group is rallying against an existing gravel mine in the Fraser Valley. View story
Blog posting by Alexandra Morton. “The Adams River was glistening in the sun today. The water is clear and high. There were thousands of people along the banks. Japanese, French, Italian, Germany, Korean words were mingled with the rushing water.” Read article
Article by Andrew Nikiforuk at The Tyee. Hollywood’s biggest director visits Extremistan. Read article
Posting on Murray Dobbin’s Blog. Betty Krawczyk: “The Attorney General has accomplished two things; first, equated my repeated infractions of the law in defence of the environment for future generations to the diseased minds of pedophiles who rape their very young children …and invited the Court to consider because I am a repeat offender that I should also be declared a dangerous offender and possibly be put away for life.” Read article