LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD THE MARCH 19 SHOW HERE:
Today on the show we start with a special TikTok clip: Saskatchewan trucker Karl Hren hates the carbon tax. Especially when he figures out it’s not really the problem
We’ll hear more about fossil fuel greenwashing from BC Green MLA Adam Olsen, and from BC Environment Minister George Heyman.
BC journalist Christopher Pollon has a new book about Canadian mining, with a global perspective, because Canadian companies are big in mining everywhere, and especially here in BC. He tells us about his new book Pitfall: The Race to to Mine the World’s Most Vulnerable Places and much more.
As we face up to drought conditions, former RDCK director Ramona Faust is talking about the West Kootenay Watershed Collaborative, and how they work at protecting the streams so vital to life in the Kootenays.
LINKS MENTIONED:
Why does the BC NDP allow the fossil fuel industry spread misinformation about emissions?
BC Green MLA Adam Olsen and Environment Minister George Heyman on greenwashing legislation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Tmn57J1pU
Record Corporate profits fuel Canadian inflation
Report from prominent Canadian economist Jim Stanford.
https://centreforfuturework.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Resilience-of-Profits-Canada-end-2023.pdf
Book: Pitfall: The Race to Mine the World’s Most Vulnerable Places
Website of author, Christoher Pollon: https://chrispollon.com/
West Kootenay Watershed Collaborative
https://www.westkootenaywater.ca/
ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS
Saturday, March 23 starting at 10 am
Spring Welcome Forest Therapy Walk
Slocan Pool, Kootenay River, at Playmor Junction.
Registration required, spots limited.
A 3 hour experience with guided meditation/prompts aimed at helping strip away our daily responsibilities and enjoy the sensations of being present in nature. Slow down and notice the intricacies of the natural environment, and perhaps you’ll notice something arise in yourself.
Register at: www.rerooting.ca
Sunday, March 24 1-3:30 pm
Sproule Creek Old Growth Forest Walk
Let play and curiosity open you up to the magic of the old growth forest. Sit with the trees, listen to the whispers of the wind, ignite your passion with fire, and offer gratitude to water and all of life. 1:00pm – 3:30pm at Sproule Creek Old Growth Forest.
Organized by Elemental Journeys. By donation. https://tinyurl.com/2s42xns3
Sunday, March 24th 7 pm
Film: Israelism
Nelson United Church.
Documentary film: When two young American Jews raised to unconditionally support Israel witness the way Israel treats Palestinians, their lives take sharp left turns. They join a movement of young American Jews battling the old guard to redefine Judaism’s relationship with Israel, revealing a deepening generational divide over modern Jewish identity.
Two members of Independent Jewish Voices Canada (Sid Shniad and Maxine Kaufmann-Lacusta) will be at the film and will lead a discussion post viewing.
Tickets $15 from CapitolTheatre.ca
Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6th. Noon.
Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en Rally outside Nelson RBC Baker St.
The Wet’suwet’en Nation has once again called for a protest of the Royal Bank of Canada’s financing of the Coastal Gas Link pipeline and other fossil fuel projects at the time of the banks AGM. The local Nelson West Kootenay Chapter of the Council of Canadians will be holding a curbside protest outside the RBC Branch on Baker St. on Friday, April 5th and Saturday, April 6th
Sunday, April 21, 2024. 12pm-3pm
303 Vernon St. Nelson, BC
Trash to Fashion FUNshop
Come celebrate Earth Day weekend by turning some trash into treasures!
Gather your paper and fabric scraps and come make featherless boas, paper mache masks, and other upcycled costume items with artist Myra Rasmussen.
This Haute Trash event is meant to inspire your inner creative to come out and play with all manner of discarded fabric scraps and paper items and transform them into fun and wearable art.
Workshop is for everyone: 12 years to adult. Anyone under 12 years must be accompanied by an adult. There is a $25 registration fee.
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SHORTS
The Zincton resort project would be a significant threat to local populations of grizzly bear and wolverine, a new assessment report concludes.
It would fragment the quality and quantity of their habitat, as well as that of other wildlife species, according to a study authored by the Ktunaxa Nation Council.
“Results of this assessment find the cumulative effects of existing and proposed land-use activities within this narrow and vital corridor are considered high hazard,” the report states.
The 70-page assessment report, selected the wolverine and the grizzly bear as “the key benchmark species. They are key species due to their cultural importance, specialized habitat requirements and known sensitivity to recreational activities.”
The assessment covers a part of the Selkirk Mountains just east of New Denver that is claimed as home territory by both the Ktunaxa Nation Council and the Sinixt Confederacy.
A summary and the full report can be found at https://tinyurl.com/2ef8ywch.
The final investment decision for the Cedar LNG project, backed by the Pembina Pipeline Corp. and the Haisla First Nation, will be postponed until mid-2024, it was announced last week.
Ongoing negotiations to secure customer contracts, third-party agreements, project financing and the rising capital costs for the liquified natural gas (LNG) project, originally estimated at US$2.4 billion, were cited as reasons for the delay.
Just days before the delay was announced, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson suggested LNG projects might be risky investments moving forward, especially in the context of the International Energy Agency forecasting a “gas glut” by 2025. The market for all fossil fuels is expected to peak by the end of the decade.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/02/29/news/ottawa-changing-its-tune-lng
There has been a remarkable doubling in bicycle usage on Parisian streets between October 2022 and October 2023. But this is more than just a statistic—it’s a reflection of a broader societal shift towards sustainable mobility and urban renewal.
As Deputy Mayor David Belliard of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV) aptly notes, cycling in Paris has transcended mere trendiness; it’s become a fundamental aspect of the city’s identity. Despite challenges like inclement weather, cyclists continue to flock to the streets, setting new attendance records and reshaping the urban landscape in the process.
It’s not surprising, as the success has come after significant investment in cycling infrastructure dating back to 2015 when Mayor Anne Hidalgo first started advancing Paris’s cycling plan with 150 million euros invested to double the number of cycling lanes and create a critical mass of infrastructure. This, followed by even greater investment to fill in the gaps and make Paris a “100 percent cycling city.”
And it is unlikely to slow down anytime soon. It more likely to spread throughout France. It was just a year ago that Momentum reported a huge $2 billion investment to promote cycling throughout the country over the next four years.
British Columbia needs a drenching of rain to alleviate the tinder dry conditions that have forecasters worried about the potential for another difficult wildfire season.
Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the province is securing more equipment and aircraft, and is deploying new technologies to help fight expected wildfires.
“The season will ultimately be shaped by how much rain B.C. receives this spring and into June. It’s clear that it’s likely to be a challenging wildfire season this year as we continue to see the impacts of climate change,” he said.
The province is also launching a predictive software program across the province to give decision-makers more information, faster.
The Forests Ministry said in a statement the addition of the technology follows successful trials of the software in the Coastal and Kamloops fire centres last year, and it will be introduced to the rest of the province throughout this year.
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