LISTEN TO THE MARCH 23, ’21 Show here:
Tracking all the watersheds in the Columbia Basin is a big project for Living Lakes Canada. A $1 million grant will help them sssemble information on flows and quality of fresh water in the Kootenays. Kat Hartwig, the executive director of Living Lakes Canada tells us about the project.
Michelle Connolly from Conservation North in Prince George is jumping in on the “save the Old Growth” uproar around the province this week. Their Prince George Rally is Friday, March 26.
Economist and Author Seth Klein has received heaps of attention for his book A Good War. The short note on it is: if Canada could entirely mobilize to fight World War Two, we can do it again to transition the economy and fight the climate crisis. We have a short clip from a recent webinar with Seth Klein.
EVENT LINKS
Climate Strike Fridays for Future West Kootenay
April 3 Friday at 2 PM PDT – 2 PM PDT
Join us for the next major global climate strike! Please wear a mask and observe social distancing. Look forward to seeing you! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send us a message!
Kootenay region of British Columbia and it is my hope that these videos will leave you feeling refreshed, inspired, and empowered to live a life full of adventure. (Youtube)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmbWMWj19HDuy4_UOstAS_Q/videos
_________________________________
Not On My Watch. Alexandra Morton’s testimony on Salmon.
7 pm Wednesday, March 31.
Book Launch for her new book, Not on My Watch: How a Renegade Whale Biologist Took on Governments and Industry to Save Wild Salmon. Alex Morton is interviewed by writer and conservationist Ian Gill, followed by a panel discussion featuring coastal Indigenous leaders ƛiʔiik Tsimka Martin, Homiskanis Don Svanvik, and Galagame Bob Chamberlin.
ENVIRONMENT NEWS
Environment News
In countries across the globe, youth from the climate strike movement took to the streets on March 19th. Student-led demonstrations swept across the world, from Kenya, to the Netherlands, to Mexico, to Canada, and even to Antarctica.
Around the world, the global day of action called out governments for empty promises on climate change, citing the well-documented continued rise of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In Nelson, over 80 strikers, mostly young students, held an organized strike in numerous locations across town. In an effort to mitigate the risk of Covid spread, demonstrators wore masks, physically distanced, and split into small pods of 10 people.
https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-fridays-for-future-fff-covid-19-pandemic-climate-strike/a-56911641
https://www.democracynow.org/2021/3/22/headlines/youth_activists_hold_global_strike_for_the_climate
______________________________________________________________________
In the United States, Deb Haaland was sworn in as Secretary of the Interior, making history as the first Indigenous North American ever to hold a cabinet position in that country.
Haaland, who is Laguna Pueblo, passed by a slim margin at her Senate confirmation hearing with votes breaking down mostly on party lines. Only 4 Republicans voted for her nomination, while most Republicans opposed Haalands chiefly because of her advocacy as a Congresswoman to eliminate fracking and fossil fuel development and promote the green economy.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/23/deb-haaland-swearing-in-skirt-dress-agnes-woodward
______________________________________________________________________
For the 3rd year in a row, New Delhi has been named the world’s most polluted capital in 2020, according to IQAir, a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging airborne particles.
Another recent study by IQAir and Greenpeace found that as many as 54,000 people died prematurely in India’s capital from air pollution in 2020.
India is home to 35 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities, according to IQAir’s 2020 World Air Quality Report, which gathered data for 106 countries.
Despite an initial reprieve from Covid-19 restrictions on cars and industry, by the end of 2020 South Asia endured some of the world’s worst air quality on record.
______________________________________________________________________
In Canada, Conservative delegates at the party’s policy convention have voted to reject adding climate-minded statements to the policy book including a line that would have stated the party believes “climate change is real” and is “willing to act.”
The Portneuf—Jacques—Cartier riding in Quebec, which proposed the policy change, also asked delegates to recognize that “Canadian businesses classified as highly polluting need to take more responsibility” and “reduce their GHG emissions.”
Delegates rebuked climate-minded Conservatives and narrowly rejected the policy shift by a margin of 54 per cent to 46.
This decision spells trouble for Torrie Leader Erin O’Toole, who only hours before told delegates the party “cannot ignore the reality of climate change” and that the debate “is over.”
The Conservative vote against the “climate change is real” proposal also showcased a strong East-West divide within the Conservative party ranks on climate issues. Delegates from the Atlantic Provinces and Quebec voted widley in favour of the “climate change is real” proposal, while those from Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the Territories mostly voted against.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservative-delegates-reject-climate-change-is-real-1.5957739
______________________________________________________________________
In Nova Scotia, a man on his second week of a hunger strike is calling on the provincial government to halt logging, amid growing fears that clearcutting the country’s eastern forests could prove devastating for endangered species.
Jacob Fillmore, a 25-year-old activist, has survived on broth and water for 12 days, camping outside the province’s legislative assembly to raise awareness over the destruction of old-growth forest.
Early in the week, protesters joined Fillmore in Halifax blocking roads and demanding the government halt the controversial logging practice of clearcutting, which they fear is pushing ecosystems to the brink. Support for Fillmore’s protest is connected to the broader frustration across Canada over the continued harvest of old-growth forests.
______________________________________________________________________
Theives on the trails of Kokanee Creek Provincial Park have been cutting cables and stealing trail cameras. The stolen cameras are owned by a local non-proffit nature education organization, and the videos they produced were uploaded online for the public’s viewing pleasure.
The trail cameras taken by the thieves are clearly marked with the Kokanee Nature Centre name, and the registration numbers are known. If you have any information about the vandalism or the stolen cameras, please contact the the Kokanee Nature Centre.
-email from Joanne Sedirius
______________________________________________________________________
theecocentricblog.wordpress.com 