LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE HERE:
Iglika Ivanova a senior economist with the BC Officer of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives talks about the good, the bad and the climate-crisis blind parts of the new federal and BC budgets. From the street: old-growth protestors at the protest in Castlegar talk about saving forests.
The Coast Protectors in Vancouver hosted a continent-wide online event to open Earth Week. Short clips: Eriel Deranger, executive director of Indigenous Climate Action. Also part of an opening water prayer from Casey Camp-Horinek, Hereditary Drumkeeper from the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma.
Some of the upcoming environmental events, and our environment news, this week voiced by Eirin Murray.
EVENTS
Wednesday Apr 21 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Ecosociety Webinar: Crafty Ways to Slim Your Waste @ Zoom Webinar
Juggling work and play can be tough even without a global pandemic, so how can parents who are concerned for their kids and the environment decrease their household waste? As a parent, blogger and Nelsonite, Lyne Chartier will join us, sharing their “waste-slimming” tips and tricks. Read up on Lyne’s work with Slimmer Waste and join us for our upcoming webinar.
RSVP Here 👉👉 https://bit.ly/3rPgLPp
Thursday, April 22 3:30 pm facebook live
April 22 is Earth Day.
Touchstones Nelson Museum ‘Good News for Earth Day’ a positive panel discussion and celebration of some local environmental achievements as well as other good news. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A.
Panel includes Cottonwood Lake Preservation Society, Slimmer Waste Recycling, Friends of Kootenay Lake, Fridays For Future: Nelson, Sarah Sutton from Sustainable Museums, and Author of Protectors Of The Planet: Environmental Trailblazers from 7 to 97 Jamie Bastedo.
See Touchstones Nelson on facebook.
Thursday, April 22 11 am PT
Earth Day
Sierra Club BC converstation with Seth Klein, one of the leading voices on climate change policy in Canada and the author of A Good War. How can we take large-scale climate action to provide a healthy world for future generations? The task is daunting—but there’s hope!
Mother Earth Week opening event from Coast Protectors
This event took place on Sunday, April 19th.
There is a special online event on Sunday April 18 to begin Earth Week as a unified movement determined to fight for Indigenous Rights and climate justice. It’s from Coast Protectors, Rainforest Action Network and 4 other organizations.
Preparing to fight for the climate like never before as US President Biden’s April 22 global conference on climate kicks off a 7 month countdown to potentially the most important global conference in history, the Conference of Parties, COP 26 in November in Glasgow, Scotland.
Casey Camp Horinek is Councilwoman, and Hereditary Drumkeeper of the Womens’ Scalp Dance Society of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma and a longtime activist, environmentalist, actress, and published author.
Kukpi7 Judy Wilson is the Secretary – Treasurer of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC). Chief Wilson is chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band of the Secwepemc Nation.
~More speakers to come
Watch video of the event here:
https://www.coastprotectors.ca/coast_protectors_event_april_18_mother_earth_week
ALL Week! Protect a local forest
Anytime this week is a good time to join the local willetwildernessforever.ca campaign to prevent logging on the shores of Kootenay Lake. They have issued an emergency alert because logging could begin on the mountain slope between Argenta and Johnsons Landing this season.
Find out what you can do on the website.
https://www.willetwildernessforever.ca/take-action
ENVIRONMENT NEWS
A deal between the United States and Brazil that could see the protection of large areas of the amazon rainforest is stalled this week. Essentially, the deal would see the US and other wealthy nations pay Billions of dollars to the Brazilian government to protect the amazon, which climate scientists say is essential to preserve in the fight against the climate crisis.
However, Indigenous leaders, climate activists and a group of US Democratic senators have warned US President Joe Biden not to hand over any cash to the government of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s far-right populist president, under whom deforestation has soared.
Both administrations had hoped to announce the deal when the White House hosts the Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22 and 23, but it appears talks have stalled.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/17/bolsonaro-biden-deal-to-protect-amazon-stalls-amid-pressure
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Hundreds of wildfires raged across the state of Wisconsin last week, causing the governor to issue a state of emergency.
On April 5, Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency, authorizing the state’s national guard to help put out the flames, prevent further damage and make recovery efforts. The spring fires have claimed over 1,500 acres and at least 26 structures, with no fatalities reported at this time.
Climate Groups in the United States are pointing to the severity of Wisconsin’s recent fires and droughts as probably caused by climate change.
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Despite repeated promises to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, Canada’s federal government dedicated $18 billion in 2020 to assist the country’s oil and gas sector. This according to a new report authored by the Canadian non-profit group Environmental Defence.
The report details how federal government agencies provided $5.25 billion in financing renewals for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, $500 million for TC Energy, the owner of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, and almost $14 billion a year to support domestic and international oil and gas companies.
Subsidies listed in the report also include more than $13 million the RCMP spent to police the Coastal GasLink pipeline conflict in northern B.C. between January 2019 and March 2020.
Today, more than a decade after the federal government first announced a commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, Canada provides more public finance for fossil fuels per capita than any other G20 country except for China.
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New research shows British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon could be collectively poised to pioneer clean energy technology for the world.
A recent study published by the National Academy of Sciences suggests that efficiency and electrification as the most cost-effective route to slashing emissions while maintaining lifestyles and maximizing jobs.
Key to decarbonization planning for the regions are computer simulations of future conditions known as models. These models show that massive investment in renewable infrastructure is needed in order to electrify existing fossil fuel based technology.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/04/19/Renewable-Electricity-Coming-Strong/
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The B.C government announced $30 million in funding today to help two First Nations in the province’s north move toward implementing rights and title in their territories.
The Wet’suwet’en Nation, which negotiated a memorandum of understanding with the provincial and federal governments in February 2020, amid blockades opposing the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline. The memorandum aimed at moving toward recognition of rights and title, and the nation will receive $7.2 million over three years.
Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Woos, Frank Alec, welcomed the funding announcement, but blames the provincial government for the “snails pace” of negotiations.
The Memorandum spells out that the funding will go towards reunification of Wet’suwet’en, including an internal engagement process to advance unity-building.
The province also announced $22 million for Lake Babine Nation, in addition to $7 million in funding earlier this year, as part of an agreement announced last September. The money is also aimed at stimulating economic growth and funding self-governance.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/04/16/BC-Provides-30-Million-Wetsuweten-Lake-Babine-Nations/
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And the first Evacuation Notice of the 2021 Wildfire season has been issued in BC on Sunday for homes in a subdivision north of Merritt.
It comes amid reports of about a dozen wildfires burning Sunday across the southern regions of the province. High winds and coupled with hotter than normal conditions allowed the fires to grow quickly.
Environment Canada says record temperatures were set in 11 B.C. communities on Sunday, including a high of 28.4 C in Pemberton.
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On April 18th, a massive windstorm hit the Kootenays hard. The communities of Nelson, Blewett, Queens Bay, Creston faced large-scale power outages as crews hurried to remove fallen trees from power lines.
Drive BC reported that Highway 3A on the North Shore was blocked for a time while downed trees were removed by the road maintenance, crews.
This storm comes in the wake of a series of extreme weather events, which Nelson Hydro says have cost the city an unprecedented $400,000 in 2021 alone.
In February, Nelson Councilor Jesse Woodward blamed the extreme weather on the climate emergency “The last five years are the warmest as of yet and that trend will continue, and I think it is on us to start preparing for that, getting budgets up to snuff.”
om/news/massive-windstorm-knocks-out-power-nelson-hydro-customers-forces-closure-highway-3a-north-shore
https://www.mycrestonnow.com/29121/windstorm-rips-down-kootenay-lake-blasting-creston-valley/
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