Local election results: a win for the coast, climate and communities

Election night 2014 was a great moment for all those in BC who want to stop pipeline and tanker projects that threaten our coast and our climate.

From big city mayors to small town councillors, communities up and down the coast elected local leaders who promised to work in office to stop the Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipelines. Vancouver, Burnaby, Victoria, Esquimalt, Prince Rupert and Smithers all elected mayors who are opposed to tar sands pipelines.

In the Vancouver Island community of Sooke, 70% of residents voted YES to a referendum question that commits the district to opposing the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

Across the province, fossil fuel projects and community control over environmental decision-making proved to be a defining issue in many local races. Although traditionally considered federal and provincial matters, this year’s municipal election campaign saw many candidates speaking out about the risks oil, coal and LNG transport could bring to their area, and demanding a greater say in the decision-making process. It was a telling sign of how concerned communities are about this issue, and how ignored they feel by other levels of government.

At Georgia Strait Alliance, we contributed to the debate by working in selected strategic locations around the Strait: Nanaimo, Parksville, Gibsons and the Sunshine Coast. We sent questionnaires to all registered candidates in these locations – 125 in total – asking their views on the Kinder Morgan pipeline as well as oil spill risk and response capacity. We circulated candidates’ replies to our supporters via email and published them on our website and social media, encouraging people to get informed, ask questions at all-candidates’ meetings and above all, get out and vote. 

You can find the full survey results here. The vast majority of candidates who responded to our survey were opposed to the Kinder Morgan expansion project, did not feel their communities had adequate resources to prepare for an oil spill, and were concerned about the recent decision by the National Energy Board to overrule the City of Burnaby’s bylaws to allow Kinder Morgan to conduct surveying work on Burnaby Mountain. Most also said that if they were elected, they would work to ensure that residents’ views on Kinder Morgan are heard by the federal authorities who will ultimately decide the project’s outcome. 

We were thrilled that when the votes were counted, many of these candidates were chosen to lead in their communities – particularly on the Sunshine Coast, where 65% of those who completed our survey were elected – and we look forward to working with municipalities around the Salish Sea in the coming months to ensure that community needs and voices are not ignored in this historic debate.

As the dramatic events unfolding on Burnaby Mountain over the past few days have brought into sharp focus, we need local leaders who are willing to stand up for their communities now more than ever. How many municipalities need to say ‘no’; how many First Nations need to launch lawsuits; how many ordinary citizens need to get arrested before the federal government and Kinder Morgan get the message that this pipeline will never be built? Whatever the NEB and Cabinet decide, it is abundantly clear that Kinder Morgan will never gain social license in BC – and that the future we want will have to be created by the local communities showing such great leadership today.

Why you should come to the Peace Arch this Saturday

This weekend, the largest climate march in history will take place in New York ahead of the UN Climate Summit, and millions of people around the world will take to the streets to call for real, fair and urgent action to tackle the climate crisis.

Here in our corner of the world, the Salish Sea is poised to become one of the largest fossil fuel exporters on the planet. The dozen new or expanded oil, coal and LNG projects proposed for our region put the people, ecosystems and economy of the Salish Sea at risk, and make the Pacific Northwest ground zero in the battle to stop climate change.

Americans and Canadians of the Salish Sea share one coast, one ecosystem and one climate, and it’s time to work together across the border to stop our shared waters from becoming a fossil fuel superhighway.

On September 20^th, if you care about the Salish Sea, or the creatures and communities that depend on it, there’s only one place to be: standing with our American neighbours at a rally at the Peace Arch border crossing to demand unprecedented action to defend the Salish Sea and our global climate from fossil fuel development.

You’ll hear inspiring stories and fantastic music. You’ll learn about a new treaty to be signed the next day by First Nations and US Tribes, which will reflect indigenous laws that have existed to protect the land and water since time immemorial and will act as a cross-border tool to defend the Salish Sea. You’ll sit down for a potluck picnic with your neighbours from both sides of the border, and swap stories, lessons learned, hopes and fears for our region and our planet. You’ll beinvited to sign a pledge committing to take action – whatever that means to you– to stop new fossil fuel exports on the Salish Sea. Most of all, you’ll be part of a moment in history when people came together and chose a different path.

We know that spending the afternoon at the Peace Arch takes a bit of time and effort. But we all know, deep down, that the climate crisis isn’t going to be solved just by switching to efficient light-bulbs or emailing your MP – or by anything you can do on your own. Like all the big social movements that have won sweeping change in the past, from the Suffragettes to the civil rights movement, we need millions of people to step out the front door, take to the streets, and stand up to be counted – together.

It’s going to be worth it. See you at the Peace Arch!

PS. In case you’re worrying about border line-ups or passport problems, don’t! The Peace Arch park is a unique place where you can meet and mingle with citizens of another country without crossing a border or going through customs. And we are providing buses from Vancouver to make the journey easy. Click here for more info on transport and other practicalities.  

What’s Not to Love About a Seawall?

It’s time to rethink how we design our shorelines

Lately I’ve been wondering for how long you can gather a group of Vancouver residents before they start finding something to complain about their city. People here love to dwell on some of the downsides of living in Vancouver: the weather, housing prices, Vancouver’s “small-town” mentality or alternatively its “big-city chill”. You can’t win! Yet, few of them are ready to pack up and leave—which may have to do with some of the things that no one ever complains about.

Things like the Seawall, for example. Born and raised Vancouverites as much as recent transplants love it dearly—and having spent most of my life far from the ocean, I am certainly one of them. There doesn’t seem to be a better way of taking in all that is Vancouver than a walk or bike ride on its 22km waterfront promenade. But the seawall is not only aesthetically pleasing; it also protects our shore against the force of the ocean.

At least that’s what I thought until I attended a conference on the impact of sea level rise on our shorelines last fall, held in Squamish and hosted by the Seagrass Conservation Working Group. Grant Lamont, a coastal engineer, explained that a seawall may look like an impenetrable bulwark against the onslaught of the elements. Yet, it only really works if everything behind it is built as robustly as the seawall itself—here is why:

Photo: Digital Journal

What a seawall does is re-direct the force of the waves upward. The image of a stranded cargo ship that Lamont used in his presentation illustrates this point very effectively. The result is a spray load on structures or trees behind a seawall that is 5 to 10 times of what it would be behind a natural beach.

This doesn’t mean we need to tear down our beloved seawall. Even with sea levels rising, the surf at Stanley Park isn’t likely to be that destructive. What it means though is that we should be thinking more thoroughly about how we use and design our waterfront.

One innovative way of designing a waterfront is the so called Green Shores approach. A key principle is to “preserve the integrity or connectivity of coastal processes.” Applied to our seawall example, this would mean creating a softer profile instead of a straight wall, which would have a smaller impact on ecosystems, allow for natural sand depositing and create a buffer zone for waves or storm surges.

A "Green Shore" under construction in Vancouver
Photo: Stewardship Centre/Raincoast Applied Ecology

The Green Shores approach is championed by the BC Stewardship Centre, one of our core partners for GSA’s newest program, the Waterfront Initiative. Launched in 2013, this initiative is all about getting people to think about how we use, design and protect the Vancouver waterfront. We are bringing together all those who rely on the city's shoreline—businesses, government, civil society and citizens—to create a vision for our waterfront that ensures we can all continue to use and enjoy it in the future.

In April, we will be hosting the first Waterfront Network meeting with stakeholders to start working on what this vision will look like, what the current state of the Vancouver shoreline is and how we can develop a measurable and accountable action plan for a waterfront that supports ecosystems, communities and a vibrant economy. There will be a public forum and celebration of our waterfront in the fall, so stay tuned!

For those who aren’t yet convinced that change is coming to the waterfront—and that it’s time to rethink how we manage it—the conference I attended provided additional food for thought. For example, on new ways of mapping areas affected by sea level rise, how to manage airports built on sinking land (think YVR), how an earthquake will likely change parts of our coast line and much more.

If you’d like more information on our Waterfront Initiative, please feel free to contact me.

LNG: coming soon to the Georgia Strait?

With the rush to develop BC’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, new projects seem to get announced every week. They have been mainly confined to the north coast – until now.

Photo: www.globalsecurity.org

Alongside the Discovery LNG project in early stages of development in Campbell River, and rumours of a potential export facility in Port Alberni, the Woodfibre LNG project proposed for Howe Sound has now progressed to the stage of consultation and environmental assessment.

Woodfibre proposes to build an LNG processing and export facility seven kilometres southwest of Squamish. If approved, the project would bring 40 LNG tankers through Howe Sound each year, carrying BC gas to global markets.  An associated proposal, by FortisBC Energy, would see a 52-kilometre pipeline built from Coquitlam, across the Squamish Estuary, to bring gas to the Woodfibre plant.

You can find out more about the project at a series of consultation sessions being run by Woodfibre in the Squamish area in February; you can also submit comments online any time up to February 28^th.

We’ve been hearing a number of concerns from community members about the project, including:

• The risks of an collision, spill or other accident in the handling and transport of a hazardous material like natural gas, particularly in the narrow confines of a fjord like Howe Sound
• The day-to-day noise disturbance and other impacts of increased tanker traffic on endangered orca, humpback whales, grey whales and other marine species, many of which are only recently returning to Howe Sound following decades of environmental abuse;
• Foreshore and recreational impacts in a significant tourist destination from the wake of the large LNG carriers that are proposed
• The cumulative impacts of the Woodfibre facility in combination with other industrial projects proposed for the region

Residents have also been outraged about the way that government consultation has been carried out so far. The first major opportunity for public input took place over the Christmas holidays, from December 17 to January 6, while many were away from their computers and enjoying time with family – almost as if it was intended to slip past without anyone noticing. You can read comments submitted by those who were able to make the deadline here, which provides a good sample of community concerns.

Concerns about the Woodfibre proposal are part of a much wider conversation that needs to happen about the current push to hang BC’s economic future on LNG. How can we develop LNG at the pace envisioned and still meet our targets for combating climate change? If supplying gas to new LNG facilities leads to an increase in fracking – with its associated water contamination, air quality and health impacts – is that something British Columbians can live with? What about pollution of the air and marine environment around the terminals themselves?

This conversation has been going on for much longer in northern BC, where a dozen LNG proposals are on the table and residents are coming together to express their concerns. The time has come for communities on the south coast to educate ourselves, get organized, and start talking about whether we want new LNG developments in the Georgia Strait.

If you have thoughts on this, I’d love to hear them! Get in touch at alexandra@georgiastrait.org

Coming soon: your chance to take part in the Kinder Morgan hearings

Next week, the National Energy Board (NEB) will start taking applications for public participation in its review of Kinder Morgan’s proposal to expand the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

When the NEB publishes the application form (we expect on January 15^th), you’ll have a short window of time (likely 30 days) to get you application in to the NEB. If you don’t apply during that window, you won’t be able to officially comment on the project when the hearings roll around a few months later.

The bottom line? If you want to tell the government what you think about Kinder Morgan’s pipeline plan, you need to fill in that form – and start preparing now.

Photo by James Fehon

Step 1. Sign up for updates from the NEB so you find out right away when the call for participation opens.

Step 2. Learn more about what’s involved in participating in a NEB hearing process. The NEB has yet to release full details, but here’s what we’re expecting. When you fill out the application form, you can ask to be a ‘Commenter’ (submit a letter of comment) or ‘Intervenor’ (requires greater time commitment, allows you to take part in oral hearings, and allows you to ask for information of Kinder Morgan – and them of you). To be able to participate, the NEB wants you to show that you are either ‘directly affected’ (eg. live or own property along the pipeline or tanker route, or have a job that could be affected by a spill etc.) or have ‘relevant information or expertise’ (ie. knowledge of a local place, or information about a relevant business sector such as tourism or recreation).  Whatever the form ends up saying, if you feel that you will be impacted in any way by Kinder Morgan’s project, it’s worth submitting an application and going on record that you want your voice to be heard.

Find out more:

•        Using your voice: participating in the NEB’s review of Kinder Morgan’s pipeline and tanker proposal (2-page briefing prepared by Raincoast, Sierra Club and Pipe Up Network)
•          Let BC Decide (website from Burnaby MP Kennedy Stewart)
•          NEB PowerPoint presentation

Step 3. Get advice. We know the process looks daunting, and we want to make sure that everyone who cares about this issue gets the support they need to have their say. Once the NEB opens the call for applications, we and other organizations will be working together to hold workshops to offer advice and help you fill out the form. We’ll also distribute a guide to filling out the form, and will be available by email and phone to offer advice. Stay tuned to our website for more details.  In the meantime, MP Kennedy Stewart is holding a workshop in Burnaby on January 25^th, and his office is another good port of call for information and advice.

There are all kinds of critiques we can make about the NEB process – restricting public participation and not taking climate change into account being high on the list– but it is your one opportunity to formally state your opinion, so make sure you don’t miss out.

And don’t forget to spread the word!

Share your concerns about Kinder Morgan’s proposal with your friends, family, neighbours and colleagues, and encourage them to get involved – whether it’s by registering to take part in the NEB hearings, contacting your MP or MLA, or getting active with one of the many community groups springing up to oppose this project.

We've got work to do, Salish Sea Savers!

Year-end reviews are supposed to be positive and upbeat, as everyone heads into the holidays wanting to think of nothing more than festive parties, mulled wine and relaxing time off with family and friends.

But it’s hard to relax and stay positive when it feels like we are swimming against a tidal wave of fossil fuel developments that threaten to transform BC from a green leader to an environmental laggard.

Photo credit: Leadnow on Flickr

Especially when we have a week like this one. Monday, Kinder Morgan formally files their application to the National Energy Board to triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Tuesday, Port Metro Vancouver closes public comments on the environmental assessment of a new coal terminal in Surrey. (Incidentally, on the same day, a 3-week public comment period opened on the type of environmental assessment that should be required for a new LNG project that would ship 40 LNG tankers through Howe Sound each year). Thursday, the Joint Review Panel approves the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline.

Really? They couldn’t stagger their announcements and give us a chance to reflect before coming back the next day with another round of threats to our coast, communities and climate? Of course, even a moderate conspiracy theorist might suggest that the timing is deliberate, and fossil fuel proponents and governments are trying to bury controversial news in the midst of holiday madness.

Although Kinder Morgan’s mammoth application (2 metres tall if printed out, as their press department was keen to point out) will take time to digest, one or two deeply disturbing facts jumped out at me. For example, a spill off Salt Spring Island could coat 427 kilometres of our world-famous beaches in oil and even without a spill. And the impacts of routine tanker traffic resulting from the expanded pipeline on our southern resident killer whales will be “high magnitude, high probability and significant.” We responded to Kinder Morgan’s application by releasing the preliminary results of our Salish Sea Spill Mapping project with our partners at Raincoast Conservation Foundation, showing what a Kinder Morgan oil spill could look like. The bottom line is this: oil can cover long distances quickly, and a spill anywhere in the Salish Sea would impact much of the south coast: our beaches, our national parks, our waterfront property – and our killer whales.

Meanwhile, a coal terminal proposed in Surrey would send 8 million tonnes of coal each year on open barges down the Fraser River and through the Strait of Georgia to Texada Island, bound for export to Asian markets. When burned, this coal would be responsible for about 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – more than a quarter of BC’s total annual emissions.

And then we have Enbridge Northern Gateway, a project that would ship supertankers laden with toxic diluted bitumen from the tar sands through the largest intact coastal temperate rainforest on the planet. It’s also a project that is opposed by the majority of British Columbians, and that has been formally rejected by the Government of BC, the Union of BC Municipalities and over 100 First Nations. It has lit a fire in BC’s environmental movement that harkens back to the days of Clayoquot Sound, and faced massive community resistance from residents of Northern BC – many of whom are today vowing to do whatever it takes to stop Northern Gateway from being built.

And that’s why, dear readers, this will in fact be a positive post and will escape a title along the lines of “Merry Pipemas, Mr. Grinch”. All of these reckless projects are ultimately about using BC to export fossil fuels – and climate change – to the world in order to increase the profits of an already wealthy industry. BC carries the risk – to our environment, our economy, our communities, our health and our reputation – and doesn’t get the rewards. And for this reason and countless others, these projects have met with determined, diverse and organized opposition. British Columbians are standing up for themselves, and for this amazing corner of the earth we are so lucky to call home – and will continue to do so whatever politicians in Ottawa and Victoria decide. We have a different vision for our future and we will stand together to make it a reality.

So for our part, with our Save the Salish Sea campaign, we want to highlight the combined impacts of these projects: the risks from the sheer number of ships jostling for position in our crowded waters; of everyday impacts on marine life even in the absence of an accident; of the total ‘carbon spill’ that will result when all these fossil fuels are burned. It’s high time everyone – citizens, campaigners, and governments – paid more attention to that big picture threat.

I am grateful to all of you who are stepping up and getting involved, whether you’re sending emails to decision makers, coming out to town hall meetings, or quietly bending the ear of your neighbour at a holiday party. It all counts... and it all deserves a toast! So, here’s to you all! Wishing you and yours the very best for the holiday season, and we look forward to working together to Save the Salish Sea in the New Year.

The greenest city… or the biggest coal exporter in North America?

Port Metro Vancouver is currently considering an application from Fraser Surrey Docks to build a coal facility at its terminal in Surrey, designed to handle coal from United States producers who are struggling to find export routes south of the border. 

When complete, the coal terminal would be responsible for about 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – more than a quarter of BC’s total annual emissions. Combined with an already approved expansion at the Neptune facilities in North Vancouver and recent upgrades at Delta’s Westshore Terminal, a green light for Fraser Surrey Docks would make Metro Vancouver the biggest coal exporter in North America. Pretty hard to reconcile with the vision many of us share for Vancouver: a clean, healthy and beautiful city and a global environmental leader.

The Fraser Surrey Docks project will directly threaten the health of our communities with coal dust and diesel particulates from the coal trains and barges that will transport the coal through the Lower Mainland, and past the Sechelt Peninsula, the East coast of Vancouver Island, Denman, Hornby and Lasqueti Islands, on its way to a new coal transfer facility on Texada Island.

The project has faced significant opposition from concerned citizens, local governments, health authorities and environmental groups – about both the impacts of the proposal itself, and the flaws in Port Metro Vancouver’s review of it. Find out more about Georgia Strait Alliance’s concerns in our letter to the Port. 

Port Metro Vancouver has given the public 30 days to comment on the Fraser Surrey Docks environmental impact assessment, and we are urging people to use this opportunity to share their concerns about the project.

Together with our partners at the Wilderness Committee, we've created a handy letter-writing tool for you to use. Please take action now, and ask Port Metro Vancouver to say no to the Fraser Surrey Docks proposal, for the sake our climate and our communities.

Make your voice heard at the upcoming Kinder Morgan hearings

The National Energy Board (NEB), the federal pipeline regulator, is holding online information sessions about public participation in the upcoming review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion proposal.

You can take part in the sessions online or by phone. The sessions started last week and run till the end of November; dates and instructions for how to register are available here.

Photo by James Fehon

We’re encouraging everyone to join these sessions and find out more about the public participation process. It’s also a good chance to ask some tough questions about why public involvement will  be so limited, and why major impacts associated with the pipeline expansion – such as climate change – won’t be considered in the review.

Due to changes brought in by the federal government as part of last year’s Omnibus Bill C38, the NEB now gets to decide who can – and cannot – take part in the hearings, and what ‘level’ of participation members of the public will be allowed.  You can read more about what we expect from the process in this background briefing, and this presentation by the NEB.

In the application to participate, people will be asked to show either that they are ‘directly affected’, or have ‘relevant information or expertise’. We won’t know exactly how the NEB will interpret these requirements until the process is underway, but it’s a key question to raise in the information sessions. 

  

If you don’t live on the pipeline route, will you be excluded from participating because you are not considered ‘directly affected’? We all have a stake in how our resources are developed, and we will all be directly affected by the impacts of climate change. We believe that everyone who cares about this issue and wants to take the time to get involved should be allowed to have their say – not be potentially excluded by the NEB, or simply put off by an over-complicated, burdensome application process.

Once Kinder Morgan files their application, likely some time in December this year, there will be a very short window of time for the public to apply to participate. We at GSA, alongside many other environmental groups, will be providing information and support to anyone who wants to get involved. But because of the short time-frame, it’s important to prepare now.

So please do sign up for one of the NEB information sessions, and let us know what you think – and how we can help you claim your right to have your voice heard.

Helping North Vancouver make up its mind about Kinder Morgan

As federal Ministers prepare to head west to beat the drum for tar sands pipelines, one local government took a more balanced approach. Last week, the District of North Vancouver held a public information session to allow local residents to hear both sides of the argument and make up their own minds about whether the risks of Kinder Morgan’s expansion plan outweigh its benefits.

Speaking at the North Van public meeting

Photo by Ben West

I was invited to share GSA’s concerns as part of a panel that included representatives from Kinder Morgan, Port Metro Vancouver and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation.  I talked about the disastrous environmental, community and economic impacts of an oil spill in North Van’s ocean backyard; the fact that, as we have been warned time and time again, we have nowhere near the physical, human or financial resources required to clean up a massive spill of conventional crude, let alone much riskier diluted bitumen; and that approval of the Kinder Morgan project would guarantee a ‘carbon spill’ with every tanker load of fuel that’s burned, and lock us into an unsustainable future that most British Columbians don’t want.

Much of the audience apparently shared our concerns, and Kinder Morgan was given a tough grilling during the Q&A. Some of the most pointed questions were about exactly what chemicals are contained in the ‘diluent’ that is mixed with bitumen to allow it to flow through the pipeline (the answer was unclear), and why Kinder Morgan’s research claims diluted bitumen would float for 10 days, while other studies suggest it would sink much sooner.

But the comment that stuck with me the most came from Reuben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. He said: don’t take my word for it, or Kinder Morgan’s – find out what’s going on for yourself. In that spirit, here’s a link to a full recording and news coverage of the evening.  

If you’re a North Vancouver resident and you have concerns about Kinder Morgan’s new pipeline, now is the time to speak up. Unlike most other municipalities in the Lower Mainland, which have expressed their opposition to the Kinder Morgan proposal, the District of North Vancouver has yet to take a position. Councillors are making up their minds right now, so please reach out to them and share your concerns.

If you don’t live in North Van, you can find out where your local government stands here. If yours isn’t on the list, why not ask them to hold a similar public meeting to help them – and community members – make up their minds about Kinder Morgan?

Kick-starting cross-border organizing to protect the Salish Sea

I’m writing this from a ferry in the middle of the Georgia Strait, on my way back to Vancouver from our cross-border town hall about fossil fuel exports in the Salish Sea.

Talking at the town hall, with the tanker route
and the San Juan Island meeting in the background
Photo by Megan Spencer

A few hours ago, I was standing on a bluff just outside Victoria overlooking Haro Strait, speaking to concerned residents about the Kinder Morgan pipeline. At the same moment, allies across the border were holding their own town hall meeting about fossil fuels, just 13 kilometres across the Kinder Morgan tanker route, on San Juan Island in Washington. 

We were there to highlight the combined impacts of all the fossil fuel projects currently proposed for the Salish Sea, learn lessons from campaigns on both sides of the border, and kick-start a new wave of cross-border organizing to prevent the Salish Sea from being turned into a global carbon corridor.

We heard from Eoin at the Wilderness Committee about how community campaigns against coal in the Lower Mainland have blossomed in recent months, inspired by successes south of the border. I spoke about the environmental impacts of an oil spill in the Georgia Strait, and how unprepared we are to deal with a major spill of conventional crude at current levels of traffic, let alone a six-fold increase in tankers carrying diluted bitumen. A Victoria whale watching company, Orca Spirit, expressed their concerns about increasing tanker traffic, given their reliance on a vibrant, healthy ocean for their income. Torrance from the Wilderness Committee emphasized that the Salish Sea is one ecosystem and one climate, and we need to treat it that way if we are to be successful in our organizing.

Signing the petition to Premier Clark & WA Governor Inslee
Photo by Megan Spencer

We then made a cross-channel phone call to Stephanie from Friends of the San Juans, who shared the inspiring story of how a diverse coalition managed to defeat 3 coal export projects in the Pacific Northwest, and mobilize 100,000 people to speak out against the expansion of the Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point. Folks in Victoria shared stories and asked questions of their counterparts on San Juan and vice versa.

We wrapped up by pledging to continue to work together and find new ways to link up citizens who share these concerns to take action and put pressure on decision-makers on both sides of the border, and signing a petition to Premier Christy Clark and Washington Governor Jay Inslee, asking them to work more closely together to protect the Salish Sea. Watch this space to find out how you can sign it and get involved.

It was a really inspiring day, and a perfect way to launch our Save the Salish Sea campaign on Vancouver Island!

PS. Check out some more lovely photos from the meeting on our Facebook page.

World Oceans Day Reflection

Over the summer, we have the pleasure of having Bryan Nordley join us as our Communications Assistant.  Here, he shares with us some of his thoughts on our oceans.

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Coming from the Midwest, an area devoid of oceans and marine life, I would never have guessed I would be spending World Oceans Day out on the tranquil waters of Vancouver’s English Bay on a schooner sailboat with a team of environmentalists.

Photo by Bryan Nordley 

June 8^th was International World Oceans Day and in a delightful twist for me, I took part in my first Oceans Day in the country it originated in.  In 1992, the Government of Canada first proposed the idea for World Oceans Day  at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. World Oceans Day officially became recognized by United Nations General Assembly in December of 2008 as being on June 8^th of each year.

This day shines a spot light and much needed attention to organizations like the Georgia Strait Alliance, who have deep commitments and compassion for the cause of marine conservation.

On a much broader horizon, World Oceans Day gives people across the globe many reasons to celebrate our vast, mysterious, and precious bodies of water. On a very basic level, Worlds Oceans Day reminds us that our oceans generate most of the oxygen we breathe, are an abundant source of food, offers us boundless wonder and recreational activities, have the potential to generate new medicines, and regulate our climate. And of course our water “provides limitless inspiration.” 

It was a strikingly relaxed experience aboard the “Passing Cloud,” sailing around English Bay on June 8th.  Besides ships looming on the Strait’s horizon, to the everyday person you would never think that that our oceans face critical threats.  It is an especially sad irony that one of the earth’s most critical climate regulators is so vulnerable to our own man made climate change. 

Photo by Bryan Nordley

Even on this pleasant trip, conversations about the environment turned to global climate change. Having the rare opportunity to chat with three professional, highly educated and active environmental scientists. I asked questions about ocean acidification and climate change to find out what professionals in the field were thinking.  My friend who joined me on the outing also asked questions related to possible scientific and man made mitigation strategies to help the oceans cope with the affects of climate change.  We talked about process like iron fertilization but the overall consensus of the discussion was that we must reduce or stop emitting greenhouse gases to help our oceans.

Another option that arose was that we too often think we can fix things with technology and the reality is we cannot depend on technology to fix or mitigate the real cause.

This seems ominous in the face of further industrialization in Russia, Asia, and the global south, and even in many parts of North America. I asked one of the environmental scientists whether he felt frustrated or discouraged about working on the political and legal side of marine environmental issues. His response was a positive one. Although he explained that change was often slow, he acknowledged that a lot of people working on the politics and legal aspects did truly care about the environment and there was a general movement to lay the framework for more conscientious policies regarding our marine ecosystems. This surprised me but it was really refreshing to hear since so much of the content that makes it into the news media, books and even in scholarly articles is more or less doom and gloom when it comes to peoples’ behavior in acting to stop things like climate change.

   

His thoughts on a changing consciousness regarding marine issues are reflected in the positive awareness that is also being created by declared days like Oceans Day. In 2012, around 600 events were held in 55 countries and 42 states with 180 of these events hosted at zoos, aquariums or other science related centers. Several of the events actually involved hands on experience of cleaning beaches like in Ballena National Park in Costa Rica, while Kids’ Ocean Day in California has many as 8,000 youth involved in a huge beach clean up effort.   It is events like Oceans Day that help grow the consciousness of people across the world, gaining momentum to encourage a better future for us all.  

Talking transition with tanker owners

As a campaigner who spends most of my time speaking out about the risks of shipping tar sands oil through the Georgia Strait, I found myself in a somewhat unusual position last week: standing in front of a roomful of tanker owners and port managers, talking about a future beyond oil.

Photo: Green Marine / Port Metro Vancouver

Although it wasn't exactly an easy sell, the crowd was more receptive than you might think. I was presenting at the annual conference of Green Marine, an industry-led program under which ports, terminals and shipowners attempt to measure and reduce the environmental impact of their operations in areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, waste management and oil spill prevention.

In media debates about increasing tanker traffic off BC’s coast, the shipping industry often takes the position that they are unfairly targeted. The sentiment is: ‘we don’t extract the oil or make the laws that govern it – we just carry it’. In my presentation, I suggested that this position wasn't going to fly anymore in BC – not when what the ships are carrying is oil, which is culturally and politically, and not just environmentally, toxic. The shipping industry is now under the microscope every day, not just when there is an incident or a spill. At least at the moment in BC, the shipping industry’s reputation is bound up with the reputation of the oil industry’s; and that reputation is not being helped by failing to acknowledge that ship owners and ports are more than innocent bystanders in the life cycle of oil.

So while we need to acknowledge that tanker safety and oil spill prevention have come a long way since the days of the Exxon Valdez, and that many members of Green Marine are working hard to reduce the direct impacts of their operations, true environmental leadership means taking into account the impacts of the products you carry. There is no doubt that the task of measuring and assessing these impacts is technically complex, and that mitigating them raises big questions about the future of the shipping industry in a carbon constrained world. They are certainly questions that are beyond the scope of a program like Green Marine in its current format – but the climate challenge demands that they be asked.

It also demands that we work together across traditional divides, which is why Georgia Strait Alliance has decided to become a supporter of Green Marine. Although we will encourage the program to raise the bar in how it defines sustainability and environmental leadership, we also need to acknowledge that many of its members are making genuine efforts to reduce their environmental footprint, and working with them to push the envelope is more effective than washing our hands of an initiative just because it doesn't yet go far enough. There are always tensions when strange bedfellows come together – but these can be productive, and building unusual alliances to find solutions is what Georgia Strait Alliance is all about.

Newcomer's View of Our Ocean Home

Over the summer, we have the pleasure of having Bryan Nordley join us as our Communications Assistant.  Here, he shares with us some of his thoughts on our oceans.

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Photo: Bryan Nordley

The ocean is the heart beat of our planet. We depend on it for recreation, for food and for our economy. Human life as we know it could not survive without these vast, majestic and mysterious waters that surround and divide our continents.  Our reliance and dependence however places great stress upon the complex ecological systems and species which inhabit the sea. As the human population increases and nations around the world continue to industrialize the world’s oceans will face unprecedented stress and challenges to their ecological well-being. 

Unlike most organisms in the world, humans don’t live symbiotically with their environment, including the ocean, and the problems we create are numerous.  Pollution in particular is a critical problem.  One would think humanity would find occurrences like the Great Pacific garbage patch to be unacceptable yet this offensive toxic bed of floating trash grows each year and is estimated to be anywhere from 270,000 sq mi to 5,800,000 sq mi. In larger terms the estimate is 0.41-8% the size of the Pacific Ocean.

Elsewhere marine traffic such as containers ships and tankers continue to pollute the air and water across our oceans leaving suspended particles in the water.

Furthermore our release of C0² carbon emissions, which contribute to global climate change, actually cycles into our oceans increasing acidification. Ocean acidification critically affects species with carbonate shells, like molluscs by impacting their ability to create their shells and survive, and this has a big impacts on ocean ecosystems as many marine species depend on these species for food.  Eventually this problem alone will directly cost coastal nations' economies with losses in the billions of dollars. The problem will only be compounded with industrialization of Asia and the global south, whose economies are also most at risk as they rely heavily  on our oceans as a food source for their growing populations (the first article talks about economic impact). These are only a few problems, which plague our seas.

Here in Vancouver, we are surrounded by the beauty of the mountains and the ocean, home to an abundance of marine wildlife.  In my opinion, it is a coexistence unlike any other major city in North America.  Because we are immersed in such beauty, the larger man made problems of our oceans may seem

Photo: Bryan Nordley

 far away. Those who grew up here may not be aware of the rest of world’s oceanic perils but this is often something we take for granted.  Vancouver’s environmental awareness has spawned both from community and political efforts that emerged from dedicated and concerned citizens of British Columbia.  British Columbia’s climate of environmentalism is one of the factors that drives people to come, experience and live here. There are very few places in North America where is it safe and verifiable to swim in a bay with such a spectacular backdrop of a skyline.  Beaches in Vancouver Harbour are regularly safe to swim in, with little to no beach closures throughout the summer. This is in stark contrast to beaches in Los Angeles, with famous destinations like Santa Monica Pier Beach closed 57% of last years season.

Our stewardship as a community  is what makes this place unique and it’s environment so awe-inspiring.  British Columbians love the relative pristine waters of their Georgia Strait, and this unprecedented environment is what drew people like me to want to live here from thousands of miles away. Yet the Strait of Georgia faces many threats like the world at large such as increased tanker traffic and ocean acidification.

But it is the community of advocacy and awareness which helps maintain the health of our waters and protect against such increasing threats.  And this is why programs like Georgia Strait Alliance's Stewards of the Strait are vital to maintaining the health of our waters and their ecosystem as well as a community of awareness. 

We may not be able to fight against all the greater oceanic problems of our world but we can make changes where we live at the grass roots.  Stewards of the Strait's pledge system of simple everyday practical steps can help us do our small but important part in protecting  species and ecosystem against harm.  Easing the damage that greater issues may place on them and our environment might not seem like much but a water recreational and beach city constantly interacts with its oceanic environment and if every person does their small part, together as community, we can maintain the health our inland sea, continue to set an example for other oceanic communities and in the process protect our environment for generations to come. 

Dear Kinder Morgan: our province is not for sale

At Kinder Morgan’s annual shareholder meeting in Texas this week, oil executives gathered in the heart of the American oil patch to celebrate another year of profits and investor payouts.

It’s a timely reminder of whose interests are really served by Kinder Morgan’s plan to triple the capacity of the Transmountain pipeline. Here’s a hint: it’s not you and me.

So who benefits if the Kinder Morgan pipeline goes ahead? Certainly not BC, which bears all the risk of a new pipeline and increased tanker traffic, and faces a devastating oil spill that could ruin our coast, our communities and our economy for decades to come.  In the long run, not Canada either, as we commit ourselves ever further to a boom and bust resource cycle, and our over reliance on bitumen undermines a diversified, resilient economy.  And not the rest of the world, as we pump billions of extra tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and take another giant step towards the cliff of catastrophic climate change.  The real winner is Kinder Morgan, and people like CEO Richard Kinder – a former Enron executive and one of the richest men in the world.

But BC has a history of standing up against those who would sell off our heritage to the highest bidder. Pipelines and tanker traffic are proving to be a defining issue of the BC election, and opposition to Kinder Morgan’s expansion plan is at an all-time high.

So, Kinder Morgan, British Columbians have a message for you: our province is not for sale.

Leaders are stepping up to oppose Kinder Morgan's expansion plans

It’s easy to be a cynic when it comes to elections, rolling our eyes at focus-grouped speeches and partisan mudslinging in the run up to voting day. This election, pipelines and tanker traffic are a hot topic, and the list of leaders taking a stand against the Kinder Morgan pipeline project is growing. Last week, we heard stirring words from the Mayors of Vancouver and Burnaby and hard facts from economists and business leaders saying ‘no’ to Kinder Morgan at the West Coast Pipeline Summit. This week, we have seen a growing number of BC political parties declaring their opposition to Kinder Morgan’s expansion plans, surprising many an election cynic and boosting the prospects for the campaign to stop the pipeline.

Image credit: Tsleil-Waututh West Coast Oil Pipeline Summit

Georgia Strait Alliance has been asking our supporters to reach out to candidates of all parties in their riding to find out where they stand on Kinder Morgan, and what they would do about pipelines and tanker traffic if they got elected. We feel that the risk of a catastrophic oil spill that would devastate the beaches, communities and precious marine life of the Salish Sea is simply too great, and safeguarding our coast and our climate demands that we oppose the project. Together with many other organizations, we have been working to encourage BC to say ‘no’ to Kinder Morgan and ‘yes’ to a clean energy future. So indications that leaders are listening to the majority of British Columbians who oppose the Kinder Morgan project are welcome – and help to reign in that election cynicism.

If you haven’t yet, please take a moment to contact your candidates: the more they hear concerns about the Kinder Morgan pipeline, the stronger a mandate the next government will have to take bold action to protect the Salish Sea.

As every cynic knows, talk doesn’t always equal action, so it will be up to us to hold our MLAs to their election promises, and push for the kind of visionary policies that would protect our whole coast forever and make BC a true climate leader.

GSA has lots of exciting activities planned this summer to bring people together to celebrate the Salish Sea and turn up the volume on the Kinder Morgan campaign – stay tuned to this blog for more details!

Climbing aboard, speaking out

Hello, I’m Alexandra and I have recently joined Georgia Strait Alliance in the new role of Energy and Shipping Campaigner. In the coming months I’ll be using this blog to keep you up to date with our work to stop the expansion of crude oil tanker traffic in the Salish Sea. But to start, I thought I’d tell you a little about myself and why I’m so thrilled to be working with GSA on this campaign.

I grew up in Vancouver and spent my childhood summers exploring the beaches and forests of the Gulf Islands, the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island.  My roots in this spectacular place helped to foster my love of the natural world, and my commitment to speaking out against the forces that threaten earth’s life support systems.

After studying Geography at UVic, I moved to the UK to do a Master’s in environmental communication, and then a PhD exploring what motivates people to take action on climate change. At the same time, I was heavily involved in campaigning against major climate-polluting infrastructure expansion projects, including a new runway at Heathrow Airport and a new generation of coal fired power plants – both of which we eventually stopped. More recently, I led a transit user campaign to overturn the government’s plans to drastically increase public transit fares.

All along, I watched as more and more information came to light about the risks of Canada’s tar sands – to the lands and waters of Alberta, to our global climate, and to BC’s coast in the form of a juggernaut of new pipelines, terminals and tanker traffic. I also watched as a powerful wave of opposition grew, and BC residents came together to say a resounding ‘NO’ to the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. That experience has provided us with important lessons, new alliances, and most importantly huge momentum that we can apply to stopping Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipeline proposal, and preventing the devastation it could bring to the Strait.

I feel very lucky to be working back in BC at this exciting time, at a set of decision points where instead of locking ourselves into more climate pollution and more oil spills, we can chart a new course towards a sustainable energy future for BC. 

I am also privileged to be joining a team of such passionate and committed staff, volunteers and members, and I look forward to meeting and working with many of you, both online and in the real world. In the meantime, keep an eye on this blog or drop me an email (alexandra AT georgiastrait.org) with any questions, if there is any way I can help you in your work, or just to say hi!