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

Defend our climate, defend our communities

This fall, Karen Jørgensen has joined the GSA team as a volunteer and we're so happy to have her on board. From time to time, she'll be sharing her experiences of her work with us and our coast as a guest blogger.
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On Saturday November 16^th, I took part in a massive rally at Science World in Vancouver as part of the nationwide “Defend Our Climate, Defend Our Communities” day of action.

I had a great time working at GSA’s table with Jessie, who like me is also a volunteer at Georgia Strait Alliance. Both of us were happily surprised to see how busy we were during the rally due to the amount of people that came by to chat with us. We had great conversations with people about GSA and asked them to sign a letter to BCs Premier Christy Clark requesting her to stand up for BC and take back our power to say no to the proposal to build twin the Kinder Morgan pipeline!

In more than 130 communities across Canada thousands of people came together to show that there is a growing movement to stop pipelines, reckless tar sands expansion and runaway climate change. I was really glad to see not only the number of people and organizations at the event but also the diversity in the people who attended. Children, couples, university students and seniors all gathered to express their support and concerns! Despite the cold weather, thousands of people showed up at the Science World rally to ensure they had a say in this matter.

One image from the event is still on my mind today. I saw a little girl of about five years of age holding her mom’s hand with one hand and a homemade sign in the other with a picture of a dead whale and the words “I want my favorite animal to have a future. Say no to a dumb pipeline”. I found this message very powerful, as it came straight from the heart of a child. She will grow up having to live with the devastation that both the Enbridge and Kinder Morgan proposal would bring if an oil spill occurred and the ever increasing threat of climate disruption. One single oil spill would not only risk killing this little girl’s favourite animal, but would also damage the whole ecosystem in the Georgia Strait region and therefore our economy as well. You can read more here about what is at risk if the expansion plans of oil and gas industry become a reality.

Despite the cold weather, I would definitely call the rally a success. Thanks to all of you who came by to chat with us at the event, signed the letter to Christy Clark and supported us generously with donations!

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.

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.

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!

How do you stop a pipeline or two?





Monday I joined thousands of people on the lawn of the Provincial Legislature as part of the Defend our Coast movement to ‘stop the pipelines’.

Coastal indigenous people arrived in an impressive procession with a clear message that any pipeline and any increase in tankers on the coast is unacceptable.

It was invigorating to see so many people willing to travel from around the province, give up their day, stand in the rain and the cold for hours in hopes of sending a message that the people do not want the land and water of BC exposed to the risk that increasing oil pipelines and tankers would present.



The messages were passionate articulate and variations on a theme. We heard a heartbreaking call to ‘stop it at the source’ because of the unrecoverable damage that the development of the tar sands have wreaked on the neighbouring villages and ecosystems; a plea to refuse to allow Enbridge to drive a stake into the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, and steadfast refusal to allow increased tanker traffic in coastal waters. The crowd was diverse, determined and inventive. There were very few organizations in evidence. This was all about the people. Creativity, thoughtfulness and humour flourished in the variety of signs, puppets and costumes.



I watched for hours wondering what exactly it is that we need to do in order for our governments to hear and understand what we feel is essential for the future of our world and our children.

Hundreds of people sat with a banner of equivalent length to one supertanker proposed for the coast, which is by the way equal to the length of three quarters of the legislature lawn – sobering when you see how it essentially doesn’t look like it would fit anywhere easily. Some sat for hours, indicating willingness to put their bodies on the line – to engage in the time-honoured tradition of civil disobedience – when all other avenues of opposition to unacceptable political action have been exhausted and there is nothing else to be done.

Have we done all we can? Have we written all the letters, made all the calls we possibly could? Have we bombarded the media with our thoughts and concerns? Have we pushed for alternate energy sources? Do we use them whenever we can? Have we exhausted our fertile imaginations?


Two days later people gathered in the hundreds in over 60 communities around the province to send a message to the Provincial Government that pipelines through BC are not to be negotiated.
We sang along with the Raging Grannies and shouted our determination to protect our coast and call on our government to do the right thing and protect what we love and what will sustain us for generations. 

Ruby as salmon at Courtenay rally



There is a ground swell of passionate resistance to pipeline and tanker development. Growing numbers of people of all political persuasions  are finding ways to voice their concern. There is still time to convince our governments that enough of us feel strongly enough. Let your politicians know that stopping the pipelines and protecting our waters from increased tanker traffic would turn them into heroes. Let them know that we support the courage it takes to stand up for a healthy future for the planet, our economy, and our children.

To find your MLA (provincial) go to:

http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1.1.htm 

To find your MP(federal) go to: http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament.                                                                                         To help protect the incredible Strait of Georgia check out: www.georgiastrait.org

Leadership where it matters most

I’m feeling pretty impressed with our local politicians these days. What an amazingly diverse array of dedicated caring people have been chosen by the people of British Columbia to represent them where it matters most – at the local level. I was fortunate to meet a number of them at The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention, which happens every year.  This is when politicians and staff from the varied and scattered municipalities and regional governments around the province come together to consider issues which can and should be dealt with province-wide. They provide a very powerful message to the provincial government.

The UBCM is hosted by different communities around the province, and this year was Vancouver Island’s turn. On the shore of Georgia Strait, in the lovely city of Victoria, hundreds gathered with colleagues, representatives of the provincial government and other groups (like GSA!) to share stories and challenges and create plans for a better future.



GSA was there, connecting with old friends and making new, delighting in the interest and concern for the health of our beautiful marine environment, and building the relationships that help us be a voice for the Strait.  This year, we educated local leaders about the Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA), among other issues, commiserated about the gutting of environmental protection at the federal level, and celebrated the passing of the resolution regarding oil tankers on our coast, which calls on the province to ‘use whatever legislative and administrative means that are available to stop the expansion of oil tanker traffic through BC coastal waters.’



Georgia Strait protected from tanker increase by local politicians

 It was a narrow victory, but as we’re learning from the press, the more people who understand the threats of increased tanker traffic, the more people who are opposed. It’s simply a matter of education and letting our friends and neighbours know that the risks are aren’t worth the rewards and more investment in fossil fuel infrastructure is simply the wrong way to go. (See our handy tanker info kit)

I was also excited to note that several resolutions regarding issues that have been of concern to GSA, were carried by large margins. These included recommendations to maintain staffing levels of the Coast Guard, holding shippers of dangerous cargo responsible before a spill takes place and a ‘call upon the Government of Canada to develop revised Fisheries Act policies and regulations in collaboration with all stakeholders, specifically including local governments through the UBCM and Federation of Canadian Municipalities, to ensure changes address municipal concerns while strengthening environmental protection for our watercourses.’ 

The full text of all resolutions presented at the UBCM annual convention can be seen at: UBCM. It was a pleasure to spend time in the company of so many people from around the province who care so deeply about a healthy, sustainable future.  

Time to Turn the Tide on Fossil Fuels

Tammy, Rebecca and Georgia ( mermaid) at the GSA booth.

When it comes to a possible increase in fossil fuel oil tanker traffic in the Georgia Strait– whether in the form of the deadly tar sands bitumen or other forms of fossil fuels, we find ourselves in a debate of values.  Do we value our environment enough to turn the tide and live with less fossil fuel - and less products made from them?  Do we value our natural capital enough that we as societies and individuals will make the changes necessary to support this transition?  

We say, YES - and the sooner we get started on a full public debate about how we can transition our society away from carbon-based fossil fuels the better.  We at GSA are excited to be a part of this change and we have been advocating for individual and collective solutions for this region’s marine environment for over 20 years.  Recognizing that the transition away from fossil fuels will take some time, we need to ensure that current fossil fuel and crude oil tanker traffic in Georgia Strait has the absolute least possible risk of spills of any size and that we in BC have the capacity to respond should one occur.

Shane Philips play at No Tankers Ball

This weekend GSA attended the No Tankers Ball music festival at Providence Farm in Duncan -  a celebration of the community of people who have stood up for Canada's West Coast to keep it pristine, alive and tanker free.  The small and interconnected community of the Northwest Coast has come together in its unity of opposing the Northern Gateway pipeline and tanker traffic and we acknowledge and applaud their activism.  

While Georgia Strait Alliance focuses our attention on ensuring there are is no increase in crude oil tanker traffic in the Georgia Strait, no tankers carrying diluted tar sands bitumen and no new infrastructure that materially increases tanker traffic carrying diluted bitumen in Georgia Strait, we are inspired and moved by the work of our coastal neighbours and allied groups.  We joined with them to spread our local message, to celebrate the incredible efforts being made to keep this area pristine - and to dance!

People made signs at the event.

It was a lovely event, with the sun coming out just as we got our tent set up - ahhh - nothing like a sunny September day!  GSA staff and volunteers who attended the event Donna, Tammy, Rebecca, and myself, all had a wonderful time speaking with the people who came by our tent!

 We handed out our Oil Tankers in the Strait of Georgia Fact Sheet, gathered lots of signatures on our petition, gave out free GSA memberships, as well as having a free draw for a package of home-made cleaning products!  

We made a sign too!

We listened to wonderful music - Clover Point Drifters, Shane Philip, Shred Kelly, Kytami, and Kikeyambay!  We heard inspiring words from First Nations leaders, including Ta'Kaiya Blaney – just 11 years old, she had returned from speaking at the Rio Earth Summit and has won many awards and accolades  for eloquently speaking about the rights and power of all people to make positive change.  We also heard from Guujaaw, the powerful President of the Haida Nation about his communities' work to take back the environment from corporate and government interests, via Skype link.  

Every one of us can make a difference – for our beautiful coastal home and for future generations.  We can make our voices heard.  Sign up for our E-newsletter Strait Up for more information. 

A celebration of West Coast local goods

On Tuesday July 31st, Deanna and I loaded the car and headed up-Island for the famous Parksville Summer by the Sea Street Market that takes place weekly from 6 to 9PM. As we do not often attend events during the week, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the market was just as busy or busier than our weekend venues. This street market draws huge crowds who come to sample the locally baked goods and browse through the variety of island arts and craft. Artisans spanning many generations were present at the market offering a variety of products, from woven baskets to native jewelry. The up-beat music from the Zumba demonstration made for very lively ambiance. The sign we taped to the side of our booth announcing our petition against oil tanker increase in the Strait drew in a lot of passersby interested in learning more about the Trans Mountain pipeline and Kinder Morgan’s expansion project. We ended up having a queue for our petition, which stimulated lively group discussions. A big thank you to Lynda, the Summer by the Sea Street Market coordinator, for organizing such a dynamic night market.

Always interested to learn more about the BC pipeline issues and seeking to find positive solutions, Deanna and I attended a talk at Vancouver Island University by Dr. Riki Ott, a Marine Toxicologist who monitored the environmental impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The first half of her presentation focused on the ongoing environmental and health impacts of both the Exxon Valdez and BP oil spills and the fact that you can never completely "clean-up" an oil spill. In the second part of her talk, she presented inspiring examples of successful community driven initiatives for change. Thank you to the Nanaimo Sierra Club for organizing this interesting presentation. 

Deanna standing next to our booth at
the West End Farmers Market

On Saturday August 4, our now weekly venture to Vancouver led us to the West End Farmers Market located on Comox Street across from Nelson Park. The West End Market is one of the five summer Farmers Markets in Vancouver. This venue, where most booths were filled with piles of colorful fresh local produce, was quite different from the very craft oriented Parksville Night Market. I was surprised at how many producers were present and at how quickly some of them sold out. This is good news for Vancouver’s local food system! Amidst the booths, we identified known faces, such as the folks from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks that seem to be present at many BC markets. Due to space limitation, we restricted our display to the octopus (obviously!), GSA’s general brochure and newsletter, the oil tanker petition and FAQ brochure, and the Communities Atlas. This smaller display proved very successful. We had a lot of curious market goers browsing through the many icons of GSA’s Communities Atlas displayed on the laptop, and the oil tanker issue was yet again a popular conversation subject. A big joyful MERCI! to the market manager Roberta and the Vancouver Farmers Market team for welcoming us to the West End Farmers Market. In addition, we appreciated them placing our table right in the centre of action between a stack of colorful root vegetables and irresistible berries.

This coming weekend we will be back at the South Cowichan Farmers Market on Sunday. Come check out this blossoming farmers market and learn more about our Communities Atlas. 

À bientôt!

                -Isabelle

Market Fun and the Jog for the Bog

On July 28^th, Isabelle and I loaded up the car and travelled up-island to attend the Errington Farmer’s Market. Because we attend so many of them, we have come to see ourselves as market aficionados, and we can safely say that of all the markets we have attended this summer, the Errington Market definitely wins the ribbon for best venue. With vendors’ booths situated along forest winding paths, a beautifully crafted stage featuring great local talent, and a concession shack wafting the smell of freshly-baked cinnamon buns throughout the crowd, it is definitely the place to be on a mid-island Saturday.

We don't travel light!

Unsurprisingly, given the current media buzz surrounding the pipeline controversy, oil tankers and the Trans-Mountain and Enbridge pipelines were on everyone’s minds. We had a number of stimulating conversations on the subject with well informed locals, met some interested tourists, and collected lots of signatures for our oil tanker petition as well.  We also had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Hain, the artist behind Crazy Duck Pottery and the beautiful hand-crafted Garden Lantern featured in our summer raffle! His creations are gorgeous. Isabelle and I were very impressed with a number of the kids who came to visit our resident octopus and mermaid; I think there may be some budding marine biologists among them! A big thanks to Suzanne for welcoming us to the market. It was good fun, and I can personally attest to the tastiness of the cinnamon buns!

After the market, Isabelle and I took a quick, two block detour to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre. The centre’s staff and volunteers work hard to care for and rehabilitate ill or injured wildlife from around Vancouver Island. It was interesting to tour the Centre’s grounds and say hello to their many resident unreleasable wildlife rescues. The bald eagles, owls and black bear were especially memorable, and we enjoyed supporting another of the Island’s hard working conservation groups!

On Sunday, we woke up to 4am alarms (Ungh.) and caught the first ferry to Tsawwassen on our way to Delta for International Bog Day. The event, hosted by the Burns Bog Conservation Society featured a 5 and 10km “Jog for the Bog”, a pancake breakfast, kids’ activities, music and more! The race attracted people from all age groups and fitness levels, and many who came for the run, stayed for the fun. Thanks to the Burns Bog Conservation Society for organizing the event and for all the work they do to protect “the lungs of the lower mainland”. Here’s hoping for an even bigger and better event next year! Also, a big thank you to everyone who supported GSA by buying raffle tickets this weekend!

Though Sunday’s event was fun, the highlight of my day occurred as we were nearing the Duke Point Ferry Terminal, when some of the Strait’s resident orcas decided to put on a show! It was a lovely way to end the weekend, and an affirmation of what we’re working for!

Until next time,

                          -Deanna

From bathtubs to super tankers: A busy weekend of street fairs in the Mid-Island

Nanaimo Bathtub Days Street Fair
Photo credit: Deanna McGillivray

As we were booking our summer outreach events in June, Deanna and I realized that we would have to start practicing teleportation if we wanted to attend all of the action taking place around the Strait on July 21st. As GSA’s main quarters are located in Nanaimo, we registered early on to be part of the Bathtub Days Street Fair. The bathtub competition, where locals race their motorized tubs from Nanaimo harbour to Departure Bay, is a real tradition in Nanaimo with the first event dating back in the 1960s. For somebody from Southern Quebec, where summer festivals mostly revolve around agriculture and music, this event is quite exotic to say the least. Preceding the bathtub race which took place on Sunday morning, the weekend was filled with community entertainment. Deanna was part of the lively market on Commercial Street Friday and Saturday where she promoted GSA’s programs while listening to tunes played by local artists just a few steps from our office door. Deanna had many discussions on species at risk, more particularly on the status of the Southern Resident Killer Whales. With the sun beaming, tourists and locals alike are out and about on the Strait to get a closer look at the whales and other sea creatures.

Another high profile island event that was not to be missed was the Courtenay Market Day held on Saturday July 21st. With over 100 vendors occupying 5th Street, the venue was swarmed with people from as early as 9AM to close to 7PM. It was one of the busiest summer events I have attended thus far. With mounting pressure on political parties to take position on the proposed twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline, Kinder Morgan’s project is increasingly in the spotlight. As weeks pass, Deanna and I have noticed that event goers are more and more aware of the issue, and drawn to our table to voice their opposition and fears surrounding the oil tanker increase in the Strait. On Saturday, more than one hundred people who attended the Market Day in downtown Courtenay signed the petition. I had laid down CPAWS’s map of the proposed national marine conservation area in Southern Strait of Georgia next to the petition and Oil Tanker FAQs to emphasize what is at stake.

Thank you to Robyn from DNBIA for organising the lively Bathtub Street Fair and to Kim Stubblefield for putting together an amazing Courtenay Market Day. We also want to thank the vendors and event goers who supported GSA’s work by buying raffle tickets.

This weekend Deanna and I will be at the Errington Farmers Market on Saturday July 28 and back in the lower mainland for International Bog Day on Sunday July 29. For more information on those venues and on the other events we will be attending in August, check out the events page of our website.

À plus!

              -Isabelle

Singing in the key of “Green” at Vancouver Folk Fest

Friday, July 13^th heralded the start of the 35^th annual Vancouver Folk Fest.  Refreshingly debunking superstition, Friday dawned beautiful and sunny, setting the tone for a fabulous weekend of fresh air, great music, and fun. GSA’s table was in the Community Village, which Festival organizers thoughtfully situated on the main thoroughfare through the Festival grounds. The location proved to be prime real-estate, as we had scores of festival goers come to talk to us over the course of the weekend!

GSA's outreach team takes in the festival atmosphere.

This plethora of visitors can be attributed in no small part to our charismatic and beautiful mermaid. Having   recently received a make-over from GSA’s multi- talented Rebecca Adams, she was a very (VERY) attractive addition to our outreach team! With her help, Isabelle and I collected signatures for GSA’s brand new petition against the increase in oil tanker traffic planned for the Burrard Inlet, distributed literature about oil tankers and salmon farming, and spread the word about GSA’s Communities Atlas Project. Our free-draw was popular as well. Congratulations to the winners of the West Coast Basket, and the awesome AspenClean eco-friendly Whole House Cleaning Kit! Also, a BIG thank you to Aspen Clean natural cleaning products, the Flying Fish, the Barton & Leier Gallery, and St. Jean’s Cannery for their generous donations to our free draw! Furthermore, we had great conversations with individuals from a number of interesting groups including the Wilderness Committee, Against Port Expansion, and the BC Salmon Marketing Council, as well as Abby Shwarz, an awesome marine biologist and musician with a passion for sharks and herring (stay tuned for a link to her shark-finning awareness song, Children of the Sea!).

Sunday sunset over Jericho Beach.

All in all, it was an incredibly positive and successful weekend! The atmosphere couldn’t be beat, the weather was fabulous (save for a few spooky thunder showers), and the music was world class! Isabelle and I particularly enjoyed Dan Mangan, Ani DiFranco, The Head and the Heart, Hey Rosetta, Dala, and the Johnny Clegg Band. The grand finale of the event, which featured a sing-along of “This Land” by the festival’s many performing artists, even featured an improvised “we don’t want no Enbridge Pipeline!” sung to enthusiastic cheers from the audience.  Thank you to Vancouver Folk Music Festival for putting on such an amazing event, to our Executive Director, Christianne, for taking the time to help us throughout the weekend, and to GSA Board Member, Frank Tester for going the extra mile to draw people to our table with his energetic antics.

What an incredible way to spend a weekend!

Until next time,

                 Deanna                                                                

More paddling action in the Lower Mainland and good local food on the Island

Paddling action on the beach near Jericho Sailing Centre
Photo credit: Deanna McGillivray

After a couple of days spent in the office in Nanaimo, Deanna and I were eager to get out for more outreach action. I think that the more you get involved in discussing environmental issues with the public, the more passionate you get about the causes. On Saturday July 7 we thus navigated across the Strait to attend the Vancouver venue of MEC Paddlefest.  The weather was perfect and the venue’s location was great! Our booth was placed along the path to Jericho Beach in the midst of other environmental non-profits fighting for great causes, such as Fraser Riverkeeper, CPAWS and Shark Truth.  Even though most of the paddling action was taking place on the beach, a lot of the passersby and paddlers, curious to know what the colorful tents were about, stopped by our booth. They took the time to share their concerns about oil tankers in the Strait and open-net salmon farming and to learn more about how they can get involved in our Community Atlas project. Once again we would like to thank Adam Hoogeveen for organizing another great MEC event.

The next day Deanna and I eagerly headed for yet another of the island’s fine markets, the new South Cowichan farmers market. Sunday’s venue was very special as it was the grand opening of the Market. Located right next to the highway after Whippletree Junction, and offering ample parking space for cars and bicycles alike, the venue was well chosen, possibly by someone with a strong marketing brain. The weather was excellent (it was one of those burning hot days that makes any excuse to get out of your hot motorized box a good one!) and the turn out was great. Market goers considered us as one of the vendors and most of them made a point to stop by our booth and find out what we were about. Deanna and I had some lively discussions with well informed South Cowichan residents and sampled some excellent baked goods and local produce.  A big thank you to the market manager Keith Lefevre for welcoming us to the market and for working hard to build local food systems. Good luck with your market, we wish you every success!

All in all it was a superbe weekend full of sun and engaging discussions. Thank you to all of the outreach staff, market vendors and people who attended our weekend events for supporting our summer raffle. We will be back in Vancouver this weekend for the Folk Festival in Jericho Park. Come listen to some good tunes and participate in our free draw!

À la prochaine!

                           - Isabelle

Breezy BC Shellfish Fest, and a care-free Car-Free Day




Isabelle and Deanna enjoying the novelty of lying
 in the street at Car-Free.

 

Isabelle and I attended BC ‘s largest Shellfish Fest in the lovely town of Comox last Saturday. My, but it was a blustery day! We got a workout chasing after brochures and foiling our crafty tent’s repeated escape attempts. However, the wind rather added to the seaside ambiance of the festival, and in no way hampered the enthusiasm of attending shellfish lovers. We enjoyed the delicious smells wafting from the food vendors’ booths and from the cups of contest-winning chowder everyone was carrying around. What a great way to celebrate and appreciate what our coastal waters have to offer, and to bring awareness to how much is at stake! We also really appreciated talking with and learning from the Comox Sierra Club, and the group from Coal Watch about the proposed Raven Coal Mine, and environmental activism. Keep up the great work everyone!

Our dedicated and enthusiastic selves then jumped in the car, zoomed down island, and caught the last ferry to Vancouver (the trip across the Strait was spent performing emergency surgery on our very special Octopus friend).  After a few hours sleep, we were off to Car-Free Vancouver on Main St. Despite some VERY ominous looking clouds at the start of the day, we had a fairly nice afternoon (especially by Juneuary standards!). I don’t know about the other Car-Free venues, but the Main St. crowd was vibrant, diverse and absolutely FULL of energy! It was interesting to discover which issues in the Strait were of most concern to Lower Mainlanders. Not surprisingly, Oil Tankers topped the bill, but ecosystem health, farmed salmon, and toxin reduction were high on the list as well. The day marked the official launch of our Octopus (who is yet to be officially named), and our most successful display to date. Thanks to everyone who came out to chat, participate and buy raffle tickets!

We hope to see you at MEC Bike fest in Vancouver and Cedar Farmer’s Market this weekend. Tourlou/Toodle-oo, until next time!  

                                          -Deanna

Don't worry, it's just a seepage

Sometimes listening to an interview can be more like watching someone tap dance than providing information. This is the impression I was left with this morning as I listened to the answers from a Chevron representative being interviewed on CBC regarding how oil and/or gas is now seeping into Burrard Inlet from the Chevron plant. I shook my head at the efforts being made to downplay oil and gas spills ... even going so far as referring to them a 'hydrocarbons' to make it sound less harmful and by saying it's just a small sheen on the water, a tactic the interviewer did not let them get away with.

While I listened, there were also two words that popped into my head: ignorance and mistrust.

Just as BP is doing down in the Gulf of Mexico, Chevron seems to be completely ignorant of how oil spills (or seepages) can be devastating to a localized environment. Even small amounts of oil and gas can kill or harm marine plants and animals. The sheen you see on the water's surface can be fatal to the many tiny animals that live in the water's surface layer. Juvenile fish and shellfish also depend on this surface 'microlayer'. In addition, chemicals present in fuel react with sunlight to become up to 50,000 times more toxic, killing plankton and other species that are essential for a healthy marine environment. What is also missing from this assessment is an understanding of the fact that spill is not happening in isolation. There are hundred of small oil and gas spills that happen in Burrard Inlet and in Georgia Strait, from ship to shoreline, each year. In fact, in North America, small fuel and oil spills equal 15x what was spilled by the Exxon Valdez - each year. So to try and minimize it by calling it a 'seepage' does us all a disservice by trying to minimize the harm being done by these types of spills.

From what we're being told, this discharge started last month in an area that had been a concern to Chevron for the last 6 years. Their concern caused them to start monitoring the area, even increasing the monitoring in the last year. As we speak, Chevron is saying it does not know where the oil and gas is coming from which is making stopping it a challenge. I admit, it's a bit hard to fathom that after 6 years of monitoring a source hasn't been found, and more importantly, has been capped.

It's this kind of approach to spills from the oil and gas industry that has us all wondering how we continue to take so many risks with the production, processing and transport of oil and gas. With no real ability to recover what is spilled and a seeming attitude that our oceans can handle the toxins we continue to put into it, this is an industry that is really hard to trust.

And it will only get worse. Today, Enbridge filed an application for the construction and operation of the Northern Gateway Project, which could bring more tankers to our coast if we don't continue to fight it, while the US continues to push for offshore oil and gas drilling in the Arctic.

Our coastline, including Georgia Strait, are heading towards a death by a thousand cuts, and until we made real commitments to build an alternative energy bridge which will move us away from our dependence on fossil fuels, the cuts will keep coming.