Hands Across the Sands

Thanks to EJ Hurst from New Society Publishers (www.newsociety.com) for getting this information together.

On June 26th, people around the world are going to the beach. They are not going just to soak up the sun, rub their toes through the sand, listen to the calming wash of waves on the shore. They are going to hold hands, and not just with their sweetie for a romantic stroll along the waves.

Hands Across the Sand is an international movement to oppose offshore oil drilling and champion clean energy and renewables. It is made of people of all walks of life and crosses political affiliations.

Hands Across the Sand are calling on people around the world to stage a simple and peaceful action.

* Go to your beach on June 26 at 11 AM in your time zone.
* Form lines in the sand and at 12:00, join hands.

The image is powerful, the message is simple. NO to Offshore Oil Drilling, YES to Clean Energy.

Hands Across the Sand started February 13, 2010 in Florida, two months
before the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Thousands of Floridians representing 60 towns and cities and over 90 beaches joined hands to protest the efforts by the Florida Legislature and the US Congress to lift the ban on oil drilling in the near and off shores of Florida. Florida’s Hands Across The Sand event was the largest gathering in the history of Florida united against oil drilling. Thousands joined hands from Jacksonville to Miami Beach and Key West to Pensacola Beach, each against oil drilling in Florida’s waters.

There are 2 "Hands Across the Sands" Events planned so far for Vancouver. Both are for this Saturday June 26 at 11.00 am

English Bay: Meet at 1795 Beach Ave., just south of Denman.

Organizer: Fiona Bowie BCAAOSD@gmail.com

Kits Beach: "From Burrard Bridge, through Jericho Beach all the way to the endowment lands!!! As far as the low or high tide allows"
Organizer: Jenny McDonnell chippersmom@hotmail.com

In Victoria it's at Willows Beach in Victoria/Oak Bay also at 11 am this Saturday July 26.

Here is a video from Surf Rider Foundation who were part of the February 13th event.

To register or find an event near you go to Hands Across the Sand.com

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.

The Get Out Migration Takes to the Wild Salmon Narrows

Much of my time working as a salmon aquaculture campaigner is spent in an office, on the computer or the phone, interspersed with large indoor meetings and presentations. Yesterday was different. Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining the Get Out Migration, an incredible grassroots initiative spawned by scientist Alexandra Morton.

I couldn’t contain my excitement as we left the dock in Campbell River. We were about to join up with the Migration in the Wild Salmon Narrows, a migratory corridor Georgia Strait Alliance has been working to clear of open net-cage salmon farms. Our little crew of three people met up with another half dozen boats as we reached the first three farms packed together at the west end of Okisollo Channel.

A helicopter buzzed overhead as Michelle Nickerson plunged into the freezing water and twice swam the length of Mainstream’s Venture Pt. salmon farm. This was a symbolic gesture for juvenile salmon that are migrating past the lice infested farms at this very moment. People are embracing this journey by land and sea from Sointula to Victoria and celebrating wild salmon in any way they know how; through art, song, community gatherings, filmmaking, blogging, photography, taking to the water and streets, and even swimming past a salmon farm.

But our day wasn’t over, it had only just begun. As we came to the Oksillo rapids, it was clear that this was a day of celebration, as several boats played around in the area’s upwelling nutrient rich water so vital to wild salmon. We then followed Okisollo Channel as it turns south, where we saw the devastation under the Cyrus Rocks farm with an underwater video camera, and the mood became more solemn.

As we moved south through Surge Narrows, spirits once again soared as we joined up with another flotilla, swelling our number of boats to a couple dozen, salmon flags flapping in the wind, horns honking, people cheering for wild salmon, and the helicopter once again recording the excitement from above.

The Get Out Migration has captured the imagination and hearts of communities across Vancouver Island and throughout BC. Yesterday it was evident that the Migration’s tag line, wild salmon are sacred, is at the heart of our west coast culture. Whatever people have in them to give, we are giving it all for wild salmon. We have to, or they will disappear. So stand up and be counted, because if we don’t stand up for wild salmon, no one will.

Filmmaker Twyla Roscovich has produced a video of our day on the water in the Wild Salmon Narrows. Enjoy…



Take urgent action to clear the Wild Salmon Narrows of open net-cage salmon farms!

Everyone Loves Wild Salmon Don't They?

Watch this video on the impacts that open net-cage salmon farming has on wild salmon, the marine environment, and your health.


Learn more about salmon farming impacts and what you can do.

"Green" Boating Week BC!

Though the winter has been kind of dark and dreary, a few hardy souls spent some time on our beautiful BC waters, enjoying the delights and challenges that winter cruising brings. For the majority of us however, it's just been the last couple of weeks when we've started to think more about our boats and the wonderful cruising and fishing in the months ahead. A couple of serious blows focused attention quickly on our boats and discussions around climate change was heard more often on the docks.

Though I work in the environmental field, it does seem to me that folks generally are more interested in issues of sustainability and healthy habitats and boaters are no exception! With more people getting into the boating lifestyle BC boating week is a good time for us to promote Green Boating and Clean Marinas.

While there are activities happening all over the province we will be putting our efforts in at some Nanaimo locations. On Saturday we will have a display at the Big Island Inflata-boats Marine Garage Sale and on Sunday we will again be doing a presentation at the West Marine store. Both events are also helping us raise a few funds to assist our marine conservation effort.

As boaters we are stewards of the marine environment and it is up to all of us to keep our impacts to a minimum. Come and join us during BC's "Green" Boating Week to find out more ways you can be a sustainable boater and how your marina can become one of Beautiful BC's eco-rated facilities!