B.C. Votes Against Its Future
I don’t live in Canada’s most westerly province, but I know that British Columbians pride themselves on their slogan, “Beautiful British Columbia”. It is a province of vast wilderness, ancient mountains, and pristine waters, although its beauty has been marred in recent years by the pine-beetle-destroyed pine trees covering vast regions of the Rocky Mountains. But the sparkling lakes and the beautiful Pacific coast remain jewels in B.C.’s crown – so far, at least. But the incumbent Liberals, lead by the unpopular Christy Clark, won a majority government in yesterday’s provincial election. Why the NDP, which went into the race with a 20-point lead, didn’t win is a surprise to many, and no doubt their loss will be dissected by the party and the media over the next while. What BCers are left with is a government committed to building dirty energy pipelines through pristine natural wilderness, and fracking the heck out of the province to make it a natural gas super-power. Oil tankers will be traveling up and down the now-pristine BC coast to transport the Alberta crud that’s been piped in. Uggh!
Longtime B.C. resident Dr Warren Bell, who helped found Canadian Physicians For The Environment, had this to say in response to yesterday’s election results:
“I think this outcome will radicalize everyone who is looking to the future of BC, the country and this planet, and knows and understands now that this is a joined struggle between those who see near-term dollars as the only standard for prosperity, and those who see sufficiency for all, and the interests of future generations, as paramount.”
The only lights on a dark day for the planet were the election of climate scientist Andrew Weaver, who became the first provincially elected Green in Canada, and Christy Clark’s loss in her own riding. Clark ran a fear-based campaign that pitted jobs against the environment, and painted the NDP as a scary alternative to the Liberal’s record of “economic stability”. Apparently voters need to be reminded to hold their breath while counting their money, as a reminder that the economy isn’t more important than the environment.
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More links:
Voter Turnout For B.C. Election Among Lowest Ever
BC Election: Voters With Indian Status Cards Asked For Second ID
David Eby Takes Over Christy Clark’s Seat, Credits Environmental Goals And Local Focus
Andrew Weaver Makes History, Becomes First Green In Provincial Legislature
Courage Is Contagious
“What are we waiting for?…There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living…Standing idly by in the face of injustice is unthinkable...”
Today’s TED talk Tuesday on 350orbust features lawyer and human rights activist Jennifer Robinson speaking at TEDx Sydney 2013. Robinson discusses the inspiration and life lessons she has received from her friendship with Benny Wenda, a West Papuan leading the movement for independence from Indonesia, which has occupied that country for 50 years.
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Jennifer Robinson: Human Rights And Wikileaks Lawyer
We’re All Passengers on The Titanic Now
graphic: Earth-The Operators’ Manual
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Dr. Richard Alley, climatologist, commenting on atmospheric CO2 levels passing an historic 400ppm last week.
More links:
As CO2 Concentrations Reach Ominous Benchmark, Daily Updates Begin
Greenhouse Gas Levels Near Milestone: Highest in Millions of Years
Take Time To Renew Your Spirit
What if all the mothers in the world united and called for an end to war, to violence towards each other and towards the earth, and pledged to work together to make it happen?
Saturday At The Movies
Awwwwwww…
Rolling The Dice: CO2 Concentration Hits Record High Amid Global Inaction On Climate Change
Via The Guardian:
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached 399.72 parts per million (ppm) and is likely to pass the symbolically important 400ppm level for the first time in the next few days.
Readings at the US government’s Earth Systems Research laboratory in Hawaii, are not expected to reach their 2013 peak until mid May, but were recorded at a daily average of 399.72ppm on 25 April. The weekly average stood at 398.5 on Monday.
Hourly readings above 400ppm have been recorded six times in the last week, and on occasion, at observatories in the high Arctic. But the Mauna Loa station, sited at 3,400m and far away from major pollution sources in the Pacific Ocean, has been monitoring levels for more than 50 years and is considered the gold standard.
“I wish it weren’t true but it looks like the world is going to blow through the 400ppm level without losing a beat. At this pace we’ll hit 450ppm within a few decades,” said Ralph Keeling, a geologist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography which operates the Hawaiian observatory.
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Source: Scripps Institute of Oceanography
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For more on the awful implications of this milestone in human history, check out the links below (hint: it isn’t good news for humans or animals or the ocean, either).
More links:
As CO2 Concentrations Reach Ominous Benchmark, Daily Updates Begin
Greenhouse Gas Levels Near Milestone: Highest in Millions of Years
The Last Time CO2 Was This High, Humans Didn’t Exist
graphic: I Heart Climate Scientists
Simon Fraser University
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More links:
Government Should “Grow Up” On Climate Change, Scientist Says
Letter To Minister Joe Oliver From Climate Scientist And Energy Experts
Academics Warn Canada Against Further Tar Sands Production
*thanks Ted for the early morning email with the link to the CBC article* 
