Back in April, I was asked to be the homilist at the First Unitarian Church just before Earth Day and to talk about the values revolution that is needed. Now I don’t know about you, but I didn’t even know there was such a a beast as a homilist…
Courtesy of The Guardian. The US may soon bail out farmers whose livelihoods were destroyed by toxic PFAS “forever chemical” contamination. The proposal for a $500m fund aims to head off a crisis for the nation’s growers and is moving through Congress amid increasing... Read more
Ever get the feeling that your family is the only one taking the climate emergency seriously enough to try to do something about it? Want to know that you are not alone or what else you can do? Take the https://www.nanaimoclimatepledge.ca/ Together we can make a... Read more
Get ready for a weekend of connection, training, scheming, and dreaming of a Fossil Free Future. Build the power of the BC climate movement for a climate-safe future! From June 7-9, activists, organizers, and changemakers from across the B.C. will gather on the... Read more
In early June, executives from the largest fossil fuel companies in Canada – Enbridge, Imperial, Cenovus, Enbridge, and Shell – will testify before the House of Commons’ Environment Committee. The purpose of their summons? To answer for their failure to rein in... Read more
My colleague Paul Kershaw is a professor of public health at UBC and founder of Generation Squeeze, a “Think and Change Tank” that promotes wellbeing for all generations. It does so “by turning evidence into action and rejuvenating democracy to protect what is sacred for younger and future generations…
Electric Stove • Affordable and easy to operate. • Electric stoves with ceramic cook-tops are easy to clean. • No harmful fumes are produced by the appliance.. unless you’re not a very good cook! • No electromagnetic field (as experienced with induction cooking),... Read more
Resilience and “whole-of-society” approach are clear priorities to address emerging wildfire reality in B.C. Victoria, B.C. lək̓ʷəŋən territory: British Columbia needs to adopt a “whole-of-society” approach to advance wildfire resilience, say the authors of an... Read more
A CTV news story on the pervasiveness and dangers of PFAS, a VicNews story on the ongoing issues with biosolids disposal at the Lafarge Cement kiln, and an op-ed by BioSolids Free BC founder, Philippe Lucas, celebrating the popular CRD ban on the land application of... Read more
You are invited to run with the International Peace Torch (peacerun.org) on June 24, 2024, at 10:00 am – from the Coho ferry terminal to City Hall (& beyond!)
To the the CRD Chair, Board, Staff and member of the press and public, Here’s a link to a devastating CNN story on PFAS contamination of farms in the US: https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/02/us/video/pfas-forever-chemicals-farmland-food-biosolids-digvid Does the CRD... Read more
A team led by Prof. Martin Wagner of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology recently reported that of 16,000 chemicals associated with plastic, at least 4,200 “are of concern because of their high hazards to human health and the environment.”
The Capital Regional District (CRD) in Victoria, BC, Canada has a long-standing and popular ban on the land application of biosolids. This is a crucial regulation that protects our local drinking water, environment and public health. Biosolids contain PFAS,... Read more
Under pressure from the province, the CRD needs to come up with a definitive plan to deal with the mounting quantity of dried biosolids pellets at Hartland. Biosolids are the byproduct of the region’s wastewater treatment processes. As of now, the CRD says…
Monday is Earth Day, and the theme this year is Planet vs. Plastics. This is timely, because Tuesday marks the start of a week-long session in Ottawa of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution. So this week, I begin to look at the plastics industry…
Canada Proposes stricter regulations for Forever chemicals in drinking water. PFACs are indestructible chemicals which are ubiquitous in the environment due to their presence in a wide range of household items The US Protection Agency introduced new regulations this... Read more
Introduction: Climate change presents an urgent global challenge, demanding innovative solutions at every level of society. Colwood, in its commitment to climate leadership, has an opportunity to spearhead transformative change through the implementation of renewable... Read more
I wrote to Elizabeth May reminding her of two of her excellent ideas that I hope she’ll continue to promote regarding Site-C and water bombers. I remember when I first heard her mention these ideas several years ago and I thought “brilliant.” Elizabeth got right back... Read more
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto just released a report on another industry that in various ways harms health — gambling. Not only can it be addictive and harmful to health and social wellbeing, its impact is disproportionately experienced by low-income people…
Dear Minister Heyman, We’re contacting you today on behalf of members of the Peninsula Biosolid Coalition (PBC), a community-based organization made up of regional environmental groups (Friends of Tod Creek, Creatively United for the Planet, Biosolid Free BC…), local... Read more
Josh Hylden speaks with Philippe Lucas, founder of Biosolid Free B.C. about what a group of Texas farmers has to do with Victoria. Listen here. Read more
So far, in examining what the World Health Organization calls the commercial determinants of health, I have been looking at private sector firms that produce products that harm health, such as tobacco, fossil fuels or unhealthy foods.
I am curious what Victoria’s missing middle housing initiative will do, and just as interested in what it will not do. We’ve already been told it won’t improve affordability. People were confused on that bit, apparently. When the text and subtext of elections is the housing crisis…
PFAS chemicals are used in thousands of products aimed at making life easier. But the chemicals are now almost everywhere, including in human blood, and are being linked to severe health problems.
Unist’ot’en Healing Centre and Camp stand in solidarity with Palestine. Our hearts break witnessing yet another chapter of colonialism unfolding in Gaza. We know this story all too well and stand with Palestine to demand justice and to demand an end to genocide. Our... Read more
Join Elders for Ancient Trees on a bus trip to the Nanaimo courthouse on April 4th to show solidarity for Land Defender, Rainbow Eyes, and old-growth forests. Meet people from Nanaimo, Cowichan, Duncan, Comox and Saltspring Island. For those coming from the Victoria... Read more
Dear CRD Chair, Board and staff, In light of the emerging details about the criminal investigation and civil suits against Synagro, we’re very concerned about the lack of CRD follow up on an emerging public health and environmental issue that seems to clearly... Read more
SUPPLY Victoria Creative Reuse Centre is hiring! We’re looking for a full-time, permanent Reuse Retail Manager to oversee day-to-day operations including retail sales, donation processing, and volunteer management at our art-meets-environmental nonprofit.
The company that produces biosolids at Hartland Landfill for the Capital Regional District is being sued by a group of Texas farmers. The farmers claim fertilizer made from a product of sewage treatment by Synagro Technologies’ operation…
The company that helps produce the Capital Regional District’s biosolids is being accused of its similar products medically harming Texas farmers and fatally impacting their animals. Synagro Technologies is the majority…
Scientists have been warning that insects are disappearing at alarming rates. Not only are they pollinators for our food, but they are food for birds and other animals. We depend on these tiny creatures and this report warns of possible extinction. Below in letters is... Read more
The Government of Canada has made some progress in ending support for the fossil fuel sector, including introducing two policies over recent years aimed at ending international public financing and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. However, most of the support... Read more
Ecoforestry Institute is seeking an Assistant Educator/Naturalist passionate about protecting BC’s forests, to run interpretive ecoforestry and ecology based school workshops, summer camps, and public tours at Wildwood Ecoforest near Ladysmith.
The CRD has been punting its management problem down Hartland Ave. for years. Pressure to resolve the region’s biosolids and other solid waste management plan has resurfaced as construction plans to increase capacity at the landfill are underway.
Dear CRD Chair and Board, Let me begin by thanking you all for your continued support for the popular and longstanding ban on the land application of biosolids in the CRD. This is just a quick note to share a news story from the Guardian about a community group suing... Read more
New legal action could put an end to the practice of spreading toxic sewage sludge on US cropland as a cheap alternative to fertilizer, and force America to rethink how it disposes of its industrial and human waste. A notice of intent…
In my last three columns, I looked at the health and economic burden of unhealthy diets, the role of large parts of the food industry in producing and marketing an unhealthy diet, and the ways in which our current food system harms the planet.
Our fifth annual Water Research Roundup featured emerging researchers Bridget McGlynn, Christiana Onabola, and Ella Martindale. They spoke on topics ranging from how governance systems align with the environmental challenges they are trying to address, to how the... Read more
The Sustainability Blueprint – Practical Climate Adaptation Actions for You, Your Family, and Your Community offers an action-oriented and practical new approach to the two major challenges threatening humanity and the planet: the climate crisis and the ongoing disasters.
Last week, I noted the private sector is the key player in the provision of a healthy diet. But the food industry also makes a great deal of money from the production and marketing of unhealthy food. It is estimated that globally, unhealthy diets account for about 11 million premature deaths annually.
I’m writing today to express my disappointment and concerns about the recent CRD Open House on biosolids. Since the hosts opted to hide the number of participants, and since cameras, mikes and even the “chat” sidebar were disabled for participants, it was impossible... Read more
Would you knowingly eat food, drink water or breathe air that contains toxic chemicals and microplastics linked to cancer that are contained in sewage sludge from Victoria, BC’s wastewater treatment plant? Right now, forever chemicals, which true to their name last... Read more
As far back as 1964, Paul Sears, an eminent American ecologist and former chair of the graduate program in Conservation at Yale University, described ecology as “a subversive subject” and asked “if taken seriously as an instrument for the long-run welfare of mankind…
Last week, I documented the massive impact of the fossil-fuel industry on people and the planet, an impact the industry generally ignores or downplays in its rush to make money and maintain its power, earning it the title of “the new tobacco.”
The Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies at UVic is pleased to welcome applications for our 2024 MEd program in Leadership Studies! Applications deadline extended to March 1, 2024.
Calling all Canadian youth interested and active in climate activism. Now in its third year, it requires applicants under 20 years old to demonstrate devotion to taking meaningful steps toward improving the outlook for our planet concerning climate change. The award... Read more
What do you want the BC government to do about trees and old growth forests? This Wednesday, Jan. 31st is the final deadline for the public to contribute input on the Draft BC Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework. Your voice matters! Creatively United invites... Read more
The Executive Director of the Urban Development Institute Capital Region, told View Royal Council during public input: “UDI is not a lobbying group.” Not only is the UDI a legally registered lobbying group, according to the BC Lobbyists Registry but the Executive Director…
Tobacco is the forgotten pandemic in Canada. While much attention has been focused on the opioid overdose crisis, COVID, alcohol use and other popular issues, tobacco use remains, to this day, “the leading preventable cause of premature death in Canada,” according to a July 2023 Health Canada report.
