144 Names for a New Economy
Compiled by Guy Dauncey, author of The Economics of Kindness: The End of Capitalism, the Birth of a New Ecological Civilization Palgrave/Macmillan, Spring 2026 This list illustrates the deep, persistent desire by so many people to create a new kind of economy, one in... Read more
Reclaim the Economy for People and the Planet
As readers of this column know, I often refer to a piece of wisdom put forth by the World Wide Fund for Nature in 2014: “Ecosystems sustain societies that create economies. It does not work any other way round.”
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Modernizing Industrial Water Rates in BC: Ending the Great Water Giveaway
Your voice is a key part of making water rates fair and protecting BC’s watersheds. Tell decision-makers that British Columbians care about clean water and strong, sustainable funding for our watersheds. Budget day is Feb. 17th. Talking points appear after you click... Read more
Science Alliance for Forestry Transformation Update
“SAFT is group of leading forest ecologists/forest practitioners advocating for both legislative/policy and forest practices changes in B.C. The forest industry to date has largely been one of unsustainable resource extraction and conversion of primary forests... Read more
Twenty-Five Ways to Make Life Affordable for All
Robert Reich is right. In a recent Substack post he laid out how tariffs, monopolies, and corporate power are driving up the cost of living for ordinary people. Much of what we call “inflation” is not an economic inevitability, but the result of policy choices that... Read moreRare Wetland For Sale
Water is life and we desperately need to keep land for nature reserves. Please lend your support for Hamilton Marsh, the largest wetland between Nanaimo, Cumberland, and Port Alberni – located just minutes from the Town of Qualicum Beach by donating or writing a... Read more
Why Become a UNESCO Urban Biosphere Region?
Largely lost in the flurry of pre-Christmas distractions was a Dec. 10 announcement from the Greater Victoria Naturehood that the Capital Regional District board had approved a staff recommendation to prepare nomination documents designating Greater Victoria a UNESCO urban biosphere region.
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City of Victoria Draft Budget Missing Important Details – Public Comments Open Until Jan. 23rd
In response to the City of Victoria offering public input (until Jan. 23) on their draft budget, Creatively United has drafted this response. The public is encouraged to use this information to let the City of Victoria know that natural solutions, like trees, are an... Read more
Protect BC Forests
Two independent scientists in British Columbia, Dr. Suzanne Simard and Dr. Rachel F. Holt have prepared a quick and simple petition to lend support for our forests. Dr. Suzanne Simard is the author of the acclaimed book Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the Wisdom... Read moreTrees More Valuable Standing
If in doubt as to the value of every tree left standing, please take a moment to watch and share this informative 6-minute video made by the Halifax parks department: A Tree for All Trades. This film makes clear the fact that large, mature trees are exponentially more... Read more
Template Letters to all levels of Government – Action on Urban Forest and Climate-ready housing and Communities
Letters to Government – Action on Urban Forest and Climate-ready housing and Communities Thank you for taking action for our shared well-being! Find contact information for key government contacts here. SECTION 1 – Letter to Mayor and Council re... Read moreWhat You Can Do To Defend the North Coast Tanker Ban and Protect B.C.’s Coast
The North Coast Tanker Ban is there for a reason: to keep Coastal Communities safe What you can do to Defend the North Coast Tanker Ban and Protect B.C.’s Coast Context B.C. communities and The B.C. Government and Coastal First Nations have voiced strong... Read more
The Undoing of the Islands Trust
Fifty years ago, BC took a bold step to save our islands from “exploitation by real-estate developers and speculators,”* passing the Islands Trust Act, with its famous mandate “to preserve and protect” the Trust Area. Most islanders know that... Read more
Ella Stream in Critical Danger
Ella Stream in Critical Danger: When asked if the District of Sooke had discussions with the Federal Government about damage or potential damage to the Ella Stream and its environs, Sooke’s CAO, initially confirmed that conversations between the District and the Feds... Read more
Climate Ready Communities – A Toolkit for Local Governments
How can communities in B.C. grow and create new housing options while maintaining public safety and quality of life in the face of climate change and the biodiversity crisis? How do we create climate-ready housing and climate-ready neighbourhoods that are resilient to... Read more
Community Meditation and Brainstorm for the Old Growth Forests
Sunday, December 21, 4:30-6:30 pm, Church of Truth, 111 Superior St. Agenda: 4:30 pm: Doors open 4:45-5 pm: Introduction to the gathering’s purpose and intention 5-5:15 pm: World Meditation Day silent meditation. For 15 minutes we will join globally with an... Read moreDon’t Ram a Pipeline Through the BC Coast
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the federal government have outlined a deal that will pave the way for a dirty tar sands pipeline from Alberta to the BC coast — without Indigenous consent and threatening our oceans, wildlife, rivers, and forests. The last time an... Read more
Urge Your MP to Stand Against Any New Tar-Sands Pipeline
With your help, 12,000 community members have already taken action against any future pipelines – but we can’t let up the pressure now. Look up your MP and send them a personal email urging them to oppose any new tar sands pipelines or tanker expansion, and... Read moreIf the Owl Calls Your Name
I have watched the film If the Owl Calls Your Name and have been watching the people from the film speak over the last few days. It is profound. And it is about us – Canada. It even talks about the protest for the forest and the pipeline. It is not like many other... Read more
Call for Biodiversity Protection
British Columbia is home to the greatest biodiversity in Canada, including the highest number of species at risk; The province is one of the few in Canada without a stand-alone law to protect endangered species; Habitat loss, climate change, and decades of... Read moreWhat Part of ‘Global Ecological Crisis’ Do They Not Get?
Another COP, another cop-out! As anyone who pays the slightest attention to the news must know by now, COP30, the annual global climate change jamboree — this year in Belem, Brazil — ended, yet again, more with a whimper than a bang.
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Carney Offers 20th-Century Responses to 21st-Century Challenges
It is said that, during the First World War, French prime minister Georges Clemenceau remarked that generals always prepare to fight the last war. Regrettably, it seems that this also applies to governments trying to manage our society.
Read moreOil Tanker Moratorium
Here is my request to council to support the continuation of the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act. It would be helpful if you would take a moment to send a note to your council, Metchosin or other, with the same request. Dear Mayor and Council, and Admin. staff, Re: Oil... Read moreTaking a Stand for Goldstream Park and Treaty Rights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJx5luCX7xc Many close friends in Victoria love Goldstream Park with its majestic forest and river ecosystem. (Its original name is SELEKTEL in WSÁNEĆ.) Friends carry an understanding about this region as being part of the WSÁNEĆ... Read more
The Inconvenient Facts Carney and the Premiers Ignore
Prime Minister Mark Carney wants Canada to be an energy superpower, including in “conventional energy” (read fossil fuels). Far from being the climate-action champion we expected him to be, he seems to have swallowed his principles…
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Suing Canada’s Largest Pension Investment Manager Over Alleged Climate Risk Mismanagement
Ecojustice announces the first case of its kind… they are representing four young Canadians taking on the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), one of Canada’s largest financial institutions, for putting our pensions at risk. Learn more about this... Read more
Protect Goldstream Salmon Now
I think that saving the salmon spawning area of Goldstream River is a very important cause. If people even know about this highway expansion, they probably don’t know that nobody will get to their destination any sooner. The highway will still be single lane... Read more
Save the Tsitika! Take Action Before Sept. 30th
The Tsitika Valley is home to beautiful ancient trees and countless animal kin. Along its beaches, where streams from the Tsitika watershed meet the sea, lies one of the only places on Earth where killer whales are known to rub their bodies along the shoreline... Read more
Save the Garry Oaks And Tree Canopy on Lynnfield Crescent
The historic Garry Oaks on Lynnfield Crescent are more than just trees; they are living monuments to our shared heritage and an essential part of the urban canopy that enriches our community. These majestic oaks, some which have stood for over two centuries, not only... Read more
Vast Tree Removals Set For Victoria, and Victoria’s OCP Update Means Significantly Fewer Big Trees
The following was posted on the Friends of Vancouver Island Facebook page: Friends of Vancouver Island | Tree Removal Notices Appearing Across Victoria | Facebook “Tree Removal Notices Appearing Across Victoria If you’ve been walking around Victoria lately, you... Read more
National Tree Day 2025
Celebrated annually on September 24, National Tree Day is a holiday dedicated to recognizing the importance of trees in our lives. Initiated in 2011 by Tree Canada, this day serves as a tribute to the beauty, resilience, and crucial role of trees across Canada’s... Read more
Cougar Sculpture Blocking Logging Trucks in Upper Walbran Valley
Press Release: Defenders Call for Protection of one of BC’s Last Intact Old-Growth Watersheds August 25, 2025 — Upper Walbran, Tree Farm License 44 —A 15-foot tall cougar sculpture has been erected to block logging trucks on Monday morning from actively logging in the... Read more
Let’s Talk About Becoming A Well-Being Society
Last month I noted a growing recognition that the many challenges we face, from environmental degradation to concentration of wealth, structural inequality and exclusion, are a product of the economic and other societal systems we have created.
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Petition that the District of Saanich Phase out Highly Polluting Gas Landscaping Equipment
A new petition for the District of Saanich, calls for the municipality to take the crucial action of immediately deciding to phase out highly polluting gas landscaping equipment.
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Stand Up for SELE₭TEȽ (Goldstream Park)!
We are writing to ask for you and your organization’s support for W̱SÁNEĆ community members and allies who are protecting SELE₭TEȽ (Goldstream Park) along the Malahat Highway from a “highway improvement project” Our request is that you write a letter from your... Read more
Callout for Goldstream
Dear Elders for Ancient Trees, Big appreciation to Victoria area Elders for your willingness to turn up to protect Goldstream Park. We’re hoping to build ongoing support that is manageable, given our busy lives. We are proposing the following schedule for Elders for... Read more
New Jersey Says 3 Chemical Makers Agree to ‘Forever Chemical’ Settlement Worth Up To $2B
DuPont and two other companies will pay New Jersey up to $2 billion to settle environmental claims stemming from PFAS, commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” the companies announced…
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Can Charred Wood Help Nova Scotia Farmers — and the Climate?
In a rolling field in the Annapolis Valley, the soil in one row of grapevines is littered with charred fragments of wood. Those unassuming bits of charred material don’t look like much, but the charcoal-like substance…
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We Can’t Grow Our Way Out of Problems Created by Browth
Mark Carney may not have called his Bill C-5 — now the Building Canada Act — a big, beautiful bill, but it does come out of much the same mould as Trump’s bill. Essentially, it says we can and must grow our way…
Read moreExposing The Dark Reality Of B.C.’s Wolf Cull
In August, we’re launching a powerful media campaign to expose the brutal scale of British Columbia’s wolf cull. Since 2015, more than 2,500 wolves have been killed and over $11.5 million in taxpayer dollars spent—all while critical caribou habitat continues to be... Read more
Exposing Canada’s Deep Water Shame
In June, Pacific Wild released a major two-year investigation uncovering the devastating impact of industrial trawling hidden beneath the surface of B.C.’s coastal waters. Our research found that over the past 13 years, just nine trawlers have collectively fished a... Read more
Save Our Saanich Isn’t Saving Money
I wish I could take credit for the term “Dysfunction-by-the-Sea,” but longtime readers of this newspaper will recognize it was Jack Knox’s acerbic term for Greater Victoria. But while Jack has retired — and is much missed…
Read moreBC Old Growth Forest Update
Dear friends and forest protectors, The Oceanspray (or Ironwood), KÁȾEȽĆ in SENĆOŦEN, is just past its full bloom. It’s strong and enduring. Like us. Strong and enduring and just past our bloom. We are still here, still loving the forests of this land, still working... Read more
As the Cliff Edge Looms, Governments Hit the Accelerator
Some may consider Prime Minister Mark Carney to be an economic guru, but he is either ignorant of or chooses to ignore two fundamental truths in his rush to build the nation by growing the economy.
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Good News For Long-Term Management of Toxic Biosolids
The Peninsula Biosolids Coalition and Biosolids Free BC, with whom Creatively United for the Planet Society has been actively collaborating, congratulates the CRD Board for making a historic decision to thermally convert biosolids into biochar employing the latest... Read more
Heat Dome Anniversary – BC’s Urban Trees Under Threat
June 23 marks the 4th anniversary of the 2021 Heat Dome, an occurrence that most of us remember vividly. What we may not be aware of is that the Chief Coroner of BC investigated the reasons for the 619 resultant, publishing a major Report. One of its key... Read more
Improving Victoria’s Well-Being
This presentation highlights gaps in Victorian wellbeing that a group of Victoria youth have decided could be improved. The 3 suggestions aim to improve nature, transportation, and healthcare. Our group consists of 4 people, Ethan Lin, Beatrice Sharpe, Sebastien... Read more
Biosolids in the CRD Update
In April 2025, the Province of BC approved in principle the CRD’s preferred option for thermal conversion of biosolids into a biochar and non-fossil fuel gas. Until the CRD received this approval, it was reluctant to proceed with adjudicating the Request for Proposals... Read more