In my concluding major paper for my master’s degree at the University of Toronto in the late 1970s, I identified two major principles that have guided my career ever since. The first is ecological sanity…
It’s global conference season, and once again the corporate sector is spending huge amounts of money — money that comes from us when we purchase their products and services — to lobby for their own…
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is currently accepting comments on the 2024/2025 Draft Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP) for Pacific herring until November 27, 2024. Send feedback today. In solidarity with the WSÁNEĆ hereditary chiefs, we once again call... Read more
Thanks to Mary Wagner and citizen support, Langford Council supported Wagner’s five part motion based on the Urban Forest Management Plan to help preserve and protect more of Langford’s urban canopy. Staff had a recommendation for part 1 and 2, and points... Read more
Thanks to tens of millions of Americans who just voted to turn the American Dream into the American Nightmare, we now have to deal with the consequences of a second Trump presidency. Let’s be clear: Donald Trump is not only a fascist who is a threat to democracy in America, as two former generals…
This month of November has witnessed an especially abundant series of worrisome events, from local to global. These include billions of dollars of catastrophic damages from newly emerging wildfires, flooding, and storms. Warfare is on the increase, not only in the... Read more
I do not want to overwhelm you, with more information yet I feel that this information is some of what we need to know, so we will have the knowledge to be motivated to do everything possible to secure a future on earth not just for humans but for the whole... Read more
Over 40 years ago, in the early 1980s, I co-led a major report on “Our Chemical Society” for the City of Toronto’s Department of Public Health. In it, we sought to step back from what we called the “chemical of the day” problem — so many chemicals of concern, so many requests to look at them…
We awake this morning to a Trump world. This, despite his lies, his racism, his hatred, his divisiveness and complete disregard for democratic ways and institutions. He has already declared his intention to become a dictator, stating there will be no need for further... Read more
On October 30, 2024, the CRD approved a provisional budget for 2025, which included the establishment of an Innovative Project Work Unit. This decision indicates that the CRD is turning the corner from a focus on waste dumping to a growing emphasis on green... Read more
Each year, the City of Victoria’s financial planning process provides an opportunity for Council to set service levels and approve an annual budget. You are invited to provide feedback on the City’s 2025 Draft Budget to help inform Council’s budget decisions. The... Read more
There was a lot of attention paid in the recent election campaign to the provincial deficit, by which various politicians and commentators meant the budgetary deficit. But important though that might be, there is another deficit that is much more concerning, and yet largely ignored…
“I try to speak for the water. Not just for Grassy people, but for future generations, for the kids not born yet. That’s why we do this work.” This statement is the key point that Judy da Silva kept returning to during her talk, Movement Building and Justice, held... Read more
Last month, Planetary Boundaries Science, an international partnership of Earth scientists based out of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, published the first of what will be an annual Planetary Health Check. It makes for grim, if unsurprising, reading.
Arborist and urban forest educator Ryan Senechal offers an analysis of the Technical Memorandum recently shared by the City of Victoria regarding its stated need to cut down Centennial Square’s giant sequoia tree. He says the tree is healthy, and could be pruned... Read more
Carbon pricing is a form of pollution pricing. But air pollutants from fossil-fuel combustion and greenhouse-gas emissions from a variety of sources are not the only forms of pollution we face. And pollution pricing itself is just one aspect of the broader field of full cost accounting.
Thank you to everyone who attended the online and live All Candidates Debate for the Esquimalt-Colwood riding (includes Vic West and View Royal) co-sponsored this past Wednesday evening at Esquimalt United Church, 500 Admirals Rd., by Creatively United for the Planet,... Read more
Despite the drizzle and dampness of the day, a great afternoon was had by all who attended the national Day of Climate Action organized by citizens throughout Canada on October 1st. In Victoria, people of all ages attended this fabulous event featuring numerous... Read more
James Bay United Church is part of: Reconciling with Indigenous Peoples and the Land, an interfaith steering group formed to facilitate further steps in the work of reconciliation. Letter Writing Campaign: Voice Your Concerns! Explore our sample letter... Read more
These questions are provided by The Victoria Secular Humanist Association (VSHA), Eco-Humanism Committee. Indicate with a YES or NO, whether you will pledge to the following, if your party forms the next government. Describe which measurable goals and timelines will... Read more
It is very clear that pollution causes harm. Oxford Reference defines it as “contamination or undesirable modification of soil, food, water, clothing, or the atmosphere by a noxious or toxic substance,” adding that “any form of pollution can have adverse effects on health.”
Currently, 80% of the biosolids produced by the Residuals Treatment Facility located at Hartland are being used as a fuel at the LaFarge cement facility in Richmond. The balance of the biosolids are mixed with sand and land applied at a quarry located at Cassidy near... Read more
By proclaiming that the carbon tax “is an existential threat to our economy and our way of life” and that it threatens a “nuclear winter” for the economy, Pierre Poilievre has entered the world of full-on craziness and inverted logic. The reality is exactly the opposite. The “carbon tax” — actually…
On September 14, a kick off event was held in Nanaimo to introduce a New Forest Proposal Act. Thanks to Dave Weaver, Beaufort Watershed Stewards, Jay Van Oostdam of SOFT, Guy Dauncey of Yellow Point Ecological Society, and all the other volunteers for their... Read more
Term 2 /Take 2 Attention people of Saanich: this is a biodiversity alert. Biodiversity Biodiversity Biodiversity Taxes Taxes Taxes My job as an Independent 100% NOT developer-funded councillor is getting harder every day. A voice for the environment, wildlife,... Read more
I was born in 1948, when the average annual atmospheric CO2 level was about 311 ppm. When I started writing this column in December 2014, average annual CO2 was 399 ppm. Today, it is 422 ppm. The impacts of these heightened CO2 levels, as well as increased levels of methane…
I feel this 18 min presentation on the Planetary Boundaries and Tipping points of Climate Change is one of the best that every one should watch. It is my hope that you will spend the time to really listen to this presentation.
An inconvenient tree? Sign the petition here. On Jul 11, 2024 Victoria’s mayor and a majority of council members approved the updated concept design for Centennial Square and directed staff to proceed with implementation as outlined in the Centennial Square... Read more
The redesign of Victoria’s Centennial Square is moving closer toward breaking ground, and there remains a chance for sober second thought on the fate of a highly appreciated giant sequoia. We’ve been informed that the removal is to improve sightlines for public safety…
In July, Victoria’s mayor and council voted to cut down the giant sequoia that has been a focal point of Centennial Square for past decades, as part of a planned redesign of the space. Two other large trees will also be removed. These include a healthy sweetgum, and the beautiful Shirofugen Japanese flowering cherry…
Recently, I have been discussing the large-scale changes we need to make in the face of the eight critical shifts identified in the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report Navigating New Horizons. Those changes are a focus on intergenerational equity; a new social contract that reinforces shared values about how we relate not only to…
So many of our southern Vancouver Island lakes are literally closed to people and pets because of cyanobacteria. And it impacts the wildlife who use the lakes. This video is horrifying, and explains... Read more
In addition to a commitment to intergenerational equity, which I discussed last week, the recent UN Environment Programme report Navigating New Horizons also calls for “a new social contract reinforcing shared values that unite us rather than divide us” and “a new global emphasis on well-being metrics…
The UN Environment Programme’s new report Navigating New Horizons, produced in partnership with the International Science Council, is not easy reading. It’s not just that it is a dense 100-page document, but because it paints a grim picture of the challenges we face.
Check out Creatively United’s Solutions Resource Section for a variety of downloadable and shareable graphics and information, such as these new additions from the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment (CANE) and the Canadian Association of... Read more
In exploring the need for a transformation of our values so they are fit for purpose in the 21st century, I have been using a piece of “scripture” from the World Wide Fund for Nature’s 2014 Living Planet Report. The third realm from my piece of “scripture” is the economy, and the text makes an important but often overlooked point…
The B.C. government’s lawsuit over the health impact of so-called “forever chemicals” is now shining a questionable light on the province’s effort to also overturn one of Canada’s only bans on toxic sewage sludge applied to fields and forests.
In my time, I have co-founded a number of organizations, but I am particularly proud to have helped start CAPE — the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment — 30 years ago. Three of us, independently, had started to develop the idea of some sort of doctors’ organization…
Here are two petitions for people to sign for the protection of our Southern Resident Killer Whales. One is from the David Suzuki Foundation and one is from Georgia Strait Alliance: https://davidsuzuki.org/action/tell-leaders-to-give-srkw-a-lifeline/ Endangered... Read more
While we owe a great deal to the scientific method and its objective reasoning and always will, we need to transcend the mechanistic world view that we have inherited from it. Here we need to engage science’s wise and beautiful older sister, art. We have known this... Read more
Dear CRD Board, Senior CRD staff, and Minister Heyman, I’m sure many of you saw the following article on CBC this weekend highlighting a lawsuit launched by the BC government against the manufacturers of PFAS chemicals for contaminating drinking water and... Read more
The BC government has filed a class action law suit in the BC Supreme Court against a number of chemical companies which manufacture so called ‘forever chemicals’ or PFAS which commonly occur in household products and do not break down in the environment. The US... Read more
The report by Sidney Coles of Capital Daily exposes the problems with disposing biosolids at the Lafarge cement plat at Richmond and at Cassidy Quarry at Cassidy. The CRD Board will approve the long term pan for biosolids management on Wednesday June 12. Creatively... Read more
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…
