Dec 1, 2014

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki • The idea of a right to a healthy environment is getting traction at Canada’s highest political levels. Federal Opposition MP Linda Duncan recently introduced “An Act to Establish a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights” in Parliament. If it’s passed, our federal government will have a legal duty to protect...

Nov 1, 2014

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki • Canadians expect to have our environment protected and to know how it’s being protected. A report from Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development shows we’re being short-changed. “In many key areas that we looked at, it is not clear how the government intends to address the significant...

Oct 1, 2014

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki • As an elder, I’ve watched Canada and the world change in many ways, for better and worse. Thanks, in part, to cheap energy and technological growth, the human population has more than tripled. As a boy, I could drink from streams and lakes without worrying about getting sick. My father took me fishing for halibut, sturgeon...

Sep 1, 2014

by Rod Marining • On BC Day, a holiday meant to celebrate beautiful BC, we were all having a beautiful time at the family cabin at Quesnel Lake, with hot sun, blue skies and a pristine lake. That night, I slept on my new boat docked in front of the cabin and was awakened at 3:00 AM by a continuous roar – like a 747 jet was flying towards the town of...

Sep 1, 2014

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki • A now famous 1972 photo of Earth taken by Apollo 17 astronauts from 45,000 kilometres away became known as “the blue marble.” And the late scientist Carl Sagan described a 1990 picture taken from six billion kilometres away by the unmanned Voyager 1 as a “pale blue dot.” The vision of Earth from a distance has...

Aug 1, 2014

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki • Those who don’t outright deny the existence of human-caused global warming often argue we can’t or shouldn’t do anything about it because it would be too costly. Take Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who recently said, “No matter what they say, no country is going to take actions that are going to deliberately destroy...

Jul 1, 2014

Artist, activist, catalyst by Bruce Mason • To hear the gentle, but energetic, “Hi, this is Joan Baez” over the phone is to be jarred into the moment. “Sorry I’m late. I’m at home in California working on a painting,” she laughs, pausing, beginning our allotted 15 minutes, which stretches joyfully and generously until the conversation is...

Jul 1, 2014

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki • There was little doubt the federal government would approve the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project, regardless of public opposition or evidence presented against it. The prime minister indicated he wanted the pipeline built before the Joint Review Panel hearings even began. Ad campaigns, opponents demonized as...

Jun 1, 2014

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki • The David Suzuki Foundation and others have run ads over the past decade decrying BC’s open net-cage salmon farm industry. With significant expansion planned for the West Coast, the question remains, “Has BC’s salmon farm industry improved?” Salmon farming threatens some of the planet’s last remaining viable wild...

May 1, 2014

May 10 a critical day to defend our climate By Caitlyn Vernon and Torrance Coste • The science is clear: climate change is the greatest environmental challenge of our time. We are already seeing the impacts of climate change in BC, most recently with shellfish dying – and workers losing their jobs – due to ocean acidification. But our political leaders...