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Vol.11 Number 1		Feb /Mar 2001
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Environmental News from Georgia Strait in British Columbia, Canada and from the World

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Vol.11 Number 1 - Feb /Mar 2001

EDITORIAL - Community Futures

NEWS
Metalclad NAFTA Hearing - Democracy on Trial in Vancouver in February
Turbid Water and Gastroenteritis
Mad Cow Disease on Ottawa Fields - Spill Puts Unsafe Scrapie Test Tissue into Sewage and Sludge
BC Hits Parks Target
BC Repents Its Abuse of Water - Some training, certification, and multi-stakeholder planning committees are proposed
A Strange Kettle of Fish - Male Chinook Turn Female in Columbia River
Two Pesticides Combined Linked to Parkinson's
A Magnificent Success: POPs Treaty Turns Off the Tap. The new century opens with a gift for future generations: an anti-pollution treaty based on elimination and the Precautionary Principle
Effects of POPs on Children
Courtenay Gets Ready To Roll 'Em

SUSTAINABLE LIVING
What Does Clean Really Mean?
Things to Look For When You Buy Cleaning Products and Pesticides
Some Simple Cleaning Tips
The Unvarnished Truth - Removing that pesky carpeting can reveal a wood floor that's worth saving.

FUTURES
Aquaculture Ascendant - By the end of the decade, fish farming may overtake cattle ranching as a food source.
Free-Roaming Fish

SCIENCE
Declaration on Climate Change - Greenhouse gas action solves several related problems

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
Wind Power Blows into Washington State
Energy Futures: Turning the Wheels of Progress
Geothermal Plant at Meager Mountain

LETTERS
When Life Becomes One More Commodity
Biodiversity Protection Needs Support
Multi-Aged Forest Provides Solution

FRIENDS OF CORTES ISLAND
Ecoforestry Youth Initiative -

REPORT
Land Conservators Gain Ground - Nature Conservancy and TimberWest join forces toward a common goal

SOAPBOX
Rainforest Cowboys Saddle Up

About Us

We have spent years in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region as have our brothers in the southern interior of the province finalizing strategies to give both mountain and woodland caribou a chance. Last week we reached agreement, had the land use plan grudgingly endorsed by industry, the government and public stake holders.

Then along came the "community" of 100 Mile. The mayor, the politicos, the regional districts and the cannon fodder, the snow machine clubs. Riding their machines down the town pavement, they declared that they have "rights," that "government doesn't listen" and that they are "environmentalists too."

Sound familiar? Sure it is. It's the same anti-scientific, anti-government rhetoric of the "wise use" guys. Ignorance and self interest rule in the guise of "local people" who "know better" than the "government scientists and bureaucrats." Ignorance and intolerance fuelled by fear and misinformation designed to keep the logging trucks rolling and the dollars coming into the shareholders' coffers.

My point to this whole thing is that the MOST dangerous thing we can do is to turn control of forests and the environment over to local communities. They will not be good stewards. In the end it takes a strong provincial framework to safeguard sustainability and long term values, especially those issues of ethics, morals and long term health.

Maybe small isolated groups of 100 or 200 people might make it for a while, but towns and larger centres will inevitably define environment in terms of short term economics and immediate human desires.

It's time to stop the urban myth of rural utopia dead in its tracks, otherwise we will all get taken to the cleaners.

Chew on that for a while.

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." - Governor George W. Bush, Jr., 2000

One of the most significant cases in the history of recent North American democracy is scheduled to go before a BC Supreme Court judge in Vancouver on February 19th. The Metalclad judicial review will hear the argument of the Mexican government that, even under NAFTA, municipal, state, and federal governments have the right to make decisions on environmental concerns.

Metalclad was the first of the NAFTA cases to be heard under Chapter 11, which purports to guarantee foreign investors compensation for "unequal" treatment. This is the chapter under which Sunbelt Water is suing the BC government for billions of dollars in lost revenues from water exports. Another dozen claims for compensation have been filed under these provisions, including Methanol's suit for lost profits because the California state government banned MTBE, a gas additive which is contaminating groundwater, and the Canadian federal cash settlement with Ethyl Corporation over its unsuccessful attempt to ban MMT, another gas additive.

The Metalclad story is particularly sordid.

In 1989, the state environment ministry shut down a toxic waste dump owned by a Mexican company, Coterin. Coterin then re-opened its dump in a nearby county, but this dump too was ordered closed in 1991, although illegal dumping continued for months. Greenpeace investigations showed the site has more than 55,000 drums of toxic waste buried five metres deep in three pits. The soil, characterized by limestone sink holes, has been contaminated, and local villagers have unusually high numbers of cancer and birth defects.

In 1993 the Mexican government allowed the dump to re-open, and a month later Metalclad bought the company. Leading US and Mexican officials praised the deal as a model of how Mexico's environment would benefit from NAFTA, presumably because Metalclad might do a better job than the previous dump owner.

But the local people protested, and the state government courageously refused to allow the dump to re-open, eventually declaring the whole area an ecological reserve. In 1997, Metalclad sued for compensation. Last August a NAFTA tribunal ordered Mexico to pay Metalclad over $16 million, in effect denying citizens the right to have their democratic governments make environmental decisions. Mexico appealed for a neutral third party review which is scheduled for Vancouver.

CUPE (the Canadian Union of Public Employees) is asking permission to intervene, and Trading Strategies, a coalition of the Council of Canadians, environmental and labour organizations, will monitor the proceedings. Trading Strategies will also present a resolution to Vancouver Council soon.

A recent Health Canada study looked at turbidity in Greater Vancouver water from 1992 to 1998 and its relationship to gastrointestinal illness, as indicated by hospital admissions, physician visits, and visits to BC Children's Hospital emergency room. The researchers found a statistical relationship between endemic stomach illnesses and turbidity in the water, over and above normal incidence, especially among the young and the old. "Extrapolating ... over a 6-year period, variations in Greater Vancouver Regional District drinking water quality explained approximately 17,500 physician visits ... 85 hospital admissions and 138 pediatric hospital emergency room visits (1.6% of all gastroenteritis-related pediatric hospital emergency room visits)... The true health impact estimates may have been substantially less, or greater than those calculated."

The researchers note that these findings are consistent with other North American studies, with these implications:

• Significant levels of endemic (day-to-day) gastroenteritis events are potentially water borne in nature,
• Watershed protection and chlorination may not adequately protect against the water borne transmission of enteric pathogens, and
• Turbidity appears to be a valuable water quality indicator.

* Drinking Water Quality and Health Care Utilization for Gastrointestinal Illness in Greater Vancouver, J. Aramini et al., Health Canada, December 2000. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ehp/ehd/catalogue/bch_pubs/vancouver_dwq.htm

For 5 months in 2000, tissues from sheep infected with scrapie (the sheep version of mad cow disease) were accidentally sent to the Ottawa waste water treatment plant without being adequately treated to kill the infective agents in the tissue. The sludge containing the infectious material was spread on farmland in the Ottawa area as 'biosolids.' The sheep tissues contained scrapie prions which can remain infective for several years in the soil.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency laboratory was testing infected and uninfected sheep tissue looking for a way to develop a way to test for scrapie in live animals. Currently, animals who are infected with mad cow disease, scrapie, or chronic wasting disease, and humans infected with Creutzfelt-Jacob Disease (the human version) can only be diagnosed after death.

The release of the tissues was publicly acknowledged earlier this year by the federal Canadian Food Inspection Agency, but laboratory officials were not informed that the waste water sludge containing the tissue was spread on farmland in the greater Ottawa area.

The Ontario Ministry of Environment was unaware of the spill. A provincial officer from the Ottawa Ministry of the Environment stated that spills into the sewer system are not counted as a spill by the Province.

Farmers who received the sludge from the Ottawa treatment plant have not been notified that they may have received sludge containing the infective scrapie tissues. Both CFIAïïï and Health Canada said there was no risk from the release, but the situation had been corrected.

* Maureen Reilly http://www.cfia-acia.agr.ca/english /corpaffr/newsrelease/

British Columbia announced in January that it has now passed the 12 per cent target for land protection, with the approval of a land and resource management plan for the Okanagan Shuswap in the southern interior.

The Okanagan land and resource management plan adds 49 protected areas totalling 122,963 hectares, bringing the protected area in BC to 12.37 per cent of the province. Major new protected areas in the Okanagan include: Anstey-Hunakwa, an undisturbed part of the Shuswap Lake area; South Okanagan Grasslands (9,678 hectares), an area containing habitat for endangered birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians; and Myra Bellevue, in the North Okanagan Highlands.

As well, the new 26,000-hectare Snowy protected area links with Cathedral Provincial Park and a recently protected area in Washington state known as North Loomis. Combined, these areas encompass 65,000 hectares of cross-border connected protected lands in a region that contains many endangered species and spaces.

A variety of designated zones within the plan area will also enhance economic prospects and investment certainty. Eighteen resource management zones allow for industrial activities, such as logging and mining, "that are compatible with other values."

* BC Press Release, January 2001

Like a deathbed repentance, the NDP government of British Columbia is proclaiming its earnest intent to enact a Safe Drinking Water "Plan" with hints at potential legislation that may have been leading edge in 1921. Hurried consultations are being held in 8 hinterland cities until mid-February. The discussion paper can be downloaded from the web at: http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/wat/wq/dw or obtained from Enquiry BC at 1(800)663-7867.

Some obvious and long overdue possible actions are mentioned:

• An inventory of current drinking water sources, from lakes to wells, maybe even including watersheds and groundwater capture areas, as well as an assessment of the status of treatment and distribution systems.
• Possible standards for water qualïïï ity and monitoring
• Training and certification of waïïï ter system operators, well drillers and pump installers, as well as design and construction standards.
• Registration of wells
• Standards to prevent flooding of wells and proper closure of old wells.
• Enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Regulations requiring disinfection of surface water supplies.
• Education to require emergency response plans
• Research into how water gets con ïïïtaminated, with perhaps even recognition of aquifers
• Public education about safe drink ïïïing water.

Despite these practical steps, the bulk of the discussion paper is devoted to concepts of multi-stakeholder community and regional planning processes, including devolution of monitoring, land use regulation, and even contaminant level standards. Despite the Auditor General's recommendation, the discussion paper is the result of collaboration between four government departments, and there seem to be no plans to change the inherently inefficient multiplication of bureaucracies.

Chillingly, there is no change in the following uncivilized behaviours:

• Sewage dumping into rivers, lakes and ocean,
• Sludge spreading and open dumps
• Waste injection into aquifers
• Agricultural dumping of pesticides and nitrates into wells so the irrigation system can spread them on the fields
• Clear cut logging
• A myriad of contaminant problems such as MTBE and arsenic.

Nor is there any attempt to deal with the issues of "water taking" which removes water from currently used wells through the action of new wells, of public control of water and waste water systems, effective land use planning set out at a provincial level, and alternatives to the conventional system of contaminating vast amounts of fresh water with human waste through the flush toilet system.

All the multi-stakeholder "talk and dump" committees in the world, no matter how ideologically correct, won't change the hard reality that some tough love is needed for BC's abused water supply.

* With thanks to Cliff Turner and Maureen Reilly

British Columbia ranks with the Yukon and Newfoundland in the low quality of its care for drinking water, according to the Sierra Legal Defense Fund report, Waterproofing Canada. Only PEI does a worse job of protecting water. The two provinces which ranked highest are Alberta and post-Walkerton Ontario, based on provincial responses to questions about protecting drinking water at its source, water treatment and testing, and informing the public.

Sierra Legal Defense Fund praises some provincial actions: "Alberta, Nova Scotia and Quebec are alone ... in nearly or completely adopting the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water as the standard by which their water is assessed. The Guidelines set fairly stringent limits on a number of potentially harmful microbiological, chemical and radiological contaminants that may be found in community drinking water supplies."

Key Recommendations:

• Make drinking water protection mandatory.
• Enact comprehensive watershed and well field protection.
• Make the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality binding across Canada.
• Require training and certification for the operators of public water systems.
• Enact stringent reporting and establish right-to-know provisions for water consumers.
• Give citizens the right to sue jurisdictions that fail to meet water standards, as is allowed in all US states and territories.
• Increase federal funding for the construction and renewal of water treatment and delivery infrastructures, making the funding contingent on meeting water protection requirements.

* http://www.sierralegal.org

Scientists studying chinook salmon in the Hanford Reach stretches of the Columbia River have found, by genetic analysis, that 84% of the seeming females started out life as males. Hatchery chinook from other river systems, even those derived from Hanford Reach chinook stock, show no such transformation. The female fish showed a chromosomal reversal during early development. Lab tests have shown that high water temperatures can affect chinook this way and the water at Hanford is subject to high temperatures due to up river dams.

The website for the authors of Our Stolen Future, comments:

"This research raises the question as to whether widespread sex-reversal may be contributing to the decline in wild salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest.

"Feminization of male fish has been a focal point of concern about endocrine disruption since the early 1990s. While the phenomenon was first discovered in England, it is now also known to occur widely in Europe and in the United States. This paper is the first to report feminization in an endangered salmon. It is also striking because of the high proportion of feminized males and the degree to which sex reversal has gone: many of the males are fully fertile females.

"Experiments with other species of fish have shown that exposure of fish eggs to estrogen-mimicking substances can cause complete sex reversal of males to fertile females."

* http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/wildlife/; JJ Nagler et al, 2001. High Incidence of a Male-Specific Genetic Marker in Phenotypic Female Chinook Salmon from the Columbia River. Environmental Health Perspectives 109:67-69.

* See Also "Making Girl Fish into Boys," MillWatch Feb 2001

The combination of two widely used agricultural pesticides--but neither one alone--creates in mice the exact pattern of brain damage that doctors see in patients with Parkinson's disease. The latest research, from a team led by Deborah Cory-Slechta, of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, appears in the Dec. 15 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. The scientists caution that it's probable that many factors contribute to a complex disease like Parkinson's, and they say it's unlikely that the pesticides on their own actually cause the disease.

Cory-Slechta's team studied the effects of a mixture of the herbicide paraquat and the fungicide maneb. Each is used on millions of acres in the United States alone: Maneb is applied widely on such crops as potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce and corn, and paraquat is used on corn, soybeans, cotton, and fruit.

Cory-Slechta notes humans are exposed to mixtures of chemicals every day. "There are thousands upon thousands of combinations; I think what we have found is the tip of the iceberg," she says.

Several epidemiological studies have hinted at a role for pesticides in the development of Parkinson's. In addition, in December scientists at Emory University presented evidence that rats given a steady dose of the natural pesticide rotenone, used on home-grown fruits and vegetables, develop Parkinson's-like symptoms.

University of Rochester Press Release, January 2001

But the next Monday morning, a different message flashed up: "YES! WE HAVE A POPs TREATY!" Further breath-taking news revealed that, after an all night last ditch negotiating session, the nations of the world had agreed on a text, and environmental activists reported that the Treaty was good. The veteran warriors of Greenpeace indulged in rare optimism. "This Treaty turns off the tap on POPs for future generations," one rejoiced.

"Persistent organic pollutants threaten the health and well-being of humans and wildlife in every region of the world," said John Buccini, the Canadian government official who chaired the talks. "This new treaty will protect present and future generations from the cancers, birth defects, and other tragedies caused by POPs."

Executive Director Klaus Toepfer of the United Nations Environment Programme, which organized the negotiations, applauded the strong international regime that has been established for promoting global action on POPs. "This is a sound and effective treaty that can be updated and expanded over the coming decades to maintain the best possible protection against POPs," he said.

In a joint statement, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Chlorine Chemistry Council (CCC) endorsed the Treaty for its "realism" and "pragmatism," especially the weight-of-science approach to adding new chemicals to the international ban.

Close to forty years after the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring first sounded the alarm about persistent man made chemicals and their wide-ranging harm, specifically DDT, the nations of the world had concluded negotiations under the United Nations for a global treaty on POPs -- Persistent Organic Pollutants. [See Looking into Pandora's Box of POPs: Towards Global Action on Persistent Toxics, Watershed Sentinel, August/September 1995. Not available on this website.] In contrast to the fiasco at the Kyoto Climate Change negotiations, not only was agreement reached, but environmentalists and health activists are still agreeably surprised at how close the final text came to our "wish list."

Brooks Yeager, head of the US delegation, also expressed surprise at the outcome: "We got a good result. It's almost surprising, but I think everyone is happy. Environmentalists are happy with it, and industry can work with it." He told the Chemical Market Reporter that the final precautionary language has a "scientific flavor," making it acceptable.

Thanks largely to the efforts of the European Union and Developing countries, elimination of the world's worst actors in the man-made chemical family is the stated goal of the Treaty, rather than the slow-release control measures favoured by the companies, the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada.

Stephane Gingras of Great Lakes United, attended the negotiations in South Africa as a member of the Canadian delegation. He says Canada "played a great role for a change" by not blocking progressive proposals such as the European one on the inclusion of the precautionary principle in the requirements of the convention. Canada promoted compromise on this issue so that both strong science and the Precautionary Principle were included in the text.

Gingras said three 'drivers' explained "why we got such a good Treaty." First, the abject failure of traditional risk assessment in the spread of mad cow disease led the Europeans to want the precautionary principle made effective in the text. Second, many countries were determined to succeed after the breakdown of the Kyoto Climate change negotiations. And, thirdly, says Gingras, "We are very efficient and our native friends are even more efficient than we are ..."

The concentration of POPs from all over the world in the Arctic food chain had made them a priority for Environment Canada and northern aboriginal peoples. Native organizations had devoted special attention to cultivating Ottawa's understanding of this problem, which is of more than academic interest to people who live in the North and eat their traditional "country food."

The POPs talks were also the subject of a special organizing effort by an international network of toxics activists who painstakingly developed a platform acceptable to both "North" and "South," environmental, indigenous and health activists from developed and developing countries. This solidarity was to stand in good stead over the two years of negotiations, as IPEN (International POPs Elimination Network) members sponsored teach-ins and government briefings across the world. Physicians for Social Responsibility held the secretarial and organizing functions, while Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund both made the POPs Treaty organizational priorities, along with hundreds of regional and grassroots citizens' organizations.

In Canada, the members of the Canadian Environmental Network Toxics Caucus, still aching from the industrial gutting of the 1999 Canadian Environmental Protection Act, prepared briefings and sent representatives to meeting after meeting with the Canadian government. Environmentalists, northern aboriginals, and industry were each granted one representative on the Canadian negotiating delegation.

Over and over, until it seemed like futile rhetoric, the Toxics Caucus consensus position was in complete agreement with IPEN -- to be effective, the Treaty needed several major features. Most importantly, the resolution of the Treaty with regard to the first 12 POPs was no more important than ensuring that the Treaty would provide stepping stones into a clean future using pollution prevention, materials substitution and alternative technology.

• The Toxics Caucus supports a global POPs treaty that promotes the use of clean safe technology to prevent the use, production, release and disposal of any POPs.
• Even for PCBs, DDT and unintentionally produced by-products like dioxins and furans, the goal must be elimination, "even if it is a long-term goal." It was recognized that temporary exemptions to phase out would be required for some chemicals, such as DDT, while suitable alternative products were developed.
• Incorporation of the precautionary principle was the key to future effectiveness of the global treaty in dealing with subsequent addition of other chemicals.
• The destruction and disposal of POPs stockpiles and waste needed to be based on non-incineration technologies.
• The Treaty should not be subject to World Trade Organization strictures, and
• Financial aid was critical to help developing countries phase out the POPs they were currently using. Without that aid, developing countries would not agree to eliminate the cheap but persistent chemicals which are migrating to northern regions from around the world.

To a substantial extent, the Treaty includes all of the elements we had identified as crucial; even the wording that WTO articles would take precedence got moved out of the body of the Treaty and into the preamble, where it has less force.

The treaty sets out control measures covering the production, import, export, disposal, and use of POPs. Governments are to promote the best available technologies and practices for replacing existing POPs while preventing the development of new POPs. A POPs Review Committee will consider additional candidates for the POPs list on a regular basis. Most of the 12 chemicals are subject to an immediate ban. However, a health-related exemption has been granted for DDT, needed in many countries to control malarial mosquitoes. Similarly, governments may maintain existing electrical equipment in a way that prevents PCB leaks until 2025 to give them time to arrange for PCB-free replacements. Although PCBs are no longer produced, hundreds of thousands of tons are still in use in such equipment. In addition, a number of country-specific and time-limited exemptions have been agreed for other chemicals. The treaty calls on governments to reduce releases of furans and dioxins, "with the goal of their continuing minimization and, where feasible, ultimate elimination."

Toxics activists around the world surely enjoyed a Happy New Year, knowing we were leaving future generations the best kind of gift -- one they will never know so many people had to work so hard, so long, to achieve. In the new year, the work begins to get fifty nations to ratify the Treaty, so that it can take effect. The signing ceremony is scheduled for Stockholm in May 2001.

Let the future begin!

* Sources: UNEP, GreenPeace, Pesticide Action Network, IPEN Press Releases, Chemical Market Reporter, Great Lakes United Toxics Watch, December 2000 with Special Thanks to Stephane Gingras.

* Delores Broten was selected by the CEN Toxics Caucus to participate as a member of the Canadian government delegation in two of the five negotiating sessions for the POPs Treaty. She is Senior Policy Advisor for Reach for Unbleached! and editor of the Watershed Sentinel.

• Families of fishermen from the east coast of Sweden known to have consumed PCB and dioxin polluted fish from the Baltic sea gave birth to children with lower birth weights than their counterparts from the west coast of Finland whose diet was less contaminated.
• A lower birth weight has also been determined among children from parents that had a relatively high consumption of fish from Lake Michigan in the USA.
• In Japan children had lower weight at birth after a rice poisoning incident. Rice was contaminated with PCBs and dioxins.
• Otherwise healthy Dutch babies whose mothers had slightly elevated levels of PCBs and dioxins in their body showed retarded post-natal growth and development of the immune and nervous systems.
• Babies of Inuit mothers with slightly elevated levels of PCBs in their breast milk have problems with their immune system and their post-natal growth is retarded.

* http://www.greenpeace.org

The cost of doing laundry or unclogging the drain is far greater than the price we pay at the supermarket. Most of us have learned that the best cleaners must have strong scents and warning labels on them to conquer dirt. Common cleaning products injure lungs, skin and our reproductive and endocrine systems. Children are particularly vulnerable because they absorb more chemical residues through their immature lungs and intestines than fully developed adults. These toxins go down millions of people's drains, where they contaminate water systems. Spreading sewage sludge on farmlands gets the toxins into ground water systems as well, affecting natural soil ecology, and ending up in our food [See "When the Sludge Hits the Fields" Watershed Sentinel Dec. 00/Jan. 01].

Our food and water supply is also being poisoned with pesticide residue and run off. Pesticides are designed for specific pest management purposes, but they also have many unintentional impacts. Active ingredients are nerve poisons, interfere with growth hormones, or suppress or over-activate natural enzymes. Most pesticides also include other chemicals that are not listed on the label but are often as toxic or more toxic than the active ingredients. In addition to killing target pests, pesticides kill beneficial insects and plants that help keep pests under control creating a downward spiral of pesticide dependency.

Whether it's down the drain or in a yard or farmer's field, these chemicals are dangerous to the environment, often being toxic to fish, aquatic plants, and microorganisms as well as terrestrial wildlife including natural pollinators that we are dependent on for food production. These threats are in addition to the threat they pose to our families and pets, who are exposed to them during handling, use, and in the residues they leave. According to the World Health Organization, 20,000 people die each year as a direct result of pesticide poisoning and, in Canada, thousands of children visit emergency wards after accidentally ingesting pesticides (World Wildlife Fund, 2000). Some pesticides are associated with chronic health impacts in wildlife and humans. They often leach beyond their target areas.

The problem we face is knowing which products are toxic and what alternatives are available. To help people kick toxic chemicals out of their home the Georgia Strait Alliance is offering free Home Visits in Greater Victoria until mid-March. ToxicSmart Educators visit homes and do an inventory of household products, offering information on less-toxic and often less-costly alternatives. They provide a free information kit and help with specific concerns regarding household product toxins. In Victoria contact the Georgia Strait Alliance at (250)381-8321 to book a free home visit.

Your house may be clean, but what does clean really mean and what does it cost?

Aquaculture, growing at 11 percent a year over the past decade, is the fastest growing sector of the world food economy.

Climbing from 13 million tons of fish produced in 1990 to 31 million tons in 1998, fish farming is poised to overtake cattle ranching as a food source by the end of this decade.

This record aquacultural growth is signalling a basic shift in our diet. Over the last century, the world relied heavily on two natural systems--oceanic fisheries and range lands--to satisfy a growing demand for animal protein, but that era is ending as both systems reach their productive limits.

Between 1950 and 1990, beef production, four fifths of it from range lands, nearly tripled, climbing from 19 million to 53 million tons before plateauing. Meanwhile, the oceanic fish catch grew from 19 million to 86 million tons before levelling off. Since 1990, there has been little growth in either beef production or the oceanic fish catch.

Additional production of beef or seafood now depends on placing more cattle in feed lots or more fish in ponds. At this point, the efficiency with which cattle and fish convert grain into protein begins to reshape production trends and thus our diets.

Cattle require some seven kilograms of grain to add one kilogram of live weight, whereas fish can add a kilogram of live weight with less than two kilograms of grain.

Water scarcity is also a matter of concern, since it takes 1,000 tons of water to produce one ton of grain. But the fish farming advantage in the efficiency of grain conversion translates into a comparable advantage in water efficiency as well, even when the relatively small amount of water for fish ponds is included. In a world of land and water scarcity, the advantage of fish ponds over feed lots in producing low-cost animal protein is clear.

In contrast to meat production, which is concentrated in industrial countries, some 85 percent of fish farming is in developing countries. China, where fish farming began more than 3,000 years ago, accounted for 21 million tons of the 31 million tons of the world output in 1998. India is a distant second with two million tons. Other developing countries with thriving aquacultural sectors include Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Among industrial countries, Japan, the United States, and Norway are the leaders. Japan's output of 800,000 tons consists of high-value species, such as scallops, oysters, and yellowtail. The US output of 450,000 tons is mostly catfish. Norway's 400,000 tons is mostly salmon.

With over fishing now commonplace, developing countries are turning to fish farming to satisfy their growing appetite for seafood largely because the oceanic option is not available to them as it was earlier to industrial countries. For example, as population pressure on the land intensified in Japan, it turned to the oceans for its animal protein, using scarce land for rice. Today Japan's 125 million people consume some 10 million tons of seafood each year. If China's 1.25 billion were to eat seafood at the same rate, they would need 100 million tons--the global fish catch.

Although at least 220 species of fin fish, shellfish, and crustaceans are farmed commercially, a dozen or so dominate world output. Among fin fish, five species of carp--all widely grown in China--lead the way with a total output of some 11 million tons in 1998, more than one-third of the world aquacultural output. Among shellfish, the Pacific cupped oyster, at 3.4 million tons (including shell), dominates, followed by the Yesso scallop and the blue mussel.

In China, fish are produced primarily in ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and rice paddies. Some five million hectares of land are devoted exclusively to fish farming, much of it in carp polyculture. In addition, 1.7 million hectares of rice land is used to produce rice and fish together.

Over time, China has evolved a fish polyculture using four types of carp that feed at different levels of the food chain.

Silver carp and bighead carp are filter feeders, feeding on phytoplankton and zooplankton, respectively. The grass carp, as its name implies, feeds largely on vegetation, while the common carp is a bottom feeder, living on detritus that settles to the bottom. Most of China's aquaculture is integrated with agriculture, enabling farmers to use agricultural wastes, such as pig manure, to fertilize ponds, thus stimulating the growth of plankton. Fish polyculture, which can boost the fish yield per hectare over that of monocultures by half, also dominates fish farming in India.

As land and water become scarce, China's fish farmers intensify production by feeding more grain concentrates to raise pond productivity. Between 1990 and 1996, China's farmers raised the annual pond yield per hectare from 2.4 tons of fish to 4.1 tons.

In the United States, catfish, which require only 1.6 kilograms of feed to gain one kilogram of live weight, is the leading aquacultural product. With US catfish production last year at roughly 600 million pounds (270,000 tons), or more than two pounds for each American, US consumption of catfish exceeded that of lamb and mutton.

US catfish production is concentrated in four states: Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas. Mississippi, with 45,000 hectares of catfish ponds and 60 percent of US output, is the catfish capital of the world.

Among the aquatic species that are widely farmed, two can wreak environmental havoc: salmon, with production of 700,000 tons per year, and shrimp at 1,100,000 tons per year. Salmon are grown mostly in industrial countries, principally in Norway, for consumption in those countries. Shrimp are grown largely in developing countries, such as Thailand, Ecuador, and Indonesia, for export to more-affluent societies.

Salmon, a carnivorous fish, are fed a diet consisting mainly of fish meal, typically made from anchovies, herring, or the remnants of fish processing. In stark contrast to the production of herbivorous species, such as carp and catfish, which lighten the pressure on oceanic fisheries, salmon production actually intensifies pressure because it requires up to five tons of landed fish for each ton of salmon produced.

Another concern is that if farmed salmon, which are bred for fast growth and not for survival in the wild, escape because of damage to pens by storms or attacks by predators, such as harbour seals, they can breed with wild salmon, weakening the latter's capacity to survive. Fish grown in offshore cages or pens, as salmon frequently are, also concentrate large quantities of waste. For example, the waste produced by farmed salmon in Norway is about equal to the sewage produced by Norway's four million people.

Shrimp are often produced by clearing coastal mangrove forests which protect coastlines and serve as nurseries for local fish. Mangrove destruction can cause a decline of local fisheries that may exceed the gains from shrimp production.

A world that is reaching the limits for oceanic fisheries and range lands, while adding 80 million people per year, needs efficient new sources of animal protein. Herbivorous fish, such as carp grown in polycultures or in combination with rice, or catfish grown in ponds, offer an efficient way of expanding animal protein supplies in a protein-hungry world.

Fish farming is not a solution to the world food problem, but as China has demonstrated, it does offer a source of low-cost animal protein for lower-income populations.

* For additional data, contact: Reah Janise Kauffman; phone: (202)452-1992, ext. 514; fax: (202)296-7365; www.worldwatch.org/alerts/indexia.html

There were two large escapes of Atlantic salmon on the west coast in August of 2000, both from Stolt Seafarms. More than 32,000 fish escaped from a pen operated by the company in Johnstone Strait, off northwestern Vancouver Island. Earlier, the company lost about 4,500 Atlantic salmon from another operation near Campbell River.

The BC Fisheries Minister at that time, Corky Evans, said he would impose a "new regulatory regime" intended to enforce escape prevention plans; in October, 2000, the province introduced new regulations and approved four pilot projects that make use of green technologies.

Among the new regulations are extended stream surveys for Atlantic salmon and an increase in random audits. The four projects approved (of 13 proposed by the industry) are: Totem Oysters in Jervis Inlet, marine harvest (Nutreco) on Saltspring Island, Heritage Aquaculture and the Homalco Band in Bute Inlet, and the Kitasoo/Xiaxias First nations and Marine Harvest (Nutreco) in Jackson Passage, north of Bella Bella. These projects will test closed-containment systems with waste recovery, diets to reduce the use of fish meal, and a freshwater envelope to rear freshwater fry in the marine environment.

Safeguards recommended by the David Suzuki Foundation include: zero discharge of fish sewage, industry-developed and -funded site reclamation plans, mandatory insurance for operators to cover ecological restoration costs, and the elimination of fish that can be used for human food as feed for farmed salmon.

* More information from the BC government at: www.gov.bc.ca/agf and from the David Suzuki Foundation at: www.vkool.com/suzuki

More than 200 ecologists, climatologists, biologists, and other scientists and environmentalists in countries around the globe recently signed the following declaration:

* From: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Monitor, Nov. 2000; www.policyalternatives.ca

* For a list of the signatories to this declaration, or to add your name to the list, contact: The Ecologist at 46 The Vineyard, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 6AN, UK; fax: +44-0-181-948-6787; e-mail: egoldsmith@ecologist.denton.co.uk

Construction will start in February on the "world's largest wind farm," to be sited on the Washington-Oregon border near Walla Walla. The 450 windmills of the Stateline Wind Project will produce up to 300 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 70,000 homes, beginning this year. (By comparison, Island Co-Generation Project on Vancouver Island will generate about 240 MW at full capacity.)

The Washington portion of the wind farm was approved following an Environmental Impact Study, which the developer describes as including "thorough avian, botanical and cultural resource studies." Additional spring and fall night bird migration studies will be conducted to determine the location of some turbines. Once in operation, the project will monitor avian and bat impact. Some of the land is used for farming and ranching, both of which will continue.

The developer, FPL Energy, is the largest operator of wind energy facilities in the US, with more than 1,000 megawatts of wind turbines in operation or under construction in seven states. The company owns and operates the 25 MW Vansycle Wind Facility adjacent to the Stateline site.

PacifiCorp Power Marketing, which is also building a 500 MW gas turbine generator at Klamath Falls Oregon, will purchase and market the entire output of the Stateline project over a 25-year period. Wind energy will be delivered to the grid via Bonneville Power Administration and PacifiCorp transmission lines. Bonneville Power Administration and other utilities will supply hydro power resources to PacifiCorp to "shape" the variable wind energy.

Rachel Shimshak, director of the Renewable Northwest Project, noted the business basis of the project. "At a time when power prices are skyrocketing in the wholesale market and the region is short of power, it is a smart business decision to go with stable-priced, indigenous renewable resources."

* Stateline Wind Project, Joint Press Release, PacifiCorp Power Marketing, January 2001

Scattered throughout the watersheds in the eastern part of Canada and the United States are countless ancient mill sites. Their locations are marked by the presence of old dams on many of the creeks and rivers. Water backed up from the dam became a millpond from which it was channelled through a millrace to turn a large wooden mill wheel. The turning axle of the mill wheel served as the conveyor of mechanical power whereby, through a series of belts, pulleys and gears, the energy produced by the weight of water, enticed down an incline by gravity, was transferred throughout the mill.

In many favoured locations where a natural waterfall existed, the building of a dam was not necessary. The mill was built below the waterfall, the millrace ran from the upper level of the stream at the head of the fall, turned the mill wheel, and discharged back into the stream below.

Once captured within the mill, the energy from the mill wheel opened up a wide range of possibilities. Belts turned saws that cut logs into lumber, ran planers, lathes, drills and many other processes limited only by the inventiveness of the millers. In the case of grist mills, the energy turned millstones, grinding corn and other grains into meal and flour.

Villages and towns sprang up around the mills and, along with the church, the mill became a focal point of many communities. In many cases the towns were named after the miller. Place names such as McArthur Mills in Ontario are common throughout the eastern part of North America. Populations were somewhat sedentary, close-knit and, to a great extent, co-operative. The cohesiveness of the villages was such that, until the increased mobility of populations in recent years, developed speech mannerisms were a geographical marker of individual settlements along a particular river. Well into the twentieth century, dialect could still identify a person's home village a few miles up or down the river.

For more than two centuries after the arrival of Europeans in North America, water wheels, windmills, draft animals and human labour served the needs of industry. Historians and artists of the era have portrayed scenes of a lifestyle charmingly serene in its simplicity. But the relative tranquillity of communities and existing systems of the early eighteenth century soon would be swept away by an invention that would become a historical landmark and influence the lives of people worldwide.

Late in the eighteenth century, after hundreds of years of dreaming, speculation, trials and finally invention, steam engines were powering factories and mills in North America and Europe. The floodgates of the industrial revolution were opened.

Steam engines powered ocean going ships carrying people and products of industry across the world's oceans.

On land, railways spread throughout the countryside and steam locomotives hauled freight and passengers to and from communities that rapidly grew from village to town to city. And the romance of the train was kindled in the hearts of the people and burns to this day. Fortunate are those who have heard the siren call of a steam whistle in the night, fading away into the distance, sighing, moaning, enticing. Within a very few years railroads crossed Canada and the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. Most of the world's people would experience the impact of the steam engine and the industrial revolution.

Invention spawns invention. Steam power set the pace of industrial expansion throughout the nineteenth century. Shortly before the turning to the twentieth century, a new drummer would set the cadence. The discovery and application of electricity would dramatically quicken the march of industrial expansion.

Since its beginning, roughly a century ago, electric power has become so commonplace that those born within the age of electricity would find it difficult to imagine a world without it. Much of the world's population would not remember a time when it was not a part of daily life. To those of us who live in the developed world, electricity is the genie that lives in a wire in our walls waiting to do our bidding at the flick of a switch.

Electricity, as if it had a mind of its own, was able to insinuate itself into the gaps and empty holes of technology where steam engines and other sources of energy would be too cumbersome to fit. In fact, with its vast array of switches, timers, thermostats and computers, electricity controls most of the machinery of modern technology. Sometimes it seems that, through the minds of dreamers who will seek out new ways to employ it, electricity has the intellectual capacity to guard against its own obsolescence.

The twentieth century could well be named the century of electricity. As with the genie in Aladdin's lamp, electricity has brought many benefits. It has been a priceless, life-saving boon to the health-care profession. Countless electrically powered gadgets, tools and applications have taken much of the time-consuming drudgery out of housekeeping and factory work. To list them all would be an undertaking of encyclopedic proportions. The modern automobile could not have progressed to the engineering triumph it is today without the electrical processes involved in its manufacture. Electricity has heated our homes and lit our cities and, probably more than any other factor, has been both the lever and the fulcrum of our impressive technological infrastructure.

But, as with most things so central to our lives, our hunger for more and more energy to satisfy the demands and hopes for an ever-expanding industry has led us down roads we should not have travelled.

We have built nuclear reactors in Canada on the pretence that we needed them to meet our electricity needs when their real purpose was to promote their sales worldwide. We have risked the health and lives of populations at home and abroad and are continuing to do so, even though there is no known way to cope with the radioactive waste they produce.

To produce hydro-electric power we have built massive dams, flooding great river valleys and laying waste thousands of kilometres of forest, fish and animal habitat, farms and potential farm land. Decaying vegetation in the bottom of these reservoirs will, for years to come, release methane, a potent greenhouse gas, to the earth's atmosphere. To supplement hydro-electricity we are burning massive amounts of fossil fuels to drive turbines generating more and more electrical energy. Carbon dioxide produced from burning fossil fuels causes serious ground level pollution as well as adding to the global warming problem. Our modern, but out-dated, transportation system, including the over-used private automobile, is driven almost entirely by fossil fuels.

In recent years increasing numbers of scientists are warning of the possible catastrophic effects of global warming. Rising sea level from melting polar ice caps, on a planet where most of the population and its support systems lie a scant few hundred feet above present sea level, would present a very serious problem.

Representatives from countries worldwide have been meeting in recent years to try to work out an agreement to lessen the risk of global warming. To this date there has been no progress. No-one wants to let go of the industrial tiger's tail.

Looking backward from the beginning of this twenty- first century, beset as we are with uncountable environmental problems of our own making, many of today's citizens may feel a deep sense of nostalgia for a time far away and irrecoverable. The idea of a pace of life set by a turning water wheel seems hopelessly romantic.

We can only go forward in time. But we can go with the knowledge we have learned from our past mistakes. And with imagination, we can correct some of those mistakes. The proposals for alternative energy are many, varied, and exciting. But we must abandon our mind set that only big is good. We can learn to dance lightly on the planet instead of stomping it under our hob-nailed boots.

There are attractive working models of wave and tidal generation of electricity. We are blessed with great oceans on both sides of our continent. We have an abundance of waves and tides. Wind and solar generation is spreading throughout the world. It would be a rare day indeed if the sun didn't shine or the wind didn't blow somewhere on the continent. Every house, every high-rise office or apartment building, every factory could be equipped to maximum capacity with solar panels. Building owners could be charged for electricity coming in from the grid and credited for surplus going out. There are countless locations where wind farms could be established.

Streams and rivers could be harnessed with floating generators on hinged mountings to ensure operation in fluctuating water levels. A dam would not be necessary. There would be no restriction of water flow or the passage of fish.

City public transportation systems could be converted to electric power. Fares should be abolished to encourage their use. Buses could, perhaps, be smaller and run more frequently. Congestion and pollution caused by automobiles would be greatly reduced. Cities could be freed from the great financial burden caused by trying to accommodate, unnecessarily, too many private cars. Advertising could make bus riding glamorous; if it can make people pay a hundred and eighty dollars for brand name running shoes made in a third world country at a cost of fifty cents for material and five cents for labour, or forty thousand dollars for four- wheel-drive vehicles that never get off paved roads, surely it could make public transportation attractive. We may all be Saturday night anarchists but, apparently, we love to be led.

Perhaps railroads could be converted to a diesel-assisted electric system with the right-of-way being a national power grid collecting input from micro-power systems across the country. Each car in the train could be equipped with a tag axle, the purpose of which would be to generate electricity to the grid and assist in braking on the down-hill sections of the railway. From the continental divide at the BC/Alberta border, it's down-hill to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Perhaps electrical/mechanical engineers would point out that the tag axle proposal is unworkable, that the amount of energy produced would not overcome the drag. But they could, and probably will, find a way to make it work.

Humans are remarkable. We can do anything that we can imagine. We have sent our citizens to the moon and brought them home again. We have built castles in the air where they can live for a while. We can repair the damage we have done to our planet. But we must begin.

Imagine.

Wood floors have been popular in homes for many years because of their beauty, durability, and easy maintenance. Increased awareness that lead, pesticides, and dust mites lurk in carpets has caused many people, especially those with asthma and allergies, to rip out the carpeting.

Sometimes an attractive wood floor lies underneath. Whatever the reason for finishing wood floors, the decision is important because you will have to live with it for a long time. At least, you hope so.

There are great differences between the types of finishes available, in safety, in appearance, and in durability.

Basically, the finishes are of two types: penetrating finishes and surface finishes.

Surface finishes must be strong because they take all of the wear. Penetrating finishes help the wood to take the wear, so they need not be as strong.

The products are changing rapidly these days, driven by health concerns, tighter air-quality regulations, and new technologies. In addition to environmental issues, your choice will be driven by the appearance you are seeking, the amount and type of traffic on the floor, your tolerance for maintenance, and cost.

Generally speaking, it is the solvents in floor finishes that are responsible for most of the health and environmental concerns. Because of the toxicity and the smog-producing properties of solvents, some manufacturers have been moving toward water-based finishes as the answer to both problems.

Another approach is "plant chemistry," products made with natural oils and waxes. Both approaches have their advantages, and no single product will meet everyone's needs.

Sorting out the products can be confusing. I spoke with Matt Freeman-Gleason of the Environmental Home Center in Seattle, to learn about the latest products.

The two-part system with separate hardener gives this surface finish its exceptional staying power. Swedish finish is not, however, a do-it-yourself project. Though it may conjure up images of tall blonde people, skiing, and hooked rugs, try to think of Swedish finish as acid-cured urethane.

The material is highly toxic until it cures, which takes several days, during which time you must vacate the home. As it cures, the finish emits vast quantities of volatile compounds.

The odour persists for some time, though not at the eye-searing intensity of the first few days. Fortunately, there are now alternatives that offer much of the durability of a Swedish finish in a low-toxicity product that you can apply yourself.

Water-based finishes
One excellent alternative is a water-based polyurethane. Although not quite as durable as Swedish finish, it comes close, according to Freeman-Gleason. These products are applied as a one-part system with either brush or pad. The surface finish (essentially a plastic) is built up in multiple coats. Usually three coats is enough, but up to six coats will increase the thickness and strength of the finish.

Since water-based finishes tend to raise the grain of the wood, sanding between coats is essential, especially after the first coat. As the wood becomes filled and coated, less water penetrates and less sanding is needed. Water-based urethanes have very low VOC (volatile organic compound) content. This means there is little odour and little effect on air quality. This type of product would probably be the best choice for someone with high sensitivity to chemicals.

Although the products usually do contain synthetic chemicals, some brands have taken care to choose ingredients that minimize toxicity.

Matt recommends two brands of water-based floor finishes, Crystal Shield by Pace Chem and Safecoat Polyureseal BP by AFM. Before making a choice, it would be wise to confer with a knowledgeable salesperson and see some samples. Other brands of water-based finishes are available, but Matt feels that the two companies whose products he carries have designed their products from the bottom up to be as low in toxicity as possible, whereas other manufacturers may just be keeping ahead of the air quality regulations. As a result, their products may contain significant amounts of ammonia, a highly irritating gas that is not regulated as a VOC and so is allowed in a "zero-VOC" product. So, buyer beware.

Both water-based polyurethanes and Swedish finish are basically surface finishes. Although they will last a long time, when they become worn, the surface will need to be resanded and recoated.

Plant-based finishes
Based on an entirely different philosophy, the plant-based finishes use more natural ingredients such as vegetable or citrus oils, waxes, and minerals.

By using renewable or abundant materials, as well as careful manufacturing with low environmental impacts, the makers of these products seek to reduce harmful effects at all stages of the product's life cycle.

Although the ingredients in plant-based products are generally of low toxicity, chemically sensitive people should be aware that the citrus extracts that are used in some of these products may cause problems for some. Citrus extracts contain chemicals that have strong odours and may be sensitizers. If you suspect that you may be sensitive to citrus odours, either avoid these products or test first to see if they are a problem for you. Even within the category of plant-based products, there are important differences. Some products do contain small amounts of petroleum solvents, while others do not. Durability varies, as do the amounts of VOCs.

As a group, these products offer reasonably good wear resistance, truly beautiful finishes that enhance the appearance of the wood, and a range of colours and sheens. Another important plus is that when they do begin to show wear, these finishes can usually be recoated without the need to sand off the old material, saving considerable time and effort. Like the water-based coatings, the plant-based finishes are also applied in thin layers, but sanding between layers is not needed.

Two of the better-known brands in this category are Livos and Auro, both European products. Two other products you should consider are OS/Color Hard Wax Oil and Tried & True.

Neither of these contains citrus oils, so they may be a better bet for the chemically sensitive.

The OS product uses vegetable oils and waxes that penetrate deeply into the wood, forming a durable finish that breathes. Although it contains a petroleum solvent, it is low odour in nature and small in amount. The high-solids formula contains less than 15% VOCs.

The Tried & True products are made from pure, food-grade linseed oil. No petroleum thinners or heavy metal driers are used. The product hardens by the natural action of oxygen on the ultra-pure oil. It's partly hardened beforehand and finishes after application. If you want the natural beauty of linseed oil, these products give the strongest finish of that type available.

For finishing floors, Matt suggests a mixture of two Tried & True products to give the best consistency for working with the material. The good news is you can easily recoat the finish to keep it beautiful; the bad news is that you have to. The floor should be oiled once a year with a linseed-oil-based product.

No discussion of plant-based finishes can be complete without mentioning good old-fashioned paste wax.

A blend of natural waxes and softening solvents, paste wax can give a deep, beautiful finish. The downside is that it is time-consuming to apply and requires periodic re-application.

Other products
If you visit a typical hardware store, you will find many other products on the shelves.

They include oil-based urethanes, varnishes, shellacs and lacquers. These products are quite hazardous for the do-it-yourselfer, especially the inexperienced one. Both toxic and flammable, these products require considerable personal protection for safe use. Their popularity is decreasing as water-based products get better.

Clearly, before embarking on a floor refinishing project, you will need professional help. (You may need it during and afterwards, too!) Located in Seattle's "stadium neighbourhood," the Environmental Home Center is a must-visit for anyone contemplating projects as simple as painting or as complex as a new house.

The store offers a wide range of less-toxic, recycled, and reused products, and will do mail orders.

* Contact the Environmental Home Center at: 1724 4th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134 USA; phone: (800)281-9785 or (206)682-7332; www.enviresource.com

* From: Washington Toxics Coalition Alternatives, Spring, 1999 at (206)632-1545.

* Suggested reading: Environmental by Design, A Sourcebook of Environmentally Aware Materials Choices, by Kimm Leclair and David Rousseau, Box 34493, Stn D, Vancouver, BC V6I 4W4.

In February, Courtenay's World Community Film Festival, the largest film festival of its kind in BC, marks its 10th anniversary.

Over the past year, Festival organizers have worked to showcase the best in "issue" films. Local author and satirist Des Kennedy will open the Festival Friday Feb. 2 at the Sid Williams Theatre.

In addition to the two films Friday evening, showings will continue in four venues all day Saturday Feb. 3. As always, a large feature of the Festival will be the bazaar in the main hall at the Filberg Centre, where dozens of local groups set up shop for the day. Festival goers are encouraged to relax and debrief over a fair trade coffee and goodies at the bazaar.

Some films with connections to the natural world include: Connect, A New Ecological Paradigm; Giant Sea Turtles; and Defending the Forests. One of the more thoughtful, philosophical offerings is Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Self, which examines the negative impact upon our mental health when we do not take the time to connect with nature.

For a timetable and film descriptions, or for ticket and price information, check out the World Community website at www.web.net/~worldcom, or call 1(250)337-5412.

The federal government and the BC government are currently negotiating the largest land acquisition funding agreement for new protected areas in Canadian history.

The federal government, under Prime Minister Jean Chretien's supervision, is considering providing $110 million dollars for protection of key biodiversity/endangered species hot-spots in British Columbia. The money will be used to purchase private lands for protection including the Sooke Hills near Victoria, the Gulf Islands (e.g., southern Saltspring Island), Burns Bog in Delta, the Cowichan River properties on Vancouver Island, Fraser River wetlands habitat, and the South Okanagan pocket desert. These are among the highest-priority lands for endangered species and ecosystem protection in Canada.

It is of critical importance to phone, fax, write, and/or call Prime Minister Jean Chretien and BC Premier Ujjal Dosanjh to tell them you support the $110 million Biodiversity Package for BC. Each call and letter makes a big difference. We will win several campaigns in one sweep if this goes through.

This is a first-rate priority!

* For more information, contact Ken Wu at the Western Canada Wilderness Committee in Victoria: 651 Johnson St, Victoria, BC V8W 1M7; phone: (250)388-9292; fax: (250)388-9223; e-mail: WC2Vic@Island.net

The Cortes Ecoforestry Youth Initiative project started in April of 2000, when Noba Anderson, a very enthusiastic young person, wrote and submitted a proposal to the BC government-funded Environment Youth Team, part of Youth Options, BC.

The proposal was to hire one crew of five, plus a coordinator, for a 12-week full-time project from the end of May to the end of August.

The goal was to "create a space for Cortes youth to become engaged in local forestry issues." The project was designed to contain a significant amount of training for the youth involved, both directly and indirectly related to forestry.

Unfortunately, the proposal was denied funding for several reasons. It fell short in two areas: external financial support (even though the proposal met the requirements, projects with more outside funding were favored), and training resulting in certification (bear awareness, stream keepers, First Aid, etc.). After this rejection, it was decided to look for private funding options, resulting in a generous grant of $10,000 from the TIDES Foundation.

Since this was a lesser amount than the original budget proposal, the project had to be adjusted, hiring one program leader and fewer crew members, with a shorter duration of July and August only.

The program was successfully completed in late August, 2000. Program leader Mary Clare Preston and her crew, Rebecca Lennox and Raynaldo Malapitan, did a great job around Cortes Island. Of the original four crew members, Matt Storie and Quentin Tebb were unable to complete the program due to personal reasons, but their work did contribute to its success. The crew received many hours of practical training on topics such as mapping, surveying, Emergency First Aid, ecosystem-based forestry, and treaty processes in BC. Overall, this was a very successful and positive educational program. The following paragraphs are from Mary Clare's final report:

"At the beginning of August, we still did not know if we would get permission to continue with the Cork Lake Trail, so after scouting around Green Mountain, the group decided we would like to focus on a loop around the summit of Green Mountain.

"At this point, the whole team got a sense that they were making a real contribution to the community by finishing this trail, and it was their enthusiasm that was the deciding factor in what we were going to do. There was already a sketchy trail around the west side of the mountain, but the east side was hard to follow.

"We scouted out places to connect the sketchy paths and make a clearly marked trail. In many places this involved scraping moss and lichens off the bluffs.

"In the second week of August we took a break from our trail work to do some investigation of the private clearcut on the east side of Cork Lake. We wanted to see what kind of damage had been done and see if we could still find cutthroat trout in the stream.

"We ended up having a tour from Richard Lawton, walking in to Cork Lake and looking at the clearcut. This was an unexpected boon, as he was able to tell us a lot about the clearcut and a history of the area. We found small trout in pockets in the stream. We learned that one area that was cleared right down to the stream actually had had a bridge over the stream. But overall, the devastation was evident.

"We were also able to connect with people from Klahoose. Krista Dennis gave us a tour of the woodlot. This was probably one of the best days, from the perspective that Rebecca and Raynaldo were able to see what ecosystem-based management in volves, and how different it is from the Raven clearcut on the other side of the hill. It is this kind of 'see for yourself' hands-on work that I think is the most important educational tool. If we are able to do this program next year, I would like to be able to do more of this work with the youth--setting up sample plots and looking at what is there.

"For me, this project was truly exciting. It was great to continue working in the forests of Cortes and exciting to share what I learned with other people.

"The project was successful and the tasks we completed have brought the participants and myself a great sense of accomplishment."

FOCI wants to thank all who participated and helped for the success of this program, and especially the TIDES Foundation for providing the funding. We hope we can run the program again this year. Educating our youth about caring for and respecting nature is one of the most important things we can do on behalf of the future.

* If you are interested in helping with this program, please send your contributions directly to Friends of Cortes Island, Box 8888, Whaletown, BC V0P 1Z0, indicating that your donation is for the Ecoforestry Youth Initiative program. Thank you very much.

In December 2000, Don McLean, chair of the BC regional board for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) opened a press conference in Victoria heralding a landmark agreement with TimberWest Forest Corporation.

Many thanks were expressed to TimberWest for the 121 sq km it gave to the Capital Regional District Sea-to-Sea corridor. TimberWest has also promised $50,000 over two years in support of eco-regional planning for coastal forests. Another $300,000 will be donated over 10 years to support scientific assessment of portions of the company's land that are surplus to its business operations and have high conservation value.

NCC President John Lounds expressed the philosophy of his organization in his introductory words marking the event.

"How best to preserve these special places poses a significant challenge. It's a challenge we meet with a scientific base, non-confrontational, businesslike approach to conservation ... Above all we work to build partnerships which transcend all cultural, industry-specific and regional disparities in the interest of conservation ... The partnership we are forging today with TimberWest is a prime example."

The NCC acquires and preserves land through outright purchase, land donation, and conservation easement. Since its inception in 1962, it has acquired 6,602 sq km across Canada.

Both the spirit and the scope of this agreement are yet to be demonstrated in the willingness of both par ties to work together to support scientific assessment of lands that are surplus to TimberWest's business operations. Apparently, if these land areas are found to be ecologically significant, TimberWest is willing to donate or sell them to NCC or to permit NCC to hold conservation covenants.

Paul McElligott, President and CEO of TimberWest Forest Corporation, said, " I am really proud to be here today to launch what is really a strategic alliance between TimberWest and NCC ... I think it signifies some significant themes that are important not just to our company, but to industry in general. TimberWest recognizes that some portions of our land are not best suited for timber production and that they have higher-value uses. We support developing land to its highest-value use, but want to pursue a disciplined process of identifying those values for our private lands."

TimberWest is the largest private forest landowner in BC, and owns 3,340 sq km on Vancouver Island. It also owns about 55 sq km of higher-use properties and manages 2,300 sq km of Crown land. It operates only on the lower coast.

In his remarks at the press conference, the president of TimberWest called British Columbians to task, in that win-win situations require open minds and an ability to see both sides of the issues. Unfortunately, he failed to realize in his statements that the citizenry and/or special-interest groups of this province do not always share the goals and values of the forest industry. His statement that win-win situations require a willingness to give in for the interest of the greater good, also begs the question: Who or what is the measure of this greater good?

One must acknowledge, though, that this agreement involves TimberWest's private land and that the company is spending $690,000 to strengthen its conservation position.

The 121 hectares donated by TimberWest in the Sooke Valley adds the upper reaches of Ayum Creek and almost the entire upper Veitch watershed to the protected Sea-to-Sea belt west of Victoria. Salmon species, the endangered Pacific Water Shrew, and threatened plant communities will now have a more secure environment.

* For more information, call: Jan Garnett, NCC BC Regional Director, at (250)479-3191; Don McMullan, Chief Forester TimberWest, at (604)654-4596.

It is a compliment when readers send us letters and articles for publication. We are sorry we cannot publish all the material we receive. Deciding what to put in/what to leave out is a tough call. In order to present a broad range of topics, many good items are shelved and then become dated. You can help by ensuring that your articles are researched, documented and topical. Don't be discouraged. Your next article may trigger a polar shift.

About us

Reach for Unbleached! started in 1991 as a grass roots organization in British Columbia, Canada in response to fishing closures due to dioxin contamination from chlorine-bleaching kraft pulp mills. We are now a national foundation, and a Canadian registered charity with a focus on consumer education and pulp mill monitoring.