The Great Herring Fishery!!

This morning I woke to the sound of the herring fishery outside my window. Year to year I never know where the herring will choose to spawn or why, but this year they've again chosen Buccaneer Beach! And this is by far the most exciting day of the year on our usually quiet little shore. The tiny parking lot at the public beach access is packed to overflowing as people come and go to take in the spectacle.

I'm suffering lense envy as I watch several photographers stealing amazing shots as I struggle with my makeshift adapter and a telescope...to no avail. The air is filled with the cries of thousands of seagulls. The sea lions are too gorged to bark as they roll around feeding and lolling in the sun. Engines hum and the net paddles clank as the herring are taken aboard the many skiffs. A DFO observer plane buzzes overhead. Fisherpersons' voices rise above the clanging and bustling noises, excited and ocassionally angry. Dozens of herring boats sit offshore in the Strait of Georgia, waiting for their skiff to come in, gorged with herring like the seagulls and sea lions.

My heart swells with pride, an ugly emotion, I know. But I feel so content, aware that my life's purpose is to protect this body of water for just this reason...for the herring, and all the creatures that depend on them; from seagulls to salmon, from killer whales to fisherpersons, and to people enjoying the wonder from shore, including myself. For this is a day for the soul...spirits lifted in celebration of life.

For a moment I feel guilty watching all the hard work from shore, but then I berate myself and sink into a blissful reverie. After all, I often work myself to the edge of burnout during the week to help preserve and protect the Strait of Georgia, so I'm justified in this contradictory moment of fervor and peace. I marvel at the milky blue of the ocean, reminding me briefly of warm tropical waters. But the air is crisp despite the sun, filled with a fishy but pleasant scent.

I watch closely from shore as a skiff not 50 yards away passes a net across it's deck. I can see the herring flashing silver in the sun, some flipping high in the air over the heads of those hard working men. But my heart sinks as I notice their net is not nearly as full as it should be. Is it just a bad set, or a sign of poor numbers? I anxiously await to hear whether the year was a success...for the fishery and the fish. This disturbs my morning of joy and reminds me that there is much more work to be done to protect this once abundant body of water.

But I will set aside the work until Monday morning. For now I will worry about moving my beach chair from a passing shadow, petting a friendly dog walking by, and observing things like the foam from the spawn starting to appear along the shore, or the eagle soaring overhead...I am alone in my thoughts, yet connected to all that surrounds me.

You can help protect the Strait of Georgia and surrounding communities. For, if you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. That's what Keeping Down with the Jones' is all about.

• Georgia Strait Alliance is committed to protecting the Strait of Georgia from the scourges of sewage and toxic chemicals, shipping and boating pollution, open net pen salmon farms, and environmental degradation. But more than that, Georgia Strait Alliance is an innovative and progressive solutions-based organization.
• GSA's Green Boating Program has won several awards with worthwhile projects such as the Guide to Green Boating, new Clean Marine environmental marina certification program, and Ocean Solutions project for boat sewage pumpout stations.
• GSA's Salmon Farming Campaign works to protect the marine environment and wild salmon from the devastating impacts of open net pen salmon farming, but goes one step further to explore the alternative of closed containment systems.
• The Clean Air and Water Program of GSA includes many innovative solutions-oriented projects, such as the ToxicSmart program aimed at keeping our homes, gardens and workshops toxic-free, and the Victoria and Vancouver Sewage campaigns, to not only ensure proper sewage treatment for our communities, but to look towards resource recovery from sewer.
• GSA is part of an LNG Alliance fighting the proposed LNG terminal and power plant on Texada Island.
• Other issues addressed by GSA include: Marine Habitat and Wildlife Protection, the Climate Crisis, Cruise Ships, Ship Pollution and Marine Safety, Military Impacts, Artificial Reefs, and Shellfish Farming.
• You can help the Strait of Georgia in many ways. Consider becoming a member of Georgia Strait Alliance by donation. Sign an Urgent Action Alert. And most importantly get out and enjoy the great outdoors and appreciate all mother nature has to offer.

Harper Back-Doors Canadians on Nuclear Power

Canada's new government [choke] has once again proven that their word is meaningless and has thwarted the right for Canadians to be involved in important decisions about our country. I'm referring to the announcement that our country has just signed on to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) without any public consultation whatsoever. This vile agreement has been forced on Canadians not only without our input but through deceitful tactics such as the outright denial of Canada's involvement while secret meetings were held.

"Conservatives are making government more accountable to build a stronger, safer, better Canada."...that right from the Conservative Party's own website. But signing on to GNEP is the antithesis to accountability. How can you claim to be accountable when you sign on to agreements while fervently keeping Canadians in the dark? Liar! Signing on to GNEP will certainly not make Canada any safer. Nuclear waste and uranium mining are anything but safe. Perhaps Harper thinks that snuggling up even closer to a shaky American economy, not to mention that the US is quickly becoming one of the most abhorred countries in the world, will make Canada stronger and better. But I say "stronger, safer, better Canada" through GNEP...lies, all lies! Harper's an ASS!

Harper seems to think that as long as he says what Canadians want to hear, he can do whatever the hell he (read Bush) wants. We are seeing this with the climate crisis and Haper's refusal to make any commitment to meaningful greenhouse gas reduction targets while our tar sand developments expand uncontrolled, oil tankers enter our waters illegally, LNG terminals are looming on the horizon, and new pipelines are being examined. Harper is driving us deeper into the hole of an unsustainable, filthy, environmental disaster of an economy, instead of working towards a healthy, vibrant sustainable future for our country and the world.

"As the world's largest producer of uranium and a country taking steps to tackle climate change through the development of clean energy technology, Canada's responsibility is to help shape the safe and secure development of nuclear energy worldwide, said Minister Lunn" per a Natural Resources Canada press release. Please don't tell me that nuclear energy will help combat climate change. Even if that were true, the climate crisis is but one of many environmental tragedies, and we cannot focus on reducing greenhouse gases alone at the expense of cleaning up the rest of our act. It does not make any sense whatsoever to replace dirty oil with nuclear waste, or, more likely, to expand both. Minister Lunn, please don't spout the rhetoric that nuclear energy is clean and safe. You fail to mention the environmental and health impacts of uranium mining in your press release. You also fail to acknowledge that the massive amount of concrete needed to build just one nuclear power plant releases huge amounts of greenhouse gases. Please don't tell me that nuclear power and GNEP will reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation. The more nuclear waste we produce, the greater the risk of nuclear proliferation and terrorist threat.

Harper, Lunn, and the rest of the Conservatives seem to think that Canadians are stupid. Or at the very least, that we are overwhelmed by the massive challenges we face in combating climate change and a myriad of other environmental tragedies and that we will just bury our head in the sand while they heap more trash on our backs. Sadly, I think they might be right.

If you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. That's what Keeping Down with the Jones' is all about. For Canadians that do not want to bury their head in the sand, here are links to information from both sides of the debate...

• Natural Resources Canada press release
• Greenpeace Canada would like to see all nuclear power plants shut down. They have launched a petition to name a nuclear power plant after pro-nukes Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.
• No Nukes
• Nuclear Information and Resource Service "is the information and networking center for citizens and environmental organizations concerned about nuclear power, radioactive waste, radiation, and sustainable energy issues". Although primarily US related, and none (as of writing) specific to GNEP, there is a huge list of Action Alerts there.
• Read the Pembina Institute's report "Nuclear Power in Canada: An Examination of Risks, Impacts and Sustainability".
• Sierra Club of Canada is working "Towards a Nuclear-Free Canada".
• Dr. Patrick Moore, former Greenpeace co-founder cum industry shill, will do anything for a buck, promoting everything from nuclear energy to fish farms, from genetically modified rice to toxic PBDEs.
• James Lovelock, of Gaia theory fame, was once an environmental hero of mine...until he came out in support of nuclear power.

Join the Celebration on Earth Day

This Sunday is Earth Day. We tend to take Mother Earth for granted, just like our own mother, until we are forced to recognize her on her birthday or Mothers' Day. We often gratefully accept all the wonderful things she has to offer without so much as a thank you. So now is the time to do something wonderful for the mother of all life; for this incredible planet we call home.

Earth Day is especially poignant this year, for Mother Earth is very ill. Humanity is awakening on a grand scale to the extent of her suffering; suffering caused by our own actions. Whether this is happening out of our love for the Earth, from a feeling of guilt in witnessing the effects of our actions, or typical human greed, where we see that the Earth cannot provide for us as she once was able, is no longer of importance. What counts is that we now see the harm we are causing to our planet, and we are aware that we must do something to heal her; we must change our ways. For if we continue on our current path, despite our awareness of the destruction we cause, then we are savage, while hiding behind the banner of civilized progress. It would be the ultimate in human greed and malice to continue to abuse our planet for temporary material gain, without concern for future generations and the many other inhabitants of this planet, while fully understanding the impact of our actions.

Currently, environmental focus is on climate change and curbing our greenhouse gas emissions. This is crucial in reversing some of the damage we have caused to the Earth, but it is not the only issue of environmental concern. Science is often a very useful tool, but it has taken our focus away from the bigger picture and forced us to look at things in isolation, and, even worse, can be bought and sold like any commodity. For example, science may lead humanity to decide that nuclear energy is the only option to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But the Earth functions through the interconnectedness of all things. Science and nuclear energy proponents are not considering this interconnectedness when they try to convince us that nuclear energy is "clean". They fail to tell us in their glossy ads that the mining of uranium and the creation of toxic nuclear waste are not the answer to making the world more environmentally sustainable. It is only the answer as to how they can make their wallets, and those of the scientists and spin doctors they pay, fatter.

So every time we open our own wallets to fill someone elses, we should consider the impact of the transaction we are about to undertake. Who is our money going to, and do they care about the Earth and all of it's inhabitants? After all, environmentalism is not anti-consumerism, but rather about sustainable, environmentally and socially conscious consumerism. How we spend our money will dictate the kind of world in which we live, so we should spend it responsibly and consider the Earth when we do.

I will be joining in on Nanaimo's Earth Day celebrations, put on by the Nanaimo Recycling Exchange, on the waterfront at beautiful Maffeo Sutton Park. Stop by Georgia Strait Alliance's booth and say hello or visit Earth Day Canada's website to find an event in your area.

Get out there and make a difference to Mother Earth, where ever you are, as this is her day. Immerse yourself in the great outdoors, for what better way to honour your Mother than to spend time with her. Remind yourself why she is so precious, and why we must take care of her. Maybe then, when Earth Day is over, we will be more likely to ask ourselves if our next move will make the world a better place. If you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. That's what Keeping Down with the Jones' is all about.