Editorial: The value and the danger of “Climate Change Adaptation” programs
Readers may well wonder about the “danger” mentioned in this headline. The value of climate change adaptation is obvious to the well-informed: it will help willing residents and their communities better survive the extremes that climate change is bringing. Better water conservation can prepare communities for longer, more ...
Why Words Matter When We Talk About Addiction
Ed. note: The following is a press release issued by Toward The Heart, the harm reduction arm of the BC Centre for Disease Control: Words and language matter – especially for people who use substances. The terms we use to describe people who use drugs and the conditions associated with drug use can play either a supportive ...
Editorial: Where does our plastic stuff go from here?
We’ve heard a lot recently about the appalling amount of plastic waste being dumped into the world’s oceans and other waterways, and how plastic particles (both micro and macro) are killing off many animals that live and feed in and around the oceans. Are we in the Kootenays contributing to that, I wondered? I phoned up the...
One River: Ethics Matter Conference, May 30 - 31
Advancing environmental justice and stewardship in the Columbia River Basin is the focus of a conference in late-May that will bring together those interested in pushing for a brighter future on both sides of the Canada-United States border. Selkirk College and the Community Colleges of Spokane are hosting the One River:...
Column: Government support for electric vehicles drives down emissions
Electric vehicles won’t save us from runaway climate change, but they’re part of the solution, along with support for public transit and active transport like waking and cycling. The transportation sector accounts for almost one-quarter of the world’s carbon emissions, so it’s an area where change is necessary and possible....
Editorial: Burning Issues
“Everything will burn, baby, burn . . .”– if we don’t take a bit of time and effort to make it as fire-resistant as possible. These words from the 2001 song by Ash can remind us about the increasing risk of wildfire consuming forests, and overwhelming communities full of homes and businesses. Local wildfire expert Don Mortimer...
Column: Will Someone Please Tell me . . .
Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on? Last October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a special report indicating that global emissions are still rising despite more than three decades of warnings. Now we’re on a path to a 3 to 5 C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels by 2100. The...
It's time to go after invasive weeds.
Some ask, “What’s so bad about those so-called invasive species? Some of them are so pretty!” Yes, they’re pretty. One example is Himalayan Balsam, also known as “Policeman’s Helmet.” It has beautiful flowers. And it grows SO easily! The trouble with it is . . . it grows...
Editorial: Is Survival a Worthy Goal? Is Life Worth Saving?
Environmentalists have come under fire lately from certain quarters. Questioning the motivation of environmentalists raises the question: What are they fighting for? And the short answer is: survival. Not just personal, short-term survival, but the long-term survival of life on earth -- stopping the acceleration of...
Opinion: How do we pry apart the true and compelling from the false and toxic?
By David V. Johnson, from Aeon When false and malicious speech roils the body politic, when racism and violence surge, the right and role of freedom of speech in society comes into crisis. People rightly begin to wonder what are the limits, what should be the rules. It is a complicated issue, and resolving it requires care...
