Environmental education and awareness programs at the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area are going to continue under new management. Since 1974, these programs were provided by the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Authority, but this ended with the permanent closure of the interpretive centre in October 2017. Now the...

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency increased safety and environmental standards for cars in the 1970s, automakers responded. Although they had to adhere to the new rules, they didn’t base their entire response on safety or pollution concerns. Instead, they looked for loopholes. Under the U.S. Clean Air Act, vehicle...

How do the oceans affect life in the Kootenays? With World Water Day coming up on March 22, let’s think, not only about how lucky we are to have enough fresh water, but also about how vast and distant saltwater oceans affect us all, everywhere. Many people have viewed the video clip of a diver swimming near Bali through a sea...

Editor’s Note:  This is such a cheering article because it shows that people can decide to check out facts, and do it, and then change their minds on contentious issues. By Bud Ward, of Yale Climate Connections Climate change policy analyst* Jerry Taylor spent more than 25 years earning his well-deserved reputation as the...

Anishinaabe economist and writer Winona LaDuke identifies two types of economies, grounded in different ways of seeing. Speaking in Vancouver recently, she characterized one as an “extreme extractive economy” fed by exploitation of people and nature. The second is a “regenerative economy” based on an understanding of the land...

To the Editor, I wanted to follow up on your February 28, 2018 article (Some good news from Teck. And other things to consider) and provide some additional context for your readers on the extensive work Teck has underway to protect water quality in the Elk Valley. Selenium is a naturally-occurring element throughout the environment, […]

First, a bit of background.  ICBC is in dire financial straits. Back in 2016, ICBC applied to the BC Utilities Commission for permission to raise its rates by 4.9%.  This publication posted an article by Dermod Travis of Integrity BC on ICBC’s request. Travis unpicked the rationale for the proposed increase in rates, delved...

Editor's Note: This is a press release  from the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. The Treaty 8 First Nations taking the Site C project to court have just secured a major work stoppage in the lead-up to a court injunction application set to be heard this summer. On January 15th, the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations filed...

It’s wonderful to be able to pass on some good news, especially about such a vital part of our region. Teck Trail Operations is full of good people and it does an amazing amount of social and economic good in all our local communities. Teck Trail Operations has issued a press release assuring us that their operations will...

A recent news item explained that a Vancouver doctor is upset that he was forced to undergo fingerprinting to prove that he was not a sex offender who had the same (or similar) name. He is quoted as asking, “Why are we being pulled aside as if we were criminals?” Well, there’s the matter of having the same name as a criminal. ...