Wednesday, September 30, 2009

green Vancouver vs. black-as-coal Prince George

was very happy today to see the excellent write-ups about the Peace Summit in Vancouver attended by the Dalai Lama and some other very high profile people - a real focus on youth and the young generation being "Generation Fix." I must admit, I do know some cool kids. . . there definitely seems to be a special kind of energy about this growing up now generation -- and they sure need it to delve into the challenges facing them!

I could not help but note the contrast today in the newspapers - on the cover of the Vancouver Sun was the coverage about the Peace Summit & how the mayor of Vancouver is making great strides in trying to develop/ promote a green economy for Vancouver. . .

lying beside the Vancouver Sun was the Prince George Citizen, and on the front cover a story about how Western Coal is planning to expand their operations north of Prince George and a copper/gold mining company wants to put in a mine west of the city. Oh great - we get the expanded coal extraction & mining. . . Vancouver gets the Dalai Lama and a green economy. . .

perhaps this focus on the mad rush toward resource extraction & exploitation of the natural world of northern BC explains why our MLAs hold the following portfolios in the BC government - Pat Bell (Prince George) - Minister of Forests
- Shirley Bond (Prince George) - Minister of Transportation & Highways
- Blair Leckstrom (Peace River) - Minister of Energy and Mines

Does anything other than resource extraction & building mega-industrial infrastructure to support same matter up here?
I say it does, but it sure is not easy! Sometimes in fact, living in northern BC, retaining one's heart and soul can be challenging . . . I mentioned last entry the sustenance that is to be found in nature (and thank goodness we still do have miles and miles of it all around to enjoy) but the focus of the politics (and much media) in the place seems to be all about continued large scale industrialization.

Whereas a mine or a sawmill of yesteryear may have been a small community-based business, not so these days with the mega-corporations moving in. I wonder about the price of gold (hovering around $1000 per oz. last time I checked) and what it could mean for northern BC's environment should the major gold companies (Gold Corp for one) decide to cash in on their significant holdings. Already gold mining is starting to kick back into gear in the historic area of Wells/ Barkerville (built on 1800s gold mining legacies), and the mines produce quite an eye sore and strange looking tailings ponds.

I am uncomfortable with mining & the legacy that large scale mining can leave after my work down in Bolivia - while there, I travelled to Llallagua, a former (silver) mining town in the mountains. In fact at the time Canadian mining companies were responsible for much of the large scale mining that was undertaken. When the silver (or profits) were gone, the companies pulled out, leaving massive environmental devastation (huge tailings piles the size of mountains) and social decay behind them. People's houses are literally falling down, and they are desperately trying to scratch out a living for themselves on the tattered dregs they have been left with. I constantly see such risks facing northern BC which is both vulnerable and stunningly beautiful. It is vulnerable because few people live up here.

I want Prince George and area to be developing a green economy too. I want us to be putting in bike trails and modelling this place after the magical & healthy Scandinavian winter cities (Copenhagen, Stockholm) I have been reading about. . .

am I living in a fantasy world? Probably, but nothing a bit of broken glass, cigarette butts and screeching trucks won't fix. I am going for a run amidst the potholes, visions of the Dalai Lama and Eckhart Tolle dancing in my head.

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