Humpback whales are among the species on BC’s coast threatened by oil tanker plans VANCOUVER – Environmental groups are in a federal court in Vancouver today to try and force the federal government to abide by its own Species At Risk Act. Ecojustice, on behalf of five groups, says Ottawa
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The Common Sense Canadian: Motorized boats stir up problems for BC’s salmon rivers
by Will Dubitsky and Jean Clark Two distinct pieces of federal legislation govern activities in and on our rivers, lakes and coastal waters: 1) The Canada Shipping Act, concerning the waterway surface and the protection navigation rights; 2) The Fisheries Act, pertaining to protection of the marine habitat, below the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: LNG companies change pipeline routes to avoid bear sanctuaries
photo: Ian McAllister/Pacific Wild Valhalla Wilderness Society is reporting that a pair of proposed natural gas pipelines connected to liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals planned for Prince Rupert will no longer pass through two important grizzly bear sanctuaries. The changes come following public pressure from Valhalla and other conservation groups.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Douglas Coupland-narrated video shows ship noise impacts on whales
For threatened whale populations, sound is essential to every element of their lives – from eating and mating to family connection. In a new video on the subject, narrator and famed BC author Douglas Coupland explains: You can think of sound as their dinner menu, their 9-11, J-date, e-harmony, GPS,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Monarch Butterflies in free-fall: How you can help
What weighs less than a paperclip, tastes terrible and can travel thousands of kilometres without a map? Hint: this delicate critter is tawny-orange with black veins and white spots and has been mysteriously absent from Canada this summer. It’s the monarch butterfly. Each year, eastern populations of these amazing frequent
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: ‘Alarming’ sea star die-off on West Coast
A dead morning sun star (photo courtesy of Jonathan Martin) VANCOUVER – Last month, a diver alerted Vancouver Aquarium staff that he had found a number of dead and decaying sunflower sea stars in the cold Pacific waters of a popular dive spot just off the shore of West Vancouver.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Live cams bring Great Bear Rainforest’s wolves, sea lions to you
Ian McAllister/Pacific Wild A BC-based conservation group is taking the popular concept of nature cameras to a whole new level. This week, Pacific Wild launched a pair of 24-hour, live video feeds from the heart of BC’s Great Bear Rainforest – with one camera trained on a busy salmon river, the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Canada mulls crackdown on pesticide suspected of killing bees
OTTAWA – The federal Health Department is proposing tighter rules for the use of a pesticide that is suspected of killing honey bees. It is asking for public comment on the issue over the next 90 days. The department wants to hear from stakeholders and other interested parties people about
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Whales thriving on coast, threatened by oil tankers: study
VANCOUVER – The number of humpback whales on the northern coast of British Columbia nearly doubled in eight years, but possible oil spills could seriously hamper recovery efforts involving the threatened mammals, a new study suggests. The acoustic animals known for their songs on breeding and feeding grounds were photographed
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Proposed gas pipeline threatens vital Khutzeymateen Grizzly sanctuary
photo: Ian McAllister/Pacific Wild Read this Sept. 7 Vancouver Sun story on the risks to critical bear habitat from a proposed gas pipeline to future LNG terminals in Prince Rupert. The company proposing to build a liquefied natural gas pipeline through a grizzly bear sanctuary near Prince Rupert has already
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Stephen Hume on Grizzly trophy hunt
“Cheeky” the bear was killed by NHL player Clayton Stoner (from film “Bear Witness”) Read this sharp Stephen Hume polemic from the Aug. 5 Vancouver Sun against BC’s controversial grizzly bear trophy hunt – which has become a source of intense media scrutiny this week following the release of a
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Bear Witness: Film takes aim at Grizzly Hunt
A new, 22-min documentary film released earlier this week by Coastal First Nations – a coalition of aboriginal bands which has led the campaign against the proposed Enbridge pipeline and tankers – aims to kill the grizzly trophy hunt on BC’s central coast. “Bear Witness” tells the story of “Cheeky”,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Amazing encounter with Orca pod caught on camera
Check out this amazing encounter with a large pod of orca on BC’s south coast. The home video, captured in Active Pass, off Galiano Island, has garnered well over 300,000 views from around the world in just one week since being posted. The post Amazing encounter with Orca pod caught
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