Pollution

Line9_RougePark_AdamScott_EnvDefence

Blocking the Arteries of the Tar Sands

There’s been a tremendous amount of media coverage surrounding Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline proposal, which spawned an incredible resistance movement led primarily by indigenous nations of British Columbia. Events such as Defend Our Coast attracted thousands of protestors, while the Yinka Dene Alliance made national headlines with their anti-pipeline tour across […]

Shoreline of the Shell Albian Oil Sands tailings pond, near Fort McKay. © Ian Wi

Battling Canada’s Carbon Addiction

To celebrate the new year, many people have made resolutions – which ultimately may or may not be successful. The nations of the world made their own resolution shortly before the holidays, and what we can expect isn’t entirely clear. What is clear is that climate change is accelerating, and […]

Grizzly bear with salmon in mouth in river A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Stressed-Out Symbiosis

THROUGHOUT THE MAJESTIC COASTAL FORESTS of the Pacific Northwest, spawning salmon and bears form one of the ecosystem’s most vital, nourishing relationships. Yet their keystone connection faces enormous threats. Wild salmon must survive overzealous fisheries and sea lice-infested farms. Brown and black bears suffer from habitat loss, sport hunting and other […]

Prosperity mine Tŝilhqot’in First Nation drummers A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

No Means No

IN THE COLDEST NIGHT of the season, well below freezing, and the tawny grasses are stiff with frost. Since dawn we’ve been trekking through a shadowy forest of pine and fir, eventually reaching a wide, arched meadow with views extending to the south and west. Ts’yl?os [pronounced, Ts-eye´-los], sacred mountain […]

Black bear cub peaks out from behind some mossy rocks A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Northern Getaway

A WHITE SPIRIT BEAR cub tentatively crosses a mossy log, followed closely by his black sibling. Majestic grey wolves search for salmon from a rocky, seaweed-enveloped shore at low tide. Two orca whales ply the waters at sunset. “They call this the Great Bear Rainforest,” explains Gitga’at first nation member Helen […]

Skewing Science

THE BUSH ERA IS OVER but the stain, including a string of last-minute legal changes, lingers. These “midnight regulations” made some things easier, such as dumping mine waste in streams and building power plants near parks. Other things became harder, such as using science to protect endangered species or to […]

Application Denied

NORTHGATE MINERAL COROPORATION’S proposed Kemess North Project will not be going ahead, at least not soon and not as proposed. The project – an open-pit, copper-gold expansion to an existing mine in a remote, mountainous area of northcentral British Columbia – was rejected by provincial and federal authorities.