Summer 2020 Issue of the Watershed Sentinel
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Summer 2020 Newstand Price $4.95 Summer 2020 Sentinel Summer 2020 Vol. 30 No. 3 Features 14 18 ©Illustration compiled by Sarah James Sarah by compiled ©Illustration ©wJacek Dylag Poison Pipes COVID-19 and the Environment Canada’s legacy of old, deteriorating Add one tiny deadly virus to one massive, globalized, unequal, extractive economy; asbestos cement water mains has been mix well on a limited and stressed planet. This section delves into disaster capitalism, getting shoved under the rug for decades. the future of fossil fuels, globalization, farm survival – and the possibilities of change. Content 3,5 News Shorts 10 Dicamba 34 Rats & Mice Pellets, pipelines, divestment, US courts de-register a Rodent lessons on shareholder power, & more... massively damaging pesticide overpopulation and social breakdown 6 Fracking & Dams 11 Ancient Trees Union of BC Indian Chiefs calls Recent logging in BC shows 36 Wild Times for a moratorium protection is becoming urgent Will BC release the Old Growth Strategic Review findings 7 Teztan Biny 29 Silver Linings anytime soon? Taseko’s zombie mine is finally, From elder pirate radio to officially, legally dead Europe’s green recovery plan Cover Credit: 8 Firestarter 32 Planet of Yahoos ©Illustration compiled by Sarah James Powell River startup is a social Film review: is looking at plan- & environmental win-win etary limits... off limits? Printed on Rolland EnviroPrint, 100% post-consumer Process Chlorine Free recycled fibre, FSC, Ecologo and PCF certified. watershedsentinel.ca | 1 Editorial Sentinel Delores Broten Publisher Watershed Sentinel Educational Society Editor Delores Broten Managing Editor Claire Gilmore Graphic Design Ester Strijbos The Light of Change Staff Reporter Gavin MacRae Renewals & Circulation Manager Dawn Christian We could see it on the horizon. It’s been coming up for a while now and suddenly we Advertising Sally Gellard are launched into a new era, birthed by a toxic mix of endless racism, ruthless greed, and disregard for the limits of nature. We have many dreams and fears, but no real idea Special thanks to Sarah James, Valerie Sherriff, about where this journey is going to take us all. Jason Motz, Maggie Paquet, TJ Watts, Kathy Smail, Norberto Rodriguez de la Vega, Sally Gellard, the writers, advertisers, distributors, and all who send Clearly, the overwhelming multi-racial, multi-generational participation in the massive information. global protests against systemic racism and police brutality would indicate that this is Deep thanks to our Board of Directors: Alice Grange, a turning point in human history. Or in plainer words, folks have been paying attention Norberto Rodriguez de la Vega, Susan Yates, Lannie and they are fed up. Keller, Sally Gellard, Rob Powell and Carly Palmer. Published five times per year. It is a make-or-break moment, with the power-holders’ contempt for natural limits, the Subscriptions: Canada $25 one year, $40 two years; US $35 per year, law, and human rights rampant in many countries. Murders of land defenders are on Electronic only $15 a year the rise, journalists are increasingly being beaten and sometimes killed, and the police Distribution by subscription, and to Friends of Cortes everywhere look like an invading army from Star Wars. Island. Free at Vancouver Island and Vancouver area libraries, and by sponsorship in BC colleges, universi- At the same moment in time, Spain has instituted a universal basic income, Indigenous ties, and eco-organizations. Peoples are persevering through the Canadian courts in their ongoing fight for land Disclaimer: Opinions published are not necessarily those and justice, the Maoris and others have gained legal rights for rivers, and we are all of the publisher, editor or other staff and volunteers of the magazine. learning. Even during the massive disruption of a global pandemic, no one has stopped this critical work. Member Magazines BC and Magazines Canada I have spent a lot of time studying the rise of fascism in Europe and the rest of the ISSN 1188-360X world, and recent trends have been worrisome. Now however, I think maybe, just Publication Mail Canada Post Agreement maybe and just in time, we have the light of change on the horizon. PM 40012720 —Delores Broten, Comox, BC, June 2020 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Watershed Sentinel Box 1270, Comox, BC, Canada V9M 7Z8 At the ’Shed 250-339-6117 Diversity. The Watershed Sentinel is looking to expand the diversity of its stories and [email protected] its writers. Send us your story ideas and help us share them with our readers. Indige- www.watershedsentinel.ca nous viewpoints, immigrant viewpoints, northern perspectives & more – we want to We acknowledge the financial support of the hear from a broader range of voices. Email pitches to [email protected]. Government of Canada. All Fracked Up! This fall, all going according to plan, Watershed Sentinel Books will have brought out its fifth title, All Fracked Up. It is a collection of articles and viewpoints on the impact of fracking in BC and we are honoured by the participation of the authors. When you want your message to reach Proofers Needed. It’s a dirty job, tedious and intensely detailed, but someone has to thousands of concerned and active do it. We are looking to add to our volunteer crew of heroic proof readers. We post the readers, please contact us for our ad rate proofs as pdfs, and send you a link, and you send us back your treasure trove of glitches sheet: 250-339-6117 or and typos. To volunteer, send us an mail! ([email protected]) [email protected] Summer Break. We will be closing the office for three or four weeks this summer, but www.watershedsentinel.ca we’ll still be here for virtual conversations, subscriptions, and tracking down postal issues. As the editor’s geek hobby for the hot summer days, we hope to have a new Next Issue Ad and Copy Deadline: efficient shopping cart on our website. You will be able to use it to order books or sub- August 11, 2020 scriptions, and of course, make those critical donations. Stay well, be kind. 2 | watershedsentinel.ca International News Corporate COVID “compensation” Historic dry spell shaping up in US SLAPP suits backfire on logging giant Just? Just Nasty Megadrought Not So Resolute? Countries could soon face a “wave” Driven partly by climate change, a Logging giant Resolute Forest Prod- of ISDS lawsuits from multinational “megadrought” (intense drought lasting ucts, which has waged multiple law- corporations claiming compensation for decades or longer) appears to be emerging suits against Greenpeace offices and measures introduced to protect people in the western US, a study recently pub- staff members since 2013, has been or- from COVID-19 and its economic fallout, lished in Science suggests. Present-day dered to reimburse defendants a total of according to a new report co-published observations and tree-ring records of about $816,000 USD to cover the costs by the Transnational Institute (TNI) and past droughts indicate the current nearly of dismissed legal claims. The lawsuits Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO). 20-year drought in the western US could are clear examples of Strategic Lawsuits become the worst seen in 1,200 years. Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) The research draws on corporate law Researchers said about half of the his- launched not to win in court, but to intim- firms’ legal briefings, client alerts and toric drought can be attributed to climate idate defendants into silence and exhaust webinars, and outlines a list of what it change, with impacts that include shrink- their finances, Greenpeace said. The calls “ten particularly heinous litigation ing reservoirs and worsening wildfires. award is one of the highest ever under scenarios developed by some of the bus- —www.usatoday.com California’s anti-SLAPP statute. iest law firms.” Measures that could face April 16, 2020 —Greenpeace press release challenges include state acquisition of April 23, 2020 private hospitals; steps to ensure drugs, tests, and vaccines are affordable; and relief on rent, debt, and utility payments. Female leadership boosts resilience —www.opendemocracy.net Cooking with gas a health risk May 19, 2020 Practical Policy Dirty Fuel The coronavirus crisis seems to con- firm what policy analysts have argued Gas stoves can elevate indoor air pol- Swedes’ pilot proves it’s possible for some time: female leadership may be lution to levels that would be illegal out- more engaged on issues of social equal- side, according to a report by the Rocky H2 Steelmaking ity, sustainability, and innovation, mak- Mountain Institute and other environ- ing societies more resilient to external mental groups. Based on a review of two Swedish steel maker Ovako has used shocks. Current data shows that countries decades of research, the report found gas hydrogen to power commercial steel pro- with women in a leadership position have stoves emit nitrogen dioxide that dramat- duction for the first time. The company suffered six times fewer confirmed deaths ically increases the risk of asthma in kids, said the pilot project shows hydrogen can from COVID-19, and were more rapid worsens chronic obstructive pulmonary be used with no effect on steel quality, and effective at flattening the curve than disease, and may be linked to heart prob- and proves emissions from steel rolling countries with governments led by men. lems, diabetes, and cancer. Gas stoves can be eliminated with financial support also expose households to the risk of and infrastructure in place. Nearly all A look at most female-led governments’ carbon monoxide poisoning and particle H2 is derived from fossil fuels, and steel approach to the crisis reveals similar pol- pollution. Regulators have done little to makers are reluctant to attempt the switch icies that may have made a difference address the issue, the report said, and the to costly and limited renewable-derived vis-à-vis their male counterparts: they best solution is to switch to an electric H2 without subsidy support.