We were determined to see academics, journalists, and popular publishers expose the enormous externalized costs of the metals extracted in this country to workers, indigenous peoples, the ecosystem and communities – to see that this is an industry that makes its profits from terrible and often permanent loss.

Mining Country is an exciting fulfilment of this hope. The book is a large-format, popularly-written history full of stunning archival photos and well-researched, clear examples of mining conflicts and impacts. The story it tells shows the costs.

The book opens with a description of the Indigenous mining in Canada which preceded colonialism, followed by the march of colonial extraction across the country, including stories of coal and iron deposits in the Maritimes. We hear vivid descriptions of the Marmora/Hastings County, Fraser-Cariboo, and Klondike gold rushes, their impacts on the First Nations they dispossessed and impoverished, and of the miserable (and often short) lives of the miners. 

Throughout the book, the authors tie the history of Canadian mining to global trends and events: massive industrialization from 1880 onwards, the Second World War, the post-war construction boom, and neo-liberal globalization. It ends with reflections on the new “green infrastructure” demands for more metals.

The astonishing growth of mining towns like Sudbury, Noranda, Trail, and Cobalt are explained, including the huge price paid by the miners who were maimed and often killed in large numbers. The contaminants spewed by the smelters poisoned land for miles around. The communities where the miners lived were badly planned, poorly constructed, and unhealthy, sometimes leading to typhoid epidemics. 

Unions were fought for and eventually won, and some of these struggles are told in detail.

Stories about Yellowknife’s Giant mine, the Westray disaster of 1992, the Asbestos strike of 1949, and the Pine Point mine draw us into seeing the consequences of an unimaginable lack of government oversight coupled with enormous government subsidy. The history of uranium mines in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories is compelling. 

The book ends with a discussion of the long-term, often perpetual, impacts of mining on the environment and on all of us, and a call to decide if “the endless growth of mineral extraction can be maintained into the future.”

As someone who has spent most of my life living in Sudbury and studying the Canadian mining industry, I found I was a bit jealous of the resources that Keeling and Sandlos have at their disposal – many skilled and enthusiastic graduate students, and sizeable research grants. At the same time, these student researchers are barely acknowledged in the book. 

We have no idea who dug up the information that the authors put forward. For example, Mick Lowe wrote a very thorough book on the discovery of Voisey’s Bay which is not even mentioned in the text, although it is in the bibliography. The publisher and the authors appear to have decided to limit the use of references and of a useful index in order to make the book more accessible to the public. For those of us who would like to know where the information came from or to follow up on the stories, this can be frustrating.

This is also a book written by men about men. The endless hours of labour that Indigenous women, miners’ wives, and female community organizers put in to deal with the social, economic, environmental, and health impacts of mining are not even mentioned. The only woman who gets any real attention in the book is the infamous Peggy Witte (now calling herself Margaret Kent), the last owner of the Giant mine. A women’s history of mining in Canada remains to be written, but a good place to start would be Meg Luxton’s excellent study, More Than a Labour of Love, written in 1980. 

The book similarly pays little attention approach to the endless work – both paid and unpaid – done by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to strategize and protect their communities and ecosystems from the mining industry in this country.

In the same vein, I also have to confess to really wincing at the number of times the authors talk about the regreening of 3450 hectares in Sudbury, but fail to mention that the area is considerably smaller than the growing and toxic tailings impoundments that loom over the region and will require care in perpetuity.

Despite these limitations, this is an important and very readable book. It is well-researched and reliable. The photos are stunning. Its excellent labour history will appeal to miners and their communities. The devastating impacts on indigenous people is a story that needed to be told. It does indeed “provide a mining history for all Canadians.”

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As you and I wrestle with the thousands of little ways that we can improve our pro-environment actions, it can be VERY frustrating when the powers-that-be seem to be using that power to be doing the exact opposite of what we’d like them to do. But who are these ‘powers’ – and how do I get me some!? 

“If I was King of the Forest…..” sang the Cowardly Lion on the road to Oz. Well, if I was King of this forested land called Canada, I know that I would take legislative steps on a myriad number of issues near and dear to me and my vision for a greener, healthier tomorrow. What kind of steps, you ask? Well, don’t mind if I do!

I’d take steps to reduce our carbon footprint and increase our caring footprint. I’d take steps to ensure that we have less oil pipelines siphoning the last of the dead dinosaur juice from our sacred grounds – and I’d sure as heck have more freshwater pipelines bringing aqua-vitae to the First Nations communities across the North who have to live without water all too frequently. I’d take steps to ensure that those most impacted, most vulnerable, to the growing pain of the climate emergency are given more voice in the decision-finding and decision-making, and that we, as a country, measure ourselves to a higher standard of living within the means of Nature.

But, truth be told, I really don’t know that much about politics, or the inner workings of the system. I’ve voted most of my life and have occasionally dabbled by assisting a friend with a campaign – but it has never gone beyond that. And it’s not as if I’m not an opinionated SOB who may be guilty of an over-fondness for the sound of his own voice. But despite my lived experiences as a white male of acceptable means, I remain intimidated and afraid to break through my barriers in pursuit of something that has always percolated in my mind.

Thankfully, some friends shared with me a link to the FLIP 2.0 summit – and it was like flipping a switch in my mind as I pivoted from “I can not” to “why the heck not”. I will be spending my Saturday learning from those in the know, those who’ve walked paths that I seek to explore. I will listen and I will learn from people of all backgrounds as they share their wisdom for summoning the courage to be king or queen of a forever-forested land.

I may never be a powers-that-be but, by the end of day Saturday, I’m pretty certain that I’ll understand that power and how best to work together with my friends and peers to affect positive change on a local, provincial and federal level. And that’s a pretty powerful way to spend the day.

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Whether you would classify yourself as a political person or not, there is no denying that political change is an essential piece of the puzzle for environmental change. If you’re interested in making positive environmental changes, it is critical to learn about and/or contribute to how politics can be used as an effective method of change. But no one has to do this alone. GreenPAC is a Canadian non-profit, non-partisan organization that focuses their efforts on enhancing environmental decision-making, building environmental leaders, and creating spaces for the public and for future environmental leaders to contribute to these causes. 

This year, GreenPAC is hosting their second annual FLIP Summit (Future Leaders in Politics) – on Saturday, January 22nd. The FLIP Summit is an all-day event that presents a diversity of speakers, presentations, networking opportunities, and participatory sessions with the theme of breaking barriers for environmental political change. This event is a great opportunity to learn about Canadian politics and its essential tie to environmental advocacy as well as hear from local politicians, interact with other like-minded people, ask questions, and learn how to get involved. 

“This year’s theme is breaking political barriers for environmental progress. We chose this theme because there are many barriers that still exist for environmental change-makers to enter or engage in politics, and we believe focusing on those barriers will make the conversations more fruitful and impactful.” -Coco Wang, GreenPAC’s 2022 Summit Director

The FLIP Summit is not only for those who know about politics or have an interest in running for office. This event is for everyone. It’s for citizens. It’s for youth whose voices need to be amplified and empowered. It’s for older folks who may not know how to break out of the red and blue dichotomy that has been entrenched in our minds (and that environmental change can happen in any party). It’s for people who love politics, want to get involved with and inspired by current politicians, and aspire to be an environmental leader. It’s also for people who don’t know what politics has to do with environmentalism but want to learn. The point here is that this event is for anyone of any age or experience-level, looking to get involved, network, or just simply learn how the system of politics can work to enhance and increase positive environmental change. 

“Every year, we encounter countless people who recognize that there is a disconnect between the kind of change they want in the world, and the progress that’s actually happening. Politics is the missing piece, especially environmental leadership in politics. It doesn’t matter what issue you care about, it doesn’t matter where or how you want to make a difference, politics is there. We may not like that, but we need to engage with politics so we know how to navigate it, how to shape it, and where necessary, how to change it completely.” -Brittany Stares, GreenPAC’s 2021 Summit Director

It is especially critical that youth feel invited to this event – and more broadly, to conversations about environmental politics – because the future of our world is the future of our youth. The next generation of decision makers need to be heard today and every day looking forward, especially when talking about long-term sustainability. We have a world of passionate youth who want to improve the world in whatever ways they can, and GreenPAC is an organization that is working to uplift those voices, and facilitate knowledge sharing, mentoring, and inspiration between current and future politicians.

“Research has shown that young people are the most engaging demographic in taking advocacy actions like signing petitions and raising awareness on issues, particularly climate change and other environmental issues. But the reality is that young people also have the lowest rate of voting in elections and have little political knowledge in general. To transform the energy and will for change, understanding and entering formal politics is crucial for our generation to push for the real changes we need.” -Coco Wang, GreenPAC’s 2022 Summit Director

Check out more details about the event, including the agenda and speakers, here: https://bit.ly/GPflip2022 

Registration is open until 1:00 PM (EST) on Friday, January 21st, so be sure to get your ticket now and be prepared to be empowered this weekend. Never underestimate the power of a speaker, a conversation, an idea – those things can spark movements, and this event is THE place for sparks to fly. We’ll see you there!

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Source: National Geographic 

In the 51 years since the first Earth Day, we have developed a deeper understanding of Earth’s interconnected atmosphere, oceans, freshwater, ice, land, ecosystems, and climate. Through scientific and technological advancements, we have become increasingly aware of the very real threat we’re all facing. Earth Day transformed from a grassroots movement to a beacon of hope for urgent climate action. 

What could the future look like? 

Climate change modeling has been done by many organizations and academic institutions like the OECD, NASA, IPCC, CCCma, and more. Scientists use these models to understand how Earth’s climate works and to make predictions about how it might change in the future. According to modeling, it is likely to very likely that temperatures will get hotter, weather events will be more intense and sporadic (droughts, floods, etc), air quality will diminish, and sea levels will rise as polar ice caps continue to melt (not a comprehensive list). According to the OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050, if we continue down the path we’re currently on, these projections will become our reality. There is scientific consensus around these facts, but even the scientists are saying it’s not too late.

Changes in average surface temperature and precipitation from 1986-2005 to 2081-2100 // Source: IPCC AR5 Summary for Policymakers 

The future of Earth Day

Earth Day could become a day that all people from all around the world look to for a semblance of hope. People could see this day no longer as a celebration but as a day of urgent requirement. If projection modeling is correct, by Earth Day 2050, we will be in the middle of facing the greatest collective threat to humanity, and at that point, it could be too late. By April 22nd, 2070 – the 100th anniversary of Earth Day – we could be experiencing a global catastrophe. 

Earth Day could soon become the single most important day of the year with billions of people filling the digital landscape with global conversations, positive acts, performances, webinars and events supporting urgent action on climate change. The future could bring science and technology to new heights, allowing virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to disseminate knowledge and information sharing about the ticking clock we have on our planet. These technologies can also help us fight climate change. We can experience our carbon footprint in VR, while AI powers our climate change strategy.

Despite the innovative solutions and technology that lie ahead, the key to protecting the future of our planet is what we choose to do in the present. Earth Day Canada is an organization that is strongly focused on inspiring and educating others on the everyday actions that we, as humanity, should be doing now in order to better shape the future.

Earth Day Canada’s mission is to help people and organizations reduce their environmental impact by celebrating Earth Day through action, every day. Over the years Earth Day Canada has grown nationally, developing various initiatives and strategic partnerships. Looking to the future, Earth Day Canada hopes to continue their effort to fight for the environment, by taking care of the planet. Their 2021 campaign aims to make Canada a safer and healthier place for generations to come. 

Earth Day Canada Director, Pierre Lussier, explained, “The theme of our 2021 Campaign is ‘Let’s Take Care of the Planet’. The imagery that we have used to accompany our theme, depicts animals picking up trash that has been left in nature by humans, with the tagline ‘Luckily the animals are here to clean up after us’.  Our hope is that the irony of this bold statement will raise awareness of the urgency to take action, and Earth Day Canada will be here to support people and organizations in their journey towards becoming more environmentally sustainable.” Taking care of the planet can be as simple or as large as you want it to be, the point is that we commit to our environment every day. 

Source: Earth Day Canada

The way forward 

Natgeo published their Earth Day 2020 issue at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. So, what’s different now? The COVID-19 pandemic has persisted as a global health catastrophe for over a year, inflicting significant human suffering and damage to the global economy. But this disruption to the status quo, to how we typically operate, presents an opportunity to question our core values, and to re-examine our relationship with each other and the natural world. All this to say, now is the time to mitigate environmental threats through proactive measures and develop the societal tools to maximize human well-being in a rapidly changing world. Through mobilization, education, and policy, we have the power to act. And by leveraging the full power of Earth Day as a core global belief – each and every day – we’ll be in a better position to get on the right side of history. 

Now, we have a choice to make – which side of the cover will it be? 

This article is part of a 3-part editorial series, in collaboration with Earth Day Canada, titled ‘The Past, Present, and Future of Earth Day’. Check out the full series here!

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I had the pleasure of speaking to Laurie Simmonds, the president and CEO of Green Living Enterprises (aka the Boss of Green Business), for our upcoming issue Playbook for Progress. Laurie shared her experiences and wisdom from her successful career in green business and marketing, and gave some valuable advice for new grads. Here’s a sneak peek into our conversation!

“It’s been 20 years and it’s been incredible to watch the innovation explode. Not just big corporations but small entrepreneurs in every sector,” Laurie shared about the surge of green business. “It’s been very rewarding to see publicly-traded companies commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to a significant ESG performance metric, finally understanding that they can run a company that benefits people, planet and profits. It’s undeniable that things are changing. We can see corporations and entrepreneurs really working hard to keep up with that, and seeing the rewards of it, which is really the most important thing – that they actually now understand that they can still make a lot of money, be very profitable, but do good and do well.” 

Green Living Enterprises’ Office // Credit: Kourosh Keshiri

To hear that both big corporations and small and medium businesses are on the right track and committing to sustainability goals is very encouraging for two reasons. 1) Businesses have an obligation to advance the environmental movement, so they need to do their part for consumers to follow suit, and 2) more and more businesses are taking part in this positive shift because it pays to be sustainable. 

When asked about the obligation of businesses in advancing sustainability, Laurie said, “It’s introducing consumers to a much more healthy and sustainable lifestyle, showing them the way with these products and services. That’s how we’re going to affect change – consumers choosing a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, voting with their dollar by supporting those companies. Businesses’ obligation to their stakeholders is to make money in a sustainable and socially responsible way. The other obligation is to, of course, continually increase their ESG commitments – reduce their footprint, become more inclusive, watch the social impacts of their corporation, commit to good governance, and communicate transparently to their stakeholders and their customers about their commitment to ESG. We’re starting to see rankings really significantly demonstrate that those corporations that commit to this are increasing in value, in profitability, have strong brand value, and strong consumer loyalty … It’s incredibly hopeful for the future. I think the technological advancements are happening so quickly now and the commitments by big corporations are so enormous that we are galloping forward. It’s like someone has just pulled out all the stops and it’s moving very fast now.”

Laurie and Green Living Enterprises’ management team, 2018 // Credit: Kourosh Keshiri

For more from Laurie Simmonds be sure to check out our next issue, Playbook for Progress, in which she shares her story of turning her vision of Green Living Enterprises into reality, the key practices that put her on the path to success, her golden rules to using business as a tool for environmental change, and more. Stay tuned!!!

Laurie Simmonds is the president and CEO of Green Living Enterprises – an impact agency that markets solutions to social and environmental issues. In her 20+ year career as an environmental entrepreneur and marketing expert, she has built Green Living Enterprises from the ground up while leading an award-winning team in the world of green business. Her work focuses on the intersections between health, social justice, and the environment.

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Credit: Lucy Binfield

Many bamboo products may appear to be made of wood, but the material’s form, mechanical, structural and biological properties differ greatly. Bamboos have an aesthetically pleasing round, noded stem with a tough, durable shell. Some species of bamboo can grow almost a meter over 24 hours, and species used in construction typically reach maturity for harvesting in just three to five years, much quicker than a typical tree harvested for timber.  Different bamboo species grow to different sizes, from a few millimeters right up to 30 centimeters in diameter and over 30 meters in height. Larger species, like Guadua angustifolia, common in South America, tend to be hollow, while some species, like the Vietnamese Bambusa blumeana, have a solid culm. This size and structural variance makes for a broader range of weight-efficient structural and architectural applications than those of wood.

There are over 1600 known species of bamboo, including both running and clumping varieties. Due to their extensive root systems, bamboo is considered suitable for rehabilitating degraded land, and unlike trees, the culms (poles) can be harvested without killing the plant. This and their extremely fast growth means that well-managed bamboo groves can sequester and store carbon at a much higher rate per hectare than many tree species. The physical properties of bamboo are also notable; the culm tissue has exceedingly high tensile strength and ductility, allowing it to flex under wind and snow loads without splitting or breaking. These properties have historically enabled its use for complex, high strength woven containers and other structures that are now made using plastic, glass or carbon fiber.

Taking advantage of these unique attributes, new value-added composite materials can be developed using the residues from primary bamboo processing. Bamboo elemental fibers perform well compared to wood and to many other natural fibers in morphology and tensile strength due to the complex poly-laminate cell wall layering, making it a strong candidate for use as a high-performance reinforcement for composites, including in automotive body parts. Bamboo pulps also have unique properties, and researchers at UBC are working on developing high-performance molded pulp materials for packaging, tableware, and other applications such as biodegradable personal protective equipment.

Research into the microstructure and mechanical properties of bamboo helps scientists understand how its unique properties can be further manipulated and exploited. The Bamboo Applications and Management Group (BAM) at UBC is collaborating with researchers around the world to develop specialized analytical techniques such as resin microcasting and complex numerical modelling to enhance our understanding of bamboo tissue structure, lengthening its already impressive list of applications.  The group is also using computer software to simulate and analyze the effects of different parameters that affect the density variation in structural pressed bamboo composites, which will help improve the production process control and mechanical properties of structural bamboo composites and allow us to better understand their potential.

The cities of the future could be built from bamboo: made using new-generation sustainable building materials as alternatives to steel and concrete, and locking up carbon in sustainable, aesthetically pleasing and functional bio-based structures and complementing existing natural building techniques. The BAM group at UBC is spearheading research into bamboo connections, structural design, novel architecture, process automation, and control techniques in North America. Research at UBC will even extend to understanding how the current regulatory environment can facilitate further use of bamboo as a building material by representing bamboo in the building codes of different countries.

Credit: Casa Congo

Research into innovative products, structural design, manufacturing technology, and fiber utilization efficiency is critical to making bamboo products competitive in a crowded global market. The group is collaborating with international industry partners to work on extending the use of long strips of bamboo, traditionally used in basket and complex shell weaving, into a high strength wound wall substrate for bio-based drainage pipes. Other collaborations involve carbonized charcoal from bamboo, which has a more complex pore structure than wood charcoal, and is used in cosmetics, fabrics, high performance air and water filtration, and polymer flame retardant applications. The cellulose in bamboo is also unique and being developed into a range of textile and other engineered nano-cellulose applications.

Consumer demand for sustainably sourced products has seen the market for simple items made from bamboo, such as bamboo toothbrushes, kitchen-wares and furniture, grow significantly in recent years. Research at UBC also extends to understanding how and why these consumer trends have developed and will influence bamboo-producing communities around the world. Equally important to the group’s remit is the sustainability, community development and socio-political aspects of bamboo exploitation and governance. This also includes how this growing demand for bamboo could influence biodiversity in areas where many species depend on the plant for survival.

The Bamboo Applications and Management Group at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver is the first ever multidisciplinary research group in North America dedicated to studying bamboo, its properties and its applications. We believe that bamboo has a key role to play in a sustainable, equitable future, and that high-quality research into this fascinating plant will yield dividends.

Lucy Binfield is a PhD student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The Bamboo Application and Management Group (BAM) is made up of Associate Professor Chunping Dai, Dr. Kate Semple, Dr. Meiling Chen, Dr. Yu-an, Hu, Jialin Zhang, Milad Khajouei, Hugo Pineda, Bruce Zhou, Eric Li, Rain Liu, Sol Lewites, and Associate member Tamara Britton from the University of Western Ontario.

Credit: Casa Congo

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What changed 

Everything about our world has changed since the 1970s. First off, the world’s population has basically doubled from 3.7 billion in 1970 to well over 7 billion today. More people are consuming resources, but more resources are also being consumed per person. On average, wealthier, developed countries in the Global North are each burning more fossil fuels than we were in 1970, eating more meat, and traveling more than ever before. All that consumption adds up to a 90% increase in CO2 emissions since 1970, which after being trapped in the atmosphere, has contributed to ocean waters warming 0.6 °C and sea levels rising more than 5-6 inches. And if that’s not enough, average global temperatures have risen more quickly since the late 1970s (0.29 to 0.46°F per decade since 1979).

What now 

“Earth Day today is about more than just saving our planet – it’s about saving humanity.”

Throughout the decades, Earth Day has been about saving species, ecosystems, and natural habitats from threats like air and water pollution. While these aspects are still focused on, Earth Day today is about more than just saving our planet – it’s about saving humanity. This generation of climate activists has grown up thinking of themselves as truly global citizens. We are more aware of the immediate threat that is facing us, and we’ve made it clear that there is no planet B. The first Earth Day may have started as protest, but it sparked a global movement that is now the vehicle for taking urgent and immediate climate action. 

Earth Day 1970 March // Source: Earth Institute, Columbia University 

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing public health lockdowns around the world, Earth Day 2020 went entirely digital for the first time in its history. Billions of people took part, allowing technology to connect us from all corners of the planet. While the coronavirus forced us to keep our distance, it couldn’t quiet our voices. Over the 24 hours, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day filled the digital landscape with global conversations, calls to action, performances, video teach-ins and webinars, workshops and more. This year, Earth Day remains largely digital. No matter where you are, you can still make a difference. 

Earth Day 2020 Flyer // Source: EarthShare

April 22nd, 2021

The theme of 2021’s Earth Day Canada celebration is Take Care of the Planet. Earth Day Canada is looking to raise awareness among Canadians about the urgency of taking action for the environment and to encourage us to continue taking concrete actions to take care of the planet on a daily basis.

The Media Campaign 

This year’s campaign plays on the irony that animals have to clean up their polluted environments themselves. That may sound funny, but looking at these animals should spark a thought in each and every one of us. They shouldn’t be dealing with this, we should. There are many simple things you can do every day to take care of the planet. It can be as small as picking up one piece of trash every day or as large as participating or organizing a beach cleanup (health measures permitted). 

The Earth Day Canada 2021 campaign invites Canadians to share the actions they are completing to take care of the planet through video testimonials on social networks. You can post to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and more, using the hashtags #TakeCareOfThePlanet #EarthDay2021. 

Since Earth Day 2021 will be virtual for most parts of the world, Earth Day Canada has developed an amazing list of suggestions for what you can do at home and in your community. At home, there are ideas on food, energy, waste, sustainable mobility, and nature. In your community, there are ideas for whether you are acting on behalf of a school, municipality, organization or just yourself. Earth Day Canada has an online calendar where you can register your activities and find out about virtual or local events. 

For the second year in a row, Earth Day Canada is calling on municipalities to play a role in the ecological transition. Cities and towns across Canada are mobilizing to take action towards creating healthier environments, using April 22nd in particular to make a positive impact. These municipalities are also contributing to the ecological transition by organizing and supporting actions in celebration of Earth Day in an effort to encourage everyone in their communities to join the movement. 

Download Earth Day Canada’s 2021 Media Campaign and get started, because the world won’t wait for you – it can’t. 

Source: Earth Day Canada

This article is part of a 3-part editorial series, in collaboration with Earth Day Canada, titled ‘The Past, Present, and Future of Earth Day’. Check out the full series here!

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We can see this complexity playing out in the way wolves in some regions are caught in the paradox of adapting to anthropocentric change while contributing to the demise of caribou herds, at risk of extinction in multiple jurisdictions throughout Canada and the United States. In response, the B.C. government has expanded wolf culls as a way of managing growing threats of extinction while negating responsibility for addressing the deeper issues behind alarming rates of wildlife habitat loss in these same jurisdictions. Both criticized and upheld as an imperfect solution, wolf culls are in fact not a new practice and part of a well-worn colonial management approach that harkens back to its first appearance on this continent in 1630 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Almost 400 years later, what has changed? Amid growing concerns from scientists, First Nations, ranchers, conservationists, hunters, animal rights activists and citizens on all sides of the debate, governments continue to overwhelmingly reach toward this expensive and controversial management approach for a solution to the threat of extinction. Have we stopped to consider the value placed on holding some creatures in the world and not others? In a recent in-depth report, journalist Sarah Cox revealed the B.C. government spent upwards of $2 million last winter on initiatives to kill 432 wolves, the most expensive of which was in the Kootenay region where, according to the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources and Rural Development, they spent $100,000 to kill 10 wolves. Perhaps we need to step back from the zero-sum game of ‘yes versus no’ to think more deeply about who bears the true cost of turning away from the deeper issues behind our current crisis of wildlife extinction? More importantly, what we are willing to do about it as a society?

What often gets missed in the perpetual loop of applying wolf culls as so-called short-term solutions, is the long story of failed policy mechanisms that were supposed to prevent us from getting here in the first place. One of these is the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (NAM), which positions wildlife as a resource to be managed on behalf of what is referred to as the public trust. Whose voices are taken seriously as constituting members of the public trust is a question that needs greater attention? Who do governments manage wildlife for and who gets consulted in the process?

Figure 1: Wolf track in snow. Photo taken during carnivore surveys, Salmo, B.C., Selkirk mountains. January, 2017. Credit: Rhiannon Kirton

While competition between caribou and other cervids (e.g., moose or deer) can lead to increased caribou predation by wolves, this is simply the most recent proximate cause of declines. Historically, caribou decline has been attributed not only to predation as a result of habitat augmentation and apparent competition, but also to high levels of legal and illegal harvest in the 1960s and 70s and adverse weather, amongst other factors (Environment Canada). While predator and moose reductions have been shown to increase caribou numbers in the short term, at best they have been shown to be a band aid solution versus a viable long-term strategy for success. As awareness of the ultimate driver of dangerous levels of caribou decline grows, there is an increasing recognition of the central issue being one of habitat loss, by those both for and against the wolf cull (Fig 1; Bridger, 2019). Although conservation and other advocacy groups continue to push for protection of old growth caribou habitat, the question of why government decision makers continue to drag their heels along such an ineffectual path gets harder to ignore. Why continue to allow habitats to be degraded and logged at the expense of both caribou and wolves? Whose voices do governments prioritize in the process of continued failure to protect caribou habitat? (Palm et al., 2020; MCRI, 2009). Is failing to do so a breach of NAM’s principle of acting on behalf of the public trust? What, if any, mechanisms exist to hold those in power accountable?  

Figure 2: Caribou habitat. South Selkirk mountain range close to White Water Ski. Resort photo taken during aerial caribou survey. February 2017. Credit: Rhiannon Kirton

NAM denotes a public ownership of wildlife resources which “is held in trust for the benefit of present and future generations by government”, although in real terms, this public often is rarely inclusive of First Nations and Native American peoples, a problem unto itself that we cannot do justice here (Eichler and Baumeister, 2018). The prospect of such entitlement being translated into a meaningful, productive public stewardship is uncertain, given “governance model for wildlife conservation decision making is typically at the (elected) ministerial level”, while boards and commissions exert limited impact. Despite governments admitting the need to modify the model for a greater participatory decision making, the caribou case manifests minimal progress in this respect. Unfortunately, caribou being federally listed as a Species At Risk in Canada has not translated into provincial habitat protection outside of federally owned lands. Why? Part of the reason is that voices of those outside of the decision-making structure might not only be ignored, but also be rendered silent. What does it say about our society in a time of ecological crisis to prioritize industry stakeholders above the value of a functioning ecosystem, which contains intact guilds of predators and ungulates alike? How, why and on whose terms is this discrepancy allowed to continue? 

In discussing the future of the North American Model (NAM), this statement is overwhelmingly instrumentalist: “the maintenance and fostering of landscapes that can sustain viable populations of all wildlife to ensure conservation of biodiversity and human use and enjoyment are of paramount concern”.  Among recommendations of applying and upgrading the model, citizen engagement in the conservation of biodiversity is stressed with grand and empty guidance. Why bend the goal of wildlife conservation to benefit industry stakeholders for short-term economic gain, if doing so erodes understandings of, and possibilities for, biodiversity as an integral component for our collective survival and prosperity? Given everything we now know about the importance of biodiversity in maintaining a healthy and sustainable world, shouldn’t we be promoting interdependency and reciprocity with nature as ultimate goals in public policy, for example, NAM’s wildlife management policy frameworks and application? The model does not need to stress the paramount importance of “the maintenance and fostering landscapes that can sustain viable populations of all wildlife to ensure conservation of biodiversity” and “human use and enjoyment”, because once the former is secured, it enables the latter. There do not exist two natural worlds, an abstract one that is servile to profit-driven human needs and a real one with lives we’ve never been familiar with. The problem of the model, nevertheless, further entrenches a rupture between humans and nature.

Figure 3: Wolf tracks. Simonette River, Municipal District of Greenview, AB. August 2020. Credit: Narda Nelson.

At such a precarious juncture for many creatures and habitats on the brink of extinction, can the story of contemporary wolves be rewritten beyond polarizing figures of either hero or villain? More than simply an inflammatory topic of debate, wolf culls point to the deeper problem of a collective refusal to step back from polarizing debates to better understand and take responsibility for contributing to the very issues that define these challenging times. To restore and safeguard the ecosystems that our existence depends on, it seems increasingly obvious that we should look to Indigenous peoples who have successfully protected the land for millennia. Perhaps the NAM’s failing is in its application and exclusion of Indigenous voices and the centering of colonial forms of management. There are varied approaches and opinions regarding wolf culls within First Nations across Turtle Island. Some, like the Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations, are already succeeding in holding caribou populations in the world where governments have failed.  Perhaps it’s time to seriously reconsider alternatives to continuing to implement the NAM and instead follow their lead.

This article is part of our March 2021 Western Student Editorial Series – a series that showcases the works of students in the Collaborative Specialization in Environment and Sustainability program. Read more articles from this series here!

References

Brook, R.K., Cattet, M., Darimont, C.T., Paquet, P.C., & Proulx, G. (2015). Maintaining ethical standards during conservation crises. Canadian Wildlife Biology and Management (4), 72-79.

Lavoie, J. (2018, April 5). Seeking the Science Behind B.C.’s Wolf Cull. The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/seeking-science-behind-b-c-s-wolf-cull/ 

Mountain Caribou Recovery Implementation Plan. (2009) http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/speciesconservation/mc/files/progress_board_update20090213.pdf  

Palm, E. C., Fluker, S., Nesbitt, H. K., Jacob, A. L., & Hebblewhite, M. (2020). The long road to protecting critical habitat for species at risk: The case of southern mountain woodland caribou. Conservation Science and Practice, 2(7), e219.

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Spring of 1970 – A shift in attitudes, values, and beliefs of 20 million Americans embodied through a movement of consciousness about our planet. 

Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, U.S., created Earth Day as a way to give environmental issues a voice and put them on the national agenda. In December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues – the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Since then, efforts to tackle environmental degradation and climate change have been adopted worldwide from introducing policy and legislation, to funding clean technologies and renewable energy, to manufacturing biodegradable materials. Here, we look at the honouring of this day through the decades. 

News headline from the first Earth Day, 1970 // Source: ETEE

In the decades leading up to the first ever Earth Day, industrialization took over North America and other parts of the world. Manufacturing (1900s), mining (1930s), transportation (1950s) and retailing (1970s), along with rapid urbanization and consumer culture, all played a part in developing our world as we know it today. North America was consuming vast amounts of leaded gas through massive and inefficient automobiles. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of the consequences from either the law or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Mainstream North America remained largely oblivious to environmental concerns and how a polluted environment seriously threatens human health.

1980 – In the U.S., this year saw significant environmental legislative achievements. Just 10 years after the first Earth Day, government protections over the environment drastically increased. By 1980, the following U.S. government acts were passed: Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. 

On September 11th, Paul Tinari, a graduate student from Queen’s University, launched the first Canadian Earth Day. Flora MacDonald, then MP for Kingston, Ontario and the islands, officially opened Earth Day Week, encouraging MPs across the country to declare a cross-Canada annual Earth Day. 

Through the 70s and 80s, Earth Day in North America focused heavily on pollution. By Earth Day 1990, organizers and environmental agencies shifted their focus to climate change. 

1990 – Earth Day goes global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. 

The activities of the 20th anniversary of Earth Day in 1990 presented a huge boost to recycling efforts and paved the way for the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. The ‘Rio Declarations’ laid out 15 principles recognizing the impact of human activities on sustainability and committing to sustainability goals. In 1997, the United Nations Kyoto Protocol was signed setting commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide as well as establish the connection between human activities and climate change.

In Canada, this was the start of Earth Day Canada (Jour de la Terre Canada), combining efforts from both France and Canada, and the internationalization of Earth Day. Since 1995, Quebec has celebrated Earth Day through raising awareness on environmental issues. 

Earth Day Canada Logo // Source: EarthDay.ca

2000 – Earth Day goes digital. Through the power of connectivity, hundreds of millions of people in 184 countries celebrate the 30th anniversary of Earth Day, with a focus on clean energy. 

By leveraging the power of the Digital Revolution, Earth Day in the new millennium meant that environmental activities and initiatives spread faster to many parts of the world. Suddenly, awareness became the greatest tool in the fight against climate change. 

2010 – This was a challenging time for the environmental community as they faced climate deniers, well-funded oil enthusiasts with a not-so-environmentally-friendly agenda, a disinterested public, and neutral politicians. The Earth Day Network repositioned Earth Day as a day for environmental activism as the right time. On Earth Day 2010, over 250,000 people participated in a rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and hundreds of millions of people observed Earth Day around the globe. Climate activism gained serious momentum. 

In 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement was drafted, going beyond the Kyoto Protocol, by setting a goal of achieving global net-zero emissions by 2050. In Canada, the French and Quebec teams joined forces to take the Earth Day movement to a new level for the French-speaking world. 

In 2018, Greta Thunberg acted as a voice for youth, by starting a protest in front of the Swedish parliament building, vowing to continue until the Swedish government met the carbon emissions target agreed by world leaders in Paris, in 2015. Students around the world quickly began following her lead, staging large protests and demanding change.

Greta Thunberg’s Climate Strike // Source: DW

In 2019, Earth Day Canada formed an alliance with EcoKids to enable environmental initiatives to be carried out across all provinces and territories. That year, I remember attending a climate rally in Ottawa and feeling empowered by the movement as a young adult living in the world today. 

2020 – Last year marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The social and cultural movements that we saw in the 1970s rose back up again as we were hit with one of the largest crises of our time: COVID-19. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic transcended almost everything in 2020 (the good and the bad), including the environment, from cancelled summits on climate and biodiversity, to a temporary dip in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, to greater awareness of the link between human health and climate change. As climate rallies and events were cancelled, Earth Day quickly pivoted from mobilizing millions on the ground to raising hundreds of millions of voices digitally. Fittingly, in Canada, the Earth Day theme was climate action with the main message being: “keeping our distance at home, but taking action for the planet together”. Now, we’re in the slow and gradual transition to a green recovery. 

Present day – The fight for our planet continues with increasing urgency. A\J has partnered with Earth Day Canada to shine a light on Earth Day celebrations through the years and explore the evolution of this day through this editorial series. This Earth Day will be spent at home, and Earth Day Canada has put together some practical, creative, and smart ideas for #EarthDayAtHome. The Earth Day Canada 2021 theme is Take Care of the Planet. The official campaign features “animals that have to clean up their polluted environments themselves”. The goal is to raise awareness about the urgency we are facing, and to encourage Canadians to #TakeCareOfThePlanet every day because it’s our responsibility to do so. 

Earth Day Canada’s #TakeCareOfThePlanet 2021 Campaign // Source: EarthDay.ca

Stay tuned for next week’s article for more about what Earth Day means for us this year, and how we can and should be celebrating the planet in the present day.

This article is part of a 3-part editorial series, in collaboration with Earth Day Canada, titled ‘The Past, Present, and Future of Earth Day’. Check out the full series here!

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The United Nations SDGs // Source: UN

The SDGs, adopted in 2015, outline seventeen interconnected goals that acknowledge that efforts to end poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health, education, reduce inequality and tackle the challenges of climate change. Assessment of the first five years of SDGs implementation suggest that the world is off track to realize the set objectives by the 2030 target. Meanwhile, extreme weather events, wildfires and related environmental challenges, particularly, over the past few decades necessitate accelerated action if a planetary catastrophe is to be avoided. Given these ongoing and persistent challenges, the UN in September 2019 called on all sectors of society (global, national, local and individuals) to mobilize for a ‘Decade of Action’ on the SDGs. This call emphasizes the need for cross-sectoral coordination and collaboration in the implementation of the SDGs with a call for faster and more ambitious responses to stimulate environmental, social and economic transformation. Maintaining focus on the SDGs implies a holistic approach to development that focuses not only on the wellbeing of humans but also safeguards the planet upon which human lives depend. Actions to accelerate progress on the SDGs are even more urgent now because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which threatens to derail SDGs implementation.

Non-state actors, specifically community-based organizations promoting conservation, are relevant stakeholders with activities that contribute to the objectives of the SDGs. Organizations promoting sustainable development present an opportunity to pursue a path of green recovery from the negative impacts on the economy and the planet.

Community-based organizations reflect a change in focus from these top-down approaches to the bottom-up, where local goals tend to focus on regaining autonomy and control over natural resources and improving social and economic wellbeing. Community-based programs are generally based on the premise that local people have greater interest in the sustainable use of natural resource than outside actors, and thus can be more cognizant of the intricacies of local ecological processes and practices. While it is important not to essentialize or homogenize ideas of ‘community’ and ‘conservation’ without regard for local contexts, finding innovative solutions to complex environmental and development issues often requires outside expertise and training in collaboration with local knowledge. In this way, community-based organizations can help to ensure a holistic and cautioned approach to development. This approach is unique in that it often considers differing worldviews that may reflect alternative definitions of conservation and development, local systems of land tenure, and the gendered divisions of labour in economic activities, to ensure that rural communities really do benefit from these initiatives. Community-based approaches highlight the importance of local context and agency, and that there is no one size fits all approach to achieving SDG objectives.

Bamboo provides a prime example of a resource that has been increasingly promoted as contributing to sustainable futures, as it is sought-after in diverse industries of the growing global “green economy” as an alternative to timber due to its fast-growing and structurally durable properties. Bamboo is considered a resource that—when grown and harvested following sustainable management practices—can achieve positive environmental, social, and economic outcomes. Ecosystem services provided by bamboo include carbon storage and sequestration, soil and water regulation, and biodiversity conservation.

Bamboo forest // Source: Unsplash

In many bamboo habitat countries, the resource plays an important role in cultural heritage and provides socio-economic benefits through supplementary income for the rural poor. Due to these components, bamboo is promoted to contribute to at least seven of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including: no poverty (SDG 1); affordable and clean energy (SDG 7); sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11); responsible consumption and production (SDG 12); climate action (SDG 13); life on land (SDG 15); and partnerships for the SDG goals (SDG 17).

Credit: Tamara L. Britton and Eunice A. Annan-Aggrey

Community-based bamboo development projects are taking place all over the world, ranging from bamboo charcoal projects as an economically viable alternative to wood charcoal in Madagascar; community-based bamboo nurseries in the Philippines; bamboo disaster relief building projects, construction and bamboo management training programs in Ecuador and Nicaragua; community-based bamboo processing factories in China; and community-based management of natural bamboo forests in Laos.

Due to small budgets, community-based projects like these often cannot compete with the wide scale promotion and ambitious claims made by larger-scale development initiatives. However, in practice, many community-based programs often have a greater long-term impact on community wellbeing and autonomy. Thus, there is a research gap to be addressed on the contribution of smaller-scale grassroots conservation movements and researchers from Global South countries regarding SDG objectives.  

Credit: Tamara L. Britton and Eunice A. Annan-Aggrey

In a post-pandemic world, if SDG targets are to be met amidst an increasingly uncertain economic future, it is crucial that conservation and development projects invest in building resilient communities through agroecological solutions and strengthening environmental stewardship to ensure that the rural poor are not completely dependent on external markets for their livelihoods.

The UN Decade of Action is a clarion call for an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to keep the wheels of development turning.

The SDGs include an ambitious target to combat climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities of the economic systems upon which development is hinged. Thus, the need for integrated development that encompasses socio-economic and environmental progress is relevant now more than ever. The UN Decade of Action is a clarion call for an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to keep the wheels of development turning. Community-based organizations are rising to the task. Indeed, integrated solutions and green alternatives chart a course that holds optimism for a greener, more inclusive future.

This article is part of our March 2021 Western Student Editorial Series – a series that showcases the works of students in the Collaborative Specialization in Environment and Sustainability program. Read more articles from this series here!

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