Surrey School Board Trustee Heather Stilwell gained national attention this past May by proposing that The Great Global Warming Swindle be made available in Surrey high schools alongside An Inconvenient Truth in order to ensure students are offered a "balanced perspective" on the issue of global warming.

The Board heard her proposal in May and unanimously passed the following motion:

THAT WHEREAS it has been reported in the media that all secondary schools in the Province will be provided with a copy of the movie “An Inconvenient Truth”; and WHEREAS this movie is advancing one particular view of the world’s climate change based on ice, etc.; and WHEREAS many scientists world-wide have expressed scepticism about this scientific accuracy; and WHEREAS it is our role as Trustees to ensure that students are provided with accurate information and a balanced perspective when there is credible information presented on two sides of an issue.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the school district’s Instructional Resources staff ensure that the resource “The Great Global Warming Swindle” if approved by the district’s Learning Resource Committee, and/or any other resource the committee identifies that provides a balanced view of global warming, be made available to our schools.

Chairperson Wilson called the question on the amended motion and it was CARRIED unanimously.

I contacted Heather Stilwell last week who said, "As we left it at the end of June, staff were working on getting the kind of permission rights that we require for school use. It is certainly my expectation that this will be available in September."

The Great Global Warming Swindle has been widely criticized for misrepresenting global warming science and the opinions of researchers. In an embarrassing appearance, the film's director Martin Durkin was recently interviewed on ABC Australia where he was confronted about the film's inaccuracies and offered little information in his own defence.

It is estimated that the mountain pine beetle has destroyed 40% of British Columbia's lodgepole pine since 1993. University researchers have now found evidence that the beetle is adapting to spruce as well.

Researchers at the University of Northern B.C. in Prince George say the pine beetle, which has destroyed about 40 per cent of the province's lodgepole pine since 1993, is now killing spruce trees as well.

"There were rumours before that pine beetles were not only killing spruce but successfully reproducing in spruce, and we have now observed that in Prince George and we have been trying to document what's going on," Staffan Lindgren, a professor of ecosystem science at UNBC, said yesterday.

Lodgepole pine is the most common timber in forest rich BC, covering 14 million hectares of land. Spruce is right behind and covers 13 million hectares. With that in mind, the threat posed by the mountain pine beetle is arguably the most visible and significant consequence of global warming yet seen on the North American continent.

In short, welcome to global warming induced evolution.

Historically, pine beetle populations are kept in check by winter temperatures that drop to -40°C for several days. But since 1993, warmer winters have meant that the beetle has been left untouched by prolonged cold periods and their numbers are skyrocketing accordingly. With greater numbers of beetles comes greater opportunity to take advantage of new evolutionary niches.

One might expect genetic variability within the pine beetle to allow rare individuals to thrive on spruce rather than pine, but they would have been few and far between and would be unlikely to form new breeding populations even if they survived the winter freeze. That changes when the natural weather cycle no longer keeps their numbers in check. What was once an insignificant genetic mutation now threatens our forests with the seeds of a whole new catastrophe.

From the disappearance of the bees that pollinate our crops, to the decimation of our forests, nature is issuing ever more severe warnings that the course our society is on is not in tune with our long term survival. It's time to stop pretending we're both deaf to the message and dumb towards action and begin changing the way we interact with the planet - for our own sake.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived in BC today amidst a ceremonial welcome by the provinces First Nations community. Arnold was given three ceremonial gifts before getting down to business with BC Premier Gordon Campbell and signing a five point agreement on fighting global warming.

The two leaders have committed to working together on the issue regardless of the participation of the US and Canadian federal governments.

The memorandum of understanding signed by the pair commit B.C. and California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, collaborate on clean energies and technologies and build a series of hydrogen- refill stations along the highway linking Vancouver to Baja, California.

California and B.C. will also share data about the health of the Pacific Ocean

The memorandum is also seen as sign that Campbell is prepared to join California's current efforts in setting stiff reduction targets, penalties for companies who don't meet those targets, as well as a carbon trading market enabling "green" companies to sell carbon credits to polluters. However, the weak point in BC's position is still the fact that they have not put their own commitment's in law, and to date the government has only released scant details about how they intend to attain the steep reductions they have promised.

Last year, California legislated a mandatory 25% reduction of greenhouse gases by the year 2020, while in February, Campbell committed BC to a 33% reduction by the same deadline.

But all in, today's announcement is a good beginning.

Not quite, but it promises to be greatly reduced thanks to a new forestry plan announced by the BC government. In it, Forests Minister Rich Coleman stated that the province would begin shifting harvesting from old growth to second growth timber, and would quickly move to reduce raw log exports from the province.

Whether or not this leads to a more sustainable forest industry will largely depend on what annual allowable cut is set and how effectively the harvest areas are managed - particularly with regard to critical wildlife habitat and salmon bearing waters. Likewise, it is also unclear what this announcement will mean for Canada's endangered spotted owls. At last count, just 16 remain in the province and a recently leaked report stated that the government was choosing to capture and breed the remaining birds, rather than protect the old growth habitat they need for survival.

Details of the new policies will be announced in the next two weeks.

A leaked document reveals that the BC government intends to capture the last of Canada's spotted owls for a captive breeding program while it logs the habitat they need for survival.

Only 16 northern spotted owls remain in Canada, all of them in the old growth forests of BC. In the US Pacific Northwest, the owl is also listed as endangerd but still survives in greater numbers.

A full copy of the leaked document can be read here.

In a strong and bold move, the BC Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture (i.e. salmon farming) is calling for a permanent ban on fish farms on BC's north coast and a move to compulsory closed-pen farming within five years.

The industry would be given three years to develop the new systems, and another two years to phase them in. That would mean an end to open-net fish farms within five years.

Not surprisingly, the salmon farming industry has responded with predictable rage scare mongering while providing no real evidence to counter the committee's recommendations.

It's as if you were listening to a climate change denier talk about salmon farming.

For years the risks of open-net salmon farming have been well documented, particularly in Europe where the practice has been used for much longer than in BC. These range from the spreading of parasitic lice, the polluting of seabed floors with fish sewage, the irresponsible use of antibiotics, and thousands of documented cases of foreign Atlantic salmon escaping and surviving in Pacific waters.

The salmon farming industry's response has been typical of corporate propaganda. Scientific evidence is ignored and dismissed while no genuine evidence to the contrary is presented. Instead, industry touts the jobs created by their unsustainable business, and the so called "health benefits" of eating farmed salmon. This point is particularly misleading given that farmed salmon are so laden with cancer causing PCBs that they are the most PCB-contaminated protein source in the current U.S. food supply. Generally it is recommended that adults eat no more than one serving per month. There are no such concerns with wild species.

However, the industry's lobby group - the BC Association of Salmon Farmers - does offer a handy selection of recipes on their website. Substitute your favorite species of wild salmon and bon appetite!

As Conscious Earth visitors read last month, free copies of An Inconvenient Truth were made available to every high school in British Columbia thanks to the charitable contribution of the Tides Canada Foundation. Now, Surrey school trustee Heather Stilwell wants the widely discredited mockumentary The Great Global Warming Swindle to be shown alongside Al Gore's global warming documentary.

"I am not sure. I mean I see evidence. I think there is climate change, there's no question about that. Whether what Al Gore says about it is the truth, I have questions."

There are also a lot of people with questions about Heather Stilwell. For those unfamiliar with local BC politics, Ms. Stilwell was previously known for her involvement in the banning of books that depict same sex marriage from Surrey's public schools - a policy that was eventually struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Heather Stilwell is also a former leader of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada, and her political views are so far to the right that she was rejected by the federal Conservatives in her bid to run for office.

Trustees will vote on the motion to air The Great Global Warming Swindle in two weeks. You can contact Heather Stilwell directly here:

Heather Stilwell 18341 - 59 A Avenue Surrey, BC V3S 6A4

Home: Fax: Email:

(604) 576-4412 (604) 576-4429 stilwell_h@sd36.bc.ca

Yesterday, the British Columbia government announced that it is joining 5 western states in an international carbon trading market designed to tackle global warming and aggressively reduce greenhouse gases.

BC joins California, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Arizona in a growing partnership that now includes close to 60 million people. In the next few days, several Australian states are also expected to join, and Governor Schwarzenegger hopes to recruit at least four or five more Canadian provinces in the coming months.

Critics of the plan note that BC has promised to join such efforts in the past, but has failed to follow through because there were no hard caps on greenhouse gas emissions. To date, California has legislated hard caps under law. BC has not.

Mark Jaccard, Simon Fraser University's internationally respected global-warming expert, noted that B.C. politicians declared their support for a similar carbon trading system about 15 years ago. It quickly foundered because the New Democratic Party government never took the tough step of actually capping greenhouse gas emissions, meaning there was never a real incentive to buy carbon credits.

"We've already had governments make these announcements, but then they never come through with the greenhouse gas caps," said Jaccard. "In the absence of the government setting caps that are serious, an announcement of a trading system is meaningless.

BC's announcement follows up February's crown speech which stated that the province would reduce greenhouse gas emissions 33% by the year 2020.

Every public high school will get be receiving a free copy of An Inconvenient Truth. The announcement came this morning during a press conference outside the Vancouver School Board offices.

Funding for the project comes courtesy of the Tides Canada Foundation, while the distribution of the DVDs will be taken care of through the Novex Courier's clean fleet of hybrid and low-emission vehicles and bicycle courier service. The original vision for the project came courtesy of Gregor Robertson, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver Fairview and former CEO of Happy Planet beverages.

Two weeks ago, the Government of BC announced a bold new vision that would reduce the province's greenhouse gas emissions by 33% by 2020. Today, the BC Government released its updated Energy Plan, which will guide provincial energy policy and provide much of the details for how the that aggressive goal will be met.

Topping the list of announcements is an ambitious target to acquire 50 per cent of BC Hydro’s incremental resource needs through conservation by 2020. The government's press release also promises bold new strategies in 4 key policy areas:

1. Environmental Leadership:

• All new electricity projects developed in B.C. will have zero net greenhouse gas emissions.
• Existing thermal generation power plants will reach zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2016.
• Zero greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired electricity generation.
• Clean or renewable electricity generation will continue to account for at least 90 per cent of total generation, placing the province’s standard among the top jurisdictions in the world.
• Eliminate all routine flaring at oil and gas producing wells and production facilities by 2016 with an interim goal to reduce flaring by half (50 per cent) by 2011.
• The best coalbed gas practices in North America. Companies will not be allowed to surface discharge produced water, and any re-injected produced water must be injected well below any domestic water aquifer.

2. Energy Conservation and Efficiency:

• An ambitious target to acquire 50 per cent of BC Hydro’s incremental resource needs through conservation by 2020.
• New energy efficiency standards will be determined and implemented for buildings by 2010.

3. Energy Security:

• Government has committed the province will be electricity self-sufficient by 2016.
• To encourage small B.C. Clean or high efficiency cogeneration, BC Hydro is establishing a standing offer program with a set purchase price for power projects up to 10 megawatts.
• Public ownership of BC Hydro and the BC Transmission Corporation.
• BC Hydro and the Province will enter into initial discussions with First Nations, the Province of Alberta and communities to discuss Site C.

4. Investing in Innovation:

• The new $25-million Innovative Clean Energy Fund will encourage the development of clean energy and energy efficient technologies in the electricity, alternative energy, transportation and oil and gas sectors.
• The new BC Bioenergy Strategy will take advantage of B.C.’s abundant sources of renewable energy, such as beetle-killed timber, wood wastes and agricultural residues.

More details to come as I take the next couple days to read through the Energy Plan as a whole. Eager readers can sift through the pdf file themselves at this link.

The governors of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington have banded together in a new effort to fight global warming. Citing a lack of federal leadership as a major factor, the five states promise to create a regional target for reducing greenhouse gases within six months, a mechanism for meeting that target within 18 months, and create a five-state registry for tracking and managing greenhouse gas emissions.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, said a so-called cap-and-trade program, which lets companies that can't meet their emission reduction targets buy credits from those that reduce carbon dioxide, would provide "a powerful framework for developing a national cap-and-trade program. ... This agreement shows the power of states to lead our nation addressing climate change."

Called the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative, the agreement builds on earlier efforts by several states. It may also come to include additional agreements with other governments, particularly the province of British Columbia. During the February 13th speech, the BC government pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions 33% by 2020 and forge partnerships with western states to tackle climate change. Governor Schwarzenegger is scheduled to meet BC Premier Gordon Campbell on the issue later this spring.

Gordon Campbell's climate change plan is gaining praise throughout North America, with renowned environmentalist David Suzuki, as well as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger lending strong words of support for the Premier's announcements.

“I am pleased that British Columbia has joined the fight against climate change," said Schwarzenegger, "Global warming impacts everyone, and states and nations must work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I look forward to meeting with Premier Campbell and working with British Columbia on this critical issue."

The two leaders are set to meet this spring in what is to be the start of a new West Coast green plan to be forged with California, Alaska, Washington and Oregon. According to Campbell's speech, that group would work towards common environmental regulations to control emissions from oceanic resources, container ships and enable the construction of a 'hydrogen highway' from Vancouver to San Diego.

Suzuki's stance was somewhat more staid than Schwarzenegger's. The lifelong scientist and conservationist noted that "the devil would be in the details". A valid point, but don't forget that the Provincial policy on global warming was thrust into a full scale re-write just a couple short months ago.

It would be both irresponsible and impossible to establish all the fine points in that short time. For now, we would do well to accept these initial announcements for what they are - a bold and visionary first step that provides a clear new direction for the Province of BC and provides a road map for bringing greenhouse gas emissions under control.

The Harper government has announced a series of pro environment initiatives over the past number of days. Some are worth credit, and some are worth a closer look.

First, credit where credit is due. BC protected areas got a good shot in the arm with $30 million for the Great Bear Rainforest and $2 million for Stanley Park. Granted, the money for the rainforest comes a year after the agreement was reached, and offering funding for Stanley Park is a political no-brainer, but both announcements are good ones and represent real progress for the areas affected.

The Conservative's climate change initiatives are a quite a different story though. Harper's crew has been busy opening up the purse strings, offering $230 million to clean energy technology, $300 million for wind and renewable energy, and funding for a toned down version of the Liberals Energuide program. Unfortunately, this spending doesn't amount to any real progress and only serves to restore Liberal programs that the Tories have spent the last year criticizing.

To date, the net impact of Harpers green approach has been a one year delay in implementing what was already on the books.

Fortunately, there is better and more important news buried within these announcements. With public demand for action on global warming soaring and an election somewhere on the horizon, politicians (even the climate change skeptics) are being forced to compete for the environmental vote.

As with any competitive market, the winners will be the consumers - both the people casting their vote, and the environment as a whole.

A quick update from late last week. The Federal Government has pledged $2 million dollars to help fund the restoration of Stanley Park.

The new money joins a raft of contributions including $1 million from the BC Provincial government (to be matched by the city of Vancouver), a $1 million pledge from local billionaire Jim Pattison to match public contributions, and a Global TV fundraiser that has pulled in $2.5 million. All totaled this could mean up to $8.5 million to help rebuild the damaged park where over a 1,000 trees came down in recent wind storms.

Founded in 1888, Stanley Park is the third largest city owned park in North America and covers approximately 1,000 acres. More on the park here.

A recent poll indicates that 82% of British Columbians think the province should pass mandatory emissions targets. Doubly thorny for the BC government is that the same poll found that 68% of citizens were opposed the government's plan to construct two new coal fired power plants.

Adding to this pressure, a prominent Anglican leader has spoken out urging the BC Liberals to set binding provincial targets to reduce greenhouse gases. The call to action came from a letter addressed to Premier Gordon Campbell from Rev. Michael Ingham, Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster, which includes the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and Fraser Valley.

"We believe the targets must be based on the best possible science in terms of what is required to stabilize the climate, and do not believe that so-called 'intensity' targets can replace the need for absolute reductions in B.C.'s emissions"

Words of true wisdom....and it's not the first time Rev. Ingham has taken the lead on a progressive issue. In 2002, he became the first Anglican bishop in the country to permit the blessing of same-sex couples in church. In throwing his support behind strict co2 caps, he is now pushing a Liberal government who are already under pressure to act on climate change.

Meanwhile, rumours persist that they will announce new action in the province's upcoming energy plan, which Campbell promises will "deal directly" with the issue. More to come.