Wild Rivers in the West Kootenays

BC Hydro has released updated information, as of October 1 2011, about the electricity supply from BC independent power producers (IPPs). T

1. A map of current and future BC IPP projects
2. A list of  BC IPPs currently supplying BC Hydro
3. A list of IPP projects currently under development in BC

The information shows that BC Hydro has 70 Electricity Purchase Agreements (EPAs) with IPPs whose projects are currently delivering power to BC Hydro. These projects represent 12,599 gigawatt hours of annual supply and 3,209 megawatts of capacity.

The development map shows that BC Hydro has 48 Electricity Purchase Agreements (EPAs) with IPPs whose projects are currently in development. These projects represent 7,697 gigawatt hours of annual supply and 2,132 megawatts of capacity.

A few weeks ago an internal BC Hydro conference call was leaked to the media. The recording is of Dave Cobb, the president of BC Hydro, condemning the province’s IPP policy as he tells his staff that he anticipates the government changing the energy self sufficiency requirement.

Here is a quote from the recording of Dave Cobb taken from the Weekend Sun’s report on this story:

“‘If it doesn’t change, it has would be hundreds of millions of dollars per year that we would be spending of our ratepayers’ money with no value in return,’ said Cobb. ‘The way the self-sufficiency policy is defined now…would require us to buy far more long-term power than we need…I think they’re going to make a major change there, which will significantly reduce the amount of power we will be buying from independent power producers and anybody else,’ he said. ‘Government has to make a change.’”

If the government were to change its self-sufficiency requirement, this could have tremendous affect on the private power industry in BC. Continue Reading »

In this article from the Vancouver Sun, Tom Siddon calls on Premier Christy Clark to set an example with new  legislation for water stewardship in our province.

These two articles give me hope that we are heading in a direction where the complexity of natural environments is recognized and respected. The province must start treating the environment like complex adaptive ecosystems. This includes how we approach endangered species but also how we approach climate change, forest management, water stewardship and so on. See these two articles for information on recent discussions on species at risk in BC.

Fundamental changes needed in approach to species at risk: task force

Public to get say on species protection

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  June 28, 2011

Promoters sneaking into Jumbo through backdoor tourism plans
Glacier Resorts Limited heads into Farnham to access glaciers abandoned by athletes

Invermere, B.C. — Proponents are billing it as a service for tourists, but watchdog groups see it as another attempt to develop the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort through ‘the backdoor,’ and without due process.

“It” is a proposal to open commercial skiing operations at the former Camp Green site, on Farnham Glacier, just over the height-of-land from the Jumbo Valley. If the company behind the Jumbo Glacier Resort proposal gets Provincial approval, it will offer ‘snow-cat tours’ and ‘public skiing’ on a daily basis, starting as early as next week. Continue Reading »

On June 15 at 7:30pm at Prestige Lakeside Resort in Nelson Dr Richard Hebda of the Royal BC Museum will be giving a free presentation entitled Climate change and its impacts: Why should we care?

A description of the presentation as given from Columbia Mountain Institute:

“The global climate is beginning to change. Arctic winter temperatures are warming markedly. Weather events are intensifying with huge economic impacts. Our changing climate has begun to affect British Columbia ecosystems including our forests. Projections into the upcoming decades suggest major impacts, and with current trends in carbon dioxide emissions we already may be committed to crossing critical thresholds. Join Dr. Richard Hebda as he explores some of the major changes we may face in British Columbia and considers strategies to prepare for the impacts and reduce the degree of climate transformation.”

This talk is part of a larger conference “Carbon Management in BC Ecosystems”.
Conference details are at www.cmiae.org and pre-registration is required for the conference.

Sustainable Prosperity, a Thinktank based out of the University of Ottawa recently released a report entitled ‘Advancing the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Canada.  It gives an alternative perspective on the economics of Canadian ecosystems.

A quote from the report:

“Federal and provincial governments must do more to protect the forests and natural ecosystems that are providing hundreds of billions of dollars in free public services, including flood prevention and water filtration”

Click here to read the article from Vancouver Sun

Click here to read the report.

It feels like a major contradiction of environmental ethics to on one hand have a province promote ‘clean’ or ‘green’ energy, and then have the same ‘clean’ energy be used to fuel a dirty mining industry.

Check out this article from the Tyee about mining in BC.

When BC Energy and Mines Minister Rich Coleman says that BC’s electricity needs are to increase by 40% in the next 20 years, is he talking about the needs of citizens across BC or is he talking about the mining industry’s need for cheap electricity to make increased production economically viable? Yes, BC is expected to grow in population over the next 20 years, but with aggressive energy conservation, consumer demands for additional electricity can be severely limited. The question is really who is in need of the this cheap, ‘green’ electricity,  and the concern is who will be paying the price for it in the end?

The Columbia River Treaty is an international agreement between Canada and the United States made in 1964, for the cooperative management and operation of water resources of the Columbia River.  This article in the Revelstoke Times Review is a reminder that 2014 is the earliest opportunity for Canada to state its intent for a treaty renegotiation.  Considering BC’s ongoing energy debate the energy entitlements in this treaty deserve to be given more attention and BC citizens should be made aware of the possible options available from a treaty renegotiation.

When discussing the Columbia River treaty, most folks who have been in the Kootenays long enough can attest to the fact that this ecosystem has suffered greatly from the flooding that occurred to build the dams that were part of the treaty. Ecologically valuable riparian wetlands were lost, including vast areas of cottonwood. Looking at our environment today, if one didn’t know any different, they may not realize what has already been sacrificed in this area.

As 2014 approaches, I hope that the treaty renegotiation process is put in motion. I also hope that the environmental history of the Kootenays is remembered, is accurately presented, and seriously considered in the decision-making process.

To discuss the environmental crises of our time is no easy feat – if not for the sheer number of  (furiously entangled) issues at play, it is because as George Monbiot says:

“You think you’re discussing technologies, and you quickly discover that you’re discussing belief systems. The battle among environmentalists over how or whether our future energy is supplied is a cipher for something much bigger: who we are, who we want to be, how we want society to evolve.”

Monbiot’s most recent essay entitled ‘The Green Problem‘ is a useful piece, not because it necessarily captures all the issues (although the links and comments help with that), because it is an example of the kinds of engaging conversation that we all need to keep having, with ourselves, and with others to change the belief systems which deny, distort and downplay the environmental crises at hand.