How long can you still crow about the ribbon you got for the science fair project in grade school? It’s a question that kept going through my mind as I stared into the BC government’s budget documents at the briefing on Tuesday. In the Finance Minister’s speech, the Ministerial Services plan, in the strategic plan … Continue reading
Read more »Posts Tagged: economy
Mixing concrete and asparagus on Granville Island
Why a polarized and non-transparent debate will hurt the future of Vancouver’s treasured waterfront hub Years ago, someone came up with the idea of putting vegetables on concrete mixers to drive them around Vancouver, and guess what, it is working. Granted, the trucks aren’t used to bring veggies to market—quite the opposite: the larger-than-life ads … Continue reading
Read more »Where salmon and shipyards are neighbours
What North Vancouver’s MacKay creek can teach us about urban shorelines What gets two dozen environmentalists, scientists and planners to cram into a school bus on a cold and rainy Saturday morning? The prospect of exploring the latest urban stream restorations in the city, of course! You would be forgiven for considering this field trip … Continue reading
Read more »BC Election results: making sense of the tea leaves
It’s been more than a day since the results of the BC election were finalized and I’m still trying to read the tea leaves of what British Columbians have told us. The results of the election are – to say the least – puzzling. At a time when we need action on climate change, no … Continue reading
Read more »Dawn Breaks on an Exciting New Vision for our Waterfront
By the time the sun was rising over the city of Vancouver around 7:00 AM on March 28th, Communities Atlas Coordinator Rebecca Adams and I had been up for hours, making our way across the Strait by ferry to the first gathering of Georgia Strait Alliance’s innovative Waterfront Initiative. It was an inspiring day, anticipated to … Continue reading
Read more »Vancouver Island Closed Containment Facility Open for Business!
I had the remarkable experience a couple of weeks ago of witnessing the last stages of construction of a home-grown, land-based, recirculating closed containment salmon farm. The facility is being built to prove the economic good sense of growing salmon in a way that doesn’t threaten the survival of wild salmon. Namgis Nation is now … Continue reading
Read more »Times They Are a-Changin’
How many times have those words from Bob Dylan’s 1964 song been used to describe a current situation? Who knows for sure, but I do know that those words are as true today as they were back then. Indeed I believe we are on the cusp of tremendous change. Some good, Some not so good. … Continue reading
Read more »Pipelines and Public Relations
“Information Session”. Now isn’t that a friendly, non threatening term. And indeed that’s exactly what the Kinder Morgan Information sessions on their proposed new pipeline to bring Alberta Tar Sands crude to the coast to load onto tankers were for the most part. These are almost over, with just one left in this region on … Continue reading
Read more »There’s more than tankers out there!
Anyone who spends time traveling around or gazing out on Georgia Strait will see ships here there and everywhere in the region. The anchored ships in English Bay, Vancouver are a world renowned spectacle for tourists, travelers and business visitors alike. Personally I love to see them and greatly appreciate how they bring many of the … Continue reading
Read more »Down at the Dock: Clean Marine BC sees real, positive results!
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Duncan-Cowichan Chamber of Commerce on Perspectives on the Marine Economy. My talk focused on our Clean Marine BC green boating and marina eco-certification program, and how a clean marine environment is critical to a healthy coastal economy here in BC. Alongside teachers and politicians, the room … Continue reading
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