What Makes Me Tick?
Submitted by Rachel Darvill on August 31, 2011 - 10:08
I didn’t quite know what to expect when two friends and I headed out on a last-minute mission to Fort St. John in mid-July, especially given that there were multiple storm warnings and flood events forcing road closures that led up to our departure. But, in despite of all the negatives, we forged northward with high anticipation of taking part in the annual Paddle for the Peace event.
Paddle for the Peace is lead by the West Moberly First Nations (WMFN) and the Peace Valley Environment Association(PVEA). It involves people coming together to paddle down the mighty Peace River, through a section of the Peace Valley that is slated to be dammed and subsequently flooded by BC Hydro’s huge Site C dam proposal.
When we arrived in Fort St. John (the nearest city to the proposed Site C dam), there was indeed a whole lot of rain and flooding. So much in fact, that it was a deemed a danger to be in the river. The paddle was called off and the event became more of a gathering and celebration of like-minded individuals who had come together for a cause well worth fighting the good fight. A gathering with music, presentations and family games; this was a fun time indeed!
In my mind, the cancellation of the actual paddle was sort of like a blessing in disguise. Not only did I get the opportunity to meet and talk to some of the people that would be directly affected by the flooding, but there were other ENGOs (Wilderness Committee, Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y), Sierra Club) up north for the demonstration as well. Diane, a woman from the PVEA, graciously offered to take us ENGO folk on a tour of proposed affected area and she gave us the low-down on exactly what is at risk with this Site C fiasco. Wow, did I learn a lot and yikes was I shocked to learn some of the details! And the proposed development site itself, stunning. I feel blessed to have visited this place.
There are already two huge dams on the Peace River and now BC Hydro wants to build a third (hence the name Site C), which would flood over 80kms of some of BC’s most agriculturally important lands in the province. A province that is slashing Agricultural Land Reserves (ALRs) and one that already imports about half its food from out of province. In a time where food security is becoming increasingly more important with climate change predictions and global water shortages, to me this doesn’t appear wise. Site C would also destroy one of the most critical pieces of the Y2Y connectivity corridor in the north, and it would submerge valuable carbon sinks.
To top it all off, Site C is being proposed so that BC Hydro’s industrial forecast for energy demand can be satisfied. If built, Site C could ‘energize’ the development of all the massive BC environmental disasters that I fear most; the Enbridge pipeline (leading to increased Tar Sands production), oil tankers on our ecologically spectacular coastline, Coal-bed methane development in the Sacred Headwaters, rampant shale oil and gas developments (with fracking technologies) in NE and NW BC, and a huge forecasted boom in gold/copper mine developments. This is all set to occur in Northern BC; making it easier to pull the blinds over the folks down south in the Big City. Oh it makes me shudder.
While yes, I love to bike, hike, snowboard, watch wildlife, and play outside as much as possible, what really makes me tick is doing what I can to make sure that my beautiful province remains the “Best Place on Earth.” If I can’t do this, then my clock will lose its tick.
Thank you to all the organizers and participants of 2011s Paddle for the Peace. On a day with less-then-ideal weather conditions, you made this a top-notch event tied together with a valuable learning experience. One that I will not soon forget.
I didn’t quite know what to expect when two friends and I headed out on a last-minute mission to Fort St. John in mid-July, especially given that there were multiple storm warnings and flood events forcing road closures that led up to our departure. But, in despite of all the negatives, we forged northward with high anticipation of taking part in the annual Paddle for the Peace event.
The Paddle for the Peace is lead by the West Moberly First Nations (WMFN) and the Peace Valley Environment Association (PVEA). It involves people coming together to paddle down the mighty Peace River, through a section of the Peace Valley that is slated to be dammed and subsequently flooded by BC Hydro’s huge Site C dam proposal.
When we arrived in Fort St. John (the nearest city to the proposed Site C dam), there was indeed a whole lot of rain and flooding. So much in fact, that it was a deemed a danger to be in the river. The paddle was called off and the event became more of a gathering and celebration of like-minded individuals who had come together for a cause well worth fighting the good fight. A gathering with music, presentations and family games; this was a fun time indeed!
In my mind, the cancellation of the actual paddle was sort of like a blessing in disguise. Not only did I get the opportunity to meet and talk to some of the people that would be directly affected by the flooding, but there were other ENGOs (Wilderness Committee, Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y), Sierra Club) up north for the demonstration as well. Diane, a woman from the PVEA, graciously offered to take us ENGO folk on a tour of proposed affected area and she gave us the low-down on exactly what is at risk with this Site C fiasco. Wow, did I learn a lot and yikes was I shocked to learn some of the details! And the proposed development site itself, stunning. I feel blessed to have visited this place.
There are already two huge dams on the Peace River and now BC Hydro wants to build a third (hence the name Site C), which would flood over 80kms of some of BC’s most agriculturally important lands in the province. A province that is slashing Agricultural Land Reserves (ALRs) and one that already imports about half its food from out of province. In a time where food security is becoming increasingly more important with climate change predictions and global water shortages, to me this doesn’t appear wise. Site C would also destroy one of the most critical pieces of the Y2Y connectivity corridor in the north, and it would submerge valuable carbon sinks.
To top it all off, Site C is being proposed so that BC Hydro’s industrial forecast for energy demand can be satisfied. If built, Site C could ‘energize’ the development of all the massive BC environmental disasters that I fear most; the Enbridge pipeline (leading to increased Tar Sands production), oil tankers on our ecologically spectacular coastline, Coal-bed methane development in the Sacred Headwaters, rampant shale oil and gas developments (with fracking technologies) in NE and NW BC, and a huge forecasted boom in gold/copper mine developments. This is all set to occur in Northern BC; making it easier to pull the blinds over the folks down south in the Big City. Oh it makes me shudder.
While yes, I love to bike, hike, snowboard, watch wildlife, and play outside as much as possible, what really makes me tick is doing what I can to make sure that my beautiful province remains the “Best Place on Earth.” If I can’t do this, then my clock will lose its tick.
Thank you to all the organizers and participants of 2011s Paddle for the Peace. On a day with less-then-ideal weather conditions, you made this a top-notch event tied together with a valuable learning experience. One that I will not soon forget.
