Welcome to 20/20 Vision BC’s blogsite!
We hope that you enjoy using this blogsite to communicate with each other about the environmental and peace issues currently affecting us as British Columbians, Canadians, and global citizens. Each month we research and publish an environmental or peace issue we, and other affiliate groups, feel is in most urgent need of public attention. If you have not already visited our website, go to http://www.2020vision.bc.ca to check out this month’s current issue. Our mandate is to get as many people contacting the policy makers on these featured issues in order to make positive changes toward peace and environmental sustainability.
Happy blogging!
kim, web manager for 20/20 Vision BC
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April 25, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Eileen
20/20 Vision BC featured “A National Freshwater Policy for Canada” as our March issue for action. We advocate the absolute necessity for secure governmental policies to ensure sustainable, efficient and equitable management of our precious public water resources. For more info go to: http://www.2020vision.bc.ca/postcards/2007Mar.html
Hello!
Just thought I’d start things off by suggesting a positive action we all, personally, can take.
Why not commit to breaking the habit?… the bottled water habit, that is.
Did you know…
… bottled water contributes to global warming?[1]
… bottled water is less safe than our tap water?[2]
… drinking bottled water undermines confidence in public tap water?
Why not take the No Bottled Water Pledge?
I pledge to:
- End my daily use of bottled water
- Fill a reusable bottle with tap water to quench my thirst without hurting the environment
- Support programs to ensure all Canadians have access to clean, affordable public tap water
[1] It takes more than 47 million gallons of oil to produce plastic water bottles for North America every year. Eliminating those bottles would be like taking 100,000 cars off the road and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. “The Real Cost of Bottled Water” San Francisco Chronicle, February 18, 2007 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/02/18/EDG56N6OA41.DTL
[2]Tap water is rigorously tested to ensure quality. Both regulation and enforcement of bottled water safety is weaker than that of tap water safety. Olson, Erik D. et al. “Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?” Natural Resources Defense Council
June 15, 2007 at 9:51 am
Tom Stevens
My comment pertains consumer identification of farmed salmon. I was shopping in Toronto at the St Laurence Market one Saturday and encountered an offering of “BC Salmon” by one of the fish vendors. I asked what type of “BC Salmon” this was and was told “Pink Spring”. I had never heard of such a thing – but knew that Spring salmon were of the genus Onchorhynchus and thus respectable wild salmon so I purchased them.
Only during the preparation could I identify it as farmed Atlantic salmon. My sister, whose husband works for Fisheries and Oceans told me that “pink spring” is the name vendors give to farmed Atlantic salmon. If so, it is clearly an attempt to delude the consumer and should not be allowed. It is reminiscent of the term “Alaska pine” for Hemlock and “Gray fish” for dogfish. Create a name to mask the nature of the product.
I am interested in hearing whether anyone has anything to add on this. Is it legal? Sanctioned by the government? Cause for blowing a suitable whistle? If so, in whose ear?
Tom
January 10, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Eileen
Tom, I contacted Mike McDermid, the Ocean Wise Coordinator at the Vancouver Aquarium. This is his response:
‘This is an all too common practice with seafood products – being renamed to mask their true identity. Most often, names are changed to make offerings more appealing to the consumer, but in this case it does seem as if it was done to mislead the consumer. I am not sure of the policies in place for such misleading practice in Canada, but I am sure they are limited. Producers are able to label their products with virtually any “brand” name.
The confusion to me is that both pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and spring salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) are species of wild Pacific salmon. To further complicate things there is a difference between red spring and white spring – both are the same species but the colour relates to their flesh (my initial thought with pink spring was that it was a red-fleshed spring salmon, which is obviously not the case).
This variation of common names is why scientists prefer to use latin names – so that there are no regional differences or marketing names complicating identification. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is the species most commonly farmed, so finding out the latin name can avoid a lot of confusion – unfortunately this is just not possible in most restaurants and markets.
I am not sure who is the best person to speak to about these concerns, but the government would be one place to voice your concern. I would also suggest voicing concern to the person who sells the salmon. We are hoping to bring Ocean Wise across the country soon, so that will also help to make sustainable choices easier to identify for consumers and take some of the guess work out of buying seafood at restaurants or markets.’
January 10, 2008 at 1:36 pm
kim
This is most interesting. What if the simple question is asked of the vendor: “Is this seafood farmed or wild?” Are they under any legal obligation to reply truthfully? It would be strange, indeed (although not atypical), if there were no legal protection for the consumer against being lied to about the origins of a seafood product.
February 21, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Wayne Cullen
Have you seen 20/20’s postcard re the a coalition of concerned organizations that is proposing a Sea-to-Sky greenbelt as a way to control sprawl and to manage the huge amount of growth and development pressure in the region. Here’s the link: http://www.2020vision.bc.ca/postcards/2008February.htm; You can also check this website for more detailed info: http://greenbelt.bc.ca/content/Learn_More/3
February 21, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Wayne Cullen
OH NO!! Looks like we’ll be tackling this one soon.
Enbridge revives Gateway plan
February 21, 2008 at 6:00 PM EST
CALGARY — Enbridge Inc. has rekindled plans for a $4-billion pipeline to Canada’s West Coast in response to demand from producers and refiners wanting oil sands-derived crude shipped to Asia, Enbridge’s chief executive officer said Thursday. Globe & Mail story link follows
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080221.wenbridge0221/BNStory/energy/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080221.wenbridge0221
February 21, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Wayne Cullen
A great article from the 2008 Worldwatch Institute State of the World – “Living Sustainably” – http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/SOW08_chapter_4.pdf
Includes the concepts of the “Iron Cage” of Consumerism & the “Science of Desire:” i.e. what we’re up against.
May 1, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Ira Zbarsky
Appeal for Sanity…
The propaganda war preparing the American public for a new war vs. Iran has heated up, with the newest claims that it is the Iranian military behind the increasing deaths of US soldiers in Iraq.
This propaganda includes the recent release of information on the bombing of nuclear reactors in Syria and release of footage on the bombing of the Osiraq reactor. These nuclear facilities were uncompleted and unloaded with uranium isotopes….
The preparations for an attack with nuclear tipped bunker busters on the nuclear facilities at Bushehr and Natanz near Esfahan would be attacks on fully loaded facilities. Bushehr contains over 82 tons of U235 with a half life of 700 million years.
According to a Scientific American study, the bunker busting of the Bushehr plant would leave 8600 square miles of adjacent lands uninhabitable, leaving over one half of the world’s oil supply inaccessible, terminating our industrial way of life.
According to a Union of Concerned Scientists report, over 3 million people would die in the first 3 weeks……
The preparations for an attack on Iran see a phased incrementation of the intensity of the attacks depending on the capacity of Iran to retaliate.
Presently the buildup of nuclear war fleets in the Persion Gulf is intensifying….
We are facing planetary catastrophe, and we people of conscience must take action now!
Please respond…Ira iyrazy@yahoo.com.ph
I urgently wish to meet with people on the north shore…..
May 5, 2008 at 2:38 pm
kim
Oceans Day is June 8th 2008: Demand Protection for BC’s North Coast!
While approximately 12.5% of BC lands are set aside as protected areas where industrial activities are prohibited, less than 1% of the BC marine environment is currently designated as protected. The area of Canada’s west coast from Bute Inlet to the Alaskan Border out to the edge of our continental shelf is one of the world’s most unique ecosystems, supporting a magnificent abundance and diversity of marine life. This area is known as the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA).
Unfortunately, the fishing, shipping, and multiple other industrial activities that occur here are threatening the health of marine ecosystems in the PNCIMA, and no comprehensive strategy exists to ensure that this ocean environment thrives and continues to provide economic, ecological, and cultural benefits for our community and all Canadians. read more >>