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Sustainability Starts With Personal Lifestyle Choices

March 28, 2010 - 14:16 — Rick Searle
dark form of woman walking towards viewer on a wet sandy beach with a setting sun casting a mauve and pink hue over clouds, wate
Sustainability is a matter of personal choice(s). After more than 3 years of striving for a sustainable lifestyle, one that is balanced and integrated, I think I'm just about there. Well, much closer, anyway. Since taking on the role of Manager of Communications and Engagement with Ocean Networks Canada, I have been steadily letting go of other responsibilities and commitments. Teaching was the first to go. Not an easy choice, as I'll miss the engagement with students, but it demanded so much of my time, energy and attention...grading assignments especially. At the moment, I'm shutting down the not-for-profit society, Nous Autres Canada, Inc. (a.k.a EcoLiteracy Canada) that I have chaired for the past 10 years.

Ocean Literacy and Ocean Networks Canada

October 11, 2009 - 20:36 — Rick Searle
Female contemplating sunset at Pacific Rim NPR

Much has happened since my last blog. On Aug. 14th, I set off a train of events that has resulted in me now serving as the Manager of Communications and Engagement for Ocean Networks Canada.- the not-for-profit organization created by the University of Victoria to provide governance and management of VENUS and NEPTUNE Canada ocean observatories.

One of my principal responsibilities is to advance ocean education (literacy) among non-scientific audiences nationally and internationally.

I'm retaining EKOS Communications with the very able assistance of Starr, but I'm letting go of teaching. I'm teaching my last class now. After the end of this term, there will be no more. I'll miss the interaction of young adults at a point in their lives when they are asking big and important questions of themselves.

Bear Mountain Owner Defaults on Langford Interchange Payment

September 8, 2009 - 09:39 — Rick Searle
Map showing location of Spencer Road Interchange in Langford on Southern Vancouver Island.

This just landed in my in-box. Thought some of my Victoria and Southern VI friends might be interested.

PetroChina Picks Up 60% Stake in Two Canadian Oilsands Projects

August 31, 2009 - 23:55 — Rick Searle
Large trucks hauling oilsands

a quick scan of the news headlines from today revealed that PetroChina, China's largest oil and gas producer and distributor, has just purchased "a 60 percent stake in the MacKay River and Dover oilsands projects" according to The Canadian Press.  They quote Bill Gallacher, chair of the Athabasca Oil Sands Corp., the company that brokered the deal, as saying "[this] is excellent news for Alberta and the rest of Canada."

But is it?

An Open Letter from Alexandra Morton to Federal Fisheries Minister Regarding Missing Fraser River Salmon

August 18, 2009 - 18:18 — Rick Searle
Alexandra Morton and boat
Dear Fisheries Minster Shea:

I am following the news that DFO is reporting 11 million sockeye salmon have vanished. The magnitude, social impact and trajectory of this fishery failure is on a par with the collapse of Canada’s Atlantic cod. Scientists have published on what went wrong within DFO to allow the cod, one of earth’s most abundant food resources to collapse. They identified political distortion of the science as a critical factor. They argue the public was not accurately informed as the collapse was underway.

( Hutchings, J.A., Walters, C., and Haedrich, R.L. 1997. Is scientific inquiry incompatible with government information control? Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 54: 1198–1210. )

This brings me to several recent comments in the media attributed to high-ranking DFO employees. Bary Rosenburger, DFO area director for the Fraser, describes the Fraser sockeye collapse as unexpected and that DFO doesn’t know what happened (Globe and Mail, Aug 13, 2009). But the next day he goes on to say it does not look like fish farms are responsible (BCLocalNews.com).

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