Currently stagnant. Awaiting pending decisions regarding future use of organisation.

The Eco-Care Conservancy of Powell River has been stagnant for the past year. The group of directors have been postponing a decision to close the non-profit organisation, awaiting information on opportunities on how the organisation may be used as a tool for positive change in the area. Possibly even become a source of job creation for young people from the area or serve as an umbrella-organisation for other promising projects in and by the community.

There has been some exciting news recently and after the proposed meeting of the group of directors takes place we will share it with you. Patience please.

An urgent e-mail from Avaaz to help save the CBC. Please take the time to sign the petition.

Dear friends,

Our government is forcing the CBC to drastically cut 800 staff and programming. We urgently need a massive public outcry to Save the CBC: Sign the petition!

Canada’s media networks have all been slammed by the recession. But the government is reportedly considering bailouts for its friends at private companies CTV and CanWest, while forcing the CBC to drastically cut 800 staff and programming.

Our CBC is a national treasure, and a pillar of public-interest journalism in a country whose media is owned by a few large firms. We won’t hear an outcry from their media outlets, and the CBC is too principled to use its megaphone to make the case for itself. We are the only voice the CBC has.

We urgently need a massive public outcry to Save the CBC, click below to sign the petition and forward this email to everyone who might care about this:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_cbc

The petition will be delivered directly to the government, through Parliament, ads, and spectacular stunts such as an airplane pulling a giant Save the CBC banner over parliament. In each case the number of signatures on the petition will be crucial to the effectiveness of the campaign, so let’s get as many people as possible to sign.

The CBC is facing a budget shortfall that amounts to just $6 per Canadian, but its request to the government for a bridging loan to cover this was denied. The deep cuts the CBC is making will damage the organization across the board, and they will not be the last. If we don’t stand up for the CBC now, it stands to die a death by a thousand cuts. Harper’s minority government is politically vulnerable and falling in the polls – public outrage could turn the government around on this, but it has to happen now. Let's move quickly.

With hope,

Ricken, Iain, Graziela, Paula, Brett, Alice, Paul, Ben, Milena, Veronique and the whole Avaaz team.

PS - here are some links for more info on this:

The Star reports on how opposition parties accuse Harper of using the recession as an excuse to gut the CBC:
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/608591

Union says Harper government strangling CBC:
http://www.cjad.com/news/565/899819

Ian Morrison: Stephen Harper’s hidden agenda for the CBC:
http://www.straight.com/article-206164/ian-morrison-stephen-harper%3F%3Fs-hidden-agenda-cbc

A crisis of identity - A reader letter to the Globe and Mail:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090327.COLETTS27-1/TPStory/Comment

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ABOUT AVAAZ Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Buenos Aires, and Geneva. Call us at: +1 888 922 8229 or +55 21 2509 0368 Click here to learn more about our largest campaigns. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace and Bebo pages!

You are getting this message because you signed "" on 2008-03-23 using the email address ecocare.pr@gmail.com. To ensure that Avaaz messages reach your inbox, please add avaaz@avaaz.org to your address book. To change your email address, language settings, or other personal information, https://secure.avaaz.org/act/index.php?r=profile&user=7301a3fb26c4fc7787392eaa3de48d6e&lang=en, or simply go here to unsubscribe.

To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to info@avaaz.org. You can also call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US) or +55 21 2509 0368 (Brazil) If you have technical problems, please go to http://www.avaaz.org

Four Corners - Tipping Point (Go watch it!)

The Aussie Broadcasting Corp. hosts this fascinating/scary/informative news documentary about the Polar Circle and its influences on the planet while not-so-slowly decreasing.

Click on the link and press play
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20080804/arctic/default.htm

Sent on by a friend-down-under, Sebastian Thomas.

Van Jones's Power Shift Keynote speech

City council supports Bute Inlet proposal

One councillor opposes motion to write a letter to federal and provincial agencies
Published: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 2:27 PM CST

Plutonic Power Corporation's Bute Inlet project has written support from all but one of City of Powell River councillors.

Councillor Jim Palm made a motion at the February 9 council meeting to send a letter to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office in support of Plutonic Power. "This is very important to Powell River," said Palm, who is also a School District 47 employee. "It is an economic driver for our community and our region. I work very closely with the people from Plutonic Power. They're great corporate citizens."

Councillor Maggie Hathaway, who is also the constituency assistant to New Democratic Party MLA Nicholas Simons, voted in opposition to the motion. She pointed out changes in legislation in 2006 made local government input irrelevant. "We have no jurisdiction on this matter," she said. "It is inappropriate for us to act in our capacity as locally elected representatives under these circumstances."

Councillor Dave Formosa supported the motion, pointing out Premier Gordon Campbell addressed the issue of the province's carbon footprint and its energy needs in his remarks to the British Columbia Economic Summit. "Our government is very behind green projects of this type," Formosa said. "It is common knowledge right now there is $34 billion worth of projects in the environment assessment process that could be made available now in these hard economic times." The provincial government has moved to create a one-step process for projects, Formosa added, to amalgamate the federal and provincial processes, in order to speed up the process.

Councillor Debbie Dee also supported the motion, saying she supports green power and Plutonic. "I personally, on behalf of one of the other hats that I wear, have sent a letter of support for the human equation, as I call it, not the environment or the economic driver, but the corporate citizen and philanthropy Plutonic Power has shown in Powell River in many, many areas that I have seen."

Councillor Chris McNaughton, who also supported the motion, said council's comments are "extremely relevant. We represent the interests of a large constituency and we're talking about not only a sustainable energy source, but an economic driver that will help to employ people in this community." McNaughton also pointed out that the provincial government is firm in not proceeding with a land and resource management plan for the Sunshine Coast Forest District. The process instead will be between the province and the first nations in the region. "Notwithstanding that, I would encourage this local government to continue to advocate on behalf of a land and resource management plan, not to interrupt what's happening with Plutonic, but to go concurrently with that."

LiveSmart Community Heroes

In Powell River we are very fortunate to have a local hero who has been an ardent champion of sustainability for many years. I am talking about Martin Rossander, a man who has led by example throughout his life.

Martin Rossander came to Powell River in 1948 and briefly worked at the mill. He noticed that there were quite a lot of materials that were considered waste and instead of seeing these things dumped, Martin got permission to salvage what he needed to build a couple of cabins on some treed land that he had bought in Westview. I think it is well worth noting that there are still plenty of trees on that land and Martin intends to put a covenant on his properties so that the trees continue to live there in perpetuity.

Martin is a strong believer in the value of trees and was talking about the benefits that trees provide to our environment long before this topic was even close to mainstream. He has told me that for many years he was considered a "crank" and his ideas were often rediculed by some of the more conventional members of the community. However, now that climate change is a mainstream topic, people are beginning to listen more carefully to what Martin is saying and he is quite amazed at how differently his ideas are treated now.

Along the way, Martin hosted a television program on Shaw cable, where the environment was the main topic and now, for the past few years, Martin is the host of "Beyond Survival", a radio program that runs each Saturday on JUMP Radio. Guest speakers are invited to air their views and ideas regarding sustainability, food security, community development and more.

Martin leads by example; he lives his values and walks the talk. He has devoted his life to bringing awareness to the people in the Powell river region - awareness that has contributed to the health and well-being of Powell River and its community members.

Sara Blum 103-5701 Willow Avenue
Powell River, BC, V8A 5S6

{From PR Peak, Wed, Oct 15, 2008}


Video of Caila Holbrook's speech at Martin Rossander's life celebration (22 June 2008).

Good to know the world is changing.