Power to the
People Campbelloids

IPPs "Raided!"

Yesterday morning as I woke up to the early CBC radio news as usual, I heard about some "strike" teams that were showing up at some of Captain Pegleg Campbell's Pirate Power, so-called run-of-river, projects that are already under construction. Later in the day I heard little or nothing more about this, and with what little time I had, was unable to find any more about it on the tooobz, even at the CBC's own website. Then later in the evening, thanks to Surrey's own cross between real citizen journalist and female Dick Tracey, I was able to find out both more about the subject and perhaps why I hadn't been able to locate more even even at CBC.com.

Apparently the Mother Network had decided that this issue, being so irrelevant and all to the current election supposedly underway in our province, belonged in the technology pages, where only geeks and other techo-wanks would be likely to run across it before May 12. Because of this I won't even give the Ceeb the courtesy of a link today and instead recommend you go over to Laila's place for the rest of the story beyond what I've excerpted below. Actually I would recommend that anyone interested in the issues important to the real people of British Columbia who aren't either land speculators, sleight of hand stock promoters, car salesmen, corporate CEOs and others of the already rich but still greedy for more ilk, go to her place at least daily to see "how Laila Yuile sees" many issues critical to British Columbians who are none of the above.

CBC News

Inspection reports and emails obtained by CBC News show B.C. government officials have raised concerns about environmental infractions during the construction of the rapidly growing number of run-of-river private power projects in the province.

In one email obtained by CBC News, a forestry official involved wrote, “I am becoming increasingly nervous about the lack of attention to the projects.”

Last fall, inspectors from the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Forests and Range — who dubbed themselves “strike teams” — dropped in on the construction sites of several private run-of-river hydro projects.

The eventual reports by the strike team obtained by CBC News through a Freedom of Information Act request noted at four sites, the inspectors found serveral violations of the expected best management practices and the construction environmental management plan, including:

Sloppy construction that could damage streams.

Overcutting old-growth forest.

Inadequate sewage treatment at work camps.

Construction during bird breeding season.

Replanting with non-native species.

No one was charged or fined for the violations.

....../snip

Marvin Rosenau, a former senior fisheries biologist with the B.C. government, said while the issues may seem minor, they trigger alarm bells.

“It says to me they’re cavalier about how they do business — ‘We’re a powerful industry there. The rules don’t quite apply to us like everybody else. We can just go ahead and do whatever we want’,'” said Rosenau.

Gwen Barlee, a policy director with the Wilderness Committee, said the reports suggest the environmental impact of private power is being kept from the public.

..../snip

“I think it’s kind of sad that we need a strike team for private power projects. It’s a reflection on the lack of planning and the fact that these projects are coming on fast and furious,” said Barlee.

Government officials involved in the strike teams say they can’t discuss what they found until after next week’s provincial election.

One point to note is that the "strike teams" aren't roving bands of wild-eyed "eco-terra-ists" with a "commie" agenda - but rather, taxpayer funded officials from the governmental agencies mandated to look after fish, forests and other environmental values for the government of the only governor or premier in North America other than Arnie the Hummer Man that is greener than Kermit the Frog and mostly (well he says) wants to preserve the paradise that is BC for his unknown number of children and grand-children.

BTW, though David Suzuki should be admired and thanked, if for nothing else other than the awareness of environmental issues he has helped bring about over the years, he is also supposed to be a "genuine" scientist. However, the way the 233 (or more or less) members of the PABlum brigade assisted by the likes of National Public Relations and such, have apparently turned him into a frontman from Gordon the Devastator is appalling. Mr. Suzuki seems to totally endorse the BC ConLibs because of the phoney and ineffective "carbon tax" to force people to make choices that are not even availble, unless you live in the favored portion - the Lower Mainland/Capitol Region. If you live in the north or the Kootenays etc. just suck it up and send your money down to the "hole where all the money goes" (apologies to John Prine). Heck we've been doing it forever, why stop now - but at least W.A.C. knew we deserved a couple pieces of pie, now and then!

Either it just proves what a tax-payer funded spin machine employing more professionals than all the media in BC assisted by PR firms from the private sector (also probably paid with taxpayer dollars) combined can accomplish, or David should go back to where ever he got his degrees and demand a refund for his tuition, in 2009 dollars.

If even David Suzuki, obviously an educated man who deeply and sincerely cares about the planet, can be taken in by the Campbell Spin & Rinse machine and a coat of green paint on Gord, what hope does the harried working parents of BC who may need to work two jobs to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table have of understanding the issues. About all they have time for is to catch a few minutes of broadcasting by Gordon's other PR firm that pretends to be a neutral media mega-conglomerate known as CanWest/Global.

I'm going to "flip-flop" and send you to the CBC after all, so that you can check out their comments thread for this "technology" report. After all we can't expect Laila to host that too, while she is so busy doing more "actual" reporting than the entire Lower Vainland media industry COMBINED!


(Or you could go on over to her place (and you should) where she provides this same link, complete with a handy-dandy thumnail preview of the CBC webpage from the Tech Section.)

crossposted @ WaterWalk


   No More GordistaShip