3/28/2018 1 Comment March 28th, 2018A quick post for this morning as I'm already behind schedule. I'm closing down on my third month since I came back in Victoria. It's been a refreshing restart that has allowed things to be a little bit different. With it has come the sense of impatience a roommate pointed in me previously. I'm grateful for Kaitlin who pointed that out.
That's sort of the thing about Victoria. I remember reading it in a local business magazine. "If you're looking to do business here realize it will take longer than you are used too." I guess it's something in the culture here that things move slowly. I could make easy parallels to our old-growth temperate rainforest that takes a long time to develop but last 1000's of years with trees that grow to the height of the local skyscrapers. They are pretty remarkable. I've had a job offer come up that I've been quasi-patiently waiting for. The decision has been largely out of my control. I had to pursue the opportunity a bit. However, I won't lie that luck was a major factor. I knocked on the guys door while canvassing with the Wilderness Committee. He said that he was busy with a new born in his arms and two other small children running around. I managed to hook him in and even after one of the kids running started crying and his wife was yelling at him to help out he took an additional minute to give me his email telling me to follow up. So I did. I told him that I'm interested in research, communications, and project development. That I want to bridge perspectives through dialogue to create more resilient communities. I gave him a small tidbit of my experience and it was enough to have a coffee with him. Now two months later I've had my second meeting and it turns out he's been creating a position for me in the company. I'm not going to share his name or the company's right now. I've stopped telling people things before they are fully actualized. In hopes that I stop telling people I'll do something and then don't. Instead, I'll just tell them where I'm at and the direction I seem to be headed. I find it easier that way and I still need to put this out of my head. I still need to focus on the two jobs I have with the Wilderness Committee and College Pro. I've been writing a longer article on them. Speaking of which I'm going to be making a category for more prose/article/story related content. They aren't the same as the blog and should be treated and categorized differently. It'll help keep everything clean and organized in my head. Otherwise, all of the stuff I'm working on tends to jumble together requiring more work to disentangle them into their respective pieces. I'll be doing a larger journal entry soon. Hope all is good to whoever skims through this. Much Love. About me
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3/11/2018 2 Comments Kinder morgan protest[Photos by Mike Graeme] I left for Vancouver on Friday with Brooklyn. Her uncle was doing renovations in a condominium they owned and she wanted to pay a visit. The weekend also lined up with an anti-pipeline protest against Kinder Morgan led by the Tseil-Watuth, Musqueam and Squamish First Nations organized the March. I'm curious how many people have ever been to a protest? There's a lot of energy to having 10,000+ individuals showing up for a common reason. Cultural manifestations appear in the form of art, costumes, and old civil rights songs whose melodies sing to different lyrics. Our plan was to go to the Kinder Morgan protest that started at 10:00am at Lake City station the next day. The skytrain was packed, the sun was shining and people were in a good mood, which is always a good sign for these types of things. Sipping on my coffee I stepped out of the station and into the midst of the crowd. The area was full. I ran into a few friends, one of which is working on a documentary on climate change called Melt. We never plan to meet and live in separate towns. I always run into him. The march lasted an hour finished in a field near the Kinder Morgan industrial site. We were met by the sounds of First Nations drumming and chanting. The speeches that followed were emotionally gripping and raw. The First Nations leaders were talking of their beliefs, their pride, and values; the struggles of their communities, the illness of First Nations living near the Tar Sands, and the hope of a sustainable future. I'm sure here is where the clash of opinions take place. I can think of a couple family members and friends who want the pipeline to go through and for good reasons. I'll openly state that I was on the fence for the long time. I'll explain. The Kinder Morgan pipeline is an infrastructure expanision project for the Albertan Tar Sands. It will effectively triple the amount of fossil fuels shipped to Vancouver, and increase oil tanker traffic. The pipeline follows an already established pipeline that has operated for decades and arrives at harbor that is relatively safer than most. As well, the pipeline has political value for Justin Trudeau who wants to implement a federal carbon tax requiring all of our provincial premiers to be on board. Getting Alberta to join in requires giving them a pipeline. Kinder Morgan was selected as the safest outlet. It would also give increased access to markets outside of the USA. There are speculative benefits as well. Globally, the oil shipped and eventually refined may reduce reliance on coal in China, or other non-US markets, with an overall net reduction in carbon emissions and pollution. Further development provide jobs (synonymous with profits), with the most benefit in the short-term, especially for the average worker. There are many economic benefits to developing a pipeline. In turn, we have the environmental movement, led by coast protectors in this case, whose protesting have effectively stopped the pipeline. Multiple actions against Kinder Morgan's has led to its stock to drop 60% (~$44.00 per share to $13.00) and is now downtrending (tradingview: view chart on max), while running up the costs to millions a day for the stalled project. Protesting and civil disobedience has increased the cost of business for oil and gas expansion. Indirectly making solar energy and other renewable projects more viable in comparison. Protesting, and regulation (like carbon tax), increase the cost of fossil fuels who forced to account for externalities. Protesting, and blocking of the pipeline, is a catalyst for solar energy by increasing the economic costs of implementing oil and gas infrastructure projects. As well, coast protectors do not trust pipelines or tankers, and feel that a spill is inevitable, especially with more tanker traffic. Public relations articles will state that the pipeline is modern and reduce the risk of large spills. Pipelines sense spills by two means: when input does not equal output, and large drops with in-line pressure. Due to the pressure volatility of the product shipped it's still difficult to measure pressure effectively. Pin-hole sized leaks can let 100s litres spill out a day unnoticed. Despite technological advances the best monitoring technique is "eyes on the ground." Given Canada has large wild areas its doubtful citizens will be aware of spills, and there is a lack the trust that spills will be brought to public attention, unless it was in a public or populated area. As for tankers, there is no understanding of how bitumen will behave in our oceans. It is likely that the oil will sink and be extremely difficult to clean up. The result will be irreparable damage to underlying ecosystems. More tankers means more negative impact on our Orca populations. Why risk permanently damaging, or destroying, ecosystems for short-term gain? Sure, the project will create jobs. However, the quality of the jobs come to question. Most are only in the short-term in the form of construction with few permanent jobs. Do we value short-term economic projects, or long-term environmental health? The pipeline promotes further tar sand development, which is already responsible for ~10 per cent of Canada's green house gas emissions (GHGs). A necessity to a sustainable future is reduced GHGs. The pipeline ignores the rights of First Nations whose communities pay the highest cost of development. These areas have earned the title of sacrifice zones , which are generally found in low-income and minority communities. Talking on First Nations and oil sand development "Dr. John O’Connor [who] practises at the Fort McKay health clinic. He says some patients complain about skin rashes after taking showers, so he advises mothers to wash their babies in bottled water." He questions the long-term health impacts of living in these areas (Toronto Star). Should we sacrifice communities for economic gains? Kinder Morgan reflects an industry that has completely lost the trust of the people, invested into think tanks to create doubt on climate change, and represents an energy system that needs to change. Should we trust that these industries have our best interests in mind? How can we best reach a sustainable future? Are the Albertan Tar Sands a viable answer to the questions above? To me the answer is no. I know that oil and gas will be around in a decade. They provide 80% of the energy needed to sustain or civilization. However, the time has come to catalyze change and put a stop on certain projects. Kinder Morgan pipeline is one of many. But, the economic benefits are marginal with most jobs in construction. They illustrate that people favour short-term profits, over long-term investments. Tar Sands are not environmentally or socially responsible, and aren't part of my vision for a sustainable future. We will still export oil, and still do despite massive layoffs, we just won't develop the Tar Sands exponentially. Instead, we should share the direction set by organizations like Iron and Earth who help move skilled workers into the sustainable sector. Thank you Leave a comment on your thoughts, hit a like on my facebook page, and check out my COLLAGES, ESSAYS, and ABOUT 3/6/2018 1 Comment March 06th, 2018I had a strange dream between my 6:30am alarm, and the 7:00am alarm my girlfriend convinced me to set (she didn't want to get up yet). I quickly agreed, changed the alarm, and feel into a half sleep. As my mind relaxed and I dreamt I was in a field. The wind was blowing through tall stalks of corn while I bent over to pull a carrot from the ground. As I heaved the behemoth from it's earthly bed I realized that it was the largest carrot I have ever seen! It was almost as tall and me and just as wide. Excited I bent down and grabbed another one. My yell of excitement attracted others in the field. We pulled a dozen and sold them at the market that day. Carrots in this world were a rare delicacy, we sold out. The next morning we pulled two dozen to double up. We developed a tool that let us pull the carrots out more easily. Doubling our stock allowed us to eventually even lower our prices! The customers rejoiced as the carrots were cheaper, and my business made more money. Every day the cycle continued; we doubled production with better and better tools. One day we pulled a thousand carrots for the market, and accidentally demolished the corn in our search for hidden carrots. In our haste we were soon left with nothing. There were no more carrots and I woke up. There is a paradox here. I could have forestalled the eventual collapse by buying another field, or at least keeping enough carrots to sustain us through the season, and regenerate our stock. However, anyone who has done sales knows the rush of a big sell. The above story illustrates the ongoing paradox in economics. Simple economic logic would tell me that as our carrots grew scarce, and our fields depleted that our prices should go up. They didn't. Instead we lowered our prices by scaling up production through technology, which increased the rate of extraction. This short-term intensification gave us the perception of abundance until the veil dropped and we realized there was nothing left. Economics of scale can trick the market into lowering costs through perceived abundance despite increasing scarcity. The boom and bust cycle. To pull from a quote: “Change, comes not from the inside, but the outside. If you want people to lose weight, give them a smaller plate. You have to change the environment.” — Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology at Duke University Regulating (slowing down) production is more sustainable in the long run by giving us a smaller plate (less consumables). I do believe change can come from the inside. It's what motivates that decision to have a smaller plate, ask for help, and/or listen to advice. With that being said I agree that government shouldn't regulate the economy; they should regulate the environment. That's the plate. What do you think? Thank you Check out my ABOUT page, or my COLLAGEs Inspiration for the post was from Paul Hawkens Ecology of Commerce 3/4/2018 2 Comments March 5th, 2018I reflect back on a comment I got during an interview two weeks ago. The interviewer was concerned that I was an activist. It's an odd box to be put in. I think he was concerned that I was radical, idealistic, and would crack under rejection. I let him know that canvassing for two years has given me a heightened immunity against rejection, through ironic acceptance; that canvassing for two years strips you of idealism; and that make decisions after considered different perspectives. You can't change people at the door. [continued below] Today's collage is about the political system in general. The progress and delay that leaves the politically active frustrated. I'm not a radical environmentalist. However, I understand a sustainable future requires political will. I think it comes down to vision. No one really inspires the collective into action. Everything seems "just fine". Obama was probably the last political leader I felt was a progressive, or at least good in the true sense.
A lot of people would probably argue differently. I would argue they are probably cynical of any leader though. It's hard not to be jaded when you care. Democracy is built on compromises. If everyone is unhappy it must be working. Unless you're Trump. Then you're just an inflated chicken loose from the coop. |
AuthorRobin Roger Gagne is a freelance writer, web designer, and SEO wizard. Archives
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