Wet’suwet’en and the Pacific Trails Pipeline, Peat Moss and Media Independence

On this week’s episode, Terra Informa speaks to Toghestiy, hereditary chief of the Likhts’amisyu Clan of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, about Wet’suwet’en resistance to pipelines in their territories. In the second part of the program we investigate the challenges and downfalls of using peat moss in backyard gardens. Finally, from the archives, Terra Informa speaks with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! about the importance of independent media.

Download this week’s episode

No Pipelines Banner on Talbits Kwah Wedzin Kwah, from http://unistotencamp.wordpress.com/

An unusual phenomenon is taking place in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Biologist Bill Montevecchi says that gannets who normally nest at Cape St. Mary’s have left their nests and chicks for food further north. Montevecchi says he has never seen anything similar in his life. Cape St. Mary’s is empty of gannets, but there have been plenty of sightings up in Labrador. Water temperatures are apparently 3 or 4 degrees warmer than usual. It is not clear whether the gannets have permanently abandoned the nests or not, but their absence makes the nests and chicks vulnerable to the elements and starvation.
More on this story: Canadaka.net, The Tyee

Southern Leg of Keystone XL Pipeline Encounters Opposition

TransCanada had hoped to quietly begin construction of the southern Keystone XL pipeline. According to their spokeswoman who talked to the LA times, construction began on August 9th. The Tar Sands Blockade, a self-described coalition of Texas and Oklahoma landowners and organizers unfurled banners at two equipment staging grounds in Texas and Oklahoma. The group plans to use nonviolent direct action to physically stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. TransCanada has agreed to reroute the northern section of the pipeline as the current plan has it would go through sensitive aquifers and requires international permits due to its proximity to the Canadian border. If US officials approve the northern stretch, construction could begin as early as 2013. The pipeline project faces enormous controversy in the United States and Canada.
More on this story: LA Times, Ecowatch, Yale Environment 360

The Pacific Trails Pipeline is proposed to run through Wet’suwet’en territories. This includes salmon spawning grounds. In this interview, Toghestiy, hereditary chief of the Likhts’amisyu Clan of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, speaks with Terra Informa correspondent Annie Banks. Toghesti describes Free Prior Informed Consent, the Pacific Trails Pipeline, the recent Unis’tot’en Action Camp and the resistance by the Wet’suwet’en people to the invasion of their lands by industry.
More on this story: Unis’tot’en Action Camp, We Support the Unist’ot’en and the Wet’suwet’en Grassroots Movement – Facebook Group

From the Archives – Amy Goodman on Independent Media

What’s Happening

Mushrooms on the Moraine: the Late Summer edition, will be happening on Saturday September 08, from 09 : 30 AM – 05 : 00 PM at Koffler Scientific Reserve at Jokers Hill courtesy of the University of Toronto. This workshop will help you identify many of the wild mushroom species growing early in fall. Hosted by mushroom expert Richard Aaron, the focus will be on fungal diversity, with some mention of edible and medicinal properties.

Take Back the Wild Advocacy School:Want to protect British Columbia’s wilderness? Think you have what it takes to be a leader?You may be interested in the Take Back the Wild Advocacy Training Weekend, October 12 to 14.The Advocacy School is being offered by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s BC Chapter for 18 to 30-year olds. You’ll learn about government and media relations, endangered ecosystems, and some of the campaigns already underway in BC. Apply before September 13: http://cpawsbc.org/campaigns/campaign-school