This is a picture of the Kelowna forest fire in 2003. Recently we received word that the thousands of people who have been evacuated from their homes in West Kelowna are now allowed to return home because the three wild fires have been contained. Good news but the charred remains of a once thriving forest remain as a reminder of our social responsibility.
In 2003 we are told the fire was started by lightning and dry summer conditions. This time we are told the three separate fires were caused by human intervention. As a result there has been a great deal of hating on careless smokers who toss their lit butts from their cars. Not very bright or very socially responsible. Yet it happens all the time and we see it everywhere we go. Many vent about the stupidity and carelessness of these individuals.
Only a few homes were lost in the recent fires. It could have been a lot worse. Yet what I find so devastating is the destruction of good forests in a time we need them more than ever. Logging and clear cutting is a sensitive issue here in Canada. I remember handing out flyers with a friend in front of the Art Gallery in Vancouver once. A group of rowdy thugs started to heckle us. "How many trees did it take you make your flyers?" one cocky kid yelled.
"How many trees did it take the last time you went to the bathroom?" I yelled back. The guy just had this stunned look on his face then turned to a girl in his group who explained: "Toilet paper. It takes trees to make toilet paper." They all shut up for a while as they thought about the dilemma. We all hate logging but we all need paper and trees to some extent.
That's where social responsibility comes in. There is validity in arguments for tree harvesting as opposed to clear cutting. Nevertheless, tree planing is an essential element of social responsibility. Logging companies are required by law to spend a certain amount of money planting trees. To me it's simple. You log an area, you should replant the entire are you logged. It's that simple.
I really like hiking in the mountains. Getting the heart pounding and breathing the fresh air. Now that's what I'm talking about. Contemplating the fact that trees need the carbon dioxide we exhale and we need the oxygen they create instills a sense of belonging with nature. Yet all the CO2 emissions from our cards and cities is creating a huge imbalance in the system. We need to plant more trees. Gardening is the solution to world peace.
Kelowna, Vernon, Peticton are all magnificent. The lakes in those areas are wonderful. The dry summers are great for orchards and can be a refreshing change to the rain on the coast. Planting trees in that area is more problematic because we need to include irrigation when the tress are small. All possible if done within pipeline distance from one of the many lakes in the area.
Drift nets are another serious concern. I was surprised to discover that a great deal of our oxygen comes from the oceans. Yet we are clear cutting our oceans as we speak with drift nets. Not wise. We all started buying environmentally friendly tuna that wasn't caught with drift nets to save the dolphins slaughtered as waste. Now it's time for us to become socially aware and not buy any seafood that was caught with bottom trawling drift nets.
The University of Victoria is finalizing an under sea observatory on line at: http://www.neptunecanada.ca/
It is certainly worth while learning about what these bottom trawlers are still doing to the planet. They even clear cut the living coral on the bottom of the ocean and created a clear cut desert in the ocean.
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