With toasty forests and moody weather, we’ll need arks to save Earth’s animals.
No, it won’t be two by two (lions bedding beside lambs); it’s not raining for 40 days, and one boat won’t do the trick.
Our threat is weather related and to protect our wildlife we’ll need arks with a ‘p’: parks.
Premier Gordon Campbell’s carbon tax will help lessen the impacts of climate change — hey, British Columbians can walk tall.
But our weather and wilderness is already changing. Our task now is to save our plants and animals. Like the rest of the world, B.C. is bracing for an “extinction spasm” — about a third of our species will follow the dinosaurs over the next 100 years.
Unless, of course, we do as Noah did (only different). Many plants and animals will need to migrate to keep up with the changing climate: so our arks need to be connected.
In B.C., we’re blessed by lots of open space in the North, not carved up by roads that obstruct critters. For example, the Taku River watershed still has healthy salmon runs and lots of furry and feathered creatures.
Fortunately plans are afoot by some farsighted First Nations and planners to protect this wildly rich watershed in light of climate change. That’s great.
With your support, British Columbia can be on the cutting edge of the worldwide movement to protect nature. Then we can walk really tall … alongside our wildlife.
Taku River facts
• The Taku River has all five species of Pacific salmon: Chinook, sockeye, coho, chum and pink.
• The Taku watershed is 95 per cent unroaded.
• The Taku watershed has large populations of grizzly and black bears, wolves, stone sheep, moose, woodland caribou, mountain goats, harbour seals, bald eagles and migratory birds.
• Let your MLA that you support protection of wildlife from climate change (leg.bc.ca)
– Kai Chan is an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair at the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES) at UBC; vancouverletters@metronews.ca.
