If a bear dies in the woods and no one is around, will anyone notice?
What if it is a white bear? Let me explain. There is a reason why you haven’t heard of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest. The Canadian First Nation people of the area have wanted it that way for thousands of years. But this isn’t the case any more. Due to some convincing by leading researchers and world-renowned conservation photographers, the First Nations people that live in the area are now banding together to raise as much awareness for their sacred forest as possible. The reason for the shift is that now, more than ever, the Great Bear Rainforest is moments away from destruction.
First, let me just say a thing or two about the white bear. It’s called a Spirit Bear or Kermode Bear. Named for its ghostly white fur, the Spirit Bear’s numbers are estimated to be less than 400 worldwide – and their only known habitat is in the Great Bear Rainforest. They are a subspecies of the black bear that possess a double recessive trait that gives them their milky white fur (they are not albino nor polar bears). They are just one of many reasons that make this pristine ecosystem unique and why the following paragraphs are so disturbing.
Enbridge, a Canadian Energy company, is pushing to build something called The Northern Gateway Pipeline from Alberta’s tar sands to Kitimut, a small coastal village right smack dab in the middle of the Great Bear Rainforest. The fact that the pipeline will be transporting processed oil sands (the dirtiest and most energy inefficient oil product around) is a completely different matter. The greater concern here is the hundreds of miles of complex, narrow and almost un-navigable channels that super-tanker oil ships from Asia will have to travel to get to Kitimut. The resounding feeling from those who have followed the issue is not if there will be an oil spill, but when. When one of these super-tankers runs aground, it would douse this unspoiled forest with ten times the oil of the Exxon Valdez.
While the ramifications of the BP Gulf spill in 2010 are still being felt, Enbridge has been dealing with an 800,000-gallon oil spill in Kalamazoo, MI that left the area in a state of emergency. The fact that is most astounding is that Enbridge CEO, Patrick Daniel, was named CEO of the year in Canada just months after leaving the Kalamazoo River in shambles. On top of that, Enbridge is also named one of Canada’s top 100 greenest companies. Their website does a great job of openly explaining their “green initiatives.”
So, big deal right? I mean a couple of bears, some trees, and maybe a few salmon will fall by the wayside. Canada has plenty of forests don’t they? Although you may be right, the Great Bear Rainforest signifies something a bit more. Without going into too much detail on the complexities of ecological development, the Great Bear Rainforest is the pinnacle of natural progression. Just one square meter of soil in the forest can support up to 2,000 worms, 40,000 insects, 120,000 mites, 12 million nematodes and millions on millions of protozoa and bacteria. And the reason it is this way is because it has been relatively untouched by human development for thousands of years. Some of the larger wildlife the forest supports includes bears, wolves, eagles, deer, salmon, sea lions, killer and humpback whales. Oh, and that Spirit bear whose numbers are rapidly nearing extinction.
It seems that the thinking behind Enbridge’s project is a symbol of the ever-present failed logic that exists in today’s society. First, take a natural resource that emits up to 45% more greenhouse gases than conventional crude and has and EROI (Energy Return On Investment) rating of 9, which is about four times less efficient than imported oil. Then, build a 5.5 billion dollar pipeline across Alberta into a remote coastal town. Finally, in an area that has banned oil-tanker traffic for the past 40 years because a chance of a spill is eminent, send super-tankers through endless miles of shallow and narrow channels. All of this in order to export millions of barrels of oil to Asia. Does it seem logical? I don’t think so. But someone does.
There are a few other reasons why the Great Bear Rainforest should be protected. Not only does the elemental coastline bordering the Pacific Ocean provide endless untouched forests, trails and beaches but it is also riddled with undiscovered surf. Certainly some have ventured up into the wilderness in order to find these breathtaking breaks but there are still so many to be discovered. Sitka, a Canadian surf/outdoor apparel company, sent a crew trekking through the woods to explore some of the breaks and raise awareness for the forest. They just released a 20-minute video of their exploits that you can watch above. Take the time to watch it, because it’s important. If you’d like to see even more footage you can go to the Pacific Wild site (they have been fighting for the forest for the past 20 years) where they have tons of info and a 40-minute video aptly named, SPOIL.
The Great Bear Rainforest is a global gem with its astounding beauty. Let’s not let it be another tally on disasters that could have been avoided.
To sign a petition against tankers off British Columbia’s coastline click here.
