Thoughts on BC Politics and More

It’s been a hot week … at least here in the interior of BC, which has allowed me to get a little painting in on the outside of the house, in between posting commentaries and opinion pieces for the blog. For the second week in a row we have one in the top 10 from our latest contributor, John O’Fee … we talk about free speech … environmental issues come in with two different stories … forestry is back … as well as an opinion piece of service vs. support dogs and why there should not be a difference. Now … let’s get underway with #10 , a post from just yesterday (Saturday August 3 rd )   Free speech is an essential pillar of democracy ... and governments, institutions, commissions, the owners of Social Media platforms, and the courts have slowly been whittling away at that pillar   #9 … July 29 th …   RUSTAD -- by 2025 rural forestry communities in British Columbia could have tumbleweeds rolling down the main street #8 … July 31 st …   AARO...

I've taken a look back over the progress that has been made by Mount Polley in response to the well-known tailings spill, and in this post will be sharing some facts and a perspective about the remediation work that they have done on areas impacted by the incident. My interest here is not merely as a geologist. One month after the spill occurred, I accepted the newly created position of Chief Scientific Officer of Imperial Metals, owner of the Mount Polley mine, so that I could employ my professional skills in helping them assess the impacts of the spill and provide advice on their remediation and monitoring work. After almost five years of work, I retired from the company and am now sharing my perspectives as a private individual.  You might say I'm biased. I'm also a scientist, and I believe my judgment on this issue can be trusted. As the fifth anniversary of the spill approaches, I am concerned at a plethora of misinformation being shared in the medi...