Just last June, President Obama renewed his pledge to pursue green jobs and a "clean energy revolution," while speaking at a General Electric plant in North Carolina. To many observers of the president’s energy policy, those words played like rhetorical theater, considering his administration had just approved a massive expansion of coal mining in Wyoming.
On October 9th, 2004, I set out from Snug Harbor aboard the Salish Sea Charter with several researchers from the Center For Whale Researchon San Juan Island. I had never seen a killer whale in the wild, but that soon changed.
Only two weeks after Canada commanded the world stage to showcase what it means to be "Proudly Canadian,” the Harper government now proudly sends the world yet another message. On Monday, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea upped the quota for the country's much beleaguered seal hunt from 280,000 to 330,000 harp seals. If met, that would represent nearly five percent of the estimated North Atlantic harp seal population.
As the fanfare and hyped-up coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics quickly fades from our public minds, Canadians will savor their newly won gold medal stature for generations. And while the country and its champions bask in that deserved afterglow, many questions still hover in the gloomy atmosphere surrounding the fatal crash of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who was flung from his sled at the Whistler Sliding Centre on opening day.
The really good thing to report about my first six months living in Canada is that the people are great. But I knew that already. It was the prime motivation for my moving here.
I chose Victoria because I have so many friends here, but your city makes me sad.
Originally Published in the Penninsula Daily News, March 19, 2006
The tale of the endearing misfit orca known as Luna first came to my attention in 2004, three years after he had gone missing from the waters off Puget Sound and mysteriously reappeared in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
For anyone who isn't a fan of The Great Game of tennis, or who simply missed it, here's a clip of Serena Williams' tirade during the Women's Final of the 2011 US Open. Williams goes 'flip-city' when the umpire rules against her for shouting while the ball was still in play.
