Plug Out Tune In

Some of you Plug Out Tune In supporters came all the way out to Ladner last Saturday for the South Fraser Action Network’s Townhall on the South Fraser Perimeter Road, a part of the Gateway project.
I was asked by the organizing team to be a panelist speaker for the event, and it was a great honour to do so. Arriving in Ladner at the Sundance Hotel, I got to meet a number of people from a variety of environmentalist groups as well as concerned citizens from all over the Lower Mainland.

I spoke alongside Harold Steves, a Richmond City Councillor and Founder of the Agricultural Land Reserve, Eric Doherty of The Liveable Region, as well as Stephen Rees, a transportation economist and regional planner. People discussed topics such as improved public transportation versus highway expansion, returning land to the ALR (Agricultural Land Reserve) if land is taken out so there will never be a net decrease in the ALR, and the impacts that the South Fraser Perimeter Road has had and may continue to have on Burn’s Bog in Delta.

In discussing my experiences in Copenhagen, I brought a broader perspective to this BC issue and highlighted the importance of environmental stewardship through an issues VS causes framework.
Instead of focussing on these massive issues Ex: climate change, we can break it down to smaller scale regional causes. From here, people can unite and engage in their communities.

It comes down to making democracy work…and holding people accountable.  Definitely a great day full of inspiration on the power of people when they come together on a cause. All I can say is keep on Plugging Out and Tuning In!

Filed under: COP15