A weekend of protests against TransMountain pipeline in BC
According to the Seattle Times, more than 5,000 people marched in Vancouver and Burnaby, BC to protest KinderMorgan’s $7.4 billion TransMoutain Pipeline across British Columbia. Reporting for the Times, journalist Lynda Mapes notes that the ongoing Protect the Inlet campaign is led by a coalition of First Nations, who are leading marches, filing lawsuits, and building a traditional Kwekwecnewtxw, or “watch house” overlooking the KinderMorgan tank farm in Burnaby.
In addition, representatives from Washington coastal tribes, including the Lummi, Suquamish, and Tulalip, were present and participating in legal challenges. ““When an oil spill takes place — and it is when, not if — it is going to affect Lummi Nation, it is going to affect the Salish Sea. We only have one Earth, one Salish Sea.”
The TransMountain pipeline is an issue for all of Cascadia, and that’s why Cascadia Magazine recently profiled First Nations activists like Kanahus Manuel, of the Secwe̓pemc Nation, who are building tiny houses in the pipeline’s path. Visit our website and read Jerome Turner’s excellent feature on First Nations activists fighting big oil on the ground and in the courts.
The Bitcoin bonanza in eastern Washington
Politico Magazine has a well-written feature on the new prospecting boom hitting Wenatchee and eastern Washington: building computer Bitcoin mining operations. Attracted by some of the cheapest electric rates in the world (thanks to huge hydropower dams), digital prospectors are setting up shop and sucking up megawatts of energy to support the digital currency’s encrypted “blockchain” system.
Cascadia bullet train gets study funding from WA legislature
The idea for a high-speed train connecting Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland got a small boost from the Washington state legislature, which agreed to spend $1.5 million on further study for the plan, according to KUOW. A group called Cascadia High Speed Rail formed recently to advocate for super-speed mag-lev lines across the region.
Vancouver calls on Canadian government to decriminalize hard drugs
In an extraordinary move in response to 365 overdose deaths in the city last year (and 1,400 in BC), Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson called on the Canadian government to stop enforcing possession laws for all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Robertson called for additional action, including more funding for medical addiction treatment and safe injection spaces. Meanwhile, CBC reports on how public health officials are learning from the AIDS crisis on how to respond to the overdose epidemic.
Apple detective finds species thought extinct
The AP reports on “apple detective” David Benscoter, who recently discovered five varieties of apples in the Palouse region of Washinton and Idaho, previously thought to have gone extinct. Of 17,000 named species of apples once found in North America, only 4,000 exist today.
Learning the Salish language through karaoke
Northwest Public Radio reports on how tribes seeking to preserve the Salish language of the interior Northwest are turning to karaoke contests, translating songs by the Backstreet Boys and others into a language with only about 300 speakers remaining. In related news, British Columbia’s government has created a fund to help preserve Indigenous languages, and First Nations groups say it’s just in time.
Matthew Dickman’s poetry map of Portland’s Lents District
Poet Matthew Dickman grew up in Portland’s Lents District in the 1980s & 90s, and during that time, poetry became a potent influence in his life. In an essay for Powell’s, the author of the collection Wonderland lists seven influential books of poetry, and where in Portland to read them: “Read this book [Awake by Dorianne Laux} while you are still living at home off 92nd and Foster, though you probably should have moved out by now.” That’s today’s arts, culture, and news from the Great Northwest. –Andrew Engelson Photo credits: apple varieties by Zeynel Cebeci, CC BY-SA 4.0, physical Bitcoin by Antanacoin, CC BY-SA 2.0, image of Matthew Dickman a screenshot from a YouTube video.