Sometimes it seems like we live in an idealistic bubble here on the west coast of North America. We share the Ring of Fire with Japan and New Zealand, who have been devastated by earthquakes this year, and we are shaken regularly, although not in a big way for a long time. Since last week there has been a resurgence of interest in this topic, as I have seen by the upsurge in clicks on my recent article:
http://www.suite101.com/content/earthquakes-on-vancouver-island-bc-a358492
I predict that this interest will die down again as Japan recovers, and we will go back to our usual complacency here in "lotus land". For example, our schools here in B.C. are far from earthquake proof, according to this article:
http://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000207691
A 1.5 billion dollar program was announced in 2005 which was intended to bring B.C. schools up to new seismic standards by 2020. To date, 121 out of 750 schools have been brought up to date. Every day, parents send their precious children to schools that cannot adequately protect their children from the inevitable "big one". The Vancouver School Board is worried about the pace of retro-fitting old schools in the city; 900 million has been spent so far.
How is it that in this free, democratic, peaceful, human-rights based country......that our children are not our number one priority? That immensely wealthy corporations spend as much on bonuses as B.C. spends on making their schools safe? Where are the corporate donors in this situation?
Check out what Dambisa Moyo has to say in "How the West Was Lost".... she has the courage to confront western democracies for their hypocrisy.
Another situation that has remained under the radar of B.C.'s environmental groups for decades, and that is the nuclear danger sitting just across our southern border - Hanford Nuclear site in Washington state. The U.S. Dept. of Energy is working hard, finally, to clean up the horrific mess left by 68 years of plutonium production and storing of dangerous nuclear waste. Read about it in my article:
http://www.suite101.com/content/nuclear-waste-dump-in-the-pacific-northwest-a358901
We need to send Japan our aid in whatever form we can, and work hard to protect ourselves from a similar disaster. We are not as prepared, either through government services or through our own efforts. Lobby local and provincial governments to step up to the plate, volunteer on disaster prevention and support committees, and get ready in our own home and work environments so that we can take care of ourselves when necessary. This will take the load off officials when the time comes. And it will. Just ask First Nations people about their oral history on the west coast. Entire villages were wiped out in the 1700's.
Here's the info:
http://www.quakekare.com/?gclid=CNW2tp_S2KcCFRphgwodsSmIew
While B.C. parents and school boards scramble to protect their children by trying to get schools updated to current seismic standards, the federal government goes ahead with 18 crime bills without thoroughly investigating or disclosing the actual cost of implementing these questionable bills. They say Canadians need protecting from dangerous criminals, but the crime rate has been dropping for decades, and they have closed progressive prison programs such as prison farms. Their insular approach to legislation could mean contempt of parliament. Follow Kady's blog for up to the minute news from Ottawa, and check out this report:
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/dailyupdate/view/102
