It should be no surprise that inner cities will become in-vogue, as baby-boomers seek to understand the world, themselves, and their mistakes in community and economic planning. It has become an age of building legacies which can often be haunted by urban decay, homelessness and poverty.
There are some disturbing trends in general angler participation rates in North American jurisdictions, as well as in other parts of the world. In short, the number of anglers is declining. In BC alone, we have lost almost 20% of resident license purchasers during the past 10 years. At the same time, the numbers of children fishing has also taken a downward trend.
There is a little publicized technological revolution playing out that is setting the stage for virtual reality to make a giant leap into our lives within the next decade and may in fact impact consumerism, competition and the way we govern ourselves and our economy.
Ecological planning has been around for a long time, and continues to re-surface as a method by which we can approach sustainability, and every time it does, it’s gift wrapped in a different way. But each time it fails because when the wrapping is removed, the same package appears which has a lack of substance.
Why? Because often the people promoting it don’t really believe the message.
More People, Less Valley – More Homeless
Riding the rails in Kamloops during the Great Depression
To further the problem, this lack of substance is combined with a negligent belief that delivering good ecological planning requires more money than not doing anything at all.
The economic impacts of regional marijuana grow-ops have been significant for the past three decades and after 30 years of unbridled growth the industry has become mature and is far beyond the scope of resources that local law enforcement have to prevent continued growth.
Not knowing the details of this underground economy means not knowing how it really impacts us today and in the future. In fact, the grow-op economy has been an anchoring force for rural economies that have been struggling in the wake of natural resources being removed from local economies by governments.
A new road for rural communities approaches on the horizon as agricrime surfaces as a possible career choice for more and more residents unable to find well-paid work in the mainstream economy. This causes more residents to prefer less policing and government presence and moves them to reduce their environmental footprint even further so they can bring about their place within an invisible economy that flies under the radar of the mainstream economy.
Illegal activity is turning into a major part of our local economy
An RCMP chopper stands as a monument amidst hundreds of pot plants north of Sugar Lake on the Shuswap River. BC’s Marijuana growing industry to be worth $7 billion with 17,500 grow operations. Much of this industry exists either hidden indoors or outdoors in remote rural areas.
By Don Elzer
"Mr. Prime Minister, I certainly would not question your integrity or your reasons behind your motivation to call an election, however my role as Governor General is to insure that the spirit of the constitution is kept along with the intent of the law that supports that constitution. Over the past two years your government has
succeeded in retaining a minority government, and in your words, it was the easiest minority government ever in Canadian history"
"Because the government has not supported the election request with a loss of confidence vote, combined with a strong history of the opposition parties working collectively with the government, I believe there may be a strong will to retain the spirit of fixed elections as outlined in Bill C-16"
"Mr. Prime Minister as the Governor General of Canada I feel obliged to offer the leader of the Opposition Stéphane Dion an opportunity to form a Liberal minority government. If he cannot, then I will accept your request to call an election".
Election 2008: An untold story of missed opportuntity
How the Governor General could have helped our democracy
Perhaps a good career move? Why didn’t the Governor General even suggest that there may or may not be grounds for questioning if the government did in fact lose the confidence of parliament?
tmg breaking news
By Don Elzer
As the local civic vote takes place it remains important for local residents to examine the many issues facing local government including those that go beyond community political boundaries and local economic interests.
Okanagan candidates and voters everywhere should take note, this past month the Regional District of the Central Okanagan (RDCO) released the summary of a study they call the Major Lakes Recreational Marine Facilities Study. The report
More marinas and boat traffic on Okanagan Lake?
Study suggests more marine facilities in our big lakes
Four New Marinas?
Are lakeshore communities really considering the health of our big lakes?
claims that the Central Okanagan is home to a $39 million boating and marine industry that is in jeopardy due to the deteriorating quality of the boating experience. That conclusion is one of a number that suggests the industry should be rescued and indicates the economic impact of boating in the Central Okanagan has the potential to grow to an estimated $68.7 million which is almost double of what it is today.
The RDCO commissioned the study in an effort to prepare a comprehensive plan for development of future recreational marine facilities on major lakes within the Central Okanagan which includes Okanagan Lake, Wood Lake and Kalamalka Lake.
By 11pm at the campground, boredom had set in at the mud bog and the crowd of graduate-something’s had become one collective drunken stupor no longer capable of navigating a truck stuck in mud. Five campsites down the drive, someone started a chainsaw to buck up some firewood. Now I’m speculating on this since starting a chainsaw at night, and to be bold enough to do it in a
public campground where people including kids were trying to sleep indicated a person, with their friends, who are so stupid that it would certainly qualify them to be dangerously insane.
Presently the provincial government is developing a province-wide trail strategy which is supposed to set out a structure by which trails can be developed and managed. The Draft Recreation Trail Strategy for British Columbia describes a set of broad strategic, provincial level actions needed to develop a sustainable trail program in BC.
The problem with this development process is that few people who actually build trails new about this planning process. In fact when one examines the provincial organizations participating in the planning the majority of participants are from bodies representing mechanized travel, like snowmobilers, and other off road types.
Off-road negligence by some is turning fun into a destructive joy ride
Will the province be able to fix this?
By Don Elzer - December 30, 2008
Every year at this time I reflect upon just how far we have advanced in a century. In our lifetime we have known people who are or were alive in 1909.
For myself, I would use my late grandparents as an example and even my father or mother who saw the western world go from horse as the primary mode of transportation to the vast array of personal vehicles we have today. Of course flying was something of a myth for much of their lives, jet travel would become commonplace, not to mention space travel.
1909 – 2009: One hundred years of radical change
The idea of day-trading, a floating currency or even an industry called tourism were not even concepts.
In 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded in the US and at the time it would have been unimaginable that an Afro-American could ever become President, but almost to the day, one hundred years later, Barrack Obama will be sworn in as President of the US.
Much can change in a century. Some things are gained, others lost. In fact most of the political visions that envelop our lives today came within this period: universal health care, minimum wage, consumer protection, public schools and environmental protection.
In a search for the elusive Creative Footprint in the Okanagan
By Don Elzer – June 9, 2009
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin
Imagine a creative footprint that recognized the need and value for a constant supply of new ideas. I believe that 30 percent of our workforce is actually made up of individuals who could be considered “idea” people.
The Difference Between Success and Failure
Perhaps it’s only species that have the ability to create new and better ideas that can adapt and then survive?
I’m not talking about the creative class or the arts and culture sector or anything within traditional statistical or intellectual formulas. I’m suggesting something much deeper that strikes at the core of Darwinian logic. Perhaps it’s the most creative of us who survive? Or, perhaps it’s only species that have the ability to create new and better ideas that can adapt and then survive?
