Stanley Park 10, 000 Trees Lost

Yesterday Jeff and I went to Stanley Park to see how the clean up was going. As you can see, from the picture on the left, it's still a wreckage of fallen trees. It was an amazing site to behold, all these massive, beautiful trees tangled within the ones who survived the windstorms this past December. The smell of freshly cut pine in the air was a constant reminder of the death of approximately 10,000 trees during those violent storms. To re-build the park the estimated cost (financially) is 9 million dollars, but I have a feeling it will surpass that. Vancouver citizens have opened their hearts and pocket books though and millions of dollars have been raised for the park's clean up, which shows just how much people love it. Unfortunately the environmental damages are much more than money and it could take at least a generation to see the park back to it's original glory. The physical damage to the seawall is severe with ground stability being a huge concern with the missing trees. There are also all those displaced animals that lost their homes and the huge open areas that were once a thick forest area. The park officials are also worried about the fire hazards this could present in the upcoming summer months if we see another hot and dry season.

So what will happen to all those downed trees? Well there are a few things being discussed such as, leaving some behind to decompose naturally, creating symbols of the destruction into totem polls, using them in the building design of the Olympics and perhaps selling them so they don't get thrown into the dump. I can imagine the demand for these beautiful trees would be high demand by the public.

Why did this happen in the first place? Well this is the kind of destruction we will continue to see if we don't make some very big changes. Global warming effects our weather patterns by changing natural jet streams in the ocean waters. The warm climate also helps create terrible tornadoes and hurricanes as we are seeing in the United States right now. All you have to do is watch An Inconvenient Truth to get a good grasp of what is happening to our planet. It is a force that we have no power over unless we start to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Mother Nature is a powerful woman and she is speaking to us all, shouting really. She is telling us if we keep this up more storms will come and more it will continue to effect our lives and the environments we live in!

It is not all doom and gloom though. We have so many options available right now to start making the much needed changes. Whether it be you taking the local transit to work, walking or biking instead of driving, or buying a low emissions car. It depends on what you can do personally, because let's face it not all of us can afford a new hybrid car. It's all about being aware of what you do each and everyday and how you can make changes to lower your consumption and emissions.

So what can you do about it that's easy?

1. Take the bus, walk or bike instead of driving those short distances that you really don't need the car.

2. When buying your next car look into low emission car that require less fuel. Not only will you helping the air we breathe but you also will save money in your pocket, especially with rising gas prices.

3. Car pool with co-workers, friends or family members.

4. Make your voice heard with your local government, so they know this is a concern to you! Major polluting industries should be made accountable for their actions and our country should be leading the way with projects like Kyoto. For more info go check out David Suzuki's website and join his Nature Challenge:

http://www.davidsuzuki.org

5. Look into Car Sharing programs that are becoming a popular alternative to buying a car. These programs usually operate by paying a one time membership fee and then be charged for how often you use a car. For more info on Car Sharing visit:

http://www.thecompanycar.ca
http://www.cooperativeauto.net

Also you can visit this site to find Car Sharing programs all over North America:
http://www.carsharing.net/where.html

Fun Facts about Stanley Park

Opened: September 27, 1888
Area Covered: 400 hectares (1,000 acres)
# Of Trees: Approx. 500,000 (80% Coniferous & 20% Deciduous)
Annual Visitors: 8 million

If you want to donate to Re-build Stanley Park (you can even buy a tree at the cost of $2000):

http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/restoration/donations.htm