I recall the amazement I felt as a teenager in 1989 when news of the Exxon Valdez covered many headlines for days. I recall finding it hard to believe the stories that a vessel of that size and importance could be let to run around through human error. Surely something so huge and so potentially catastrophic must have had so many safeties and back-ups that such an accident would be impossible. It made an impression on a young mind; I never again accepted on faith in the system that such matters were well in hand. Over 20 years later, biologists are still tracking the effects of oil still in the sands and under the rocks alone the shores of Prince William Sound, some have suggested it will be at least another decade before the waters are healed.
In 1912, the year of the Titanic's tragic sinking, also due to human error, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»was a small but rapidly growing hub of business and industry. The area east of Kitsilano, what is today False Creek was a marshy inlet that stretched all the way to Clark street until the east end was filled-in by the CPR. Factories and warehouses separated the shoreline from the rest of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and dumped any and all waste into the water, rendering it a toxic pool. Eventually the factories moved, and in 1986 it was transformed again for Expo. I recall attending, I also recall noting the news of post Expo development being marred by the need to remove millions of kilos of contaminated earth before the lots could be permanently developed, a legacy from its industrial era.
In 2011 a grey whale surprised the residents of our city by choosing to explore False Creek and the waters around Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»for a day and a half. Was it lost, was it insane? No, it was chasing herring, a species of fish driven out of the waters near Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and Britannia Beach due to the heavy pollution caused by mining and other toxic industrial bi-products. The herring had returned after the polluted waters have begun to heal. In late June of this year a group a transient Orca entered the waters near English Bay. They caught, killed and ate a harbour seal. This seal, too, like the grey whale are here now because we humans have stopped polluting the shore and the water, and nature, having been given a chance, is returning. The dumping and polluting ended in the 1950s and it wasn't until 30 years after tonnes of toxic earth was removed post-Expo, ending the leaching of poisons into the adjacent water, that life has now finally returned.
A few weeks ago, I went whale watching for the first time. Despite my love of the ocean, I've been hesitant to participate since I feel ambivalent about the impact this has on the resident Orca, J-pod, who live here in the south Salish Sea. However, my partner had free gift passes for two and I chose to go so I would know first-hand what it's all about. During this five-hour tour, I saw shoals of fish skipping and jumping, dozens of seals both ashore and in the water watching as we buzzed past. Harbour porpoises chased us and darted away. J-pod was feeding just north of the San Juan Islands. To my relief, and disappointment of some passengers we kept our distance. One whale, J-28: Blackberry seemed to follow us, staying closer than the rest, he leaped several times to get a good look at the boats and seemed fairly relaxed. Nevertheless, I would prefer we had silent boats of some kind to reduce the terrible noise generated by a small fleet of boats.
My point is this: Blackberry, J-pod, the transient Orca, the harbour seals, and the grey whale are all here because there is food to eat: fish and other smaller animals on the food chain. It is for this reason I am so very opposed to expansion of tanker traffic here in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and up the coast visa vie Enbridge.
Titanic, Exxon Valdez, Deepwater Horizon and Costa Concordia teach us that where humans and big machines are concerned disaster is not a matter of IF but rather a matter of WHEN. Just recently Enbridge has been blasted for taking a full 17 hours to begin dealing with a serious oil leak in one of its lines in the U.S. I do not believe the danger posed to the waters surrounding Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and the entire Salish Sea are worth the relatively small economic benefit.
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Chris Moon is a Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»resident and public school history teacher.
