4 — Wednesday, September 11, 1991- North Shore News Greenpeace: the next generation Bob Hunter PM SURE there is some Jesson here. Several lessons. A million lessons. I, for one, am not ready to assimilate them all. But, contemplate this: the larg- est environmental organization in the world was created, manufac- tured and exported from British Columbia, of all places. 1 say ‘‘of all places’’ because acre for acre Canada is probably one of the least despoiled coun- tries in the world, and B.C. is by far the least-despoiled of all the provinces, not counting Labrador, the Yukon and the N.W.T. If one holds to the Toynbeean concept that historical change comes as a result of people’s response to adverse pressure, then by rights the environmental revo- tution should have begun in Mex- ico City, Tokyo or Cairo. Anywhere, virtually, but Van- couver. Of course, two of the original three founders of The Don't Make A Wave Committee (the creators of Greenpeace) were American expatriates: Jim Bohlen and Irving Stowe. They knew, from their experi- ence in the U.S.A., what it was like to live in the midst of a degree of overcrowding and en- vironmental ruination known to few Canadians. They were refugees, and as such saw with wondering eyes the natu- ral magnificence that people who had lived in B.C. all their lives took for granted. They equated this place with a kind of ecological paradise, which, of course, is what it is. (Or at least, still oarely remains.) They knew what a priceless treasure Canada’s West Coast was. They didn't view it as more timber and rock and water to be chopped or blasted or flushed- into. This is about the only offsetting STRICTLY PERSONAL influence I can isolate to explain the ‘“‘why"’ of Greenpeace’s peculiar origin. Neither Vancouver nor B.C. was facing anything like the ecological crises that other parts WV teachers receive 4.8% raise Adjustment to higher amount expected Jan. °92 WEST VANCOUVER District 45 teachers quietly received the second raise of their contract this month with more expected after compensation = stabiliza- tion commissioner Ed Lien accepts all Vancouver-area teachers’ agreements. District 45 School Board su- perintendent Doug Piayer said in an interview after a school board meeting Monday that teachers received a 4.8% raise Sept. | which is expected to be adjusted to a higher amount in January. WEST VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL Player said the 300-member West) Vancouver Teachers’ Association (WVTA) negoti- ated their second-year raise as the metro or Vancouver-area average. The exact percentage increase won't be known until! Lien completes his work by the end of this year. Lien is not expected to roll back teachers’ wage increases below 4.8%. WYTA members are not di- rectly affected by the conten- tious Compensation Fairness Act (Bill 82) because they sign- ed their contract before the bill became law Jan. 29. The wage-control law allows the compensation stabilization commissioner to roll back any public-sector collective agree- ment including negotiated teachers’ salaries. Annual teacher salaries in District 45 range from approx- imately $28,000 up to $55,000. Following the conciusion of our Close-Out Sale, the remaining stocks at UNITED COLLECTION AGENCIES INC. must be liquidated at the fall of the gavel. GIANT 4-DAY UNRESERVED SLIC AUCTION Hundreds of fine quality genuine hand-knotted PERSIAN CARPETS Reom size area rugs and runners of all sizes in wool and silk-and-wool blend — all must be liquidated. — If you visited UNITED COLLECTION AGENCIES INC. on WEST BROADWAY in the past and saw carpets you wished you could afford, now is the time to take advantage of the EXTRA SAVINGS available at this unreserved auction. 3301 W. B 737-8687 ROADWAY, VANCOUVER Saturday, September 14, AUCTION 2:60 PM SHARP (viewing 12 noon) Sunday, September 16, AUCTION 2:00 PM SHARP (viewing 12 noon) Monday, September 16, AUCTION 7:00 PM SHARP (viewing 5:30 pm) Tuesday, September 17, AUCTION 7:00 PM SHARP (viewing 5:30 pm) of the world were experiencing even 26 years ago. Indeed, if you wanted to hide out from the eco-holocaust, what better bet in the world than, say, West Vancouver? (At least, the higher ground.) There is one other theory: namely that Vancouver was such a wealthy, democratic, unthreatened paradise, that there was nothing else to worry about. We could get on, early, with fretting about the environment because (a) we weren't involved in any wars (b) still had a largely- intact biosystem to live in and (c) could afford to take the time apart from the daily struggle for survival to fight on such an esoteric front. Keep in mind that, back then, except for a few alarmist writers like myself, the ‘‘envircament”’ was still pretty academic as an issue. Who would press The But- ton first, the Kremlin or the Pen- tagon, wus the main question. All this, of course, was fun to contemplate. The serious question, 20 years later, is whether Greenpeace has lived up to the expectations of those tens of thousands of British Columbians who were the original Greenpeace tribe, so to speak — the sup- porters, the canvassers, the volun- teers and advisors who did every kind of job that got the thing up and running. 1 naturaliy think British Col- umbians should be proud of hav- ing created Greenpeace. It may yet turn out to have been our genera- tion’s lasting legacy. At the same time, no trust should be above vigilante scrutiny, and Greenpeace has lately come under serious fire from other en- vironmental groups on a couple of important issues such as the ques- tion of corporate growth versus direct action and the doiphin campaign, with Greenpeace being accused of siding with Third World countries against trade em- bargoes aimed at punishing dolphin-killers. In the modern era of overlapp- ing issues, Greenpeace can no more than any other group be all things to all people. While it is one thing to fight a multi-faceted war against en- vironmental destruction by mak- ing tactical concessions, it is quite another to go against the grain of originally pure and absolute inten- tions. The former contains the possi- bility of brilliant general-ship leading the way to a hitherto un- seen solution. The latter, left un- corrected, can quickly become a betrayal of first principles. There is also — always — the danger of going along with wishy-washy half-measures, when rock-hard resolve is called for. I think, as I always did, that Greenpeace contains the seeds of a mighty 21st century political and spiritual movement, a contervail- ing energy that must sooner or later face some sort of Armaged- don-like battle with ihe forces of greed and selfishness that, left to themselves, would devour the natural world. Anyway, Greenpeace is staging a concert on Sept. 14 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre to mark the 20th anniversary of the launching of the Phyllis Cormack, the origi- nal protest vessel. ‘I’m sorry I can’t be there because of other business, but maybe one more plug after all these years, is in order; Go! {c’ll be a good show, there’ll be some nostalgia, and at the same time you'll get to see ‘‘Greenpeace: The Next Generation.”* And good tuck to that lot. They'll need it. ZEQUIRE ADDITIONAL. INCOME: EARN EXTRA MONEY FOR: TUITION BOOKS RENT TRANSPORTATION CLOTHES DELIVER THE PROVINCE AND THE VANCOUVER SUN Early morning hours don’t conflict with other activities. Monthly Route Profit for one-two hours daily. Walk Routes: $200 - $400 Motor Routes: $400 - $800 Deliver 6 or 7 days per week. Finish by: 6 a.m. Monday - Saturday, 7 a.m. Sundays IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE PHONE: 736-2281 for more information.