The environment in British Columbia has taken a beating since the arrival of Captain James Cook at Nootka Sound in 1784, when his crew traded small items for rich sea-otter furs.

The pelts were later sold in China for up to $300 apiece, which would be equivalent to roughly $5,000 today. So the fur trade stirred its own kind of gold fever, and in no time Pacific Coast sea otters were on the verge of extinction.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Christy Clark and most of Canada’s premiers recently signed the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. “Framework” is a good title for this agreement — it is barely a start on what is needed. But it contains a policy shift that could dramatically reduce climate pollution from transportation.

OTTAWA - The federal government is seeking a way to regulate underwater shipping noise as part of its plan to protect an endangered group of killer whales from increased oil tanker traffic off Vancouver.

The news comes as environmental groups are poised to file a new lawsuit challenging the Liberal cabinet's approval of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, alleging the government failed to mitigate the project's impact on the iconic southern resident killer whales.

The Fraser River watershed is the bloodline of our beautiful province.

It reaches from deep in the Rocky Mountains and winds 1,375 kilometres south to the Straight of Georgia at Vancouver. Its major tributaries, the Nechako, Quesnel, Chilko and Thompson Rivers, expand its watershed across the province. It provides vital habitat for endangered salmon and sturgeon, water for crops, recreation for fishers, support for local economies and a living connection between diverse regions. All of this is threatened when reckless mining operations pollute our watershed.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s pipeline sales pitch has fallen flat in B.C. People are right to be skeptical when an oilsands champion comes to town and assures everyone that they have our best interests in mind.

There are a few things the Alberta leader and her friends in the fossil-fuel industry should understand about West Coast opposition to Kinder Morgan. On so many fronts it’s a non-starter.

Beyond Coal

More than 100 people marched through Fort Langley Sunday afternoon to protest the federal approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

Organized by the Kwantlen First Nation and the PIPE UP Network, the march began with drumming and remarks at the Fort Langley Community Centre before winding down Glover Road and to the Fort Langley National Historic Site.

“We didn’t give permission for the first pipeline that was laid, so why would we give permission for the second?” said Brandon Gabriel, a Kwantlen First Nation member and one of the leaders of the march.

VANCOUVER — An annual Amnesty International human-rights campaign is taking aim at a Canadian project for the first time — the Site C dam.

The $8.8-billion hydroelectric dam project in northeast British Columbia was one of 10 global issues targeted by the Write for Rights campaign on Saturday.

The campaign involves events held across the world where people write letters petitioning leaders for action on human-rights causes.