Big oil and the future of the Great Bear Rainforest.

CANADA | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [470] | View Smaller Image

After avoiding hungry predators like seals, wolves and bears on their upstream migration to spawn and die, the carcasses of chum salmon are swept downstream and pile up on a boulder. Bears and scavengers spread salmon carcasses into the surrounding forest, where the nutrients from their decaying bodies will fertilize the trees. Meanwhile the forest regulates the waters that rear the next generation of salmon. Ocean and forest are not distinct entities here - they nourish each other in a continuum.

The British Columbia coastline is etched with steep, narrow fjords that rise straight up from the ocean to dizzying heights. These narrow passageways may be beautiful, but the tight spaces and treacherous currents they create are also a hazard to marine navigation. In 2006, the Queen of the North ferry struck an island and sank. Now, a proposal to ship oil in supertankers through this wild region has sparked fears of an oil spill.

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With its mouth and paws stained from the blood of salmon, a spirit bear takes a break to shake the rain from its fur. This rare subspecies of American black bear, with a recessive gene for white fur, is only found in the Great Bear Rainforest. With a population estimated at just 400 animals, an oil spill here could have grave consequences for the spirit bear's future.

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Big oil and the future of the Great Bear Rainforest.

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