Day 6: 89 Km-Green-->Red-->Grey, BC's Forests in Decay

Lytton to Cache Creek. Leaving the town where two rivers meet, the Thompson and the Fraser, we head for Cache Creek.




The tailwinds are with us as we zip along past forests that have turned from green, to red, to grey. The Mountain Pine Beetle, one of BC's most apparent and devastating climate impacts is an example of ecosystem failure and one of the many climate change feedback loops. These forests which once were a carbon sink have now become a carbon source as the decaying wood rots and produces carbon emissions which further exacerbate the crisis. Scientists estimate that between 2000 and 2020, 990 megatons of carbon will be released into the atmosphere (five times more than Canada's annual emissions from transportation). More information.

Back to the subject on landfills and waste removal, as we descended into Cache Creek, we noticed quite a stench, to our left was a towering hillside with birds and plastic bags fluttering around the peak. This is the landfill where all of Vancouver's waste arrives in unmarked semi's---half a million tons per year! Contaminants have been found in Cache Creeks water due to this garbage disposal system. Hey Vancouver, reduce your waste and stop dumping it on others! The photos below are of an interesting and, I believe, sarcastic billboard regarding this subject.....