Since the 1970s, the Site C Dam in northeastern British Columbia's Peace River Valley has been touted by B.C. Hydro and successive governments as necessary to meet the province's increasing energy needs. With its enormous $10 billion price tag, the dam would be the largest public works project in BC history. It would be the third dam on the Peace River, and destroy traditional unceded territory belonging to Treaty 8 First Nations. Following the last provincial election, the newly appointed NDP government called for a review of the project, but work on the dam continues. This comes after protests by aboriginal groups and landowners, several lawsuits against the government, and federal government intervention to let the dam go ahead. More recently, there has been a call from a United Nations panel to review how the dam will affect Indigenous land. This book presents the independent voices of citizen experts describing every important impact of the dam, including: Sustainable energy expert Guy Dauncey on future energy demand, and whether there is likely to be a need for the dam's electricity An interview with aboriginal activist Helen Knott on the dam's assault on traditional lands and culture, in particular Indigenous women Agrologist Wendy Holm on the farm land impact — prime horticulture land important to food security and nutrition Family physician Warren Bell on the effect that loss of traditional way of life and connection to the land has had on the health of aboriginal people Wildlife biologist Brian Churchill with forty years' experience of studying its land and wildlife Former environmental minister Joan Sawicki on government cover-ups and smoking guns Energy industry watchdog Andrew Nikiforuk on the links between dams, fracking and earthquakes Award-winning broadcaster Rafe Mair on how party politics corrupts political leadership, and the role of activism and civil disobedience in shaping government decision-making David Schindler, one of the world's foremost water ecologists, explains the role dams like Site C will play in Canada's climate change strategy Joyce Nelson connects the dots between the Site C dam and continental water sharing plans

From award-winning journalist Sarah Cox comes the inspiring and astonishing story of the farmers and First Nations who stood up against the most expensive megaproject in BC history and the government-sanctioned bullying that propelled it forward. In 2010, the BC government announced its plan to build a third hydroelectric dam on the Peace River. Although Site C would flood land of great significance to First Nations and some of Canada’s best farmland, BC Hydro, Premier Gordon Campbell, and his successor, Christy Clark, insisted it was necessary to generate jobs and clean energy. In this powerful work, Cox reveals the true costs and hidden dangers of the project, as told to her by the local farmers, ranchers, and First Nations leaders who tried to stop the dam and the wholesale destruction of their valley in courts of law and the court of public opinion. This modern-day David-and-Goliath story, told in frank and moving prose, stands as a much-needed cautionary tale during an era when concerns about global warming have helped justify a renaissance of environmentally irresponsible hydro megaprojects around the world.

Now in an updated edition, this pioneering and authoritative study considers the profound impact of the growing global water crunch on international peace and security as well as possible ways to mitigate the crisis. Although water is essential to sustaining life and livelihoods, geostrategist Brahma Chellaney argues that it remains the world’s most underappreciated and undervalued resource. One sobering fact is that the retail price of bottled water is already higher than the international spot price of crude oil. But unlike oil, water has no substitute, raising the specter of water becoming the next flashpoint for conflict. Water war as a concept may not mesh with the conventional construct of warfare, especially for those who plan with tanks, combat planes, and attack submarines as weapons. Yet armies don’t necessarily have to march to battle to seize or defend water resources. Water wars—in a political, diplomatic, or economic sense—are already being waged between riparian neighbors in many parts of the world, fueling cycles of bitter recrimination, exacerbating water challenges, and fostering mistrust that impedes broader regional cooperation and integration. The danger is that these water wars could escalate to armed conflict or further limit already stretched food and energy production. Writing in a direct, nontechnical, and engaging style, Brahma Chellaney draws on a wide range of research from scientific and policy fields to examine the different global linkages between water and peace. Offering a holistic picture and integrated solutions, his book has become the recognized authority on the most precious natural resource of this century and how we can secure humankind’s water future.

Enormous coverage has been given to the destruction of the rainforests in Brazil, and there is worldwide concern over the loss of species and the consequences for the greenhouse effect. Most of the coverage, however, has focussed on the slash and burn policies of land-hungry farmers, whereas perhaps the greatest threat to the forest, and to the people indigenous to it, comes from the enormous hydro-electric schemes under construction there. Not only do they destroy much forest themselves, they encourage further industrial and agricultural colonization, and they dispossess tens of thousands of Indians.

For twenty years, the Taliban was the number one enemy of Western forces in Afghanistan. But it was an enemy that they knew little about, and about whose founder and leader, Mullah Omar, they knew even less. Armed with only a fuzzy black-and-white photo of the man, investigative journalist Bette Dam decided to track down the reclusive Taliban chief a decade back. But in the course of what had seemed an almost impossible job, she got to know the Taliban inside out, realized how dangerously misinformed the global forces fighting it were, and made a startling discovery about the elusive Omar's whereabouts. The outcome of a five-year-long pursuit, Looking for the Enemy is a woman journalist's epic story that takes the reader deep into the dangerous mountains and war-ravaged valleys of Afghanistan as it throws up several unknowns about an organization that is now once again at the helm in one of the world's most fragile states.

A haunting, stunningly illustrated story of loss, hope, and the power of music from multi-award winners David Almond and Levi Pinfold. Kielder Water is a wild and beautiful place, rich in folk music and legend. Years ago, before a great dam was built to fill the valley with water, there were farms and homesteads in that valley and musicians who livened their rooms with song. After the village was abandoned and before the waters rushed in, a father and daughter returned there. The girl began to play her fiddle, bringing her tune to one empty house after another — for this was the last time that music would be heard in that place. With exquisite artwork by Levi Pinfold, David Almond’s lyrical narrative — inspired by a true tale — pays homage to his friends Mike and Kathryn Tickell and all the musicians of Northumberland, to show that music is ancient and unstoppable, and that dams and lakes cannot overwhelm it.

Since the 1970s, the Site C Dam in northeastern British Columbia's Peace River Valley has been touted by B.C. Hydro and successive governments as necessary to meet the province's increasing energy needs. With its enormous $10 billion price tag, the dam would be the largest public works project in BC history. It would be the third dam on the Peace River, and destroy traditional unceded territory belonging to Treaty 8 First Nations. Following the last provincial election, the newly appointed NDP government called for a review of the project, but work on the dam continues. This comes after protests by aboriginal groups and landowners, several lawsuits against the government, and federal government intervention to let the dam go ahead. More recently, there has been a call from a United Nations panel to review how the dam will affect Indigenous land. This book presents the independent voices of citizen experts describing every important impact of the dam, including: Sustainable energy expert Guy Dauncey on future energy demand, and whether there is likely to be a need for the dam's electricity An interview with aboriginal activist Helen Knott on the dam's assault on traditional lands and culture, in particular Indigenous women Agrologist Wendy Holm on the farm land impact — prime horticulture land important to food security and nutrition Family physician Warren Bell on the effect that loss of traditional way of life and connection to the land has had on the health of aboriginal people Wildlife biologist Brian Churchill with forty years' experience of studying its land and wildlife Former environmental minister Joan Sawicki on government cover-ups and smoking guns Energy industry watchdog Andrew Nikiforuk on the links between dams, fracking and earthquakes Award-winning broadcaster Rafe Mair on how party politics corrupts political leadership, and the role of activism and civil disobedience in shaping government decision-making David Schindler, one of the world's foremost water ecologists, explains the role dams like Site C will play in Canada's climate change strategy Joyce Nelson connects the dots between the Site C dam and continental water sharing plans