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The Arctic is melting. This is bad for many reasons, but one consequence is that suddenly everyone cares about the Arctic.

Russia is planting flags on the seabed. China is calling itself a "near-Arctic state" (it isn't). The United States has been neglecting its Arctic territories for decades. Canada talks a good game but underfunds northern defense.

Meanwhile, the people who actually live in the Arctic — including Yukoners and Alaskans — are watching superpowers argue about who owns their backyard.

The Current Situation:

REFERENCES FOR HAWAII ADOPTION

REFERENCES FOR OREGON ADOPTION

Sports bind communities. They also divide them. Both are useful.

The Current Landscape:

Hockey:

Hawaii: No hockey tradition (wrong climate, no ice)

Soccer:

Let's talk about what actually unites us: the cult of coffee.

The Coffee Landscape:

British Columbia:

BC and Oregon sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Hawaii IS volcanic — the islands literally wouldn't exist without volcanoes.

This creates risks. It also creates opportunities.

The Volcanic Landscape:

British Columbia:

• Multiple volcanic complexes (most dormant, not extinct)
• Mount Garibaldi, Mount Meager, Mount Edziza
• Cascade volcanoes extend into BC
• Last major eruption: ~2,400 years ago (Mount Meager)
• Geothermal potential: Significant, underdeveloped

Oregon:

This is the most important topic. Everything else depends on getting this right.

The Colonial Context:

British Columbia:

• Most of BC was never ceded by treaty
• First Nations have inherent rights to their territories
• Land claims and treaty negotiations ongoing
• UNDRIP (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) adopted provincially
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued 94 Calls to Action
• Progress: Real but inadequate

Oregon:

BC gets tourists. Oregon gets tourists. Hawaii REALLY gets tourists.

Tourism is economic blessing and environmental curse. How do we balance this?

The Numbers:

British Columbia:

• ~6 million international visitors/year (pre-pandemic)
• Tourism revenue: $20+ billion
• Hotspots: Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria, Tofino
• Challenge: Seasonal concentration, over-tourism in hotspots

Oregon:

BC has clean electricity. Oregon is getting there. Hawaii is trying but struggling.

Together, we could be a renewable energy superpower.

Current Energy Profiles:

British Columbia:

We have, collectively, some of the most spectacular temperate rainforest on Earth. We also have, in Hawaii, irreplaceable tropical ecosystems found nowhere else.

We've already lost too much. The question is what we protect going forward.

What We Have:

British Columbia: