SKEENA ANGLER ROB BROWN Eco Economics he global economy, according to a Lester R. Brown, is out of syne with the eatth’s ecosystem. As proof, Brown, the author of Eco Economy, Building an Economy for the - Earth, (a book that, incidentally, can be down- loaded for free at http://www.earth- policy,org/Books/index.htm) cites collapsing fisheries, shrinking forests, desertification, soil erosion, and dramatically falling water tables, rising temperatures, destructive storms, and - melting glaciers. Only the most ostrich-like among us can deny that the industrial exertions of the so-called First World Nations have brought on a suite of ‘ problems so grand in scale as to verge on inso- _tubility., We have soiled our global nest so badly, it appears, that it’s about to fall apart - and we've soiled it with oil. Ours is the fossil fuel era: a time of land fill metastasis and carbon dioxide panelled green- houses. We are addicted to petroleum and all its unsavoury by-products, It is the fuel that powers our economy. Great wars are fought to ensure its reliable supply. Brown, president of the newly established Earth Policy Institute, an environmental re- search organization based in Washington D.C., believes the solution to ecological woes is to use.a combination of wind turbines, solar cells, hydrogen generators, and fuel cells, which he says will ensure energy independence and be an alternative to climate-disrupting fossil fuels. ‘In the new “eco-economy” these alternate en- ew ea fossil fuels, while a recycling economy will re- _ place the throwaway economy, According to Brown, this much needed re- structuring of the global economy has already begun. As proof of the transition from the fossil fuel era to the solar/hydrogen era, Brown points out that during the last decade, the use of wind ‘power grew by 25 per cent per year, solar cells grew at 20 per cent per year, geothermal energy ‘grew at 4 per cent per annum while oil expan- ded by only 1 per cent a pear, and coal use has declined at a rate of 1 per cent per year, The transition fuel between the two aforementioned eras is natural gas, the use of which grew at 2 per cent a year over the same period. Thanks to advances in wind turbine design, wind power has become an increasingly attrac- ‘tive energy source. Brown sees harnessing the wind as central to the new eco-economy, Ten U.S. states have recently built wind farms in re- ‘Sponse to the falling costs of wind generated _ Power, France, Argentina, the United Kingdom, and China have all recently begun to develop wind generation facilities, '. Apparently enough power could be generated in the wind rich states of North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas to satisfy the energy needs of the U.S., while the offshore potential in Europe could provide for the energy needs there, _ Brown suggests that wind generated energy could be used to electrolyze water and produce hydrogen that could be used to run turbines and ‘power fuel cells, making it possible to wean ourselves off fossil fuels for transportation. The rapid expansion of the solar cell industry is seen as another indicator that we are adopting a new economic paradigm. At the end of 2000, nearly one million homes were getting their _ electricity from solar cells. With the new solar cell roofing material developed by the Japa- ‘nese, says Brown, the stage is set for dramatic _ gains in this new. energy source, one which of- “fers the best hope for many of the nearly 2 bil- lion people who are without electricity. Socialism collapsed because it did not allow - prices to tell the economic truth. Capitalism _ Will collapse if does not allow prices to tell the ecological truth. Thus, says Brown, economists _and ecologists must work to identify the indirect ‘costs associated with products then incorporate these costs into market prices in the form of a “tax. and then offset that by a reduction in in- - come taxes. There’d be no change in the level of taxes, but a change in their composition. . Population explosion is the mother and father of all our problems. Brown points ovt that 31 European countries and Japan have stabilized “their populations, A key is the education of - women, The World Bank calculates that invest: :ing in the education of girls yields and econo- mic return roughly 4 times that of investing in electrical utilities. Formal education turns - women from producers of children into produ- cers of wealth. The eco-economy will be a comprehensive re- - cycled system rather than a linear flow-through system, says Brown. Check his book out. Con- _ | -sider his ideas, for it is clear our economy, - J): Which feeds on itself, can't go on eating indefi- ee Pnitlely, fee ergy sources will replace climate disrupting snowboarders gear up BY SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN SNOWBOARDERS in Terrace are looking at backcountry touring in a whole new tight these days. That’s because a unique product on the market is making the long, energy consuming trip to the top of the remote slopes a lot easier. Split boards resemble two fat skis that at- tach to one another to make a board. The boards have only been on the market for a few years but already snowboarders are singing their praises. The advantage is in their versatility. It’s like having skies and a snowboard in one piece of equipment. “It’s opened up a lot to me,” says Jeff Doll who invested in a split board last winter, “The stuff that only skiers could get to be- fore because they can skin wp, I can get to now.” Skiers have traditionally had an easier go in the backcountry because they can use climb- ing skins - like velcro strips attached to the bottom of the skis giving them traction to climb up slopes. Skins have backwards facing fibres that allow skiers to move upwards without sliding downhill. But snowboarders wanting a piece of the big powder and untouched lines in remote areas have traditionally used snowshoes to hike up the hills. That means carrying their boards on their backs and that can make travelling in the backcountry a heavy, gear-riddled endeavour, __ “It’s a fraction of the work involved,” says Len Eyre, who also rode a split board last win- ter. The ski component of the boards allows for more fluid upward momentum instead of con- tending with hiking in snowshoes, he says. That means backcountry travel is a lot eas- ier on the body as well. “Hts amazing -how- far I can go without ex- pending so much energy,” says Doll. “All we carry now are skins and poles.” And without having to pack in snowshoes and a board, riders now have more room for other more important items for longer trips — items like food and tents. “Now I can go for overnighters,” says Doll. Since snowboarding came about, there’s been a pervasive, sense of division between ‘many skiers and snowboarders, but Eyre says split boards have opened the lines of commu- nication between the two camps. “Last year, when Jeff and ] pulled out those split boards there was a lot more communica- to ride backcountry slopes TYLER WILSON of Ruins Board Shop shows off a Burton split board. The board splits Sara) apart to create skies. That makes backcountry travel a whole Ict easier for snowboar- ders looking for a piece of backcountry action, SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO, tion,” Eyre says. “There was a lot of interest in the boards from the skiers.” With the snow piling up more and more on the mountain tops, eager snowboarders are al- ready heading out into the backcountry. But both riders agree snowboarders and skiers alike have-a responsibility to educate themselves about safe travel in remole moun- tain areas. “With it comes the responsibility of know- ing the terrain and your limits and the safety of being in the backcountry,” Doll says. “Avalanche awareness is something that should be on everybody’s mind when they're out there.” With that it mind, split board enthusiasts are ready to ditch the snowshoes and head out — uninhibited — into the backcountry. ’ Volleyball ‘Cats take zone crown THE WILDCATS couldn’t be stopped. Skeena Jr. Secondary’s Grade 8 girls volleyball team won 10 games in a row ta clinch the zone championship two week- ends ago. It marks the first time in eight years the Skeena Wildcats have brought home the zone champion- ship banner. The nine-team zone playdown tournament got underway in Prince Rupert Saturday Nov. &. Skeena went undefea- ted in games against Smi- thers’ Chandler Park, Prince Rupert Sr. Second- KAITLIN ROBERTSON serves for the Skeena ur. Secondary girls Grade 8 volleyball team. ary, and Houston Christian Scheal. They then played Thornhill Jr, in the semi-fi- nals, beating the cross- town contenders in two straight games, The Wildcats then met Chandler Park again in the final, triumphing 25-14 and 25-12. "The level of play for these girls was very high as no team managed more than 18 points against them and they never lost one game,” said coach Ron Poole. NHL greats face off with Oldtimers HOCKEY fans are getting geared up for some great hockey action this week- end as NHL hall of famer Marcel Dionne takes to the ice at Tamitik Arena, He’s coming back to the northwest for the an- nual Oldtimers’ Hockey Challenge in Kitimat Nov, With players. like Jiri Bubla, Wayne Babych and the. ever-popular former Maple Leaf and Canuck Dave “Tiger” Williams playing for the Oidlimers, the action will be fast and furious. Bobby Halli takes on the tole of coach, former Canuck Richatd Brodeur will be warding off the pucks and referce -Ron Hoggarth will be on hand to make sure everyone is playing fair. ee > The Oldtimers will be showing the Kitimat Cri- mestoppers Allstars Team a thing or two about Cana- da’s favourite game. A laser and pyrotech- nics show adds to the fun and the event will also feature former world figure skating champion Don Jackson, The action gets under- way at 7 p.m.-this Friday ‘at Tamitik Arena in Kiti-: mat. - Shames set to open early Snow, pass sales strong SKIERS and boarders could hit the slopes of Shames Mountain as early as Noy, 30 this year. That’s the mountain’s tentative opening date. And if there’s enough snow to allow the Nov. 30 start it would be well ahead of schedule, Shames in most recent years has opened close to Christmas. “We pot our snow early in October,” said Shames rep April Atwell. “And it’s been accumulating.” The mountain had piled up 50 centimetres at its base and 150 centimetres at the top af the T-bar by the first week of Novem- ber, she said. The big excitement of -the season will come March 21-24, when Shames plays host to the K2 alpine provincial championships, Around 150 youth al- pine racers are expected to tome to Terrace for the event, “That's going to be dur- ing March break so it’s going to be busy,” Atwell said, She said the season is also looking up financially for Shames because of strong season ticket sales, “We're up to 2,008 passes now,” she-said. ~ That’s a four-fold in- \ crease over the 501: sea- \s in’s: passes sold last: year, . Atwell said. The success was driven by deep early season dis- counts thal let skiers buy passes last spring for about a third of regular prices, Prince Rupert residents bought 320 more passes this year and Kitimatians bought 220 more. No new runs were cut this year. But some changes have been made to the build- ings. A new 1,700 square faot The big excite- ment will come March 21-24, when Shames plays host to the K2 alpine provinclal cham- pionships. rental shop has been built, replacing an older Atco trailer, Part of the new shop will include a locker room, allowing the remo- val of lockers from the lower part of the day lodge. “The area in there is going to open up greatly,” Atwell said. The ski club will get the old rental trailer, giv- ing club members their own atea, - ; Also new on the slopes this year will be Richard Blanes, He’ll be Shames’ new ski school instructor. 638-7283