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Peter Wood

@peterup.bsky.social
398 followers 144 following 31 posts

Forests, climate, biodiversity, environmental and human rights. Lecturer, coordinator of UBC Master of International Forestry program.

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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Unsustainable logging forces companies to go increasingly further afield to find fibre, ⬆️costs. Remaining primary forest has been spared by economic unviability (too far/steep). Subsidizing transportation places these areas at risk. Read Ben Parfitt's piece @thetyee.ca: thetyee.ca/News/2026/06...
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
BC backtracks on its big commitment to hold polluters accountable for cleanup- the rationale’s weak (“After careful consideration, this work has been paused. At this time, the ministry is not in a position to move forward with this project”). Since when is the polluters pay principle controversial?!
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
I was interviewed for this well-written piece. A leaked report shows that logging levels in northern BC are double what they should be. This could have serious repercussions for BC Forest policy. #forestry #bcpoli www.biv.com/news/leaked-...
biv.com
Leaked report claims B.C. timber harvest is vastly overestimated
An undisclosed report obtained by BIV estimates the province is likely approving twice as much logging than can be sustainably harvested
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
In the absence of anti-greenwashing laws, we've seen that companies gladly make unsupported/misleading claims. Government has an important role to play in ensuring the integrity of these claims- if 🇨🇦 scraps this, we will fall behind EU and other jurisdictions. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Ottawa is scrapping Canada’s greenwashing rules. This is a mistake
Canada should not back away from holding firms to account for what they say about the environment
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Last month, I took some of my students (UBC Master of International Forestry) to the BC interior to participate in an Indigenous-led effort to restore an area of forest that had been badly burned. It was wild! Check out the story here: forestry.ubc.ca/news/mif-stu...
forestry.ubc.ca
MIF students support Indigenous-led restoration of the Ashnola Watershed | UBC Forestry
Students from UBC Forestry's MIF program help a forest restoration project in the South Okanagan after devastating wildfires in 2023.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Excited for the Neil Young concert on Sat! Young supported the "BlueDot" campaign for environmental rights, which I managed for a few years. In 2020, this became a broader coalition effort, & in 2024 succeeded in securing the legal right to a healthy environment in 🇨🇦- thanks Neil! shorturl.at/932XG
vancouversun.com
Neil Young in Vancouver: A look back at some highlights of his many local performances
From Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to solo shows, Neil Young has almost six decades of local history in Vancouver. Find out more.
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Mongabay @mongabay.com · 27/07/2025
A last-minute proposal to revise the European Union’s sweeping antideforestation law has conservationists worried about yet another delay to the law’s implementation and weaker oversight of supply chains.
news.mongabay.com
‘Insignificant risk’ EUDR proposal threatens fight against deforestation, critics say
A last-minute proposal to revise the European Union’s sweeping antideforestation law has conservationists worried about yet another delay to the law’s implementation and weaker oversight of supply…
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
If you have 5 mins to spare today, use them to help protect BC’s threatened Inland Temperate Rainforest — one of the rarest rainforests left on Earth, and home to endangered deep-snow caribou. Take action to secure permanent protection for the ITR. secure.wildsight.ca/ITR?source=B...
secure.wildsight.ca
Protection for B.C.’s Inland Temperate Rainforest
Help protect one of the rarest rainforests on Earth—and the species that depend on it.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
"Pulp mills used to get most of the wood they needed from the wood chips, sawdust and shavings produced at sawmills. But as sawmill after sawmill in B.C. has closed as primary forests dwindle, pulp mills have been forced to rely more and more on whole logs to keep going" thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
thetyee.ca
Neither ‘Biofuel’ Nor Nuclear Will Solve Our Energy Problems | The Tyee
From Borneo to Japan to BC, the effects are clear. And the solution is something entirely different.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Similar to BC's response to the pine beetle- in the absence of strong rules and enforcement that ensure a path towards restoring ecosystem health, commercial logging can make things worse. We have to accept that this is often not going to be profitable. This looks like a timely report.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Check out this excellent story-map showing the impact of logging on the southern mountain caribou (by @wildsight.bsky.social, @wildernews.bsky.social, and @stand.earth). Can't believe that new cutblocks are being approved in endangered species' critical habitat. storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/82ae...
stand.earth
Stand.earth - For the people and places you love
For more than twenty years, we’ve been utilizing cutting-edge research, building equitable power with frontline communities, and leveraging mass movements to make a real impact on the health and wellb...
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
If you were forced to vote strategically in the last election, consider supporting electoral reform. It ain't sexy, but things that strengthen democracy rarely are. www.ctvnews.ca/politics/art...
ctvnews.ca
How electoral reform could shatter party fortresses
A change to Canada’s electoral system would have delivered a very different House of Commons this year, according to an analysis for The Canadian Press.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Standing up to the US does not justify weakening environmental protections. It's an opportunity to strengthen them, and ensure that they are aligned with Canadian values 🇨🇦 An important article in @theconversation.com today theconversation.com/elbows-up-in... #elbowsup
theconversation.com
‘Elbows up’ in Canada means sustainable resource development
Accelerated resource development in Canada should not burden future generations with environmental destruction.
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Charlie Angus @charlieangus104.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Here are my initial thoughts on the 2025 election - what it means for Canada in the short term and what it means for the movement of social democracy in the long. substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
Thoughts on Canada's Unprecedented Election
"Trump is the first American president to lose a Canadian election."
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The Narwhal @thenarwhal.ca · 30/04/2025
B.C. is failing to protect 81% of critical habitat for at-risk species, government documents show. #bcpoli #biodiversity VIA @ainsliecruickshank.bsky.social thenarwhal.ca/bc-endangere...
thenarwhal.ca
B.C. failing to protect 81% critical habitat for at-risk species: docs | The Narwhal
B.C. allows industrial logging in critical habitat for at-risk species – part of the reason it's a long way from meeting federal standards
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Robert Jago @rjjago.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Wade Grant won! Musqueam nation - hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaker (a Salish dialect, the Native language most of Metro Vancouver). The first Coast Salish person in parliament, AFAIK.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Supreme Court decision establishes that a logging company is not entitled to compensation for a switch to ecosystem-based management on Haida Gwaii. Teal-Jones argued that the restrictions = expropriation and should be compensated $75 million. The judge did not agree. www.thetyee.ca/News/2025/04...
thetyee.ca
Forestry Giant Not Owed Compensation, BC Supreme Court Rules | The Tyee
Teal-Jones had argued it faced ‘constructive taking’ on Haida Gwaii.
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World Press Photo @worldpressphoto.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
The #WPPh2025 Photo of the Year is ‘Mahmoud Ajjour, Aged Nine’ by Samar Abu Elouf, for @nytimes.com. The jury was moved by this portrait of a Palestinian boy which speaks to the devastating long-term costs of war on civilians. worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo-contest/2025/Samar-Abu-Elouf/1
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Sierra Club BC @sierraclubbc.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
New independent study finds that protecting old-growth #forests in just two regions in BC would result in over $43billion worth of economic benefits for society. A strong argument for all govts to make #OldGrowth, biodiversity and nature commitments a reality #bcpoli sierraclub.bc.ca/protecting-o...
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
A decisive victory for progressive candidates in Vancouver's by-election - congrats to @onecityvan.bsky.social @seanorr.bsky.social @lucymaloney.bsky.social . A protest vote against the ruling party in a by-election is not unusual, but this is a strong message from Vancouver voters.
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Jon Milton @whosestreets.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
It's the first workday of the year. At 10:54 this morning, Canada's top CEOs have already made $62,661— the average worker's annual salary. By year's end, they'll make 210 times what the worker makes. Lots of new data in this new @policyalternatives.bsky.social report on CEO pay in Canada.
policyalternatives.ca
Company men | CCPA
Following two blistering years of all-time high compensation, Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs pocketed $13.2 million, on average, in 2023—the third biggest haul since we’ve been tracking CEO pay. On av...
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
This could have major implications for forestry in BC: First Nation in Cowichan Valley launches a class-action lawsuit against Mosaic and three levels of government for damages related to flooding thetyee.ca/News/2024/12...
thetyee.ca
Halalt First Nation Sues Forest Firm, Governments for Flooding | The Tyee
The class action alleges ‘careless and reckless’ practices created conditions for disaster.
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Mongabay @mongabay.com · 20/12/2024
In a surprise move, South Korea has announced that it will end subsidies for all new biomass projects and for existing state-owned plants cofiring biomass with coal, effective January 2025, a significant and sudden policy shift. Will Japan follow South Korea’s example? Read more:
news.mongabay.com
South Korea slashes forest biomass energy subsidies in major policy reform
In a major policy shift, South Korea announced Dec. 18 that it will end renewable energy subsidies for new biomass projects, as well as for state-owned coal and biomass cofired power plants starting i...
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
"The “War in the Woods” primarily hinges on the remaining 1.4 million hectares of undeferred most at-risk old-growth stands." A helpful summary of the NDP-Green agreement on old growth and what's at stake: www.endangeredecosystemsalliance.org/news/2024/12...
endangeredecosystemsalliance.org
Conservationists Welcome BC NDP and Green Governance Agreement – BC Forestry Review Could Provide Key Opportunity to Strengthen Old-Growth Forest Protection Policies — Endangered Ecosystems Alliance
The Endangered Ecosystems Alliance (EEA) and Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are welcoming the new 2024 Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord between the NDP and Green parties in BC. The coopera...
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Student initiative gets UN to seek legal opinion on climate justice and small island states at risk due to rising sea levels: "it would be more than just a powerful symbol since it could serve as the basis for other legal actions, including domestic lawsuits." www.msn.com/en-ca/money/...
msn.com
MSN
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Unsustainable resource extraction is wiping out caribou and ultimately small communities as well. Excellent editorial in the Globe: www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
theglobeandmail.com
Globe editorial: How (not) to save Quebec’s threatened boreal caribou
The province needs to take action on years of promises rather than protest about Ottawa’s jurisdictional intrusion
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Reposted by Peter Wood
The Tyee @thetyee.ca · 20/11/2024
Money doesn’t grow on trees, but in the coastal rainforests of British Columbia, salmon do.
thetyee.ca
On BC’s North Coast, First Nations Are Building a New Economy | The Tyee
How the Great Bear Sea initiative is using conservation finance to create jobs and preserve nature.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
You had me at "tax their billions". Making the super rich pay their fair share for climate action: @350org.bsky.social 350.org/tax-their-bi...
350.org
Tax Their Billions: Dossier
Calling on the UK Government to Tax Their Billions: back a global wealth tax on the mega-rich and increased taxes on fossil fuel corporations.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
In need of comic relief? This clip of a human dressed up as a bear causing damage to a Rolls Royce as part of an elaborate insurance scam should do the trick: youtu.be/hdVN4i-ihJI?...
youtu.be
Four people arrested after using bear costume as part of insurance fraud
YouTube video by NBC News
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Sarah Cox @sarahkcox.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
How Canada helped fossil fuel companies improve global 'perception' of Alberta's oil sands. @meyer.bsky.social has the scoop for @thenarwhal.ca. thenarwhal.ca/oilsands-lob...
thenarwhal.ca
The oilsands’ plan to boost its reputation on the COP stage | The Narwhal
Pathways Alliance got onstage at Canada’s 2022 UN climate summit (COP27) pavilion to improve global ‘perception of the oilsands’
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
How does a river gain recognition as a person? www.capitaldaily.ca/news/how-a-r...
capitaldaily.ca
How a river became a person—with help from UVic environmental lawyers
Peruvian-Canadian doc that helped shape key Amazon case airs Nov. 18 at Cinecenta
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 11/11/2024
Urban salmon! Great to see these chum continue to return to Spanish Banks Creek to spawn, 30 years after it was restored. Mother Nature is ready to rebound if we stop doing the bad things.
Spanish banks Creek with dead salmon following spawning 
Spawned chum salmon skeleton on leaves
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 18/10/2024
"If it was a matter of policy preventing access to fibre, why would industry be selling assets and abandoning B.C. rather than wait for that stroke of the political pen to change policy. They know there’s nothing left” The real reason BC forestry is in trouble: @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
thetyee.ca
Why Both Parties Are Wrong about BC’s Forestry Crisis | The Tyee
The problem isn’t red tape; it’s a lack of trees. Last in a series.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 18/10/2024
"If it was a matter of policy preventing access to fibre, why would industry be selling assets and abandoning B.C. rather than wait for that stroke of the political pen to change policy. They know there’s nothing left” The real reason BC forestry is in trouble: @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
thetyee.ca
Why Both Parties Are Wrong about BC’s Forestry Crisis | The Tyee
The problem isn’t red tape; it’s a lack of trees. Last in a series.
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Reposted by Peter Wood
Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 14/10/2024
Climate change is a health issue, and the healthcare community has a critical role to play. Healthcare professionals, organisations, and insurers must understand the connection between climate & health and lead in implementing solutions. My new BMJ essay w Bill Frist: @maibached.bsky.social
bmj.com
Healthcare leadership for a climate resilient future
When trusted professionals speak up, people listen Over the past century, Earth’s average temperature has risen by more than 1.3°C, a clear sign that something is wrong. Ambient temperatures are incr...
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 09/10/2024
"Forests subjected to intensive industrial forestry are the least capable of storing and sequestering carbon." @halifaxexaminer.ca www.halifaxexaminer.ca/environment/...
halifaxexaminer.ca
Contrary to industry claims, forests left alone are best able to combat climate change - Halifax Examiner
Authors of a recent study did a literature review and found the evidence shows Wabanaki-Acadian forests that are left alone store and sequester the most carbon.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 27/05/2024
We need a paradigm shift in forest management- here are some constructive suggestions from a top ecologist: thetyee.ca/Opinion/2024...
thetyee.ca
Will BC Deliver on ‘Radical’ Forest Reform? | The Tyee
The government is signalling a shift in resource management. Here’s one way to prove it’s real.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 27/05/2024
We need a paradigm shift in forest management- here are some constructive suggestions from a top ecologist: thetyee.ca/Opinion/2024...
thetyee.ca
Will BC Deliver on ‘Radical’ Forest Reform? | The Tyee
The government is signalling a shift in resource management. Here’s one way to prove it’s real.
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Peter Wood @peterup.bsky.social · 12/02/2024
There's nothing more insidious than paid advertising posing as news. The forest industry is feeling the need to pay for a lot of it lately, for some reason: canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
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