The review of Saanich’s EDPA law by Diamond Head Consulting is verbose, incomplete, and closer to ‘pal review’ than independent.
Guidelines were written by the staff who are under criticism, the consultant was selected by Saanich government, and feedback/survey questions were dictated by staff. That’s clearly a conflict of interest which is unethical. DHC should have emphasized those severe constraints in their report. They are biased, as according to their web site they support the shortage mentality of ‘sustaining development’, which denies human productivity.
Worse is the basis and methods of the EDPA law. It defines ‘species’ on political boundaries not on the essentials like shape and function that regular people take the term to mean. That enables activists to claim a ‘species’ is headed for extinction, never mind there are plenty of Garry Oaks and Blue-Grey Taildropper slugs nearby such as in Colwood, and many more to the south.
(Especially common in Oregon, which is the centre of their viable range – we are at the limit thus populations will vary here as climate varies – oaks do better in warmth, for example. And note that Garry Oak is not a stable species here, Douglas Fir will supplant it as happened in Metchosin.)
Why would eco-activists be so dishonest? Because they have a negative view of humans. They split us from the rest of ‘nature’, ignoring that all species use the world to further life. That is illustrated by the inaugural issue of The Ecologist magazine, which like many other people considers humans to be parasites.
Why? The psychology goes back to Plato’s error in understanding the human mind. He theorized two worlds, which is the foundation of Druid’s worship of oak trees and anti-human philosophies like Marxism, which teaches fixed-pie economics, drive-to-the-bottom ethics, and lying for the cause. That denies the capability of the our minds for life – eco-activists evade what is all around them, people planting and nurturing, creating diversity of species, sheltering, and healing. In contrast Aristotle got the answer right – one world, that we are capable of understanding and improving.
Saanich’s EDPA law is rotten in its roots so should be eliminated. Anyone who wrote it, pushes it, approved it, or defends it should be ashamed of their anti-human behaviour.
Keith Sketchley
Saanich