Misplaced Pages

#183816

41-743: The SCCF is one of three organizations with the name 'Sierra Club' which, though they sometimes work together on environmental causes, are separate entities. Terry A. Simmons incorporated the Sierra Club BC in 1969, affiliating the local organization with the Sierra Club of the United States . After that time several other chapters formed in the rest of Canada and these later became the Sierra Club Canada Foundation, an independent Canadian Sierra Club operating on

82-638: A 1973 interview, speaking as vice-chairman of the Sierra Club of BC, Simmons warned that "Alaska pipeline interests" were sneaking a bill through the US Senate to authorize the US Secretary of the Interior to permit rights-of-way on Federal land. Simmons warned that this move would sidestep recent court cases that delayed pipeline construction activity. Simmons declared that the club was opposed to

123-483: A Wave Committee first expedition hired the Phyllis Cormack , a halibut seiner available for charter, to take protestors to the testing zone on the island of Amchitka. The expedition was called Greenpeace I , and included Canadian journalist Robert Hunter . In the fall of 1971, the ship sailed towards Amchitka and faced the U.S. Navy ship Confidence. The activists were forced to turn back. Because of this and

164-732: A global environmental organization. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was founded in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada to protest and attempt to halt further underground nuclear testing by the United States in the National Wildlife Refuge at Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska . The Don't Make a Wave Committee was first formed in October 1969 and officially established in early 1970. In

205-522: A leading advocate. 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 In 2003, Sierra Club Canada lobbied extensively to stop Canadian participation in the ITER project. The SCC, arguing that the research project was a subsidy, influenced public opinion against the project. Canada is now no longer involved in ITER. There is a Sierra Club Canada fonds at Library and Archives Canada . Archival reference number

246-682: A national basis and locally from the Prairies in the West to Atlantic Canada in the East, with the local BC organization remaining a separate entity. The Sierra Club Canada Foundation was legally incorporated as a Canadian organization in July 1971. As of 2023, the Sierra Club Canada Foundation is involved in a number of high-profile campaigns, for example, playing a central role in an international campaign against Equinor's proposed offshore oil projects such as

287-702: A result, the press began asking the San Francisco Sierra Club about this planned journey. The Club directors were shocked, and not amused. Simmons was again summoned to a Sierra Club board meeting in Los Angeles to explain himself, as the Club did not support the activities of the Don't Make A Wave Committee. The Club wished to restrict its activities to the Environmental movement, rather than

328-602: A vessel for the trip to Alaska. The Don't Make A Wave Committee announced the crew members in May 1970, who would sail aboard the fishing-vessel cum protest-boat Phyllis Cormack . The crew included Captain John Cormack (the boat's owner), Jim Bohlen , Bill Darnell, Patrick Moore , Dr Lyle Thurston, Dave Birmingham, Terry Simmons, Richard Fineberg, Robert Hunter (journalist), Ben Metcalfe (journalist), Bob Cummings (journalist) and Bob Keziere (photographer).< The boat

369-546: Is R8161. Terry A. Simmons Terry Allan Simmons (April 12, 1946 – November 14, 2020) was a Canadian-American lawyer and cultural geographer , and the founder of the British Columbia Sierra Club. In this role, he participated in the Don't Make A Wave Committee , understood as the origin of the environmental organization Greenpeace . Though unnoticed at the time, Simmons' death

410-743: The Mount Currie Indian Reserve . Simmons was appointed as one of six directors, to the Forest Research Council of BC, in 1981. He was a founding member of the Forest History Association of British Columbia, in 1982. At the time of his death in autumn 2020, he was still an active association member, serving as a director. Simmons was an advisory board member of the Berkeley Canadian Studies Program. Simmons

451-484: The Sierra Club they were frustrated with the lack of action by the organization. In October 1969, Bohlen and the Stowes started meeting at a church basement, calling themselves the Don't Make a Wave Committee and planning anti-nuclear protests. From Irving Stowe, Bohlen learned a form of passive resistance, "bearing witness", where objectionable activity is protested by mere presence. Jim Bohlen's wife Marie came up with

SECTION 10

#1732776465184

492-617: The Sierra Youth Coalition . It has offices in Edmonton , Halifax , Montreal , and Toronto . In addition, SCCF includes several local groups working mostly at the municipal level. The Sierra Youth Coalition is the youth-led wing of Sierra Club Canada. Sierra Club Canada has influenced environmental policy and legislative initiatives. The following list of milestones provides some of the campaigns that Sierra Club has been involved in, both in coalition with others and as

533-598: The University of Minnesota under the supervision of noted Humanistic Geographer Yi-Fu Tuan . One of Simmons' fellow grad students was Economic Geographer Trevor J. Barnes . Simmons' dissertation was an examination of the British Columbia back-to-the-land movement . Simmons also undertook a subsequent JD degree in 1989 at the Boalt Hall School of Law , University of California, Berkeley. He

574-552: The 2nd vessel. One day out of Amchitka the United States Atomic Energy Commission conducted the underground 5 Mt Cannikin nuclear test a day earlier than scheduled on November 6, 1971. The nuclear test gained widespread criticism and the U.S. decided not to continue with their test plans at Amchitka. In 1972, The Don't Make a Wave committee changed its official name to Greenpeace Foundation . On 4 May 1972, following Irving Stowe's departure from

615-682: The Atlantic Chapter, to monitoring air quality and planting trees in Ontario. The Ottawa-based Breath Easy program of the Ontario Chapter was responsible for providing air quality monitors to CBC News journalists during the Canada convoy protest , which showed that PM 2.5 air pollution levels (pollution which can have serious health effects and can make its way into people's homes) ranged from four to eight times higher than normal for

656-609: The Bay du Nord oil project in Canada, and a role in a campaign against the Line 5 oil pipeline. The SCCF is also part of court challenge against the Bay du Nord oil project. In 2022 the organization and its members helped win an expanded plastic ban in Canada to include exports of plastic items. At the local level its chapters are involved in a number of initiatives from opposing coal mining and power and advocating for renewable energy democracy in

697-494: The Peace Movement Simmons understood the Don't Make A Wave Committee to be a limited three people trying to charter a boat, and that they were not acting on behalf of the Sierra Club, so he was able to assure the Club that all was well. After a fundraising rock concert at which Joni Mitchell , James Taylor , Phil Ochs , and the local Vancouver band Chilliwack performed, enough money was raised to charter

738-577: The SCCF have gotten children outdoors for thousands of hours in Alberta, PEI, Nova Scotia. As of 2010, it has around approximately 10,000 members and supporters with its head office in Ottawa . Sierra Club Canada is governed by a Board of Directors, board members are elected by members at the SCCF's Annual General Meeting. SCCF currently has five Chapters ( Atlantic , Ontario , Prairies , and Quebec ) and

779-548: The Shaughnessy home of Robert and Bobbi Hunter. The first office was opened in a back room of a storefront off Broadway on Cypress, in Kitsilano, Vancouver. In 1973 Greenpeace moved into share a second floor office with SPEC at 2007 West 4th Ave. An additional member of the committee was cultural geographer Terry A Simmons . During meetings in 1970 Bill Darnell combined the words ‘green’ and ‘peace’, thereby giving

820-511: The Sierra Club name and intellectual property. The Sierra Club San Francisco volunteer lawyers scrambled to catch up and ascertain that Simmons meant well and that he did not intend on damaging the Club's reputation. In this same period, as Sierra Club of BC representative, Simmons was elected vice-president of the also newly formed BC Environmental Council. The council was founded as a coordinating and advisory body for BC anti-pollution groups. A year later, Simmons added to his roles, taking on

861-627: The Strait of Georgia, and the preservation of "University Beach" also known as Wreck Beach . Simmons advocated for the American club's involvement in the fight against the ski resort, given their expertise in waging environmental campaigns. Simmons incorporated The Sierra Club of BC under the British Columbia Societies Act, and this move got Simmons summoned to San Francisco, as it meant that Simmons held local legal title to

SECTION 20

#1732776465184

902-406: The U.S. from detonating the bomb. While no earthquake nor tsunami followed the test, the opposition grew when the U.S. announced they would detonate a bomb five times more powerful than the first one. Among the opposers were Jim Bohlen , a veteran who had served in the U.S. Navy during the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , and Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe , a Quaker couple. As members of

943-582: The activists in their opposition of the underground nuclear tests. Simmons ascribed this support to the presence of the four journalists on board the vessel, and the extensive media coverage of the anti-nuclear activists message. The petition's existence received significant coverage in the US media, at a time in which there were very few stations. Part of the information sophistication resulted from crew members' spouses, back in Vancouver, who shared information with

984-632: The area. The Prairie Chapter works on issues such as wetland and grassland conservation and community gardens, while the Quebec Chapter works to counter fossil fuel projects, raise local community environmental awareness, and works with municipalities to advance conservation efforts to protect migratory birds. The Youth Chapter of the organization, based throughout the country, runs a podcast which has interviewed prominent Canadian political figures such as Elizabeth May , Laurel Collins , and Monique Pauzé . The Wild Child outdoor education programs of

1025-656: The first chairman of the newly formed Sierra Club of BC. At the first meeting, held on the SFU campus on Burnaby Mountain, over 100 members signed up to join the organization. Two of those attendees were Jim Bohlen and Irving Stowe , who along with Paul Cote would later be considered Greenpeace co-founders. The first three projects of the BC Sierra Club were declared to be opposing the proposed Cypress Mountain Ski Area resort, campaigning against offshore oil development in

1066-559: The genesis of what is now an International Environmental organization. Once at Alaska, the Phyllis Cormack was detained by the US Coast Guard because the captain had not stopped to clear US Customs. However, the activists received mixed messages. Officially, they were ordered to stop and be charged with violations. At the same time, they were handed a letter, with the signatures of 18 coast guard members, who supported

1107-432: The idea to sail to Amchitka, inspired by the anti-nuclear voyages of Albert Bigelow in 1958. The idea ended up in the press and was linked to The Sierra Club. The Sierra Club did not like this connection and in 1970 Jim and Marie Bohlen, Irving and Dorothy Stowe, and Paul Cote, a law student and peace activist established The Don't Make a Wave Committee , working independently of The Sierra Club. Early meetings were held in

1148-525: The increasingly bad weather the crew decided to return to Canada only to find out that the news about their journey and the support from the crew of the Confidence had generated widespread sympathy for their protest. Greenpeace chartered another ship, a former minesweeper Edgewater Fortune , which was renamed the Greenpeace Too! . Paul Watson , also a co-founder of Greenpeace was selected to crew

1189-550: The job of Secretary of "Run Out Skagit Spoilers" (ROSS) promising to fight "until the last cubic inch of cement is poured", against Seattle City Light 's plan to raise the Ross Dam by 125 feet. Also in early 1970, Jim Bohlen, representing both the Sierra Club of BC, and the Don't Make A Wave Committee , was interviewed on Vancouver talk radio, in which he blurted out that he would visit Amchitka Alaska to witness an American nuclear test. His various roles were not distinct, and as

1230-565: The late 1960s, the U.S. had plans for an underground nuclear weapon test in Alaska . Because of the 1964 Alaska earthquake the plans raised some concerns about the test triggering earthquakes and causing a tsunami . A 1969 demonstration of 7,000 people blocked a major U.S.-Canada border crossing in British Columbia, carrying signs reading "Don't Make A Wave. It's Your Fault If Our Fault Goes". Further demonstrations occurred at U.S. border crossings in Ontario and Quebec. The protests did not stop

1271-598: The losses. He was informed in reply, that "oil and gas people are the most optimistic in the world, and feel that conditions must improve." In 1989, Simmons served as a law clerk at the Alaska Supreme Court, and in the then Land and Natural Resources Division of the US Attorney's Office in San Francisco. Simmons was a Nevada Supreme Court Settlement Judge, where he mediated appellate cases, and

Sierra Club Canada - Misplaced Pages Continue

1312-480: The media. These individuals included Mary Bohlan and Dorothy Stowe . On May 10, 1972, Simmons participated in a Minneapolis anti-war protest at the University of Minnesota, and was one of four students arraigned on gross misdemeanor and felony charges. He was charged with aggravated assault and rioting, and bail for each of the four was set at $ 1000. Simmons received one year probation for his efforts. In

1353-552: The organization its first expedition name, Greenpeace . Many Canadians protested the United States military underground nuclear bomb tests, codenamed Cannikin , beneath the island of Amchitka, Alaska in 1971. In May of the year, the Don't Make a Wave Committee sent Jim Bohlen and Patrick Moore, to represent the Don't Make a Wave Committee in US Atomic Energy Commission hearings in Alaska. The Don't Make

1394-600: The pipeline because of its potential for both economic and environmental "trouble in Canada". The energy industry continued to attract Simmons interest, and he appeared at a hearing of the BC Energy Commission to cross examine statements made on behalf of the Canadian Petroleum Association . When told that the natural gas producers were "in the red" to the tune of $ 705 million, Simmons asked why producers remained in business, despite

1435-566: The summer of 1968 as a research assistant in the national office of the Sierra Club in San Francisco. Struck by the lack of similar environmental groups in BC, Simmons contacted local subscribers to the Sierra Club Bulletin, and convened a meeting that led to the incorporation of SCBC to “explore, enjoy and preserve the scenic resources of British Columbia, in particular its forests, waters, and wilderness.” In autumn 1969, Simmons became

1476-575: Was Treasurer of the Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Society. Simmons was an active participant of the Vancouver St John's Anglican Church "Learner's Exchange". In this capacity he delivered at least one lecture on the relationship between science and Genesis. Don%27t Make A Wave Committee The Don't Make a Wave Committee was the name of the anti-nuclear organization which later evolved into Greenpeace ,

1517-662: Was an active arbitrator in Nevada district and trial level courts. Simmons ran for election as a non-partisan District 2 Court Judge in Nevada in 1996. His bid was not successful. In 1975, Simmons was a lecturer in Geography at Lakehead University , in Thunder Bay, Ontario . He also taught geography, at different times, at Simon Fraser University, Fraser Valley University College (as it was then known), Truckee Meadows Community College , Western Nevada Community College , and on

1558-618: Was called to the bar, practicing in California and Nevada. The 1960s nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union precipitated many nuclear tests. Students from the University of British Columbia , and other institutions, held a large protest against such tests at the Peace Arch Border Crossing in October 1969. Terry Simmons, before moving to Vancouver for graduate studies, had spent

1599-956: Was predeceased by a twin brother, Gary. He also had a sister, Deborah. Simmons completed an undergraduate degree in Anthropology at the University of California Santa Cruz , in 1968. As such, he was among the first alumni of that institution. At Simon Fraser University , in Burnaby , British Columbia , he undertook graduate studies in the Geography Department. His MA thesis was on the High Ross Dam Controversy. Supervised by Edward M. Gibson, with Len Evenden as committee member, Simmons concluded those studies in 1974. Thereafter, Simmons undertook his terminal degree in Cultural Geography , at

1640-830: Was subsequently reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as the French-language Radio-Canada There is a plaque on the False Creek sea wall in Vancouver, that commemorates Greenpeace's inaugural voyage and the people on the ship. Simmons' name is listed on that plaque. Born in Butte, California , Simmons grew up in Yuba City , where he attended Yuba City High School , graduating in 1964. His parents were Daniel F. Simmons and Jeanne Marlow. Terry

1681-478: Was to sail for 12 days, or 2,600 miles, from Vancouver to the Aleutian Island of Amchitcka , Alaska, to protest a proposed American nuclear test. Terry Simmons, then a 25-year-old Simon Fraser University graduate student, was included among the crew as "geographer," "who would act as legal advisor". The Phyllis Cormack was renamed the "Greenpeace" for the voyage, and the journey is understood to have been

Sierra Club Canada - Misplaced Pages Continue

#183816