Both the provincial and federal governments have for decades had moratoriums on offshore oil exploration in the region, which is prone to both earthquakes and major storms. While the risks are higher than most, the report suggests that technological advances can minimize the risks. It is the legacy of the region's geographic and climactic history, light enough to float in water and and profuse enough in local Coast Mountain watersheds to compel one of the costliest infrastructure projects in Greater Vancouver's history. Silt also brought about the demise of a traditional and supposedly unshakable assertion that, no matter how dirty it looks, Greater Vancouver's water is safe to drink. Confidential documents now obtained by The Vancouver Sun show that the regional district vehemently rejected information showing that dirty water was making people sick, and made a dramatic reversal in its position only after unprecedented pressure from the region's medical health officers.
Some users describe discovering old mines and cabins abandoned and forgotten for decades.
Others boast of bagging deer and elk that might elude hunters on foot. Hikers grumble that careless ATV drivers are damaging trails, eroding soil, frightening wildlife, spreading alien weeds and destroying solitude. All-terrain drivers say they feel under attack, too. An invasion of giant Australian jellyfish clogs shrimp nets in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Swarms of Chinese mitten crabs with a taste for salmon choke water pumps in San Francisco Bay.