Hosted by Global TV news anchor Jill Crop and organized by the Rivers Institute at BCIT, the event will take place at the Michael J Fox Theater in Burnaby starting at 7:30 PM.  It combines a striking mix of inspirational stories, great imagery and dazzling music, all focused on rivers, water and the natural world.

The event features stories and images from renowned river advocate, Mark Angelo, and the amazing folk pop, (and environmentally-themed) music of Holly Arntzen and Kevin Wright, backed by 160 singers form Brentwood Park.

Tickets are $35 and benefit the work of the Nature Trust of BC along the Heart of the Fraser as well as the international water relief efforts of WaterCan.

Tickets at Ticketmaster.ca — see the event page.

Any remaining tickets will be available at the door. See the event website.

It promises to be a great evening in support of an important cause. The concert will also air as a Global TV special in June.

First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.

Things here in  Sendai  have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend’s home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.

During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.

Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, “Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another.”

Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.

We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on. But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not. No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.

There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun. People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.

Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled. The mountains are  Sendai  are solid and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently.

And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no.

They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of  Sendai  that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others.  Last night my friend’s husband came in from the country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.

Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in  Japan , I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don’t. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.

Thank you again for your care and Love of me,

With Love in return, to you all,
Anne

ANNE THOMAS  3/14/2011

Water is a central theme in many of these developments. A recent report indicates that by 2030, 42% of all fresh water on this planet is predicted to be required by just four countries – China, India, Brazil and South Africa. What about the rest of the world?

Acute water shortages in North America

Regional water shortages in North America will become acute with the continued growth of urban centres, overtaxed aquifers, drought conditions, shrinking glaciers and over-allocated rivers. Another recent article listing the 10 largest U.S. cities most likely to face water shortage in the near future provides some sobering facts about how close some cities have already come to being unable to supply their citizens with water.

BC’s water resources – ours no longer?

The waterways of British Columbia are our pride and joy. They have also made our province abundantly self-sufficient in energy as well as water. The production of inexpensive energy from our enviable water resources has been an invaluable public asset, annually contributing vast sums of money into BC’s public coffers.

However, British Columbia’s resources are now a pawn in high-handed manoeuvres by powerful, vested interests.  Our public corporation, BC Hydro, is being disabled.

Why? So that control of our beloved resources can be transferred from the public domaine for the benefit of all to private control by a few.

How? By misinformation that we are not contesting- ridiculous mistruths that BC does not have enough energy to meet our needs. Our own water-related resources are being sold across the border and we will have to buy back that hydro power at a premium! The hikes in your hydro bill are just the beginning of ongoing increases that are slated.

Manipulation and exploitation of the public domaine can only continue if we remain ignorant and submissive. Eventually the cost to our quality of life will become so unbearable we will be stirred to action. Better to respond sooner than later. Follow the links to learn more:

www.greenenergybc.ca/calvert.html
www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/water/charting_our_water_future.aspx
www.thecanadian.org/k2/item/418-hydro-rates-mad-as-hell

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 – 9 am
Metro Vancouver – 2nd floor Boardroom, 4330 Kingsway, Burnaby

To speak to Metro Vancouver’s Water Committee, apply (before November 1st) by:

• mail: Corporate Secretarys Department, 4330 Kingsway, Burnaby, B.C. V5H 4G8
• email: delegations@metrovancouver.org

• fax: 604-451-6686

Include the following information:

• subject matter on which you wish to speak

• name of the designated speaker

• specific action which is being requested of the Committee

• a summary of your presentation (maximum of two pages)

If you miss the November 1, 2010 application deadline, you may still apply to speak by bringing your written request to the meeting for the Committees consideration.

If you cannot attend the meeting, provide your input by email to icentre@metrovancouver.org, or write to the Public Involvement Division at the above address.

View the DWMP Progress Report

For more information or to receive a copy of the report, please phone the Metro Vancouver Information Centre at 604-432-6200.

Deadline for feedback: November 26, 2010.

Water falls steeply over Capilano’s Cleveland Dam. If harnessed, it could generate between 30 and 60 gigawatt hours of electricity per year. The Seymour reservoir would probably yield 10 gigawatts.

Although capturing renewable energy from existing dams has obvious appeal, the proposal is raising concerns that it might open the door to conflicting priorities. Would profits from electricity compromise future decisions about the use of these publicly owned watersheds which supply our drinking water?

Metro Vancouver is inviting your feedback and comments on this proposal until October 29, 2010.