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Earth Watch

Photography, Photojournalism, Video Arts

Earth Watch
Conservation Photography
A visual and narrative exploration of tipping points in climate change, the destruction of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity.
Old Growth Cedar (Thuja plicata)
Ancient forests once covered the whole of British Columbia, now only isolated enclaves remain. Further losses continue, and trees like this become still scarcer. One day soon there might be no giant tress remaining, and the old forests will have gone forever.
Water
As climate change continues, water will become an increasing issue globally - extensive flooding in some regions will be matched by scarcity in others.
Garbage
This abandoned and wrecked vehicle will one day disappear, but the ground itself will carry toxic traces for very many years. Some human garbage leaves an environmental footprint that will last thousands of years. This blight spreads across the world, and reaches even the most remotes parts of the ocean.
ReproductionAs environmental degradation reduces the reproductive success of vast numbers of plant and animal species, human population growth continues. From 6.89 billion as of 1 Jan 2011, there are predicted to be 8 to 10.5 billion people by 2050.
RiversThese salmon successfully completed their life cycle in a pristine British Columbian river, but with global warming raising water temperature, and with industrial, urban and farming pollution continuing, many other species are not so fortunate. More than 97% of all the world’s water is salt water and the majority of the remaining 3% is held in the polar ice caps. The atmosphere, rivers, lakes and underground stores hold less than 1% of all the fresh water we need for survival. There is an urgent need for global programs to save existing resources for future generations of all species.
Contested SpacesMuir Creek, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The T’Sou-ke First Nation traditionally used the Muir Creek area as a ceremonial site for winter ceremonies and for fish smoking. The creek mouth also provided a safe harbour from the Juan de Fuca Strait. Now it is contested space, where local people battle logging companies over ownership and future uses. Globally, indigenous lands are being lost continuously to industrial scale developments. This relentless encroachment not only displaces indigenous people, it also compromises, and in many cases puts an end to, traditional ways of life that could guide our reengagement with the natural world.
Over-consumptionAs for this juvenile gull trying to swallow an Ochre Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceus) whole, over-consumption can be hazardous for the individual and the planet as a whole.
DisjunctionThis is not a forest.