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4 Tuesday August 18 2015 The Northern Journal is an independent newspaper covering news and events in the western Arctic and northern Alberta. 2013 CCNA BLUE RIBBON CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2013 C M C A AUDITED The Northern Journal is published weekly by Cascade Publishing Ltd. Printed at Star Press Inc. Wainwright AB. Publisher................................................................................. Don Jaque 867-872-3000 ext.21 donnorj.ca Editor.........................................................................Meagan Wohlberg 867-872-3000 ext.24 newsnorj.ca Reporter....................................................................... Dali Carmichael 867-872-3000 ext.25 reporternorj.ca Comptroller ..................................................... Dixie Penner 867-872-3000 ext.23 dixnorj.ca Advertising.............................. Heather Foubert Hay River 867-874-4106 adsnorj.ca Administration............................................Jeremy Turcotte 867-872-3000 ext.26 adminnorj.ca Production Manager ......................................Sandra Jaque 867-872-3000 ext.22 sandranorj.ca Graphics........................................................Paul Bannister 867-872-3000 ext.27 graphicsnorj.ca Letters to the Editor Policy The Northern Journal welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and include a phone number so the author can be veried. Names will be withheld on request in special circumstances where the reasons are determined to be valid. The Journal reserves the right to edit letters for length libel clarity and taste. Opinions expressed in letters and columns are not necessarily those of the publisher or editor. Advertising Deadlines Display ad deadline is Thursday at 400 p.m. Classied ad deadline is Thursday at 500 p.m. Email adsnorj.ca Subscription Rates Prices include GST. 47.25 in Fort Smith 52.50 elsewhere in Canada 105 in the USA overseas 164.30. EDITORIAL COLUMN Innovation and making the world better Many countries are doing their part to move the worlds economy away from dependence on fossil fuels striving to source new ways of accessing energy but it will take the impetus of individuals communities and urban ini- tiatives - all of us and how we use energy in our day-to-day lives - if the world is to truly move to a green economy. It is a good news story. The worlds rst zero-emission double-decker bus arrives in London England this year the forerunner to an electric-powered eet of the iconic red British people transporters. The an- nouncement was made at the Clean Bus Summit last month where 24 cities from around the world committed to having ul- tra-low emissions buses. Innovation and technological advancement in action - other cities will follow. Utilities in Texas are now selling solar power near or even under five cents a kilo- watt hour. One of them energy giant Sun Edison is so optimistic there are profits to be made at those low rates they are invest- ing billions of dollars in India and China on solar panel manufacturing. As new ma- terials and technologies emerge the cost of solar panels and the energy they gener- ate continues to drop rapidly to the point where new hydro dams on rivers that face escalating construction costs can no lon- ger compete. The planned Site C dam on the Peace River for example is a dinosaur before the first shovel of dirt is moved and is only proceeding because those who stand to benefit are pushing it through. Meanwhile the solar-powered single-pilot airplane dubbed Solar IMPULSE is making aviation and renewable energy history fly- ing around the world powered solely by en- ergy from the sun. The 4000-mile Pacific Ocean crossing from Japan to Hawaii was the first leg of its global expedition. It is now stuck in Hawaii for a few months awaiting replacements for its overheated batteries but keep in mind the first-ever powered flight by the Wright brothers was a decade in development and lasted only 37 metres 120 ft. How fast will the world shift from using fossil fuels Change on such a scale is slow and because many many people make a great deal of money sourcing and supply- ing fossil fuels opposition from them is a huge impediment to any evolution. Can- ada dependent as it is economically on the export of fossil fuels is one of those trying to delay the move to new energy sources. The fossil fuel lobby here and in the United States is incredibly power- ful and too many leaders are happy to be bought out by them. Only public pressure can alter that. One of the tactics in support of keeping fos- sil fuels is the campaign to debunk climate change theories yet arguments that climate change does not exist have become muted as scientic evidence mounts to conrm what is obvious that our planet is undergoing a dramatic transformation. With weather get- ting crazier all the time ordinary citizens are joining in the chorus. If the byproduct gases of fossil fuel use are causing climate change how much time do we have before damage to our planet is irreversible What kind of messed up world will future genera- tions face thanks to us We have to take better care of the world that sustains us as we grow and evolve. Massive islands of plastic refuse float in our oceans. Oilsands mines tear up the land and leave sprawling toxic tailings ponds while they spew carcinogens into the at- mosphere. Diesel trucks emitting carci- nogenic exhaust are our main source of hauling goods. Two-cycle engines power- ing everything from lawnmowers to chain- saws spew pollution. Old mines with poorly stored toxic tailings are found beside river systems around the world. Those are but a few of the contributors to a way of life that is counter to intelligent living. All of them need to be rethought and replaced. That would be the case even if there were no climate change. Weaning the global economy off fossil fuels is an obvious solution. We have to change the way we think and make the transition to a different way of living. Given that the fu- ture of humanity may hang in the balance it would be a good idea to make those changes as quickly as possible. The planned Site C dam on the Peace River for example is a dinosaur before the rst shovel of dirt is moved and is only proceeding because those who stand to benet are pushing it through. From left Teagan Larocque Sydney Bailey valedictorian Rayleen McKay and Ryley Chaplin celebrate their graduation from Deninu School in Fort Resolution on Aug. 13. PhotoSarahPruysSSDEC Dene Honi CKLB behind the scenes By DNEZE NAKEHKO DeneInuitandMtisleadersaswellasrep- resentativesfromthefederalandterritorialgov- ernments all came together in the 1970s and agreed to work together in the formation of the Native Communications Society NCS of the Northwest Territories. The idea was keep the organizationanarmslengthawayfromthepo- litical entities of the time to allow for an unfet- teredandIndigenousperspectiveontheNorth. Themediaatthetimepaidlittletonoattention toIndigenousissues.Andifitdiditwasltered through a colonial and paternalistic lens that painted an unrealistic and stereotypical view of the Dene Inuit and Mtis. Someofthesereportingtropescontinuetothis day.ThewebsiteReportingInIndigenousCom- munitieswww.riic.calaysouttheWD4Rule on how Indians make the news Be a Warrior. BeatyourDrum.StartDancing.GetDrunk.Or be Dead. If you go through mainstream news itemsonIndigenousissuesthisshowsupalot. But our people are so much more. And this is whatNCSandCKLBRadioareallabout.Wework toprovidethebigpictureonIndigenouspeople in the North. And we work to help re-establish pride in who we are and where we come from. That work is very hard and takes a lot of effort. In the entire world I can count the number ofDeneradioannouncersonmyhands.Fluent Denespeakersarebecomingfrequentlyfewerand fewerbecauseofcolonizationandthepassingof Eldersandknowledgekeepers.Therearesome ofusthatcanunderstandthelanguageandoth- ersthatcangetbywithafewwords.Buttospeak uentlyrequiresamasterscomprehensiontobe condent enough to share your thoughts in the languages of these lands. Now couple that with being a procient broadcaster. Not just anyone can come off the streets and go right into a stu- dio the job requires skill and technique. Even with proper training speaking on the radio re- quires fortitude and courage to put your name and voice out there for everyone to hear. The CBC morning show has one hostan- nouncer one radio operator around three producers a news reader that lls a news cast from four or ve reporters not to mention two or three technicians for a two hour show. They all work on some of the highest salaries paid in the broadcast industry funded through Cana- dian Heritage. In comparison on top of being uentspeakersandprocientbroadcasterseach CKLB Dene announcer is required to fulll all thosesamejobsannounceroperatorproducer reporterandsometimestechnicianforanhour and half program on a salary that doesnt even comeclose.NCSisalsofundedthroughCanadian Heritage but not on the same scale or manner. ItisreallyamazingwhattheCKLBDenean- nouncers are able to do. They are our modern day warriors on the front lines in the ongoing battleofkeepingourlanguagesaliveandvibrant. Theyunderstandtheimportanceofsharingour storiesandperspectivestoprovideaclearerpic- ture on a shoe-string budget using duct taped outdated equipment. Weareoneofthelastindependentmediaout- lets in this country. Although NCS is currently tiedtogovernmentfundinginordertooperate our plans include being a self-sustaining entity broadcastingwellintothefuture.Rightnowwe dont have much and what we do have we have to ght for but we are happy to share to those that want to listen. Dneze Nakehko is Denesuline and De- hcho Dene from Denendeh. He works for NCS and CKLB Radio.