Acts of Balance has been awarded the British Columbia 2000 Book Award. "Grant Copeland is one of my eco-heroes. His call for an end to the perverse subsidies that are destroying the very things that give us life must be heard as we prepare to enter the Ecological Millennium."?David Suzuki, ecologist, author, and broadcaster Can profits, people and place co-exist in harmony? Does conservation of nature necessarily mean a loss of jobs? With globalization spreading relentlessly throughout the world, such questions become more and more urgent as ecosystems everywhere are stressed to the point of collapse. Acts of Balance deals head-on with this crisis by examining a number of case studies from different sectors of the Pacific Northwest and coming up with some surprising answers. For example, it explodes the 'spotted owl' myth - which predicted a massive loss of jobs following logging reductions designed to save the spotted owl - showing that employment and economic activity in fact increased. Similarly, the book shows that future job opportunities exist when local residents steward their resource base, not when non-locals have the power to plunder it. Acts of Balance concludes that community-based development - centered around smaller, ecologically-based economies - is more likely to ensure a high quality of life and environment, and calls for a concerted effort by government, industry and activists to redirect development accordingly. Table of Contents Foreword, by Michael M'Gonigle PART 1: RETHINKING ECONOMY AND COMMUNITY 1 Our Present Dilemma and Challenge 2 The Economy of Place: It Works PART 2: COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Overview 3 Portage-at-Bay: A Community That Floats 4 Slocan Valley: The People's Forest 5 Retallack Resort: Developing with a Light Touch PART 3: QUALITY OF LIFE AND ECONOMIC DIVERSITY Overview 6 Redmond: Planning for the Information Age 7 Smithers: Wild and Diverse 8 Nelson: A Town in Transition 9 BC's Endangered Wilderness Project: An Ongoing Struggle 10 Stikine Watershed Planning: Unfinished Business PART 4: PRESERVING CULTURAL DIVERSITY: THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE