Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver in the late 1960s by a hand-ful of mostly long-haired activist sailors bent, at the time, on halting nuclear testing by the us in the Alaskan Aleutians and by France in Polynesia. And although the worldwide organization has had its problems over the decades, it lives on, as does Vancouver as an environmental center of sorts. Greenpeace International now runs its show from Europe, but headquarters for Greenpeace Canada remain in Vancouver (1726 Commercial Drive, East Vancouver, 604-253-7701).
More accessible is a store and information center operated by the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (227 Abbot Street, Gastown, 604-683-2567, call for hours). While checking out the latest environmental issues and campaigns here, you can purchase books of the likes of Fate of the Earth, Rainforest, and Camping in BC. You can also buy books by the late, esteemed Randy Stoltmann, including his Hiking Guide to the Big Trees of Southwestern British Columbia and Written by the Wind: British Columbia Wilderness Adventure. WCWC also sells posters (most famously of whales and the Carmanah Valley), greeting cards, tree-hugger T-shirts, and handmade wooden boxes by BC artisans.
The more local Society for Promoting Environmental Conser¬vation (2150 Maple Street, Kitsilano, 604-736-7732) has a mandate covering everything from water quality to pesticide-free gardening. Active on the transit and cycling front is Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (510 West Hastings Street, Downtown, 604-669-2860).
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