The Woodfibre-LNG project requires three main things to succeed: the continued consumption of fossil fuels, fracking to extract the fuel, and for the majority of citizens to support the project. While the continued consumption of fossil fuels is weaving us towards a global path of destruction, the majority of scientific research, including that of the David Suzuki Foundation, states that fracking is unsafe, can lead to earthquakes and the release of toxic gases into local environments.
The majority of Squamish residents and surrounding communities have spoken clearly against this project through countless letters, petitions and polls. In fact, from Barack Obama to Professor Wade Davis, communities globally are urging governments to steer away from fossil fuels and move towards sustainability.
Let’s consider the last three major industries in Squamish. The Britannia Mine lasted 70 years and caused a two-kilometre stretch of serious pollution to coastal waters resulting in a $75.9 million cleanup bill, according to sources. The Woodfibre mill lasted under a century and left a mess that has to be cleaned up regardless of the proposed LNG plant’s future. The Nexen plant survived 27 years and left a $40 million clean-up of its leftover toxicity, which continues to contribute to persistent groundwater mercury plume, according to a government report. These projects created short-term jobs with unsustainable endeavours that left a huge environment disaster for the next generation to clean up. The Woodfibre-LNG project will be no different.
The discussion must go beyond the jobs and tax dollars and the potential safeness or dangers of the LNG. The real problem here is only seen by opening our eyes and connecting the dots: that is, our addiction to fossil fuels and the resulting global warming.
Projects like the LNG plant are fossil-fuel dependent, and supporting this project is digging our own grave. LNG is not going to solve the problems of Squamish nor the global warming crisis. Time is of the urgency. We need to get off fossil fuel and start using green technology, creating local farms and supporting local production in a sustainable fashion.
By owning our power, we have the potential to stop this, thus creating a healthier path towards sustainability for this planet, beyond this generation, and especially, beyond our own noses. The solution is not within the walls of the governments; it lies within the hands and actions of the people.
Thomasina Pidgeon
Squamish
