I hadn't learned to use it yet when, in 1973, Johnny Carson caused a toilet paper panic in the United States. If there ever was a time of shortages in the American scene, this was certainly it - dwindling oil supplies had managed to redefine the phrase "standing in line."
At best, Carson's timing was poor - unfounded rumours and one less-than-funny joke on the potential scarcity of toilet roll gave way to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Within 24 hours of Carson's prank, the nation's cool was wiped out and the store shelves were wiped clean by a toilet paper panic lasting several weeks.
Funny how the human brain works. Faced with visible, well-documented facts on melting ice sheets, accelerated deforestation and soil degradation, increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, flash floods, landslides, wildfires and all the other "natural" disasters, we seem to have no problem processing (and ignoring!) the information without batting an eyelid. In stark contrast, give us a comedy show making humour out of rumour, and telling us that we may soon need to use our left hand to wipe our private parts, and we don't give a second thought to the seriousness of the joke, instantly putting down tools and running to the nearest store as if this was, without a doubt, the end of the world. We can't help it; the power of rumour is as unfathomable as it is undeniable... and our provincial government officials and regulators are well aware of this fact.
In British Columbia only 10 years ago, the gas reserves we could count on would not have lasted us long - 10 years at most. Fast forward to today, and you can multiply this by 10... in the northeastern part of the province alone. Technological advancement is behind this gigantic leap forward: Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," opens up deep shale gas deposits by injecting water, sand and chemicals in a potent, pressurized mixture that causes the rock to fracture. The gas is then forced out, and the idea is to collect it all before it spreads underground.
Not enough is known about the long-term effects of this new extraction method and, even though the technique has not yet been proven safe, gas production companies have been very quick to put it to the test. Rumour has it that fracking can cause gas to migrate into water wells, and that a match is all you need to make water out of domestic taps turn to flames. While the huge volumes of water required to get this technology to work is of serious concern for water levels in streams, rivers and lakes, it is primarily the potential contamination of groundwater supplies that is worrying governments elsewhere - moratoriums have been set in France, Quebec and several U.S. states, simply because the toxic chemicals in the fracking mixture render our water polluted and unsafe.
In British Columbia, however, we have decided that we have much more experience and our understanding of the subject is better. But is it really? Or is it perhaps that the moratoriums in other parts translate into a market advantage for us? After all, widespread use of the new technology to develop shale gas reserves all over the place had reduced the price of a gigajoule from $14 to $4 net, but if now we are the only ones playing the game...
Natural gas is one of B.C.'s most valuable resources; this year's royalties from gas exploration add $1.4 billion to provincial coffers. The benefits are clear; the disadvantages not so much. While others disclose the composition of their fracking mixture, ours remains a secret to us. I wonder why? It may well be that if we keep digging, we'll eventually find that fractured earth equals fractured lives. The facts are being stifled, so here's hoping for the success of the rumours. If Johnny Carson was still around today, I'd certainly ask for his assistance in waking us up and sparking the debate.
