The seemingly wholesale acceptance of LNG development is disturbing.
The negative consequences of such development are being ignored because the promise of “big money”. People need to take into consideration the overwhelming impact of oil and gas development to northern B.C.
Local communities and governments are negotiating in secret with LNG companies with little or no concern for the people who live or will live with pipelines, fracking and industrial construction. Fracking, which is the actual fracturing of the earth, creates hundreds of small earthquakes, destroys water tables and ruins the lives of people who live in and around such activity.
Prince Rupert is downstream from this destruction. We are also at the mercy of prevailing winds and ocean currents from China and the horrific pollution that will just increase with the methane we will be exporting. LNG is mostly methane and is one of the worst of the greenhouse gases.
There are no oil or gas employees that “walk the line” so to speak to check on the thousands of miles of pipelines for leaks. They are found mostly by accident or when there is a disaster and many remain undiscovered. The numbers of leaks will increase as development
increases.
LNG is extremely explosive and the tanker/carriers that will be transporting LNG are as vulnerable to accidents as oil carrying tankers. The estuary of the Skeena River should not be considered for LNG terminals for all the obvious reasons which include sand bars, pristine fish and wildlife habitat, spawning grounds, commercial and sport fishing, tourism and generally a rich resource for local inhabitants.
Most of the money to be made will not stay in local communities regardless of what the B.C. Liberals or corporations may say. The “big money” will go to the government, developers and middle men because that is the corporate way. Most of the thousands of construction jobs will be filled by workers with no connection to the communities they work in. Access to homes and community services will become sorely restricted and out of reach for many.
These developments are quickly being forced on the north because when Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand among others start exporting LNG, the prices will fall and it will not be worth exporting from Canada. How long this “boom” will last and how much it will actually benefit people who live here is debatable.
We need long term, creative, job creation in our communities not exploitation by outside interests that have short-term financial goals and pay lip service to community values. I hope people will question LNG development and not just accept it because of a few jobs.
We should take a good look at the long term consequences of these developments on future generations.
Anne Parizot - Prince Rupert