There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat and we must take the current when it serves or lose our ventures.”
This line taken from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar has never been more historically relevant than right here, right now, in our present collective struggle to find balance in terms of economic development and growth, job creation, environmental concerns, and social responsibilities, locally, regionally and globally.
We are literally missing the tide with this huge push toward LNG , which is so misguided on so many levels that the simple reality is that it clearly does not make practical or ethical sense. We must turn with the tide and go in the direction of renewable sources of energy like the eternal cycle of the tide, which is very literally all around us.
The Island of Lax Kxeen, (Kaien Island) is surrounded by no less than three large tidal rapids that all have the potential for tidal energy electrical power generation using presently available technologies.
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A quick Google search will show you what’s available in the marketplace even just for recreational consumers. With relatively minimal initial investment in terms of infrastructure, engineering and building we could have some serious tidal energy power generation capacity for us all to benefit from. The potential of such a project could bring everyone together, is environmentally responsible and sustainable and therefore something that everyone could support and be proud to be involved in, something that everyone could benefit from and something that is needed right now. It’s a win, win, win, venture that could be done 100 per cent locally.
First and foremeost a call must go out to the hereditary chiefs of the Nine Allied Tribes of Lax Kw’alaams and the entire Tsimshian Nation on whose traditional territories these tidal rapids exist, being Butze, Zanardi and Galloway rapids, and potentially many others.
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Another call out to the political leaders in the communities of Prince Rupert and Port Edward, and those at the provincial and federal levels, the Prince Rupert Port Authority, and B.C. Hydro etc. Also anyone else that has a vested interest in this area at the very least come together, meet, and discuss the potential of such a development, and the benefits to all concerned, as I believe we truly are very literally missing the tide.
Respectfully,
Bob Blain
Prince Rupert, B.C.
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