I feel compelled to write to you today after seeing the stream of pro-LNG letters being published in The Squamish Chief, like the letter, “It is time to get real on LNG” [published Aug. 8].
I’m not sure if these individuals are benefiting directly from the pipelines or are just woefully ignorant of the impacts a project like this has on the local environment and the environment at large, but to say that this project is good for Squamish is absurd.
I completely disagree with the sentiment that the Woodfibre LNG project is adding value to this community and instead would argue it is doing the exact opposite.
First let’s talk about the supposed positives such a project might offer to Squamish. Some might say it will create jobs; it won’t. Once the short-term boom from the construction is completed, the project will only employ a skeleton crew of 100 employees, most of whom will not be coming from the local area.
Some might say that there will be tax revenue; there won’t be. In fact, our tax dollars are being used to subsidize this project, meaning we are paying them to destroy the local ecosystem. I cannot see any other possible benefits someone might think such a project could provide.
Now on to the negatives and unlike the positives, these are very real. First, we can start with the obvious damage that fracking causes to our environment.
When these companies extract gas through fracking, they inject high-pressure chemicals into the ground to free the gas trapped there. This poisons the water supply of often wild and remote wildernesses.
Next, these pipelines require enormous amounts of energy to compress and transport this gas over huge distances to ports. In our specific case, the pipeline will be running directly underneath the estuary, a sacred and extremely sensitive ecosystem that could be utterly destroyed if a problem were to occur, as has happened before with similar projects. Next, there is the issue of flaring natural gas, which Fortis has conveniently glossed over, which will create not just a disgusting smell for us living here, but will also threaten our health.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I won’t even get into the fact that this LNG will likely never be sold at a profit, some of the green hydro energy from Site C being diverted to power the pipeline or the effects the increased shipping traffic will have on marine life in the Howe Sound. This project represents a step backward in the global fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In 20 years’ time, we will likely look back at this project as not just a waste of time and money, but as an embarrassing example of the short-sightedness of Woodfibre LNG and the B.C. government.
If you want to “get real on LNG” I suggest you do some research into what the actual consequences of this project are and stop hiding behind the guise of jobs and taxes.
Lee Salo
Squamish
