Well, it's official now: "Government of Canada Accepts Recommendation to Impose 209 Conditions on Northern Gateway Proposal" which of course means the government conditionally approves the project. In a year or so, there will no doubt be a similar government approval of Kinder Morgan's expansion of the TransMountain Pipeline.
Meanwhile our own premier is busy pressure-selling us liquefied natural gas and its accompanying fracking to lead us all to prosperity.
The problem with these projects is not so much the danger of oil spills, gas-explosions, or poisoned water wells – although those dangers are very significant - but the much larger problem of climate change.
Every piece of fossil fuel infrastructure that is newly built – pipeline, refinery, LNG plant, triple-hulled super tanker, etc. – will necessitate enough use to pay for its construction. That means that much more fossil fuel will have to be mined, shipped and burned before the pipeline (etc.) can be retired.
That will probably take 20 years or more for each project. (The original TransMountain Pipeline is 70 years old and the owners don't seem to be ready to let it die yet).
The thing is that we don't have 20 years to start a decline in the use of fossil fuel. We have to start immediately.
Building more pipelines is clearly not the answer. The issue is not how many pipeline or LNG jobs we can create in the next couple of years, but whether we can pass on a habitable planet to our grandchildren.
Roy Howard
Dunster
