Twenty-five years ago this month, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground in nearby Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons of crude oil. One of the largest crude oil disasters in history, this tragic event devastated wildlife in Prince William Sound and made an oblivious public suddenly aware of the dangerous consequences of our oil addiction.
Despite the danger, the Harper government continues to subsidize our oil dependence like no other industry, spending $26 billion on energy subsidies in 2011 according to the International Monetary Fund.
Certainly, it is clear that the exploitation of oil for the last hundred years has led to a period of unprecedented economic growth, raising the standard of living for millions of people around the planet. The same thing, however, can be said for a previous economic revolution: slavery.
And just as slavery is now universally recognized as an abhorrent aberration in history, so, one day, our children will view the use fossil fuels the same way, and wonder how we could have been so morally bankrupt as to allow its continued use long after its ecological consequences were clear.
As Enbridge's Texas oil tycoons try to bully us into accepting the environmental risks of their flawed pipeline, let us remember the lessons of the Exxon Valdez. Affordable clean energy is available today, from the wind farms of Chetwynd to BC's vast untapped geothermal energy reserves. It is time to embrace clean, renewable energy and leave dirty fossil fuels in the ground.
Stephen Rader
Prince George
