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For earlier materials see
Table of Contents

Dr Gunton on Risks

Oil Tankers in Hecate

 

One would have hoped for more people to see

this important lecture – reminding us all how

vulnerable our inside waters are

 

Two Solitudes

 

Most of the audience was 1st nations or environmentalists

Joy Thorkelson was present and will be able to tell City Council what happened, unfortunately the ‘development-at any-cost’ types were not present

 

 

 

Dr Gunton of SFU

Dr Gunton’s day job is as a Prof at SFU where he teaches Regional Planning

His group is also active in analysing the risks and benefits of Offshore Drilling in Hecate

 

Cumulative Risks

What if all these projects were to go through?? – maybe 200 super tankers going up Douglas Channel from Enbridge project alone

 

The federal EIA requires that cumulative effects be considered – but may require ‘lawyers’ to make it happen (my interpretation). Thus current condensate shipments to Kitimat did not have any EIA

 

Lots of $$ involved

One of the sub texts of presentation was big $$ will promise ‘locals’ anything --- they just won’t deliver – using Exxon Valdez spill as example

 

Spills are inevitable

And the numbers at left are the proponents estimates --- the unthinkable of another Exxon type spill --- and Gunton emphasized only 15% of an oil spill is ‘recovered’ even under best of circumstances

 

They will tell you

Mitigation is useful concept and must be looked at carefully --- and weighed against the 45 jobs for all BC to operate

Too bad more people were not present to see this – or even debate his conclusions if too ‘negative’

 

We all owe the Coastal First Nations who paid for this study a “Thank you”

 

 

 

 

Settlers & 1st Nations

Emerging Theme

The 2 solitudes: 1st nations (with very deep roots) and the ‘Settlers’ – mainly the ‘white’ community that came looking for their fortune --- most leave within a generation --- but their world view is basically extraction of free & inexhaustible resources

 

I’ll work this up later but meantime here is an excellent UBC text on same theme from UBC – Burden of History and here is a review

Created by LG on June 29, 2006

Last updated on Thursday, June 29, 2006