Letter to the editor;
We have moved to Creston from Saskatchewan and I think we need to re-examine the way B.C. residents think about oil and gas in this province. When people make comments like “let the oil go the way of dinosaurs” (Feb. 22 paper), “a poisoned resource” (Mar. 1 paper), or “we need no more dams, no more tar sands, no more LNG and no more pipelines, you are putting at risk thousands of jobs in tourism, fishing, and other related fields” (Mar. 8 paper), it seems to me that we are concerned about only one side of the environmental equation. What about the lost jobs in the oil patch? I have a son who works in northern B.C. who kept your home warm when we had a severe cold snap. He put in 62 hours in 3 days keeping things flowing so all you needed to do was turn up the thermostat. Next time it gets cold, turn off the natural gas to your house. What about no more dams for electricity? Where will your electricity come from in light of the promotion of electric vehicles? What about “don’t cut trees down because we enjoy the forest where you live”? If your house burns down, where will the lumber come from to rebuild? Regarding air pollution from vehicles, please sell your SUV, car or truck, hand in your keys, and buy a bicycle, or put on your walking boots.
Check out all the things you could have to do without if there were no more oil & gas available: YouTube “Life without Petroleum”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc4e3Zy0clk
If we are truly concerned about making a difference then no more flying to Hawaii, Mexico or other holiday destinations. Let’s move away from the big centers and return to the way our forefathers found this land; each family living on a plot of land growing our own food and living in a tent. It seems to me that we have lost touch with ourselves. We are our own worst enemy –not them. If we want to make a change it must start with me, myself and I.
Sincerely,
Lee Knoppers
Creston, B.C.