Two thirds must stay in the ground – Please Vote.

We are nearing the end of our hot spell. And that’s a good thing. There will likely be rain for Mother’s Day but the flower beds and just-started gardens won’t mind.

On this blog I try to present the facts as best I can and to present the science as it is written. These facts are meant to inform you, and if that sways you politically, or not, it is not my business.

However, it is election time. And that means we have choices to make. Please vote.. You can do it anytime Thursday, Friday or Saturday 8AM to 8PM at the Lawn Bowling Club. Bring your yellow voting card or just some ID and proof of your address. You can also vote on Tuesday of course. But please, please, please. VOTE.

I present to you today two things:

First a letter:

It was sent yesterday by a raft of scientists and experts to the Canadian Minister of Energy. In it they reiterate that the science shows, “two thirds of the worlds fossil fuel reserves cannot be commercialized”. They can’t be extracted if we are to avoid a dangerous amount of climate change.

Tar Sands, LNG, coal, two thirds of all of it, here, or anywhere, must stay in the ground.

So please, when you vote in our election, whether it is for Darren DeLuca of the BC Liberals, Scott Fraser of the BC NDP or Enid Mary Sangster-Kelly of the BC Conservatives, consider what they have said about this issue.

Which brings me to my second point.

I was at the All Candidates Meeting on Tuesday. I was not able to ask a question during the meeting but I listened intently. There was not one question on climate change. There were also very few people under the age of 40.

However I was able to get a good feeling of Mr. DeLuca and Mr. Fraser’s stance.

Mr. DeLuca (BC Liberal) made it clear he was in favour of the Raven Coal mine. He also advocated for LNG terminals on the Alberni Inlet as well as in Kitimat and a new highway connector to handle increased truck traffic to our Port. His position was very clear.

Mr. Fraser (BC NDP) was less enthusiastic and mentioned the concern expressed by Island communities about the coal mine but did not say he was against any of the above. I managed to pull him aside after the meeting and asked him specifically about climate change and he said ‘we will meet international targets’ and then expressed his concern about fracking and LNG but did not have a concrete answer, nor certainly any opposition, to developing LNG or coal mines.

I was not able to ask the Conservative candidate her stand on the issue.

I hope this was helpful. I will post a link to a recording of the All Candidates Meeting later today.

Please Vote! You can do it anytime Thursday, Friday or Saturday 8AM to 8PM at the Lawn Bowling Club. Bring your yellow voting card or just some ID and proof of your address. You can also vote on Tuesday of course. Please Vote!

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Alberniweather Blog (Chris)

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