VANCOUVER – The Wilderness Committee, the Council of Canadians, allied environmental groups and concerned citizens have signed on to an open letter demanding that the B.C. government end its partnership with Science World involving ongoing promotional workshops about liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Despite clear evidence of the expected climate impacts associated with B.C.’s planned LNG export industry, the provincial government continues to claim a leadership role on climate. Should just five of the dozen or so proposed LNG terminals be constructed, it would double the annual carbon footprint of the entire province of B.C.
“We cannot ignore the conclusions of climate scientists anymore – climate change has arrived and must be confronted,” said Eoin Madden, the Wilderness Committee’s Climate Campaigner. “Burning fossil fuels is what got us into this mess, and creating a massive new fossil fuel industry and promoting it as ‘clean’ misleads young people. By participating in these community seminars with Science World, the B.C. government is trying to sell the idea of the LNG industry to youth – I only wish they would teach young folks about the science of LNG’s environmental and climate impacts to the same degree.”
Alongside the LNG industry’s climate impacts, there are worrying signs that LNG terminals on the northwest coast could threaten the well-being of salmon in the great Skeena River watershed. In addition, 90 per cent of the gas needed to feed the proposed new LNG terminals would be extracted using the harmful process of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking." This unconventional means of extracting gas has been shown to cause methane leaks and toxic water impacts.
"Numerous First Nations and communities across B.C. have expressed concern with LNG projects, and the pipelines and fracking that will fuel them. These projects put the health and safety of our communities, the environment, the climate, wild salmon and the coast at risk,” said Leila Darwish, Pacific Regional Organizer with the Council of Canadians. “It is really disappointing that Science World has chosen to work with the B.C. government and the fossil fuel industry to deliberately misrepresent and conceal the true costs and impacts of the LNG and fracking industry to the youth of this province."
The open letter has been signed by the Wilderness Committee, the Council of Canadians, Greenpeace, Sierra Club BC, My Sea to Sky, Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, and others, in the hopes that Science World will not participate in any future promotional seminars.
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For more information, please contact:
Eoin Madden, Climate Campaigner, Wilderness Committee – (604) 353-9603
Leila Darwish, Pacific Regional Organizer, The Council of Canadians – (778) 679-2907
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