Editor:
Retro Queen Christy Clark is bringing back paisley shirts, bell-bottom jeans and gigantic dams. Back in the ’60s, building dams in B.C. was both fashionable and reasonably financially sound; however, environmentally they were poor investments. WAC Bennett’s dam brought us an abundance of relatively clean hydro electricity but buried an immense tract of prime agricultural land – eviscerating both large and small-scale food production. It was not then, and is not today, an icon of sustainability. Massive dam projects belong in the past and should stay in the tickle trunk with our obligatory dress-up choices of turtlenecks, love beads and John Lennon glasses.
In 2015 we face the real challenges of climate change and food security.
Facing a massive water crisis, cheap imports from California are already not so cheap and the B.C. government wants to flood another 30,000 acres of agricultural land in the Peace River, enough to supply fruit and vegetables to a million people.
Our Hydro bills are set to increase by 28 per cent between 2014 and 2018 to start our collective mortgage payments on this water-loving white elephant and our children will keep on paying until “the moon is in the seventh house.”
The real crazy making sets in when you consider such a wide array of alternatives to the giant $9-billion, taxpayer funded Site C dam that are readily available. Geo-thermal, wind and solar options are all cheaper and cleaner, with a fraction of the carbon footprint and produce more long-term jobs than site C.
Why are B.C. politicians so afraid to embrace a green transition when the majority of people are begging for a change? Stop investing in the past. It’s over.
Neil Bryson, Halfmoon Bay
