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Gas prices of the future

Letters

Editor:

I have been slightly amused by the amount of space Coast Reporter has recently given to local gas prices. Yes, the lives of some people depend on them commuting long distances, and higher gas prices mean that they have less money available for other purposes. I sympathize.

However, the story doesn’t end there. Last fall, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued what must be seen as a desperate warning: Reduce the release of greenhouse gases by 45 per cent from 2010 levels and do so by 2030 – or else. The “or else” could result in tens to hundreds or millions of deaths due to heat, hunger and war. This warning, supported by masses of recent scientific measurements, is now as incontrovertible as the Pearl Harbor attack.

How is this fact related to the prices of gas on the Coast? In brief, it means that, in the near future, most gasoline must be priced so high that it isn’t used. How much gas will you be buying when a litre is $13.90 rather than $1.39?

The front page of last week’s paper contained four ads for king cab pickups and one ad for a fairly efficient car. I saw no ads for hybrids or electric vehicles. In Norway, a country with very similar geography to B.C., 50 per cent of new car sales are EVs. B.C. has mandated that gas cars will not be sold here after 2040. Given the emerging climate facts, it is likely that this deadline will have to be moved closer. Norway already has an operational electric ferry, and the battery power system came from Corvus Engineering in Richmond, B.C. The world is changing, folks. Please try to take the long view. Who will buy your king cab when gas cannot be burned?

Jim Pawley, Sechelt