Global environment
On August 19, I attended a Texada Quarrying Ltd. [TQL] information session about the expansion to its coal export facilities. I misunderstood this to be a public meeting [“Coal export expansion proposal kicks up dust,” August 28]. The presentation was well done but left no room for public discussion. The mantra of the day “jobs, jobs, jobs,” is the fishhook for public acceptance. They advertised 15 to 20 new full-time jobs when, just a month prior, the quarry tours on Sandcastle weekend indicated very few if any jobs available as existing quarry workers would be used to unload and load the coal boats.
Although I have concerns regarding coal dust and water, my main concern is the impact to the global environment. Burning coal overseas will not lessen this negative impact. No TQL employee can address this concern. They must fight to maintain the bottom line that every corporation needs to exist. Corporations do not need clean air, water or food. In fact, these resources get in the way of a positive bottom line.
Words are cheap, like coal is 100 per cent organic and inert. The continual eroding of global environments from extracting resources at greater depths on both land and sea is turning out to be very destructive and expensive for our planet and the majority of its inhabitants. As our technology accelerates these changes, we are a step behind in understanding and mitigating any long-term effects. But we know the effects of burning coal.
If we the citizens of the world cannot hold the corporations and our governments accountable for the health and well being of the planet because of our fear of the precarious financial situations of our own manufacture, we just may afraid ourselves right off the planet. Or, we hold the “powers that be,” financial, corporate and governmental, accountable for the environments necessary for good health and we just may be able to enjoy this beautiful planet for a while longer or at least until the next asteroid hits.
Leslie Goresky
Van Anda, Texada Island
Highway to Squamish myopia
There should be the following on a fact sheet for those people coming to live in Powell River:
It is two ferries and five hours from Vancouver. You may find it a little isolated.
The cost of building and maintaining the proposed road to Squamish would be so much that I believe it would be cheaper to give everybody from Powell River free passes on ferries for life [“Highway advocates gain support,” July 3].
Why would we spend the money on a highway to Squamish so we could have more and bigger vehicles driving up global warming? It’s not just the exhaust, but the making of the steel and the carbon dioxide that is emitted through all the different manufacturing processes of cars. Not to mention oil.
Ever heard of global warming?
When a previous writer talks about only “being the same height as Mount Washington,” that is the very reason we have a massive ski resort there: a lot of snow.
Highways were not built by visionaries. The Alaska Highway was built to move troops and the war machine in case we were invaded during the war. The Coquihalla was a political promise by the Socreds [BC Social Credit Party] to Bill Bennett’s friends in the Interior.
If you want to go to Calgary or the Interior, go by plane. It is cheaper and though not perfect, it is easier. Then rent a car when you get there.
A real visionary is the engineer who proposed the bridges from Horseshoe Bay to Bowen Island, to Keats Island, to Gibsons, to Nelson Island, to Hardy Island and then across Jervis Inlet to Powell River.
If it were made to carry SkyTrains only, that would alleviate the pressure on the ALR [agricultural land reserve] in the Fraser Valley. We have lots of building space here. Be environmentally friendly and Powell Riverites would be in downtown Vancouver in less than an hour. This in turn would attract people to live here, create jobs and stop us going into retirement stagnation and bring a good cross section of the populace. Mind you, is the connection to the Lower Mainland what we all want?
Max Ferrier
Random Road
Job well done
Kudos to our local RCMP in their response to the recent incident with a person at the hospital [“CrimeStoppers On The Map,” August 28]. It is apparent from the newspaper report that the officers who responded were faced with a challenging and potentially dangerous situation. That the RCMP were able to take the time to talk the person down and to remove him from the location without injury speaks volumes about the courage, patience, understanding, compassion and skills of the people serving in our police force. We too seldom give them credit for the many fine services they provide.
The situation at the hospital also demonstrates the serious need for more comprehensive mental health services in our province. Mental health issues require more than good crisis management. The people and families who live with these issues, and the mental health staff who serve them, deserve stronger support in addressing the ongoing counselling, treatment, housing and social needs.
Wendy Barker
Fernwood Avenue
