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ExxonMobil has proposed building a high/wide corridor through some of the most pristine lands in Idaho and Montana.
The third Common Sense cartoon from Gerry Hummel! Our talented cartoonist captures the bankrupting and heist of our most valuable public asset - our public energy system - as thoroughly documented in these pages in recent weeks.
Carole James may be on the right track. For the first time I can remember, the “environment” is a big issue – indeed it’s huge. And there isn’t a nook or a cranny where this government and especially this leader are not in high odour on this issue.
I have no doubt that employment will be a plus for this pipeline but we must remember that it is temporary – the damage will be permanent. And let’s be clear on this point: there will be leaks, and a long pipeline will be an open invitation to terrorism.
Bus Rapid Transit is a simple concept – you give buses a dramatic makeover that makes the rider experience much like rapid transit on rails but with a much
lower capital cost. The main elements are dedicated lanes with enforcement to keep cars out, signal priority so buses seldom have to stop at traffic lights, and all-door boarding to reduce the time
spent at stops.
The B.C. Energy Plan, portrayed by the Liberal government in 2002 as “clean energy leadership,” now appears as a thinly disguised campaign to privatize our public utility, B.C. Hydro. Backed by powerful international financing, our own government converted public assets into private hands for private profit, while raising our domestic electricity rates to pay for the swindle.
A new economic analysis by contributor Erik Andersen, drawing on available hard data, proves beyond a doubt what we have been saying all along: Gordon Campbell's private power program is unnecessary and costly to the point of threatening the very solvency of our most important crown corporation, BC Hydro - not to mention hitting the pocketbooks of every British Columbian and company doing business in our province that once relied on a steady supply of affordable public electricity.
An Economic Analysis of the Impact of the Campbell Private Power Policy on the Financial Health of BC Hydro. As the evidence of need for more electricity in BC is not apparent, the aggressive borrowing/investing/contracting with IPPs is plain wrong. It is improbable that the BC Hydro team are “financial illiterates” so there must be some other explanation; hence the word “sinister”.
You must see this eye-popping footage of a recent rare close encounter with a humpback whale off the coast of BC's spectacular Great Bear Rainforest. Whales like this one and many other coastal species are at grave risk from Enbridge's proposed pipeline to pump oil from the Tar Sands across BC and into supertankers in Kitimat, before plying some of the world's most treacherous waters en route to Asia. This awesome creature approached a boat carrying among others filmmaker Damien Gillis, and proceeded to interact playfully with the crew for 45 minutes!
Damien Gillis and CJSF's Stuart Richardson discuss the proposal to bring oil from the Tar Sands to BC's precious coast though a new Enbridge pipeline - as well as Damien's recent filming trip to the region for a forthcoming documentary on the subject.
Gerry Hummel's second contribution to The Common Sense Canadian.
Let's look at what's in it for BC. In a word, virtually nothing. This isn't a BC company employing the people of BC. There are no taxes from Enbridge. At best perhaps some "peppercorn" rent for the right-of-way. And what do we get? A disaster waiting to happen!
When BC Supreme Court ruled that the federal government must take over regulation of salmon feedlots, the intent was to bring the industry into compliance with the Constitution of Canada. But what Stephen Harper's Conservatives are trying to do instead is remove safeguards established by previous governments and open the door to privatizing the ocean, which is prohibited by the Canadian Constitution.
Let's go back to what Finance Minister Colin Hansen had to say about private energy projects and if you google "Colin Hansen power" you will see and hear for yourself. It is a tissue of fibs.
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