Dear editor:
How much longer is B.C. going to rely on imported coal energy from Alberta and Washington to top-up our provincial energy supply?
I’m really starting to wonder.
Importing dirty coal energy is not something we should be doing when we live in a province that is so exceptionally well suited to producing clean hydroelectricity, from big hydro dams and from smaller run-of-river projects.
Relying on imported coal energy not only places B.C. at the mercy of future energy cost fluctuations, it also gives us the false impression that our provincial energy supply is cleaner than it really is.
Just because the pollution and carbon emissions from imported coal energy are generated beyond our provincial borders doesn’t mean we are off the hook for the environmental impacts of burning coal.
Importing dirty coal energy defeats important environmental objectives we have as a society and it goes against the clean hydroelectric tradition of our province.
To my mind, if we want our conscience to be clean on the environment, then we should make every effort to ensure that our energy supply is clean too.
Sandra Robinson
Maple Ridge