In case you haven't heard, the BC govt. is considering a proposal by FortisBC to build new expanded LNG infrastructure @ Tilbury LNG -- another fraught political megaproject that promises increased shipping for the fracked gas along with risky methane emissions & outsize GHGs, as well as exacerbated Climate imbalance -- right between densely populated Richmond & Vancouver, on the Fraser River's threatened habitat of our last few orca & salmon populations. While the public commenting period is over, the govt's decision is delayed -- so you can still express your opposition to this disastrous project thru StandEarth's letter page.. Click link:
Tell the BC government to reject the Tilbury LNG jetty (stand.earth)
Here's my own edited letter -- unapologetically lengthy! Cuz this BC govt needs to WAKE out of its corporate-captured fog & realize exactly what's being proposed by Tilbury LNG..
Dear {contact_data~salutation}{contact_data~lastName},
As a B.C. resident I am appalled that you & your government continue to ignore the overwhelming mass of evidence of the disastrous impacts that will -- not might -- result from approving the Tilbury LNG expansion project, for which this new tanker dock ('Jetty') awaits your immediate permission to ruin BC's future.
How is it that, having received reams of detailed expert opposition to this project's undeniable harms, your govt has not already rejected this proposal & denied FortisBC permits to build another ecocidal monument to climate catastrophe?
I am tempted to reassert here -- again -- Tilbury LNG's significant cumulative effects & fundamental flaws (including: Project splitting, Failure to address GHG targets, Methane emissions 86X deadlier than C02, Economic viability incl. dearth of data thereof, Marine shipping impacts incl. likely extinction of southern resident killer whales & salmon populations, Impacts on Indigenous rights & title incl. non-adherence to UNDRIP...) but blah blah right? You've already read -- & apparently decided to ignore -- the numerous persuasive public comments detailing these ills, including my own posted input, on your govt.'s Tilbury LNG web page.
No, it's clear what you need to read -- not reported by our captured corporate media -- addresses your govt's baseless hopes that future LNG sales will justify BC's expanded natural gas production... & your repeated claims -- echoed by PM Justin Trudeau -- that BC produces “the world’s cleanest natural gas.”
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The fiction of BC producing clean fossil fuel originated with Premier Christy Clark’s Liberals -- a claim as dishonest as the one about LNG rewarding the province with one trillion dollars in a “BC Prosperity fund.” I.E. irrefutably FALSE...
National Geographic examined “the cleanest liquefied natural gas in the world” & concluded it was a hypothetical notion repeatedly promised by political leaders to build public support for the fossil fuel.. Quoted here:
"There’s no such thing as “clean natural gas.” It’s a fossil fuel, and it releases climate-disrupting greenhouse gases all the way up and down the chain of production, from the wellhead to the burners on your stovetop or in your furnace.
"This is especially true for LNG. In order to ship it, energy companies must first chill the gas to -160°C (-256°F) in giant coastal plants that are essentially industrial-size freezers. The process consumes vast quantities of energy. After it’s shipped across the sea, companies then return the LNG to its gaseous state before shipping it off to customers.
"Because of these extra steps, LNG carries a whopper of an energy and carbon footprint compared to unadulterated natural gas." [End National Geographic quote]
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Both natural gas producers & transportation companies conceal the true climate impact of LNG. The New York Times reported that shipping produces as much C02 as all of America’s coal plants combined. The newspaper explained why regulation of shipping emissions by the powerful International Maritime Organization (IMO) is so ineffective:
"The I.M.O. is a regulatory body that is run in concert with the industry it regulates. Shipbuilders, oil companies, miners, chemical manufacturers and others with huge financial stakes in commercial shipping are among the delegates appointed by many member nations. They sometimes even speak on behalf of governments…
"Next week, the organization is scheduled to enact its first greenhouse gas rules since Paris — regulations that do not cut emissions, have no enforcement mechanism and leave key details shrouded in secrecy…
"Although some suggest LNG powered ships could moderate transportation harm, the International Council on Clean Transportation determined there is no climate benefit from tankers burning LNG, regardless of ship engine technology." [End New York Times quote]
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The Natural Resources Defense Council states:
"Historically, gas has been considered a “bridge fuel”— cleaner and with lower carbon dioxide emissions than coal or oil— and a potential tool to help address climate change.
"However, LNG is neither clean nor particularly low in emissions. In addition, the massive investments in new infrastructure to support this industry, including pipelines, liquefaction facilities, export terminals, and tankers, lock in fossil fuel dependence, making the transition to actual low-carbon and no-carbon energy even more difficult.
"Our analysis shows that using LNG to replace other, dirtier fossil fuels, is not an effective strategy to reduce climate-warming emissions..." [End NRDC quote]
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Your govt. is therefore considering inflicting a dirty polluting megaproject on hapless Lower Mainland residents, which will undoubtedly cause health problems & bring deadly risks into the lives of already-stressed BCers. How grossly unfair..
Clearly, FortisBC don't care!
You must also realize that the EAO has taken steps to ignore clear evidence of project splitting & has accepted unsubstantiated & misleading representations made by FortisBC about the supposed climate benefits of the Jetty.
I implore you to take into account all of the information before you, to arrive at the only decent decision: for all these reasons, Tilbury LNG (& this Jetty) should be assessed as NOT in the public interest & should be denied all permits.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Sarah (Saz) Chesterman
PS. For more complete & updated info about methane, check out this article on Norm Farrell's excellent 'In-Sights' blog:
in-sights.ca/2022/02/08/economic-interests-rank-higher-than-human-life/
Time's running out for systemic changes to make aLL BC sectors eco-safe & sustainable -- not just talk about 'Just Transition' while pushing status quo, as BC NDP & BC Liberal Party do (& BC Conservative Party treat #ClimateAction like the joke THEY are). In case you didn't notice, the BC Green Party -- led by Sonia Furstenau, MLA for Cowichan Valley -- is the sole entity to consistently hold Govt. to task on its #ClimateAction failures, proving she & her Greens work tirelessly for US & not wealthy corps driven solely by profits. So Sonia & Co. deserve our support -- & esp. our VOTES -- for the chance to deliver Greens' Science-backed V I S I O N for #RealReconciliation & the sustainable future we aLL want!! So E M E R G E from your #MSM-fed FOG & learn the DISCONCERTING TRUTH of the BC Govt's 150 years of abrogation of duty, bigotry & malfeasance--->that still prevails today with ecocidal policies that promise only fast-tracked Climate disasters (heat domes, wildfires➕➕) boosted by increasingly corporate-aligned press. Despite #MSM's baseless derision, the BC Green Party stands out with the integrity & smarts to lead BC out of this mess & transition to a livable, prosperous future for every BCer: Science says so, & science doesn'T lie..🐸🐛🐝🦉
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