B.C. should get in on the act

Calgary Sun, July 16, 2010

Re: The billboard ads urging Americans not to visit Alberta. B.C. conservation groups might want to take a page from U.S. environmental organizations and adopt a similar campaign urging British Columbians to “rethink” travelling to Alberta.

As the Alberta government, oilsands industry and Enbridge Inc. attempt to shove the “Northern Gateway” pipeline down our throats in B.C., maybe it’s time we launched a boycott of our own.

Why should British Columbians be willing to put our magnificent north coast at risk so Alberta can reap profits from shipping “the world’s dirtiest oil” to Asian and American markets?

And sorry, we’re not falling for the full-page hyperbole-filled Enbridge ads in newspapers across B.C. trumpeting how Northern Gateway will solve unemployment, build sustainable communities and even make B.C.’s rocky north coast safer for all marine traffic.

Chris Genovali

Raincoast Conservation

Sidney, B.C.

You can help

Raincoast’s in-house scientists, collaborating graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors make us unique among conservation groups. We work with First Nations, academic institutions, government, and other NGOs to build support and inform decisions that protect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on them. We conduct ethically applied, process-oriented, and hypothesis-driven research that has immediate and relevant utility for conservation deliberations and the collective body of scientific knowledge.

We investigate to understand coastal species and processes. We inform by bringing science to decision-makers and communities. We inspire action to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats.