Foes don’t see way to keep coast safe if tankers spill
By Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist July 24, 2012
Environmental groups are dismissing as meaningless the B.C. government’s announcement of conditions that must be met before the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline gets the go-ahead.
There is no way that government can be given any hard guarantees that B.C.’s fragile northern coastlines will not be soiled by an oil spill as tankers take bitumen from Kitimat to Asian markets through rough seas and narrow inlets, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation said.
Requirements for a world-leading marine oil spill response, prevention and recovery system for the B.C. coastline cannot be met, said Paul Paquet, Raincoast senior scientist.
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.
