B.C. Liberals and NDP not honest about fracking problems

B.C. Liberals and NDP not honest about fracking problems by Daniel Tseghay and Andrew Weaver, December 3, 2012, Straight.com
“The introduction of shale gas extraction and hydraulic fracking methods in British Columbia could present the largest and most destructive industrial force that our waters have ever known,” warns a petition by the Fort Nelson First Nation. With over 24,000 signatories, it’s clearly resonating with people. The petition’s request for the provincial government to consider the effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and to make a greater effort to inform the public about the process should be taken seriously. … When fracking occurs, substantial amounts of methane leak out. Viewed over a 20-year time horizon, and on a molecule-per-molecule basis, these so-called fugitive emissions are 72 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Considering the potential contamination of well water and subsequently profound human health concerns, the shifting of gases and chemicals long buried deep in the ground to the surface, the reduction of air quality, and the fact that we are resorting to increasingly inaccessible forms of nonrenewable resources which will only accelerate the warming of the planet—fracking in B.C. must be reassessed.

The Fort Nelson First Nation’s petition is addressed to Christy Clark, the premier and leader of the B.C. Liberal Party, but it could have also been sent to the leader of the B.C. NDP, Adrian Dix. The B.C. NDP, for instance, expresses emphatic opposition to the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline while supporting the planned 463-kilometre Pacific Trail Pipelines project—which will transport gas extracted by fracking. The B.C. NDP critic for energy, mines, and petroleum resources, John Horgan, mistakenly diminishes the severity of fracking, favourably comparing the shale gas it produces to oil. “One of the arguments being made,” he told the Straight this summer, “is that they’re both the same, and they’re not.” He and the B.C. NDP support the expansion of shale gas fracking in B.C., “provided that appropriate regulatory regimes were in place.” But there are good reasons to believe that such regimes will not be in place. “British Columbia issued detailed regulations [in 2010] that limit where and when companies can drill and set rigorous environmental standards,” states an article published by ProPublica, “but also gave its Oil and Gas Commission the authority to exempt drillers from virtually all of these provisions.” This appears to be a glaring conflict that the B.C. NDP fails to inform the public about. Both the NDP and the Liberal party justify fracking and liquefied natural gas (LNG) with some of the same dubious arguments. They claim we’ll see jobs created. But, most of the jobs are in the short-term construction phase and will likely be filled by offshore or out-of-province migrant workers. These will not be sustained, or even plentiful, jobs. Compare this to the B.C. film industry, for example, which provides four times as many jobs as the oil/gas and mining sectors combined. Neither party takes seriously the industry’s fiscal instability. The price of natural gas is dropping because of a glut of natural gas in the market. This is likely to only get worse. The U.S. Department of Energy notes that China possesses the world’s largest recoverable shale gas resources, with more than three times than that contained in all of Canada. Even the U.S. has more than twice the shale gas resources than Canada. The reason why B.C. is in fiscal difficulties now is because of overestimates in royalty forecasts from the oil and gas sector.

Finally, neither the B.C. Liberals nor the NDP are being honest with the public about the serious effects that fracking and LNG will have on the environment. … The B.C. Greens want a moratorium on new fracking projects. … Echoing the Fort Nelson First Nation, we also want to communicate clearly and consistently with the citizens of British Columbia about the reality of fracking and LNG.[Emphasis added]

This entry was posted in Global Frac News. Bookmark the permalink.