What lies beneath by Tony Seskus and Renata D’Aliesio, Front Page Calgary Herald, November 15, 2006.
“We have pipelines, we have power lines, but there’s no way on earth we want this,” says Gary Norman, a rancher from east of Bowden who opposes coal bed methane development. Earlier this year, hundreds of anxious residents packed town halls to try to understand what the industry will mean for them. “Am I a landowner or am I a guinea pig?” rural resident Jessica Ernst told one meeting of landowners in March. Ernst, who lives near coal bed methane wells in central Alberta, has gained a certain notoriety for being able to create a burst of flame off the gas in her well water. … “It’s providing opportunities for Albertans that jurisdictions of the world would love to have,” adds Alberta Energy Minister Greg Melchin.
Photo by Tim Fraser, Calgary Herald