Don't let them drill off B.C.'s coast
Chris Bordeleau, Martlet, Dec 02, 2009
The media loves to challenge Canada's position on climate change. With the Copenhagen conference less than two weeks away, swarms of articles have been written on the subject.While curbing the pollution caused by the Alberta oil sands and the reduction of carbon emissions have dominated these articles, the long-standing debate over offshore oil drilling in B.C. seems to have been left out.
It is estimated that 9.8 billion barrels of crude oil exist beneath B.C.'s coastal waters, from the Queen Charlotte Islands, to the southern tip of Vancouver Island.
Even though the federal government has the power to sign international treaties like the Kyoto Protocol, legislation affecting energy policy is under provincial jurisdiction.
And while the federal government has been taking all the heat, the provincial government has been quietly selling exploration rights around the province.
In 2008, the province raised $2.4 billion on the sale of exploration rights. This raises speculation about the future of B.C.'s offshore oil ban, which was established in 1971. Ownership of these rights gives oil companies considerable lobbying power.
Combine this with the fact that Alberta oil companies are beginning to focus on B.C., and the movement to have the ban lifted is gaining strength. But this movement is nothing new.
The provincial government tried to lift the ban during the 1980s, but hopes of success were trampled when the Exxon Valdez ran aground, spilling 40 million litres of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound.
The excess water from oil drilling contains harmful chemicals, such as benzene and mercury, which would threaten the already endangered wild salmon populations along the coast.
The oil rigs themselves emit numerous air pollutants, such as nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide, which remain in the atmosphere and have greater warming potential than carbon dioxide.
And unlike Newfoundland, who reaps the benefits of oil production with oil platforms located hundreds of kilometers off-shore, B.C.'s oil reserves are in close proximity to the coastline.
With the extreme weather along the coast, the potential for an oil spill would be high. The Exxon Valdez spread oil over 2,400 kilometers of coastline, contaminating both ocean and land-based ecosystems.
While the federal government will be responsible for negotiating the next climate change agreement in Copenhagen, it will be up to all levels of government to cooperate in implementing it.
Just as Canada failed to meet its Kyoto requirements, it will fail to reach any future requirements if all levels of government are striving toward different goals.
Allowing offshore oil production in B.C. would make matters worse. It would actively contribute to the excessive use of fossil fuels, increase pollution of coastal waters and place vulnerable ecosystems (such as the Great Bear Rainforest, and our beloved Spirit Bear) within range of potential oil spills.
Accepting these associated risks would only further Canada's reputation for refusing to act on environmental protection.
Let's not.
The Martlet- University of Victoria's Independent Newspaper