To the Editor,
The reason all that fossil fuel infrastructure was built is because the corporations and governments that built it lied to themselves, and us, for all these years. They lied that it was safe and clean. They have known for decades (as far back as the 1950s) that unchecked use of fossil fuels could have catastrophic consequences.
The consequences are here, but money is more important to them than the health or safety of their customers, citizens, towns, or the planet.
No citizen should feel shame for being trapped in a system that has been presented to us with no alternatives. The shame belongs much higher up.
We can all do what we can (and many are!) in our own ways to reduce our fossil fuel use, but only government and corporations have the power to make the big changes that we now need.
I’m glad Mr. Thomas Gowan brought up his point on the eve of a provincial election where every party likely to form government claims LNG as some sort of solution. That’s simply a lie and lies should not be allowed to stand, be it on a billboard or from a microphone.
It’s voters' responsibility to call them out. The quicker all political parties are forced to present and implement plans to transition our economy and workers to zero-carbon-emission industries, the better for Thomas and me, British Columbia, and the rest of the planet.
Chris Alemany,
Port Alberni
