I just drew this cartoon:
Big thanks to Bill Black for making me mad and sad with this article the Halifax Chronicle Herald published today
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/530204-black-when-it-comes-to-fracking-enough-study-consultation
Yes, yes, Bill, enough with the study and consultation already lets get to work pumping those carcinogens into the ground to extract some gas. Never mind the fact that relative to other provinces Nova Scotia has a tiny land mass and a population density second only to PEI. Natural gas all the way! Forget about any sort of development that might be sustainable and earth friendly, um, like organic farming, ecoforestry, value added forestry products, help for landowners wishing to construct solar arrays or microhydro projects to sell power back to the grid (uh oh, Emera wouldn't like that at all!)*, IT, other technology, marketing the province as a haven for retiring baby boomers, tourism, finding ways to promote and develop the province's creative class... bah... forget all that and let's frack! and fill the province with mink farms and salmon pens while we're at it! Yes!
from Bill's article:
"Although there have been isolated problems, as occur with any resource industry, fracking has been largely safe and is responsible for revitalizing many parts of rural North America. "
ah, so Bill says it is largely safe. Good maybe we can start by fracking in his yard then. I hope someone will give Bill a copy of "GasLand" (the documentary) as well as a map of Canada so he can notice how small Nova Scotia is, and how full of fresh waterways.
Maybe he has a point about not studying it too much. I quit my career as a biologist in BC when I realized I was a 'biostitute' and that corporations will pay people fat contracts in order to say they spent x amount on the environment. And then they'll put the report on a shelf and go ahead and do whatever they were going to do in the first place. So I decided to give up trying to be a 'conservation biologist' and I moved to rural NS to try and live off my ecological footprint, and protect my own bit of land. So far so good, but I really hope nobody fracks with my delicious well water!
since writing this post I've emailed both Bill Black and the editor of the Herald, here's the note I sent with my post.
*****
Dear Bill Black and Herald editors,
I was greatly disturbed by Bill's pro-fracking article in today's paper. I've published my response with a cartoon I drew here on my blog and will copy/paste below in case any part of it is suitable for the letters section. In fact I'll add this letter to my blog post.
Bill, I'd encourage to do some more google searching about fracking, its impacts, and the enormous volumes of freshwater it uses and pollutes, and watch some documentaries. I believe this is a terribly shortsighted thing to wish on this province. I have lived through 2 economic booms, one in Vancouver and one in Regina before moving to Nova Scotia, and I'd be pleased to meet with you in person to share with you further some of my own ideas for sustainable development for this province. I think Nova Scotia has the potential for a much brighter future than what mere resource extraction and depletion would provide. I think if you could see this and understand the problems with fracking you might change your mind.
Sincerely,
Susan Paczek.
BSc McGill - Biology, MSc University of British Columbia - conservation biology, former registered professional biologist (RPBio)
Wait, it gets better, I've decided to include some links on this blog to compelling resources that point out issues with fracking:
http://www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/fracking-natural-gas-affects-water-quality
http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/
http://www.dangersoffracking.com/
I could go on and on but you get the point...
* maybe Nova Scotia Power is more on the ball than I thought, see
http://www.tomorrowspower.ca/
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