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Pipelines nothing to do with our oil consumption

Several recent letter-writers have taken it upon themselves to chastise opponents of the Kinder Morgan pipeline for not curbing our own energy requirements. “Use the bus,” they say.

Several recent letter-writers have taken it upon themselves to chastise opponents of the Kinder Morgan pipeline for not curbing our own energy requirements. “Use the bus,” they say. “Ride your bike!”

This, no doubt, gives them the feeling of taking the moral high ground, but it has absolutely nothing to do with oil pipelines running through British Columbia. The proposed pipeline has as its only stated purpose the exportation of Canada’s most precious natural resource for the benefit of foreign consumers.

Do these finger-waggers actually think that the 400 tankers projected to leave Burnaby every year, sailing off to the west, have some function in fulfilling Canadians’ energy needs? Canada exports about five times as much oil as it imports, and has for many years. The Kinder Morgan pipeline has no other purpose than to increase this ratio dramatically, draining Canada of petroleum that might, if it were left in the ground, serve our own needs in the future.

There are many good reasons to practise energy conservation, but affecting the building of pipelines is not one of them. Canada is almost unique among advanced industrialized nations in having more energy resources than it requires. Rather than squandering this advantage for short-term profits, we should be husbanding our resources to fulfil our own needs, and certainly not endangering one of the richest environments in the world in the name of superfluous pipelines.

John Marshall Mangan

Gabriola Island