John Harding’s Dec. 1 editorial (‘Goods to market’) points out just part of the problem that environmentalists are oblivious to.
This country, and most countries, have the same agenda for adding to almost all the world’s environmental problems, and that is the necessity of larger populations for economic growth. That automatically creates more cars, more homes, more roads, more infrastructures; basically more of everything detrimental to all other species.
These protesters come up with pie-in-the-sky alternatives that are not only economically unfeasbile, but that nobody wants in their own backyards.
Solar power, wind power, nuclear power, etc. are all worse alternatives than the cleaner and cheaper power that will come from Site C dam.
The body of water that will be created will destroy or pollute nothing, it will simply cover a miniscule portion of this province’s land. We are fortunate in this province to have a new source of hydro power available.
One only has to drive around our small town of Parksville to see the destruction caused by population growth every year.
Pristine forests and meadows are razed to the bare ground by bulldozers so that new subdivisions can be built for more houses for more people who will need more cars, roads, stores, etc.
This is a re-occuring pattern that will continue as long as population growth continues. We see how Nature corrects overpopulation of certain species, but we have yet to see how that will happen to the most environmentally-destructive species on this planet, mankind.
The human population growth is also accompanied by expanding consumption growth per capita.
The average Canadian family consumes far more energy for far more gadgets and “necessities” than the average family of less than 100 years ago.
So what part of this scenario can’t the protestors understand?
Future growth means more demand for electricity, oil, vehicles, housing, roads, infrastructure; more everything.
And these same environmental protestors, just like you and me, are consumers of all this more everything.
Tony Markle
Parksville