Dear editor,
As an elected official, I believe that decision-makers should consider not only the views of today's citizens but also the interests of future generations who must live with the consequences of our decisions.
The Raven Coal Mine proposal has brought forth opinions from those who are attracted by a decade or two of economic benefits and from those who are worried about potential impacts. But when we consider the proposal from the perspective of future generations, the choice becomes a no-brainer: leave the coal in the ground!
Two hundred years have passed during which coal and other fossil fuels have made an industrialized world possible. In only another 118 years, world coal reserves will be mined out at the present rate of extraction.
Canada has only 0.8 per cent of the world's coal reserves. Well over half the world's metallurgical coal is located closer to Japan and Korea (the proposed market for the Raven mine).
Our local coal will be far more valuable to future generations than it is to us. They may have better mining technology than we do (and may have an entity more appropriate than a very junior company to do the mining). They may well have different priorities.
It seems to me that our priority, after 200 years of intense development and exploitation, is to pause and address the restoration required after this long binge, rather than creating more mess.
Top of the list, is to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions (instead of generating more GHGs by transporting fossil fuel great distances). Not far behind is creating a steady economy based on sustainable practices (instead of the the boom and bust cycle that goes with extracting and depleting non-renewable resources).
Having said this, I do remind myself that we cannot have it both ways. We cannot oppose environmental exploitation and at the same time expect to enjoy an excessive level of material benefits that are dependent upon it.
Living in a beautiful, bountiful place, we have a better opportunity than most to simplify and still have a high quality of life. And in the process we pass on a better set of choices to future generations.
Tony Law
Editor's note: Tony Law is a director for Hornby Island on the Islands Trust council.
