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Posted December 13, 2004
Slick Politicians: Seismic Testing Under the Guise of "Science"!
Defeat the "Foot in the Door" Strategy of the Coastal Oil lobbyists! Write the federal government today!
Premier Campbell pushes for seismic testing under the guise of "science" as a strategy to lift the federal moratorium
Because 75% of the people in the public input process opposed lifting
the federal moratorium on coastal oil and gas extraction in BC, the
pro-drilling forces are pursuing a new strategy. BC's Minister of Energy
and Mines, Richard Neufeld, and BC's Premier Gordon Campbell have backed
down from their claims that "offshore oil production will be up and
running by 2010" in time for the Olympics. Now, their new approach is to
push to "fill-in the science gaps through cooperation with the federal
government". Sounds reasonable.
Waaiit...something smells fishy!
What these slick politicians are actually referring to is seismic
testing, using shock waves (underwater air gun blasts that rattle the
ocean floor with sonic booms) sent through the Pacific waters over
thousands of kilometers in order to locate potential oil and gas
reserves. This would be followed by drilling exploratory wells to
confirm the presence of oil and gas reserves. All under the guise of
doing "science".
It's putting the cart before the horse. What's the point in exploring
for oil and gas if companies can't even extract any of it due to the
moratorium? Their strategy works like this:
After companies (or Canadian taxpayers) spend hundreds of millions of
dollars to do seismic testing to locate areas with high probabilities of
oil and gas deposits, it'll be difficult by that point for the
government to refuse the drilling of "mere" exploratory wells
(especially due to increased political pressure by those lured by highly
exaggerated prospects for local employment in rural BC). In order to do
exploratory drilling, the moratorium would have to be lifted, and
commercial drilling could then ensue if there are significant finds.
Yes, more science is useful - basic science about the distribution and
characteristics of ecosystems and species in Canada's Pacific waters,
NOT seismic testing to locate oil deposits. There's enough knowledge
about offshore oil and gas development to know that part and parcel with
it are unavoidable, destructive activities (eg. seismic testing, chronic
pollution through drilling fluids and muds, major CO2 emissions, and the
statistical eventuality of a major oil spill) that no science or
technology today can change.
Seismic testing is one of the most destructive aspects of coastal oil
and gas development. It deafens whales, kills fish and invertebrates,
and drives whales and fish away from their feeding areas and migration
routes. A recent study by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Nova
Scotia shows that seismic testing causes the hemorrhaging and detachment
of ovaries of female crabs. Whales in Mexico, the Galapagos, Brazil and
recently in Australia and New Zealand have been fatally stranded likely
as a result of seismic testing. Gray Whales off the eastern Russian
coast were observed by scientists to become emaciated from lack of food
where seismic testing was undertaken.
Exploratory drilling also results in the discharge of toxic drill
cuttings and fluids, and entails a heightened risk of a "blow out" (oil
gushing into the ocean from around the well-head).
The BC government is currently exerting huge pressure on the federal
government to "work together" to undertake a process to "fill-in science
gaps" - primarily, for the federal government to issue permits for
seismic testing. Let's not fall for this ploy. Now is a crucial time for
you to speak up to the government on this specific topic! If you've
already written to them about banning coastal oil development in BC in
general, please write again on this particular issue of "seismic
testing" under the guise of "science".
- Ken Wu and Pearl Gottschalk
Western Canada Wilderness Committee - Victoria
Please WRITE and PHONE ASAP!
Write a letter or email (a hardcopy letter is most effective) to the
federal government on whether or not you:
- Want the government to permanently ban coastal oil and gas development
off Canada's Pacific Coast INCLUDING SEISMIC TESTING AND EXPLORATORY
DRILLING
- Believe that seismic testing is not an acceptable method to "fill in
science gaps" about the Pacific ocean - it's a strategy to get the
moratorium eventually lifted
- Believe the federal government is obligated to adhere to the results
of their own public input process, where 75% of over 3500 of oral and
written submissions opposed lifting the moratorium
Be sure to include your address so they can figure out which federal riding you're in! Write to:
Prime Minister Paul Martin
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Fax: 613-941-6900
email: pm@pm.gc.ca
Also, as importantly, write and telephone:
Minister of Natural Resources John Efford
(telephone (613)992-4133, fax
(613)992-7277, email: Efford.J@parl.gc.ca)
Minister of Environment Stephane Dion
(telephone(613)996-5789, fax
(613)996-6562, email: Dion.S@parl.gc.ca)
Minister of Industry David Emerson
(telephone(613)995-9001,
fax(613)943-0219, email: Emerson.D@parl.gc.ca)
Same mailing addresses as Paul Martin. (no postage needed if mailed in Canada)
As, write to your local federal Member of Parliament (MP) who you can
find at:
http://www.gc.ca/directories/direct_e.html
or call your local MP toll-free at: 1-866-599-4999
Also, you may want to thank the federal Liberal David Anderson (MP for
Victoria) and NDP MP Nathan Cullen (MP for the Skeena/Bulkley riding in
northern BC) for relentlessly working to maintain the moratorium, at:
Honourable Nathan Cullen
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6
Cullen.N@parl.gc.ca
Honourable David Anderson
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6
anderd@parl.gc.ca
AND if you haven't already, don't forget to sign our online petition to
keep Canada's Pacific coast oil-free at: www.bcoilslick.org
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