LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
- July 15, 2008
To The Editor;
There appears to be a number of Princetonians 'sitting on the fence' re: the coalbed methane gas issue. The typical response from these people is, "I don't know anything about this topic. I believe that everyone is responsible for his or her enlightenment."
Most people have access to a computer; I would suggest to these people to 'google' the topic and become informed. I encourage people to attend informational meetings and most definitely attend the pending meeting with Petrobank at the end of the month.
An exact date has not been given, but I am sure that the notice will be carried in the newspaper.
Those waiting for jobs and benefits will have a wait. When I attended the Petrobank open house, I had a conversation with one of their representatives. The conversation went something like this: ME: Tell me more about coalbed methane gas. REP: Everything is safe. The well is encased in concrete, some water is used for extraction and some water is produced in the process. In Alberta the extracted water is piped to an area where it is injected into the ground (a holding well).
ME: So what do you propose to do with the water that is extracted from any drilling in Princeton? Is it feasible to pipe it to Alberta? REP: No, it would not be cost effective. We will make a request from the BC government that we be allowed to set up an area where the extracted water will be injected.
ME: What do these wells look like?
We walked to a poster that showed a capped well.
ME: Is that it?
REP: Oh, yes. It does not mar the landscape.
ME: What kind of jobs will be created for Princeton?
REP: None, or perhaps one or two.
ME: What about benefits?
REP: None, but your provincial government stands to gain from our industry.
I didn't ask this question, but the answer is obvious. Where will the gas go?
It will go across the border to the US market.
What does Princeton stand to gain? It stands to gain a desecrated landscape and compromised water supply. Our aquifer will be jeopardized.
To me it's a no-brainer. Protect our water. Say no to coalbed methane gas exploration and drilling in our valley.
Environmentally yours,
M. Masiel, Princeton
To The Editor;
What's in a name?
Does the fact that Petrobank no longer refers to their product as coalbed methane, but instead calls it coalbed gas or unconventional gas, make it's extraction any less harmful to the environment?
Does this change of name reduce the tens of thousands of gallons of water a day that is pumped from each extraction well? Calling the fossil fuel
'gas' instead of 'methane' surely doesn't change the fact that the individual extraction wells will be connected by roads, pipelines and serviced by power pumps and compressors.
The name change doesn't change the fact that damage to our fragile, porous aquifer, in a bio-region that gets an average of eight inches of rainfall a year, is almost guaranteed to be damaged by gas leakage, saltwater pollution, fraccing and drilling lubricants.
Nobody is going to care if they call it 'methane' or 'gas' when our local environment that attracts a horde of tourists every year is suddenly industrialized and ruined by this unwanted industry.
Nobody will feel better if you call it 'unconventional gas' when ranching and forestry become a thing of the past in the Upper Similkameen because the aquifer has been polluted and depleted.
When small towns face off against multinational giants, and water is the ultimate prize, tension is bound to run high. Landowner concerns about the safety and continuing supply of groundwater are far from being resolved in any location in North America where coalbed methane, or coalbed gas, has been commercially extracted. Call it anything you like...it's the same dirty business, and it sucks the water right out of your aquifer.
Sincerely,
Jim Robinson, Princeton
