Kent South NO SHALE GAS Kent Sud

Democratic gathering in Kent County NB

Sackville Tribune-Post

7 July 2013

Kent County was the location, this weekend, of a grassroots democratic gathering of 300 people determined to let the provincial government know that shale gas exploration is not the appropriate choice of industry with which to solve the economic problems of the province.  The gathering, a coalition of Anglophone, Francophone and Indigenous peoples rejected, once again, an industry that not only threatens our health and the environment, but an industry that must be prevented from establishing itself in New Brunswick in 2013.

In less than a year there have been three "super storms" in North America that have caught media attention for weeks at a time;  hurricane Sandy in New York, the recent tornado in Moore, Oklahoma and last months flood in Alberta.  People used to talk about the storm of the century, then about the worst storm in decades.  Since the year 2000, however, storms of all kinds have been more destructive, more frequent and have occurred over larger areas than ever before.  What was called global warming twenty years ago has been renamed  catastrophic climate change in the 21th century.

The urgent need to return to the status quo, as soon as possible after a disaster, as seen in N.Y. and most recently in Calgary, gives the impression that governments are in control of the situation.  Storms come and go and we can cope with and "prepare" for future storms in the years ahead with basic infrastructure changes.  There is no mention of climate change, catastrophic or otherwise.  

Scientists now know that the reason for climate change is the amount of carbon dioxide that is introduced into the atmosphere by producing and burning fossil fuels.  For the earth to remain in balance we should not exceed 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide.  We are now closing in on 400ppm and with no attempt by governments to reduce emissions by producing and burning less oil and gas we are facing the reality of more super storms in the future, clearly on an annual basis.  

Insurance companies won't pay for the damage to property that these storms cause.  Provincial and municipal governments will have to spend billions of dollars over time to repair the damage caused by these natural disasters.  

As 400ppm grows incrementally during the next two decades storms will increase in size and intensity, more ice will melt at the poles, sea levels will rise, oceans will become more acidic and droughts will cause food shortages and migrations.  It's clear what we need to do. Countries world-wide need to reduce current oil and gas exploration projects and place moratoriums on all other plans to drill in the future.  What to do about the 20 trillion dollars underground in the form of potential oil and gas income (potential income that is already reflected on the stock market) hasn't been put in context yet by industry or government.  If the industry continues to burn fossil fuels investors will do well, but eventually all of us inhabiting the planet will pay the price.  From this point forward we can't have both.

All of which brings me back to New Brunswick.  In this summer of solidarity many people want to stop the shale gas industry before it starts, joining with others around the world in an effort to reduce carbon emissions where we live.

Donna Mclellan for the

Tantramar Alliance Against Hydrofracking