Editor:
Re: No champagne corks quite yet, Keith Baldrey column, NOW, Sept. 5
Speaking to the tanker traffic concerns raised by Keith Baldrey … it's only a few per cent increase in tanker traffic.
If you spend a few per cent more than your annual household budget on that new gadget, what harm does that cause? We are seeing record debt endangering families.
If you pump some more carbon into the atmosphere, it’s only a few per cent. We had that attitude when we passed the climate stable limit at 350 ppm. Now we are at 410 ppm and the effects are tangible.
We are only tripling the size of the tank farm - only a few thousand more people could die as a result (of an explosion). We make more people every day.
We are only downgrading the air quality in Burrard Inlet by a few per cent with the new tanker terminal. It is already marginal at best – what’s a few more carcinogens?
What's a few more oil spills going to do to endangered wetlands and aquifers? What's a few more tankers going to do to the chances of an oil spill, the extinction of a species?
How much is too much, Keith?
We as a species must reduce consumption. If we all took the attitude that we will use a few-per-cent less every day, not more, we would have a future for our grandkids.
Barry Bennett, Burnaby
