Dear editor,
I am writing as a concerned citizen of British Columbia.
I am not a left wing environmental freak. I am a solid citizen of B.C.
I own my own home, I have a full-time job and pay taxes. I am a mother, a grandmother, a worker, and a volunteer.
I love this province as much as I love my family. This is my home and I am passionate about protecting it.
I am worried about government's disconnect with nature. I know some of Premier Christy Clark's MLAs live in the country, and I would hope they all take as many opportunities as they can to connect with nature.
I hope she takes time, too, to take a walk in the forest, to snorkel with salmon, to hike a mountain and stand surrounded by wildflowers and birdsong.
I live in Fanny Bay. I moved here for the peace and tranquility, for the connection with nature, for the sweetest drinking water I have ever tasted, for a place where eagles fly so close over my head, I can hear the air moving around their wings.
It is paradise, no question. Please watch this video, which comes from the heart, and see if you can find that connection we all share here — http://youtube/65MlHYIV2XU.
It is not just Fanny Bay we fight for. It is a planet in crisis.
The premier asks us what we stand for. I have spent hundreds of hours researching the negative (and positive) aspects of coal mining, but I would be happy to spend just as much time exploring other opportunities for British Columbia.
Just off the cuff, how about green energy, how about fresh drinking water, how about growing fish in pens on land where they don't impact wild salmon, how about putting the same carbon tax on coal for people who import coal from B.C., and then how about using that carbon tax to support green energy, how about bio-fuels, how about standing up for the environment and people's health instead of the economy and big business, how about organic food, how about encouraging people to get healthy?
These are just a few ideas. No, they may not pay $100k a year like the coal companies sing in their siren songs, but they would be good, honest, sustainable jobs. We consume too much and we are writing cheques the planet can't cash.
GDP as we know it is not sustainable. Maybe we don't all need a bunch of junk from K-Mart.
Maybe we could live more simple lives and leave something good for our children.
People are starting to wake up. We are watching catastrophic events all around us and we can't carry on with our heads in the sand.
Without pressure, there is no change.
Lynne Wheeler,
Fanny Bay