British Columbia is continuing its march towards the dark ages by pursuing coal fired generation plants.
To date, no coal fired power station has been built in BC, but the Liberal government plans to change that by awarding a contract to build a new coal power plant in Princeton, BC.
Coal power plants are North America's number one source of mercury. And while 1 in 12 American women of child bearing years have blood mercury level high enough to harm an unborn baby, BC has remained blissfully free of similar health concerns thanks to a legacy of responsible choice in favour of clean energy.
BC now faces a choice - to honour and continue that legacy by embracing the province's massive untapped potential for renewable energy, or cave in to business pressure and fossil fuel reliance while causing mercury pollution and a 120% increase in the province's greenhouse gas emissions.
The BC Liberal government was one of many groups active in the Sumas Energy 2 battle (SE2), which successfully stopped an American natural gas burning plant from being built directly across the border, citing air quality concerns for Canadians. Now Canadian residents are being asked to shoulder the health and climate impacts of coal power by the same government that opposed SE2.
Citizen's opposing BC's use of coal are encouraged to attend a protest rally at B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner’s office in Chilliwack on Thursday afternoon.
Details of tomorrow's rally below:
- Date: Thursday, November 23rd.
- Time: 3:30 p.m
- Location: #105 – 8615 Young Street, Chilliwack, BC
