Resistance is possible and beautiful
October 25, 2017 1:25 PM Subscribe
There are times in human history — and this is surely one of them — when there comes a sort of collective holding of the breath, an unwilling suspension of belief (to mangle Coleridge) in our leaders, our institutions, and the very idea that we might have some sort of shared purpose in this mess-making we call living.Ian Gill writes on resistances and victories in Skeena River country, British Columbia.
It's been a very rough few years for that part of the world. The Northern Gateway oil pipeline project review and challenges lasted from on 2005 through the final verdict in 2016. That was a very draining process as well---though focused on the Kitimat arm, it affected the Skeena coastal areas too. Then the risks from shipping illustrated by the drifting Simushir in 2014 and the MV North Star in 2015. And lately all the LNG terminal projects.
Of great concern was getting in an actual law to cover the crude oil tanker moratorium for the northern BC coast rather than just the informal agreement that had held previously. It's not perfect---I think container traffic has to be next---but it's a start at least. Some really hard issues like harbours of refuge need to be worked out, for example. And even so, things like the Bella Bella spill still have happened.
But it's important to recognize how important the people are to making all of these things happen. Sometimes it seems like all day is pushing back, keeping the companies, governments and other experts honest. It's great to be able to recognize those who work so hard on this.
posted by bonehead at 1:58 PM on October 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
Of great concern was getting in an actual law to cover the crude oil tanker moratorium for the northern BC coast rather than just the informal agreement that had held previously. It's not perfect---I think container traffic has to be next---but it's a start at least. Some really hard issues like harbours of refuge need to be worked out, for example. And even so, things like the Bella Bella spill still have happened.
But it's important to recognize how important the people are to making all of these things happen. Sometimes it seems like all day is pushing back, keeping the companies, governments and other experts honest. It's great to be able to recognize those who work so hard on this.
posted by bonehead at 1:58 PM on October 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
I saw Wade Davis talk about this a few years back at the Banff Mountain Festival, so glad to see things have turned out for the better.
posted by furtive at 7:30 PM on October 25, 2017
posted by furtive at 7:30 PM on October 25, 2017
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posted by Oyéah at 1:49 PM on October 25, 2017