Feature story - July 6, 2010
A Greenpeace team has returned to Canada from the Gulf of Mexico armed with firsthand knowledge and images of how the devastation caused by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is affecting communities and nature.
The team, led by B.C. director Stephanie Goodwin, spent nine days in the Gulf surveying the damage. They walked on tar ball-filled beaches and paddled kayaks through oily, peanut butter-like marshes.
Greenpeace is concerned Canada’s West Coast will face the same fate if the Canadian government approves a proposal by pipeline giant Enbridge Inc. to build twin Northern Gateway pipelines from Alberta’s tar sands to Kitimat that will bring crude oil tankers to northern B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest coastline. Greenpeace also wants Kinder Morgan to halt its long-term plan to more than double its oil pipeline capacity to its southern port in Burnaby, near Vancouver, and create a plan to reduce and eliminate its current oil tanker traffic.
“Having seen the devastation in the Gulf of Mexico firsthand, we cannot allow Enbridge or Kinder Morgan to become of the BP of British Columbia,” said Goodwin. “If Canada allows Enbridge to build its pipeline and bring oil tankers to the B.C. coast, an oil spill will happen. It’s only a matter of time.”
Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper urging him to enact a legal ban on offshore oil and gas development and crude oil tanker traffic on Canada’s West Coast. Naidoo, who recently visited B.C., told Harper protecting Canada’s coastal rainforests and Pacific waters from threats of a catastrophe caused by an oil spill is a priority for Greenpeace International.
“Canada’s West Coast is an ecological gem that is a part of the Canadian identity that was featured heavily in the 2010 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony,” wrote Naidoo. “An oil spill to this renowned marine environment would bring unwanted global attention to Canada’s environmental image.”
There are a few ways you can take action and help protect Canada’s West Coast. You can send a letter to Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel and demand he cancel the proposed Northern Gateway Pipelines project. You can also send a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper urging him to legally ban oil tanker traffic from Canada’s West Coast.
Another way to get involved is to participate in the Coast is Clear Photo Contest. Reflect on the beauty of B.C.’s coast and what would be lost in an oil spill by submitting a photo you took of the coast and a few words on what it means to you and why it’s important to protect. The winning photo will be used in Greenpeace’s Coast is Clear campaign and will be published in the autumn edition of Greenpeace Magazine.