Once again the threat of oil and gas development looms over British Colombia’s wild and beautiful Pacific coast. For over thirty years there have been both provincial and federal moratoria in place to protect the coast from oil and gas development. But now the BC government is intensively lobbying the federal government to lift their moratorium in order to allow drilling by Chevron and Shell, who explored in the areas in the sixties.
The BC government wants to access an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil and 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. But at what cost? At stake is the local marine ecosystem, on which the fishing, seafood industry and whale-watching industry all depend. More than seventy groups ranging from tourism and fishermen to First Nations and environmental groups have joined together to form the Oil Free Coast Alliance. If you want to get involved go here.