Editor, The Times:
This wonderful country Canada is now turning into a thuggish petro-state with all the problems that entails. — George Monbiot.
Well, the recent events in New Brunswick certainly bears this out!
Yes, I know there's the hue and cry about law and order, keep the peace, etc.
But here are the facts as I see them. A foreign (U.S. of A) energy company with the blessing no doubt of Premier David Alward and the Chamber of Commerce gang, want to the frack the bottom out of tiny New Brunswick for the riches in natural gas.
The first time I read of the horrors of fracking was in Rolling Stone (where else? Our corporate media being either silent or completely in praise of this dubious exercise in extracting energy).
As Rolling Stone pointed out, in areas of the United States where there had extensive fracking, groundwater has been polluted beyond any use. There were even unexplainable seismic tremors in the area afterward.
In other words, in order to get 'clean burning natural gas,' the powers that be are willing to turn the groundwater black and the area unlivable. They say the Easter Islanders were stupid.
Last Saturday I went with a friend to Adams River to count fish. Emerging from this rather fruitless quest along the trail I spotted an SUV pulling into the parking lot a large canoe perched on top — in large bold letters along the side STOP FRACKING.
Coincidence? Perhaps a moment of Jungian synchronicity? I walked over and started a conversation with the couple.
It turned out that they lived in New York state where extensive fracking has gone on for some time.
The picture they portrayed was not very pretty. Those freedom loving Americans have allowed fracking right in their backyards, right next to schools, hospitals, etc.
Freedom to own slaves (the late George Carlin), freedom from Obamacare and now freedom to frack the bowels of mother earth.
Perhaps we need freedom from fracking.
This is a good place to start.
Dennis Peacock
Clearwater, B.C.