"Think It" again...
The essence of sustainability is to see that our historic world view of "what is good for me is good for everyone" must be replaced with our ability to embrace "what is good for everyone is good for me." To get anywhere near this inversion of our habits takes a radical shift from being self-centred to being other-centred.
If we really think we are going to do something unique in Whistler we had better start with the belief that we can suspend self-interest to some self-proscribed measure, or the exercise of planning for sustainability will be as fleeting as yesterday’s commercial lease rate.
Brent Leigh
Whistler
Can't see the forest for the power lines
The power lines proposed by Pemberton's new wave of IPPs (Independent Power Producers) present residents with a difficult moral quandary: the provision of sustainable green energy against the building of ugly power lines across parts of the valley. This dilemma generates hard questions about residents’ objectivity, community strategy, social, and environmental responsibility.
On the one hand, most residents of Pemberton, notwithstanding a valued group of back-to-the-land semi-retirees, are quite busy raising kids while consuming lots and lots of energy, both directly and indirectly through the various goods and services they use, and those demographics are unlikely to shift toward less energy use over time.
On the other hand, these same residents have a very hard time accepting the need for more power generation capacity if it means ugly new power lines and other depredations against the land, especially if the electrons generated are supposedly destined for some far-off place like California.
Power lines affect people in different ways; for some their property values will certainly decline, others believe electro-magnetic fields could affect their health, and most agree that power lines will diminish the Pemberton esthetic and along with it the valley's potential for tourism and for their own bucolic repose.
For some though, power lines, while still ugly, are symbolic of long-term stability, security, a steady income, and grandkids able to live close by.
All residents of Pemberton need to understand key facts when taking on this issue. The B.C. Energy Policy Task Force, in a recently released interim report on Energy Regulation for B.C., warns that B.C.'s energy needs are beginning to outstrip the province's traditional supply of hydroelectricity, and that brownouts are a looming threat for consumers. People should also be aware that in three of the past 10 years, despite what most people imagine to be a bounty of electrical generation capacity, B.C. was a net importer of electricity.
The provincial government has expressed a clear mandate for energy reform to spur private sector development. According to Energy and Mines Minister Richard Neufeld, B.C. Hydro will be broken up and private sector companies given better access to the Crown corporation's assets, most specifically the distribution network, so that British Columbia can participate in a rapidly evolving continental market for electricity.
But this isn’t just to serve foreign markets; Neufeld’s government analysts predict electrical demand will exceed supply in British Columbia by 2007 and B.C. will be forced to buy electricity on continental markets – at volatile market prices – unless it adds capacity and stability.
Questions surrounding this issue are numerous and complex, consider the following:
• Isn’t saying no to "green power" for Pemberton the same as saying yes to nuclear, coal and gas power generation somewhere else? If you believed strongly in Green Energy before, why not now that it is happening in your back yard?
• What is the value of green energy to your future? Despite the apparent misleading of residents by one IPP, unintentionally or otherwise, should that affect your notion of green power’s promised benefits?
• Is it a credible notion to expect any power development project, even a green one, will not entail some specific landscape alterations to accommodate the required physical infrastructure?
• Is the Pemberton economic status quo sustainable considering our population boom? Can IPPs offer projects that accrue long-term sustainable benefits to local residents in the form of good permanent jobs and co-development opportunities for diversifying the local economic infrastructure? i.e. Do we want Pemberton residents to forever rely on just tourism, the Borg (Intrawest & Whistler Village), farming, and logging, or is it time for more economic diversification?
• About those Californians: Why should we sully our valley to send them power? As we willingly and voraciously consume many California (American) products and technologies and, arguably, rely on them for our national defence, do we have any responsibility to provide something they need back?
Natural resource developers like IPPs, miners and wood harvesters will have a role to play in this valley ongoing, but based on past examples, it appears residents have much work to do in learning how to better deal with developer issues and protecting local interests while still enjoying the benefits of economic development.
Successful IPPs will have been forthcoming to the community about their plans and changes to plans so that community representatives are able to interact with them in good faith. While IPPs have a mandate to make money selling green power, residents have a mandate and obligation to conserve those values that make Pemberton special and which confer upon it competitive advantage, most notably its natural beauty and relatively unspoiled nature. Both sides must win for any development to be successful, but if residents want to be taken seriously in bargaining, they should take care not to hide from the fact that they are electricity consumers on a grand scale.
We could forgo all consumer goods and electricity consumption, but since even stone-age technology is unsustainable, I suggest we do our best to permit those select IPPs who forthrightly recognize and adjust to local values and economic needs, and that residents likewise act in good faith with them toward a vision of diversifying the economic base of this region. If we want to consume energy and energy-rich goods and services, we have to finally accept that the sustainable cost is higher than just the cheque we write to B.C Hydro each month. It’s time for a reality check on our responsibility to the future so as to see the forest for the trees. Retrenchment in denial is not a sustainable option.
Nigel Protter
Pemberton
At the end of May I made my first trip to Whistler. On the day of my arrival I lost my wallet, which contained a substantial amount of cash, all my ID and credit cards. The wallet was turned into the RCMP who contacted me and returned my wallet with all of its contents.
Through e-mail correspondence with Cst. Davis I was informed that the wallet was turned in by a fireman named Norm. This is my long delayed thank you to Norm for his generosity and thoughtfulness which allowed me to enjoy the rest of my trip.
I was also overwhelmed by the overall friendliness and courtesy of the community at Whistler and look forward to many returns.
Neil Vasdev
Ontario
We wanted to write to express our appreciation for a recent meal at Araxi’s.
We were treated to a seven-course menu complete with matching wine and marveled at the quality of the ingredients, the cooking and the service. We have dined in some of the world’s best restaurants, and to our mind Araxi is certainly on a par.
A special thanks to Jack, Neil and the rest of the crew at Araxi’s for what was a special evening.
Andrew and Lucy Roffey
Whistler
