Opportunities
B.C.’s coastal communities have many sustainable opportunities
for economic development that will not threaten our coastal
ecology and economy. The provincial government has already
budgeted $20 million over the last four years to promote the
offshore oil and gas industry. If that amount had been spent
on promoting clean energy opportunities or sustainable wild
fisheries, our coastal communities would have benefited.
To achieve Canada’s commitments under the Kyoto Protocol,
the governments of Canada, British Columbia and oil and gas
companies must invest their research and development funds
to establish clean, sustainable energy sources like wind,
solar, tidal, and micro-hydro. Investments in renewable energy
create five times more jobs than the fossil fuel sector. B.C.
has enough wind generation potential to launch a competitive
worldwide industry.
The real opportunities for coastal British Columbia are in
sustainable industries such as commercial fishing, tourism
and clean energy production, not dinosaur industries that
put B.C.’s coast at risk.
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