There has been an increasing anti-LNG sentiment shared on social media so I’m running this poll to get a clearer picture of what the true wishes of residents are. Submit your vote and discuss amongst yourselves.
Thank you for the amendment. I’m expecting that this HTMF poll will be a small sample of BC residents.
I feel there is a big disconnect between what the general public thinks they know about LNG and what they actually do know.
I agree with this. I have seen people associate this project with Enbridge and oil…SOOOO many people have no idea what they are even protesting against.
Nor does the pollster.
Three different things, only the thread title indicates LNG.
You have to vote NO if you oppose even one of the three.
[quote=“herbie_popnecker”]Nor does the pollster.
Three different things, only the thread title indicates LNG.
You have to vote NO if you oppose even one of the three.[/quote]
Your criticism is unwarranted. The question is meant to be inclusive of the main aspects of LNG development and was written with the intent of looking at it on a broader scale. Rather than asking “do you support Petronas’ proposed development” for example, the question was meant to look at the industry as a whole. If you want to see if someone supports fracking but opposes pipelines, you’re welcome to start your own poll.
With all due respect.
I have not responded to the poll. I agree with Bubbasteve that there is a disconnect. I am not sure if she agrees with bthedog’s analysis or Herbie’s.
First, I do have a problem with fracking. I am going to assume that under current projects things are manageable. I know there are others who will contend differently, but I am not knowledgeable enough to argue. My concern is not so much the present but the future. How much more fracking can we manage? Where is the tipping point? Again, I have no knowledge one way or another, but that is certainly in the back of my mind.
LNG pipelines do not have the same fear factor. The transportation of LNG does not scare me as much as the transportation of oil, nor does it scare me as much as fracking. But again, there is a tipping point. How many pipelines can we build before there a problem. There are 19 (?) proposed projects. Are all of them possible?
A terminal on the coast? Again this is difficult. There is one project in, I believe, Squamish that is very controversial. Our own Lelu Island project still has to get through the environmental assessment. And as much as most of us hope that a project comes to Prince Rupert, we are really not all that certain what the long term effects may be. There will be an influx of money for sure but how will we react to the “new” Rupert is still up in the air.
But here is the real disconnect. We in Rupert cannot divorce ourselves from a project that is likely to be of benefit to us from the actual industry as a whole.
And we cannot divorce ourselves from the project and the legislation that was recently passed.
All of us want so badly for Rupert to do well. We all have opinions on what well means and how we will get there. I sometimes get the feeling from some of you here that anybody who opposes the proposed project or even the passed legislation is somehow being traitorous to Rupert.
In sum:
If the poll is just asking if I am in favour of an LNG industry then by all means the answer is yes. (With my reservations above about future fracking and pipelines.)
If the poll asked if I was in favour of Prince Rupert being the terminus of an LNG plant, I would vote yes but again with concerns about how the future may unfold.
If the poll asked if I was in favour of the project on Lelu Island, I would ask to see the final environmental assessment before voting?
If the poll asked if I supported the legislation that was just passed, I would vote no.
And where it gets particularly tricky is where I would vote if it was a choice between a safe, profitable terminal guaranteeing future prosperity for Rupert and a complete generational sell out and giveaway of BC’s natural resources then i would probably go with selfish but not feel particularly good about it.
Thank you for your input, DWhite. I always look forward to your honest contributions to the discussions on this site. They are a breath of fresh air.
I am in agreement with most of what you have said. Fracking is controversial and probably what I personally struggle with the most. I’m putting my faith in the experts in industry, government and environmental organizations that they are making the right decisions. That’s what they get paid to do and I’m not about to claim from my couch that I know better than them. I hope that they are doing the right thing for today and for future generations. I cannot buy into the rhetoric that is online. You may ask why then am I doing this poll. Out of curiosity. If you are too read some of the comments on various social media sites the comments seem to be heavily favoring the anti-LNG sentiment. Not that this poll is an accurate measure of opinion but the pro-LNG vote is so far a lot higher. This tells me that perhaps the anti side is being a lot more vocal and the large number of comments against LNG may not be a true representation of public sentiment.
With my poll question and listing the three different aspects under one blanket question, it’s really hard to have one without the other. I could have simply asked, “Do you support development of the LNG industry?” but listing the three key components forces those to each be recognized by everyone taking part in the poll. I’ve heard complaints that the gas transmission pipelines will destroy salmon habitat, that fracking will cause earthquakes and that export facilities using their own product will increase greenhouse gas emissions. Many stakeholder groups are seemingly focused on one aspect and the question makes us consider it all.
I, like many, want the community to succeed and prosper like it has in the past. I’m not willing to do it at the expense of the future so I’m hopeful and I trust that the right decisions are being made.