Pipeline expansion is a moral issue

Re: “Who is the hostage in the pipeline issue?” comment, May 18. Philip Dearden rightly challenges Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s framing of B.C. voter opposition to Alberta oil pipelines as a “hostage” issue. It is a moral issue, and for millions of people living in the world’s coastal lowlands, a survival issue.

Global warming — it’s long past time to stop using the euphemism “climate change” — has been shown beyond any reasonable doubt to be caused by the accumulation of atmospheric greenhouse gases resulting from human activity.

Not only are glaciers melting and causing sea levels to rise, ocean ecosystems are being damaged as the oceans absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. The ice cover of the arctic seas is vanishing with serious ecological effects. Thawing permafrost is releasing methane gas, a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, and creating a positive feedback loop.

The Western Antarctic Ice Sheet, which prevents an enormous glacier from sliding into the ocean, is breaking up much more rapidly than predicted. When it does, and this could happen in less than 100 years, sea levels could rise as much as two metres, with disastrous effects on coastal cities around the world. And this does not include sea-level rise due to the melting of other glaciers and the Greenland ice cap.

British Columbia has much to lose from global warming. Our coastal areas will be devastated and our lodgepole-pine forests are already under attack by pine beetles. Other negative ecological effects can be expected. Harvey Williams Victoria