The following is an open letter to the federal Minister of Public Safety and Saskatchewan’s only representative on the government side in the House of Commons. The letter is printed here with permission of the author.
Dear Mr. Goodale:
I write as a private citizen who was raised in Regina and graduated from the University of Regina, but has resided in Estevan for over 30 years.
The primary purpose of this letter is, as a resident and businessperson in Estevan, to provide rather emphatic support for carbon capture and storage (CCS).
My husband, a retired SaskPower employee, was part of the team that brought CCS into commercial use. He was proud to be a part of a technology that could have positive implication for the entire world. The fact our government has intended targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is commendable, but I truly hope, all types of technologies are included and supported.
When I first made Estevan home, a very persistent cloud of grey that hung over the city distressed me. On my first trip to Estevan in 1983, from nearly 50 km. away, I could see smog hovering over Estevan. Once living in Estevan, I found slimy grit on my vehicle nearly every morning. Asthma rates were above the provincial average, and I was about to have my first child. That was 1985.
It is now 2016, and that cloud has disappeared, and has been absent for nearly 20 years. SaskPower has done tremendous work to clean up their processes and CCS is the final step in removing the last GHG. The technology works, and although the first commercial venture was expensive, it has begun the job of reducing our carbon footprint in Saskatchewan. There are hundreds of jobs in both mining and power generation that are depending on the implementation and commercial use of this technology.
There are hundreds of millions of people worldwide who rely on coal for electricity, and they suffer from harmful air pollution because they do not have CCS technology. We have the opportunity to share and sell our technology to the world. We have the opportunity to help reduce GHG emissions by supporting and encouraging CCS technology. The world is not going to stop building coal-fired electrical generating power plants. New plants are under construction in China and elsewhere right now. I toured parts of China with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce delegation three years ago, and the level of air pollution was visible and palatable. I was ever so grateful for the air quality we enjoy in Saskatchewan. Our Saskatchewan-made technology can change the life of people in China and other developing countries.
The decision to support, or not support, CCS should be made on scientific data and our great responsibility to the global community.
Coal-fired power plants are not going to disappear in the near future. Our efforts to reduce emissions will have little impact if the greater community, particularly China, and the U.S. do nothing to reduce their emissions from coal-fired power stations.
The person(s) who will solve the issue of GHG or develop the technology that eliminates our complete reliance on fossil fuels, may or may not, have been born yet. I suspect we are decades away from taking fossil fuels out of the equation.
In the meantime, it seems prudent to me to use the tools we do have, including CCS, to manage our emissions until new and improved technologies are developed or discovered.
As our most experienced and influential Saskatchewan Member of Parliament in a Liberal government, I believe you have a responsibility to the people of Saskatchewan to support Saskatchewan initiatives in energy and mining.
Thank you for your time; I wish you all the best.
Sincerely,
Lynn Chipley
Estevan.
CC to Dr. Robert Kitchen, MP Souris-Moose Mountain
Lori Carr, MLA Estevan
Sask. Premier Brad Wall
SaskPower president, Mike Marsh.
