An excerpt from a new book on the dam project that’s divided B.C.
Damming the Peace: The Hidden Costs of the Site C Dam
Wendy Holm
James Lorimer & Company (2018)
Site C is a behemoth of a project. Its every twitch initiates a chain reaction in no less than five spheres. I recently contributed, along with fellow Tyee writers Andrew Nikiforuk, Andrew MacLeod and the late Rafe Mair, to a new book on Site C. The goal of this book is to gather all the interrelated issues into one place and lay them out clearly side by side, with the hopes of spurring on informed discussion.
Chapter one starts right in on the numbers: how much power B.C. needs, where it can come from, and do we need Site C’s power? Other chapters address conventionally accepted knowledge about hydroelectricity, the known environmental damage caused by damming river systems. Of course the agricultural value of the Peace River Valley is articulated, as well as the unique position First Nations are in as they face losing one of the last untouched sections of the valley. The late Rafe Mair, who wrote for the Tyee for many years on issues like Site C, closes out the book with a resounding critique on modern democracy and a call to civilly disobedient arms.
Click here for an excerpt from the chapter I wrote on the enduringly relevant question: is Site C past the point of no return? It’s easy to feel fatigue at reviewing Site C, but its impacts are so significant and long lasting that a responsible citizenry needs to engage.
The conversation is not over.
This article was published in The Tyee, April 18, 2018