VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

ALTON GAS DEMISE A LOSE-LOSE

Re: “Controversial Alton natural gas project to be decommissioned” (Oct. 23 story).

Who's celebrating the Alton Gas storage cavern debacle?

Recall that the purpose of the project was to be able to store millions of cubic feet of natural gas to supply Nova Scotia consumers for heating and commercial applications. Nova Scotia's domestic supply of natural gas has been exhausted (Sable gas is gone), so now access to that resource is from the U.S. and other external sources. The cost of natural gas is subject to serious price fluctuations that the Alton Gas storage facility would have helped minimize.

The risks associated with salt-cavern storage of natural gas? Minimal to zero. The risks associated with creating salt caverns to store the gas? Minimal to zero!

The salt brine washed out of the ground in the cavern-creation process was to be spilled into the tidal estuary of the Shubenacadie River to no detrimental effect. Salt brine from the earth poured into salt tidal water and washed out to the Bay of Fundy was a simple solution with no evidence of harm.

This resource supply was hijacked by emotional pseudo-cultural excess and a skewed view of Indigenous rights that squelched the larger public good.

Nova Scotians, the losers here, who were persuaded to buy into the cleaner and then cheaper domestic natural gas heating source are faced with market pricing and iffy supply from an international market. The winners, Indigenous protesters, got nothing other than bragging rights to quashing resource access.

A sorry mess! Ross Haynes, Halifax

SHOOTING OURSELVES IN THE FOOT

Congratulations on sending Alton Gas on its way (Oct. 23 story). We in Nova Scotia are tired of industry and jobs. We are already known as the worst place in the world to invest in, and the project's opponents have helped us keep this reputation.

Keep up the good work and we will visit our children and grandchildren in another province, since they will be working there, not here! Ken Mallett, Wellington

COUNTER-SUE PULP MILL

Northern Pulp is holding the province to account over the agreement signed by the Savage Liberals in 1995. The latter broadly indemnified the three-times-removed owners of the mill from any lost profits caused by government action.

Government inaction was what they were used to, and both Stephen Mcneil and now Tim Houston deserve credit for facing down the bully. The bully is back again, in B.C. court for bankruptcy protection, where it was revealed that they are counting on the taxpayers of Nova Scotia to pay off their creditors in B.C. to the tune of $450 million in lost profits through the 2020s (Oct. 20 story).

One presumes they figure to have fully stripped our forests of use by the time this is resolved, and will move on. To do so, of course, they must present a revamped environmental plan, and let me tell you folks, it's a doozy! Now only 20 per cent of 2019's sulfur, 25 per cent of the particulates, 50 per cent of the chlorine dioxide and a whopping 91 per cent of the greenhouse gases will descend on the good people of Pictou County (and beyond, no mistake.) They're promising to spend $350 million of our money to modernize their mill. The effluent, presumably, will go back into Pictou Harbour.

We won't know for certain until Northern Pulp presents its environment plan in November, but suffice it to say Hector's home may not be as pristine as she left it! Northern Pulp has not been a faithful actor, neither the First Nations nor provincial governments of any stripe. Do we continue to reward bad actions, or is it past time we started launching some counteractions of our own?

Gar Macdonald, Coldbrook

IS HYDROGEN HOT AIR?

The newly minted Atlantic Hydrogen Alliance makes an interesting proposal to decarbonize our economy with hydrogen substitution (Oct. 15 opinion piece). Surely the alliance is looking for public support and subsidies to advance its agenda. How many tons of carbon will “lowcarbon hydrogen” remove (lower emissions) from the atmosphere every year? We must cease using fossil fuels by 2030 to survive. How will “low-carbon hydrogen” get us there?

Any subsidies that we provide for energy production needs to be backed with hard data on carbon removal. Otherwise, is it just another gimmick to make money out of a crisis and we just keep talking while the planet burns. Fernando Moncayo, Dartmouth