Do Not Approve: Please consider the "irreversible environmental impacts" and Climate Change

This project would last for 41 years, as per the Teck proposal. The legacy impacts would last for thousands of years. The 3,000 hectare of old growth forest has trees that are centuries old, the peat would have been created over thousands of years, do you really have the right to destroy this? This destructive project was approved with a life span of 41 years, not even a generation of employment, is wholly unacceptable and shortsighted. On page 895, of the joint panel review released in summer 2019, indicates that the reclamation period would extend the planned mining process, again, this means 41 years of project will "require 40-65 years after closure”. The environmental consequences are too great. The benefits are too small. 

This will not make Alberta richer, this will make a small select few richer. This will provide employment in a dying industry, given that the price of Bitumen is nearly equal to the cost of production. The prices projected by Teck have not been witnessed since 2014. It is approximately around 60$ a barrel and only reached 75$ once, far under achieving than what the Teck company projects. 

Furthermore, wetlands are integral component of our environment. This project will remove approximately 14,000 hectares of precious wetlands.  We need these wetlands to help capture CO2, provide unique habitat and supports diverse ecosystems, and cycles water systems for the north. Wetlands are precious, and require protection. Wetlands would be nearly impossible to recreate on a massive scale.

As 2019 has been the second hottest year on record, next to 2016. There absolutely is zero room for added carbon emissions, there is absolutely no space for more investment in oil sands.  We need to invest in green technology now. There is only 11 years remaining before we hit the point of no return, as per the October 2018 IPCC release. IPCC is an independent global group of scientist funded by United Nations. This document was prepared by 6,000 climate scientist. Their warnings were stark, horrifying, and there was no doubt in that large scale efforts must be taken to avoid a global climate disaster.  We already know that Canada's north is warming 2 times the rate of global average. Therefore, we are already vulnerable to climate change. 

Please be on the correct side of history. Be the heroes our children need. Please, the scientific community begs you, listen to the science, choose the path of intergenerational life. 

Do not fall prey to“Alberta separatist”fears, this is political rhetoric based on fear and manipulations for corporations to feed free at our pending collective climate catastrophe.