I want to thank the Cortes Museum for inviting Rob and Laurie Wood to their AGM of this weekend.

Their presentation on the Bute Inlet was inspiring and at the same time infuriating when we could see the terrible ecological damage that could take place in these incredible places, if those run-of-river projects go ahead.

If you want to read detailed information about the Plutonic Power projects, there are several websites about it.

You can begin checking the Watershed Sentinel Hot Sports site that provides maps and figures here:

http://www.sentinelhotspots.ca/hotspots/energy/small-hydro/bute-inlet-hydroelectric-project

Then, if you click there at Massive Bute Project Sparks Conflict, you can download 4 articles about this project with lots of detailed information. A few excerpts from the first article:

The Bute hydroelectric project, a joint venture between Plutonic Power and General Electric, will consist of 17 river diversions, 445 km of transmission lines, 314 km of roads and 104 bridges.

The transmission lines will create around 1780 hectares (about 4,396 acres) of clearcut, kept permanent through the use of herbicides, while bridges and structures will likely be treated with copper chromium arsenate (CCA). Copper leaches and permanently damages the olfactory ability of fish to avoid predators, reproduce, and identify their spawning river.

The project will cost $3.5 billion and employ approximately 900 construction workers for several years. The nameplate capacity (1027 MW) rivals that of major hydroelectric dams, like BC Hydro`s proposed Site C on the Peace River. However, this capacity will only be realized in the spring and early summer when snow and glacier melt is maximum. Energy output will be considerably reduced at other times of the year, especially during the coldest days when provincial electrical demand is greatest.

Other excellent website is Friends of Bute Inlet:
http://www.buteinlet.net/

In there, you can read a few excerpts from Rob Wood’s "Towards the Unknown Mountains" book:
http://www.buteinlet.net/node/162

A recent update by Lannie Keller was posted at Quadra’s gumboot website, you can read it here:

http://www.thegumboot.ca/go1467a/An_Update_from_Friends_of_Bute_Inlet

She provides several tips for taking action.

Now, we know that Plutonic Power partner in this huge project is General Electric (GE). I have this ugly feeling that GE’s main goal is not producing “clean energy”, but have access to the water from all those rivers and glaciers.

In 2006, GE said they had plans to invest $1 billion in water infrastructure by 2009, “Water is so strategically important today for the continued development of many countries”, “clean water is a fundamental issue that society and humanity is going to face for years to come” they declared.

Coincidence? I think not!

And we know perfectly well that USA is already suffering terrible water shortages. And we know that in the early 1990s Sun Belt, an American company from California wanted to take water from Toba Inlet and ship it in large tankers to California. At that time, Klahoose First Nations managed to stop those negotiations.

I think we should be aware about all this and understand the implications if these projects go ahead.

Again, thanks to the Cortes Museum !