December 21, 2012

We're excited to let you know about the launch of a new video that the Wilderness Committee has produced as part of our campaign opposing the proposed expansion of coal exports in southern BC.

Right now, Port Metro Vancouver is reviewing plans to greatly expand coal shipping capacity at two of its facilities—the Fraser Surrey Docks and the Neptune Terminal in North Vancouver. This would all be added to the huge capacity that already exists at the Westshore Terminal in Delta, BC, which can now export up to 33 million tonnes of coal per year! The Westshore Terminal is already Canada’s largest coal exporter, and if these new proposals are approved, the Greater Vancouver region would become the biggest exporter of climate-changing pollution in North America.

We know that burning coal is one of the leading contributors to global climate change. And on top of that, the increased coal train traffic and port activity would cause more coal dust to be released in nearby communities, which can have detrimental impacts on public health.

We’ve produced this video to raise awareness about this issue, and to demand that the Port Authority and our elected officials listen to citizens’ concerns about pollution and climate change and say “No” to these coal port expansion plans.

Watch the video below:

Block Coal Exports from BC from The Wilderness Committee on Vimeo.

Please help us spread the word by sharing this video with your friends, family and colleagues.

You can also take action by using the letter-writing tool on our website to send a message to authorities at Port Metro Vancouver and to the region’s Port Cities Committee, urging them not to approve these plans. Click here to write your letter now.

British Columbians don’t want more coal—we don’t want it in our Christmas stockings, and we certainly don’t want it being shipped in greater volumes out of our ports, to be burned in other parts of the world producing more and more climate-changing pollution.

Thanks for standing up for our communities and for our global climate.

Joe Foy | National Campaign Director