Vince Murray, Moscow

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 8/22/11

When I first read Devin Rokyta’s “Our View” editorial (Opinion, August 16) about the Kearl Oil Sands project in Alberta, I thought he was being satirical, and I almost started laughing. But after reading it several times, my jaw began to drop. Writing to express the opinion of the Daily News editorial board, Rokyta states that the oil sands project cannot be stopped, but that will be true only if we do nothing to stop it – if we merely say, as Rokyta does, that it’s going to happen, so let’s make some money off it.

Yes, Rokyta, mining the oil sands does bring with it severe environmental consequences, and first among them, according to the Alberta Cancer Board, is the 30 percent increase in cancer rates already documented among the First Nation Albertans of Fort Chipewyan. But this project will also destroy boreal forests from a tract of land the size of the state of Florida, forests that currently absorb carbon dioxide and slow global warming, and wipe out the numerous animal species that inhabit these forests.

Pipelines from this project, especially the one to Kitimat, British Columbia, will ultimately destroy much more. It seems to me that looking for economic benefits in a bankrupt endeavor is the height of folly and something that should never overshadow the ethical concerns.