Re: “Where will we get our power?” letter, June 6.

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The writer asks if alternative power to the Site C dam will be provided by coal or nuclear energy. The good news is that there are many cleaner and safer sustainable methods of energy production: wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and tidal.

These alternatives create jobs and have a lower overall environmental impact. Unfortunately, Site C has driven away investment and jobs in the solar, wind and geothermal sectors.

Hydro is clean energy only if we don’t consider the initial destruction, the materials needed for construction, the loss of farmland and forest, destruction of cultural sites, and the displacement of people and wildlife.

Site C dam was first proposed in the 1950s. The world has moved on since then and has made remarkable progress in renewable energy technologies that are constantly getting cheaper as a result of technological improvement, mass production and market competition. We do not need to flood valuable farmland, and borrow $8.8 billion for a public debt that will take 70 years to pay off.

Let’s be progressive and move into the 21st century before the rest of the world leaves us behind.

Shelagh Levey

Cordova Bay