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CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
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THURS., NOVEMBER 22, 2012 EDITORIAL Page 6
LETTERS Page 7
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Snowy season
A snowy owl lifts off near the runway at Port Hardy Airport. The North Island has seen an influx of the arctic-dwelling raptors, but most appear to be malnourished and three have died after being sent to the Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society in Comox. See story, page 11. Steve Fines
Tide turns against ocean energy bid Gazette staff PORT McNEILL—SRM Projects Ltd., a renewable energy engineering firm based in Nanaimo, withdrew its application for an investigative license application for Blackney Passage Monday after several whale researchers objected to its location in critical whale habitat off North Vancouver
Island’s coast. OrcaLab, the whale research station on Hanson Island, and SRM Projects Ltd. made the announcement of the application’s withdrawal in a joint press release Monday. “We see this as a winwin situation,” said Dr. Paul Sprong, founder of OrcaLab. “We are very
“We are very pleased with how receptive SRM projects was to the concerns we raised.” Dr. Paul Sprong, OrcaLab
pleased with how receptive SRM Projects was to the concerns we raised.”
The energy exploration company reached agreement with OrcaLab and
other whale researchers that minimizing threats to species at risk and clean energy generation are both important for B.C. The company hopes to go ahead with future renewable energy initiatives, but will take into consideration the concerns of the local habitat. “Tidal energy is a new and relatively unknown
source of clean electrical power in B.C.,” said Scot Merriam, principal of SRM Projects. “While preliminary research and demonstration studies from Europe indicate the promise of the technology, we need to introduce it here in
See page 4 ‘Input sought’
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