The Peace in Peril
July 15th, 2016
A 93-square-kilometre artificial lake is bound to drown the best topsoil left in northern B.C. when a 60-metre-high wall of compacted earth will stretch more than a kilometre across the main stem of the Peace River. Farmers, ranchers, trappers and habitat to innumerable creatures big and small will lose their homes as a result.
To witness the first steps of construction for the most expensive infrastructure project in B.C. history, Pollon accompanied by photojournalist Ben Nelms paddled through the section of the river that will be destroyed by the Site C dam reservoir.
By touring the same stretch by land they interviewed locals who stand to lose everything, a prosperous home to people for over eleven thousand years. Pollon’s upcoming The Peace in Peril (Harbour $24.95) tells the story of the trade-off of hydro power for resources like timber and farmland
Christopher Pollon is a Vancouver-based independent journalist who reports on the politics of natural resources, focusing on energy, mines and oceans. His work has appeared in The Walrus, Reader’s Digest, The Globe and Mail, and National Geographic Books, earning nominations by the National Magazine Awards (2016) and Western Magazine Awards (2013) for best business writing. Since 2008 he has been a Contributing Editor at The Tyee. 978-1-55017-780-0
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