Skip to content

Don't let Yukon be robbed by the rich

Personally, and assuming that natural gas has some place in the timeline of the Yukon's history, I think we should hold off as long as we can on exploiting this resource. An untapped resource will retain its value a

Personally, and assuming that natural gas has some place in the timeline of the Yukon’s history, I think we should hold off as long as we can on exploiting this resource.

An untapped resource will retain its value as long as it goes untapped ... like a piggy bank. Tap the piggy bank and out goes all of its licorice whips and gum drops, or, in the case of LNG and fracking, its hot tub temperatures and 3,500-square-foot houses. (Welcome to the age of entitlement.)

Slightly tongue-in-cheek, but seriously, we took a wrong turn somewhere in regards to how we value the resources available to us. Like a pampered teen with a new credit card we’ve squandered vast quantities of resources on a global scale so that a select few can line their pockets and keep the wool firmly pulled down over our eyes.

On the subject of retaining value, the Yukon is relatively unspoiled and as such retains its intrinsic value as long as it remains untapped. Let the big money in and the tap has been opened, the resources will be exploited, the bulk of the value in monetary terms will be gone and we’ll be left with whatever big money chooses to leave us with - mostly pocket change, I’d guess.

You could say, “but what about improvements to our infrastructure that big money brings?” ... are they really improvements? Or do they represent an ever increasing need for ever more resources to maintain our ever increasing infrastructure and southern lifestyle?

Obviously it goes that we may have to “rough it” somewhat to live within our collective means, but isn’t that what the Yukon represents? She is a wilderness where the thin-skinned, pampered or non-handy need not apply. Either that or they develop thick skin, don’t mind a bit of dirt, become “handy.”

It’s up to us, I guess. It’s all downhill from a standpoint of resource consumption, you can only use it, you cannot replenish it. We can stroll down a nice gentle slope, enjoying the view as we go, or, we can step off the cliff and land in the same bloody and disgusting heap that a good part of the globe has already landed in.

I value the Yukon for what she represents in her original state, or at least as close as we can come to that given that we cannot replenish what she has to offer, we can only consume. With LNG I feel we may have a valid need to consume it one day, but I fervently hope we can see clearly who stands to gain what after the gas bubble has burst.

If we all collectively stand to gain, then that’s great. If a select few run off with the money and leave us with the mess and an unsustainable market share, then yeah, not so good.

Bob Foster

Carcross