Michael Ableman's first letter, Driftwood, Dec. - Oxygen or Pulp? -
"... When we began asking questions, however, the color pictures and fairytale story began to unravel."
"...On the cover is a beautiful scene, photographed in golden evening
light, of a young blond girl dancing in a pristine field of waist high
grass. Beneath her are the words “what’s right”."
"...“What’s right” is that dioxins and furans and the long list of
other dangerous substances being emitted by your facilities should
never be produced in the first place, let alone spewed into the air
that our children breathe."
Oxygen or Pulp?
by Michael Ableman
Years ago while researching our move to Salt Spring we queried a number
of people on the island about emissions from the Crofton mill. The
response was commonly “you should have seen it ten years ago” or
“they’ve really cleaned up their act” or “its one of the cleanest pulp
mills around”. In fact few people could tell me what the mill was
putting out, and most folks preferred to believe that they were somehow
not affected by it. After moving here we created our own form of denial
imagining Stewart Channel as some sort of ocean barrier keeping us safe
and separate from the mill.
Last week I attended the open house in Crofton sponsored by the Norske
corporation to sell us on the idea of converting to what they call
“alternative” fuels for use in their boilers. It was a well
orchestrated event with cookies and quiches and little triangular
sandwiches presented on doilies, slick color displays describing the
stellar social, environmental and community record of the mill, and a
full set of panels explaining all of the benefits that burning tires,
railroad ties, and coal will bring us.
When we began asking questions, however, the color pictures and
fairytale story began to unravel. We discovered that while this is
being sold to us as some sort of environmental decision, the fuel
conversion proposal is all about money, three million dollars in fuel
savings per year, and as some believe, the first step towards the
construction of a power substation at the mill. We discovered that
there is no appropriate format for public input on this issue, that the
time frame for public input was already almost over, and that there is
no government regulation, only guidelines, with little government money
or staff available for monitoring or oversight.
After the meeting several of us began the rather awkward process of
researching something we knew nothing about. There is plenty of
anecdotal evidence from residents of Crofton and beyond; of kids on the
playing fields at Crofton schools regularly experiencing acute
respiratory distress, of high cancer rates in the region, of dirty
tactics on the part of the mill in timing more toxic releases at
nighttime and on weekends, but without well researched scientific data
I began to feel a bit unsure and somewhat hysterical.
So when an official from the ministry that oversees the mill privately
told me that “there are catastrophic problems” with it I was concerned.
When we discovered an independent air quality study revealing that
Crofton regularly exceeds acceptable emission limits I was worried.
When the November 27th national report showed that the Norske
corporation operates three of the top ten highest polluting facilities
in the entire country, and that pulp and paper mills are the worst
polluters of Dioxins and Furans I got angry.
I came home with some souvenirs from my trip to the Norske open house.
Along with the sandwiches and drinks, company staff were giving out
three ring binders chock full of “data”, and tables were laden with
color brochures describing the pulp and paper process. My favorite item
from my trip to Crofton was a four color booklet titled “Norske Canada
2003 Accountability Reports” written for the company’s shareholders. On
the cover is a beautiful scene, photographed in golden evening light,
of a young blond girl dancing in a pristine field of waist high grass.
Beneath her are the words “what’s right”. Inside the cover CEO Russel
Horner presents his ideas of “what’s right” with a portrait of the
company that uses words like honesty, leadership, values, principles,
and responsibility sprinkled liberally throughout every paragraph.
There was no question mark after the words “what’s right” on the cover
of that report, but I would like to add one on, and offer Norske some
of my own thoughts and answers. “What’s right” is that in Norway, the
country your company originated from, your Canadian facilities as they
are currently operated, would never be able to open their doors do to
strict health and environmental regulations. “What’s right” is that
this is not, as one of your company staff presented it, about making a
choice between jobs and human or environmental health, no one should
ever be asked to make that choice. “What’s right” is that dioxins and
furans and the long list of other dangerous substances being emitted by
your facilities should never be produced in the first place, let alone
spewed into the air that our children breathe. “What’s right” is that
it is the birthright of every living thing to have access to good food,
pure water, and clean air.
The week and a half since my “awakening” has been difficult, not just
because of what I learned about the mill, but because I realized that
our government is somewhat complicit in their activities, and that to
forge a change we can only rely on the organized actions of folks like
you and me. I also realized how much work we have to do to clean up our
own act, at least those of us who burn wood for heat, drive
automobiles, read newspapers and use paper. But what I realized is our
biggest obstacle is our collective denial in the face of what appears
to be overwhelming odds. For the moment I have been shaken out of that
denial to help mobilize what must become a monumental action involving
everyone who drinks water and breathes air. I believe that includes all
of us.
As I looked again at the beautiful little girl dancing blissfully in
the field on the cover of the Norske report I thought about my own two
boys, 22 years old and two years old. We try to make healthy choices
for them by growing our own food, filtering our drinking water, guiding
and guarding them in any way that we can. But there is no choice when
it comes to the air that we breathe. At the moment that choice is being
made for us, by others, somewhere else, whose priorities are often not
life, but profit. It is time to reclaim those choices and return them
to their rightful place; to our families and our neighborhoods, and to
the communities in which we live.
(To get involved: or
(250-537-2616), or write or call Bernard Bintner at the Ministry of
Water, Land, and Air Protection (250-751-3125),
and request a response.)
Michael Ableman is a farmer, educator, and founder and executive
director of the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens, based
on one of the oldest organic farms in California. He is the author and
photographer of From the Good Earth (Abrams, 1993) and On Good Land
(Chronicle Books, 1998) and the subject of the PBS film Beyond Organic.
Ableman is currently farming a small piece of land on Salt Spring
Island and is at work on a new book profiling innovative farmers across
North America.
Air Pollutants 
