Hydroelectric Power

By Daphne Bramham for The Vancouver Sun - With its echoes of Hollywood movies, it’s not surprising that an armed uprising by white ranchers in the American West wanting free range over public land has gained international attention. But while the ranchers and self-proclaimed militia are occupying an abandoned federal building in southeast Oregon, there’s a similar — albeit more peaceful — occupation taking place in northeastern British Columbia. The unarmed British Columbians are refusing to leave the site where BC Hydro plans to clear-cut parts of the Peace River Valley and flood 57,000 acres of farmland in order to construct an $8.3-billion hydroelectric dam.