After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

Electric Vehicle Owners and Business Leaders Drive in Solidarity with Burnaby Mountain Protesters

We brought electric vehicle drivers here to show we can all be part of a clean energy future – no pipelines required,” says J-M Toriel

Electric Vehicle Owners and Business Leaders Drive in Solidarity with Burnaby Mo
Photo from Emotive Facebook Page (left) and by Mychaylo Prystupa (right).

A group of electric vehicle (EV) enthusiasts and business owners are headed to Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area Friday morning to show solidarity with the hundreds of protesters who have gathered to oppose the Kinder Morgan pipeline drilling, according to a press release. The event is being organized by small business owner, J-M Toriel, whose company Big Green Island Transportation installs electric charging infrastructure.

“We don’t want investments in dirty oil pipelines that put British Columbians at risk, and we are tired of hearing people say that ‘we all need gas to drive’ in defense of new fossil fuel infrastructure,” said Toriel. “We brought electric vehicle drivers here to show we can all be part of a clean energy future – no pipelines required.”

Toriel is driving to Burnaby Mountain in a plug-in Nissan Leaf, owned by the car-sharing service Modo Co-operative to show that you don't even need to own an EV to make alternative transportation choices. EV drivers are bringing slogans and banners with positive messages of a future that does not rely on fossil fuels and new pipelines: “BATTERIES INCLUDED - NO PIPELINES REQUIRED,” “LESS OIL, MORE COURAGE” and “NO, WE DON’T ALL NEED OIL”.

CEO of Vancouver-area printing company International Web Express Printing, Byron Sheardown, owns a Chevy Volt.

“I proudly drive an electric vehicle,” Sheardown said. “Why risk our coastlines and communities for a resource that will be refined and consumed elsewhere? Alternative energy is abundant and supports the local economy. Governments and drivers need to support green energy and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”

Electric vehicles do not require additional infrastructure from the oil and gas industry – EVs have no tailpipes and don’t burn gas. Transportation is the largest carbon-emitting sector in British Columbia, says organizer Toriel.

“The more drivers realize that it costs 1/10th the cost per kilometer to drive electric vehicles, the more they will make the switch,” he added.

The EV convoy will meet on top of Burnaby Mountain near Chargepoint EV charger at Lot E at 10am then drive down Burnaby Mountain Parkway between 10:30-11:30am, Friday November 27, 2014.

More in News

Views from a refugee camp: Who gets into heaven?

I have just returned to Vancouver Island from Greek refugee camps where I met a Yazidi man named Jason who told me about his escape from ISIS in Iraq.   His story begins on a desert road where a...

Vancouver's bicycle sharing grows as 15 new stations installed

Mobi bicycle by Shaw Go in Vancouver. Photo by Christopher Porter from Flickr Creative Commons

International Women's Day Concert celebrates female musicians who turned tragedy into triumph

Every March 8, on International Women's Day, we hear about the achievements of brilliant, talented women around the world. But how often do we learn about the physical and mental disabilities or...
Speak up about this article on Facebook or Twitter. Do this by liking Vancouver Observer on Facebook or following us @Vanobserver on Twitter. We'd love to hear from you.