Scientists’ letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper: Reject Northern Gateway

VANCOUVER – Hundreds of scientists are asking Prime Minister Stephen Harper to reject the Northern Gateway pipeline.

In an open letter, the scientists say the joint review panel report that recommended approval of the project is fundamentally flawed.

Among the problems, they say the panel did not look at the overall increase in global greenhouse gas emissions that will result from the expansion in oil sands production.

The letter says the panel also failed to properly weigh the risks to whales and other marine species in the event of a spill.

The federal government will announce its decision this month on the 1,200-kilometre pipeline that would link the Alberta oil sands with a tanker port on the B.C. coast.

The letter is signed by 300 scientists from universities from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, along with colleagues from international institutions including Stanford, Cornell and Oxford.