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been taken up by government. As such, engineers are obliged to address the issue in their work and make, support or oppose decisions accordingly. On the other hand, for the association to be unequivocal as to the causes of climate change would be harmful since it would impose closure on the emerging field of climate science. As philosopher Roy Clouser writes, science can disprove theories but can never ultimately prove them. The thesis of CO 2 being the main cause of climate change keeps being challenged by researchers (e.g., last year by University of Waterloo researchers who identified a correlation with chlorofluorocarbons but not with CO 2 ), and this process of challenging, reassessing and defending is healthy and necessary for scientific progress to be made. APEGBC should not take any position that shortcuts this ongoing process and should continue to encourage its members to follow best practices and consider the precautionary principle wherever uncertainty about specific environmental impacts remains. As a practitioner in renewable energy and

Letters to the Editor containing your views on topics of interest are encouraged. Opinions expressed in Letters to the Editor are not necessarily endorsed by APEGBC. Letters can be e-mailed to mgrady@apeg.bc.ca.

Neutral Position on Climate Change a Necessary Step The reactions to APEGBC’s Position Paper on Climate Change understandably expressed some disappointment with the association’s decision to omit references to anthropogenic causes of climate change. I’d like to commend the association for this decision, given the issue of climate change is very divisive and, as such, it should remain neutral in this respect and not take sides that could marginalize members that may disagree with the details of how our society contributes to the problem of climate change. The role of deciding how to address climate change in a context of scientific uncertainty has correctly

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NHC and LaSalle Join Forces

Two of the best known North American firms specializing in hydraulic modeling, Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Ltd. (NHC) and the LaSalle Consulting Group Inc., have joined to form Lasalle|NHC, based in Montreal and operating as a subsidiary of NHC Ltd. Lasalle|NHC will benefit from the specialized expertise of both parent companies, which includes: • physical and numerical hydraulic modeling • hydrology, water supply, and flood management

• river and ice engineering • coastal hydrodynamics • sediment transport and geomorphic analysis • habitat restoration • fisheries engineering

Visit us online at www.LasalleNHC.com.

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