Pluto, the god of the underworld in Greek and Roman mythology, has come to the surface from Hades for another abduction. This time the victim is not Persephone, the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Demeter, but a wild and natural place of nearly sacred grandeur that symbolizes the dramatic and living soul of Earth.

The proposal of Plutonic Power for a massive run-of-river hydro project at the head of Bute Inlet resonates too closely with this old myth of loss, mourning and regret to let the parallels go unexplored.

According to ancient legends, when the feuding gods divided the contested spoils of the world into the realms of sky, sea and earth, Pluto assumed command of the lower realm and took up residence deep below the surface in the infernal regions of hot darkness. When he lusted for a wife, he arose on his black steeds from a volcano and abducted Persephone, a maiden who was picking wild flowers on a mountainside. After her searchers eventually found her in Hades, they could only negotiate a partial release. So Pluto allowed her to return to the surface for half the year. Her annual emergence from the dark underworld brought the brightness and growth of spring and summer; and when Pluto reclaimed her, the world mourned her loss with the darkening of autumn and the lifelessness of winter.

In the pantheon of classical deities, Persephone became the goddess of innocence, spring, fertility and life; Pluto became the god of force, winter, darkness and death. Because valuable minerals come from his underworld, Pluto also became the god of wealth. Indeed, "pluto" literally means "wealth" in Greek and Latin, and "plutonic" alludes to the riches coming from this dim and forbidding place.

In the course of human history, the myth has been adjusted by Christian influences, so that Hades has become Hell and Pluto has been transformed into Satan. But lust, wealth, power and brute force have maintained their sinister, brooding and destructive connotation. As if driven by an inclination to emulate Pluto, we perpetuate the urge to abduct the innocence and beauty of nature for the use of our self-serving ends. So riches that do not emanate from a life-giving sources continue to be tainted with the base and sulphurous stench of Hades and evil.

The old Greek myth has much to admonish us about our environmental sensitivity. Indeed, we seem to have made a fatal pact with Pluto. In a free-trade agreement that is likely speeding us to ruination, we get his black wealth and shiny minerals in exchange for the death and heated fumes of the underworld.

We have even adopted Pluto's character as our own. Instead of winning the affections of Persephone by using the gentle and tender persuasion of affection, we have resorted to forceful abduction. We arrive unceremoniously with our bulldozers, drills and explosives to rape and pillage, desecrating and ruining the living landscape to satisfy our selfish demands. Never mind her entreaties for care and gentleness. We routinely take what we want by resorting to raw power and thoughtless brutality rather than sensitive consideration and careful ingenuity.

Enticed by temptation and opportunity, Plutonic's Power's proposed Bute Inlet project is neither sensitive, considerate nor gentle – an abduction in the tradition of Pluto. The magnitude of its impact will be pervasive and permanent. Indeed, this project is so massive and the implications so extensive for the Coast Mountains that it will reshape the character BC's southwest coast.

Plutonic Power claims its project is low impact. But, at $3.5 billion, it is one of the largest and most extensive electricity generating projects in BC's history. Remote mountainsides, valleys and shorelines will be scarred with 443 km of transmission lines, 314 km of roads, 142 bridges and 85 km of penstocks, plus dams, tunnels and powerhouses – essentially industrializing an area of 24,188 hectares (Island Tides, Jan. 15/09). Transmission lines will scar the landscape on their southward path to link the Bute Inlet project to the $600 million Toba Inlet project – already under construction – where additional transmission lines will traverse more wilderness to reach BC Hydro's Malaspina substation on the Sechelt Peninsula. From Bute Inlet, another 200 km of lines – a linear clearcut of 19,212 hectares – will extend westward over West Thurlow Island and span Johnstone Strait to Vancouver Island. Plutonic's total proposal would require Crown land and water grants of 450 square kilometres (Ibid.). Future plans include the northward expansion of similar projects into Loughborough Inlet and Knight Inlet.

The cumulative effect of these series of projects will be enormous. Rare wildlife habitat will be threatened or destroyed. Road access will invite mining, hunting, more logging and other destructive intrusions into one of the few remaining wilderness areas left on our beleaguered planet – knowledgable people describe the interplay of deep fiords, steep mountains and glacier scenery as some of the most spectacular and dramatic in the world.

This project by Plutonic Power is offensive in scope, design and impact. It is neither inconsequential nor environmentally benign, and it cannot be dressed innocently in the guise of run-of-river virtue. Indeed, its impact will be so pervasive that it invites a full public inquiry to assess BC's need for such power, the wisdom of producing it for export, and options for renewable energy that employ a more careful and gentle ingenuity.

With so many important questions unanswered and such ominous impacts likely, this project has the sulphurous smell of the underworld and Pluto's dark intentions. Persephone should be left to pick her wild flowers on the few pristine mountainsides that remain.