Sunday 13 April 2014

A Night to Remember - A Nightmare not to Forget



I met Maude Barlow last night in North Bay.  She, along with other intelligent, heartfelt folks, discussed the Energy East Pipeline development, with a large crowd of concerned citizens.  It is not just North Bay clamouring for this development to stop.  There are many pipelines in the works going from the Tar Sands in Alberta across Canada to the Coasts, and down throughout the U.S.  The plan is to use existing pipelines (aging, and originally designed to move natural gas or light crude) to move Bitumen, a very heavy sludge of crude, through these lines to refineries that will then ship the oil to China and Europe. Bitumen on it's own cannot be moved easily, therefore it would require a load of toxic chemicals added to make it easier to move.  In Canada, these lines go under and around hundreds of watersheds, fresh water lakes and rivers.  It is unacceptable.  Big Minds and Big Money need to be poured into establishing alternate energies to run Industry. And Industry needs to immediately rethink what it is doing to People and the Planet.  

There is no "clean-up".  There is no "alternative".  Did you know that the money awarded to the communities and people affected by the Exxon Valdez spill at Prince William Sound in the 80's still has not been paid? Most of the people from that time and area have died. On top of that, the spill is not cleaned up...


"The sound's coastal ecosystem is permanently damaged. Thousands of gallons of Exxon Valdez oil still pollute the beaches; this oil is still toxic and still hurting the ecosystem near the shore." (- http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/23/opinion/holleman-exxon-valdez-anniversary/)

"Job creation" is a condescension by the Harper Government to Canadians - the jobs are measly and short term... and the decision for the pipeline development lies solely with this Government, who does not hear what hundreds of Communities across Canada are now pleading.  This Government, who committed fraud with RoboCalls in the 2011 election, telling voters that their voting stations had changed, needs to go.  Why did we get up in arms about the fraudulent election in the U.S. by Bush's Government - but don't seem to care what's going on in our own backyards?


Maude's new book is the last in a trilogy about the coming global water crisis. She is an inspiration, standing up for all of us.  We need to stand with her.


Btw: it takes about 3.1 barrels of Water to produce 1 barrel of Bitumen... (!)


Water is Life.  There is no way around it.














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