A reddit user named Eckster had this to say about a recent pipeline rupture that spilled oil into the Yellowstone river in Montana. Im reposting it here because the truth is like a cleansing shower. --------- A spill from Keystone would be monumentally worse and expensive. Ill explain in detail below, but basic TL;DR, the oil we ship from Canada is diluted bitumen and unlike the oil that spilled here, diluted bitumen sinks to the bed of waterways. Diluted bitumen is too thick to ship by itself and has to be mixed with a ton of other chemicals. We can see how costly and hard it is to clean by the spill in Michigan with Canadian oil mentioned below. There is also an increased chance of a leak because diluted bitumen is more corrosive than other oils. The other issue that came up in the Senate this year is that Canadian oil pipelines dont pay into the oil spill liability trust fund through a loophole. For transparency, I have worked in the Oilfield where the oil will come from, and in governmental affairs concerning oil. I no longer work in it and am now an avid environmentalist due largely to my previous work. First off, dont get me wrong. I recognize the fact that without the oilsands the province I live in wouldnt be nearly as well off as we are now. I am not against pipelines or extracting oil resources, I am against improper environmental checks and balances that favour industry above all else. I am for science, sustainability, and using the best practices to ship and extract oil. There needs to be a balance, and so long as we let those with money call the shots, they will do as they please and it will be the taxpayers footing the dime when the shit hits the fan. If I were American I would be fighting this tooth and nail. Our provincial government has put industry above the environment and people for the past 30 years. Our federal government has eliminated a lot of environmental protections and is in a public relations war with environmental groups. The same company who is proposing Keystone, TransCanada, recently made headlines in Canada along with our energy regulator, for not releasing information about a spill that happened 5 years ago. Our energy regulator, the NEB, withheld this information claiming it was an administrative error” and delaying access to information as the negative publicity would put the proposed pipeline in jeopardy. huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/04/transcanada-pipeline-rupture_n_4722126.html Another company in Alberta is still allowing a leak to continue after 9 months! thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/02/09/3268751/alberta-tar-sands-leaking/ The real winners if the pipeline gets approved? Not the working class who might get a few jobs, not the people who live in the states and provinces the pipeline will pass through. But shareholders to pipeline and oil companies, and oligarchies like the Koch brothers. The Koch brothers have bought up land in Alberta where the pipeline will pass through, and has been investing heavily into the oilsands in Alberta and stand to profit over $100 billion if its approved. huffingtonpost/2013/10/21/keystone-xl-koch-brothers_n_4136491.html Yet, everyone is right to worry about environmental cleanup and costs. Take a look what happened in Michigan, with the company being fined a measly $3.7 million. cbc.ca/news/business/enbridge-faces-3-7m-fine-for-michigan-oil-spill-1.1246941 Its going to cost over $1 billion to clean it up, and who pays for it? Taxpayers. desmog.ca/2013/08/26/official-price-enbridge-kalamazoo-spill-whopping-1-039-000-000 Not to mention the fact that the type of oil that will be shipped through this pipeline cannot be cleaned up. Diluted bitumen, tarsands or oilsands, is too thick to ship by itself and must be mixed with a bunch of other products. It sinks to the bed of waterways, making it near impossible to clean up. desmog.ca/2014/01/14/it-s-official-federal-report-confirms-diluted-bitumen-sinks theglobeandmail/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/diluted-bitumen-sinks-when-mixed-with-sediments-federal-report-says/article16335022/ Our neo-conservative government has allowed industry to write our environmental laws. Theyve repealed many regulations that made Canada a leader on environmental issues, and have done everything in their power to ram through these projects. cbc.ca/news/politics/energy-industry-letter-suggested-environmental-law-changes-1.1346258 In my province, the company leases land from the Alberta government, and it is federal law that they are to reclaim the land 100% once they leave it. The problem is you cant reclaim wetlands, where the oilsands are, and because of the cold it would take infinitely longer for the habitat to be reclaimed. Even with all that factored in, you will never reclaim a wetland 100% to what it originally was. It took a very long time for nature to do it on its own. Here is a link that explores many of the environmental issues happening within Canada, concerning the federal and provincial government, how it will affect average Canadians, and the war of public relations with a collusion between government and industry, against environmentalists or scientists who go against their propaganda. It contains a lot of links and information. Our spy agency, similar to the NSA, is being used to spy on environmental groups who are causing problems with the government and industries propaganda. It is a scary time for the environment, when the people who are supposed to regulate industry and hold them to the fire, are directly working with them to subvert democracy and the right to a healthy ecosystem. The Canadian government uses taxpayers money to spend well over $100 million dollars solely to advertise our oil industry in the US and Canadian newspapers and TV instead of tightening regulations and spending that money on making industry less detrimental to the environment. Here in Canada we subsidize the oil industry to the tune of $32 Billion dollars, in the US its even more. Obama is right to have concerns about it, not just for the effects it has on your own country. The oil you would be buying from us is leaking toxic sludge into drinking water where the oil comes from as confirmed by Environment Canada scientists. They call this toxic sludge tailings. Tailings are toxic. Being leaked into clean water source that is used by animals and humans to drink from. Contaminants include naphthenic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenolic compounds, ammonia, mercury and other trace metals.The liquid found in oilsands tailings ponds is acutely toxic to aquatic organisms, and mammals. cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/oilsands-study-confirms-tailings-found-in-groundwater-river-1.2545089 This pipeline is good for rich people in both our countries. If trickle down economics was sound, it would be good for everyone, despite the obvious environmental issues. Trickle down economics doesnt work. Thank you Americans, for fighting with us to protect this land in North America we call home.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 21:38:17 +0000
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