Good Afternoon, Kosland. Our beloved Meteor Blades was a powerful voice for the environment, and this diary is dedicated to him. I thought that you all might like to hear the voices of other opponents of the XL Pipeline, but first I want to add a few words about why this is such an important issue for the future of our environment.
As you can see from the map, the proposed route of the pipeline, which will carry dirty oil from the oil sands of Alberta to Texas, runs right through the Ogallala aquifer. Why is the aquifer so important?
Because it's the most heavily used aquifer in the United States and supplies about 30 percent of the groundwater pumped for irrigation nationwide. The Ogallala aquifer (also known as the High Plains aquifer) covers 175,000 square miles, an area larger than the state of California, and spans eight states — Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.
Most of the residents in this region depend on the aquifer for their drinking water, and the farmers there produce about a fifth of America's agricultural output, worth at least $20 billion a year.
So how does the pipeline pose a threat to this aquifer?
A major concern associated with the project is TransCanada's pending application before the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation, seeking exemption from current federal standards regulating pipeline thickness and the pressure the at which the pipe operates. TransCanada is requesting a design change that would allow it to operate at pressures equal to 80% of the pipe, rather than the standard 72%. This change would allow them to use thinner pipe in rural areas where they claim there is a low risk of accidental puncture. The thinner pipe means a higher chance for pipe failure, posing a serious risk to land and water resources in areas where the thinner pipe will be used.
Follow me below the squiggle to hear some of the voices in opposition to this pipeline.
Some of the most powerful voices are those of First Nations peoples in Canada who are already experiencing the environmental impact of exploiting the oil sands.
Here is portion of an interview with Francois Paulette. He is a member of the Smith's Landing Treaty 8 Dene First Nation, and he lives just 200 miles downstream from the oil sands industry in Alberta, Canada:
We can’t drink the water directly from the river and we are cautious of eating the fish. The water is murky and the streams that feed the big river have gone dry. It affects the fish, plants, and people who travel the river. The river does not freeze until the end of January and in the past people used boats to cross the river but now they must wait until it freezes. There are more sandbars, and more rocks, making boat travel difficult and causing accidents. It changes the whole nature of travel.
The wildlife are affected: the moose, deer, bears, the beaver and the muskrat. The beaver has to build its house to the shoreline. There is a hydro dam way up the Peace River. Now this affects the beavers because their houses will be underwater. Birds like the eagle are staying up here all winter now to feed on the fish, which is unusual. We are on the second biggest flyway of migratory birds in North America, but they are finding more and more dead birds because the holding ponds are being monitored more closely and this is apparent now. There are not as many ducks or geese. And animals are very perceptive to their surroundings so it is hard to say what they are picking up.
He also noted that:
We feel we are the huge omission when Americans talk about the tarsands...
White House policy makers need to know that their appetite for this dirty oil is killing our river and destroying our way of life. The pollutants and heavy metals don’t stop at the Alberta border — they run more than 1,000 kilometres all the way to the Mackenzie River, deforming the fish along the way.
From the Indigenous Environmental Network:
Most Americans have never heard of the Alberta tar sands, yet it is one of the largest and most destructive projects on Earth. This little-known industrial mega-project is creating an ongoing environmental disaster in Canada, and is now threatening to create one here in the United States.
Americans are waking up to this potential environmental disaster.
Over 260,000 Americans have told the State Department that they do not want the Keystone XL Tar Sands pipeline to receive a permit.
Religious communities are speaking out. This is a portion of a letter that was written by
the Dominican sisters of Grand Rapids and signed by many other religious organizations:
As a people of faith, we are in awe of Earth’s goodness and its ability to provide life for all of God’s creation. As such we need to ensure that proper steps are taken to secure this ability for future generations to come. As a people, society, and government we need to respect the intrinsic value of creation, and thus, the environment as well. We urge you not to permit TransCanada the opportunity to build the Keystone XL Pipeline.
We urge you, and the Obama Administration to take this opportunity to stop the Keystone Pipeline from being built. We realize the pipeline is a response to increasing demands for energy in the U.S. As an alternative, we encourage investments in increased efficiency and sustainable energy systems using wind, solar and geothermal power. Solutions requiring efficiency and sustainability will endure and will maintain our health and the health of the environment. We agree that the U.S. needs, as President Obama has said, a “clean energy future”. Tar-sands oil cannot in any way be described as “clean energy”. Stop the pipeline before it ever starts. ~source
Finally. Senator Bernie Sanders, a voice of sanity and a champion of liberal and progressive values in the Senate has said the following:
Building this pipeline will keep America addicted to oil, and while it might be a good idea for Koch Industries, which supplies and refines large volumes of Canadian tar sands oil, it is a bad deal for our country.
We need a clean energy future. "Drill, baby, drill" is not the solution to our energy needs. It is time to stop the pipeline!
Stop Tar Sands Blogathon Calendar: All Times Pacific
Sun. August 14th:
10 am: Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse
2 pm: blue jersey mom
5 pm: Lawrence MacDonald
Monday August 15:
11 am: janefleming
2 pm: Ellinorianne
5 pm: Ann Mesnikoff
Tuesday August 16:
11 am: JeffM2001
2 pm: (reserved but not sure of user name yet)
3 pm: Kitsap River
5 pm: agmaynard
Wednesday August 17:
11 am: Oke
2 pm: rb137
5 pm: JasonBox
Thursday August 18:
11 am: citisven
2 pm: Ben Gotschall
5 pm: boatsie
Friday August 19:
11 am: beach babe in fl
2 pm: Aji
5 pm: Bill McKibben
What can you do?
In addition to participating in our blogathon as blogger, reader, or commenter, you can sign up to join Bill McKibben in civil disobedience August 20-September 3 in front of the White House.
You can also sign a petition telling President Obama to stop the tar sands pipeline.
We know what the future will look like with the XL pipeline.