oil pipelines

Great address by President Obama to the United Nations this morning. I am not going to read the media reports (haven't all day), simply form my own opinion. I like this guy.

In today's Prince George Citizen newspaper a response by Enbridge to my so-called "spewing about spills" article last week about their proposed crude oil twin pipelines through this area of BC. Here's their response:

Enbridge committed to safety

Written by Steven GreenawayVice President, Public & Government AffairsEnbridge Northern Gateway
Tuesday, 22 September 2009

Re: “Spewing about spills,” Sept. 17, 2009

As a company, Enbridge’s very success depends on our ability to operate in an environmentally safe manner. In 2008, we shipped close to 800 million barrels of oil through a network of pipelines stretching over 13,000 kilometres. We spilled 2,668 barrels of those 800 million barrels or 0.003 per cent. The majority of the spills occurred without our own facilities. Of the product spilled, most was recovered and re-injected into the pipeline system. We feel that our commitment to safety is what has allowed us to operate our pipelines responsibly for over 60 years, and it is why we are constantly investing in new leak-prevention technology.We share the concerns expressed over the environmental impact of our project, including shipping safety in the Douglas Channel.This is why we will ensure a comprehensive marine strategy is in place, including having tankers carrying product tethered to powerful escort tugs throughout the Channel, installing radar, and vetting the tankers before they are permitted to enter our terminal. We will build upon the best practices that have allowed over 1,500 deep sea tankers (including some carrying condensate and other petroleum-based products) to safely enter the port of Kitimat over the past 25 years.Your readers should also know that there is an extensive regulatory process in place to review the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. It will be led by the National Energy Board (NEB) and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA). This independent, quasi-judicial process will include public hearings at locations along the route with witnesses providing sworn testimony that will be tested by cross-examination.This is a tried and tested process that will result in a concrete decision - either the project will be approved or denied. A public inquiry does not offer the same guarantees.We are also committed to ensuring that people have the opportunity to have their say. That is why we held 18 community open houses in 2008 that were attended by almost 1,000 people. We recently held five Community Advisory Board meetings where nearly 200 people participated in full-day sessions. We believe this level of interest and participation speaks to the importance that residents across the North place on the future of their environment, economy and quality of life.Our goal is to bring employment and economic development opportunities to the communities in which we operate.Northern Gateway will create over 4,000 construction jobs and 200 long-term operational jobs. These are real jobs that will support local families. Northerners have watched as a lot of major projects have been built in the southern part of the province in recent years.But now it could be the North’s turn to host one of Canada’s largest projects on the books today.

To this letter I say: only 200 long term jobs !? And at what long term cost !? The thought of crude oil from the tar sands coming through this area where never before have there been oil tankers on the west coast truthfully makes me want to spew! Aah, but Enbridge is good with the rhetoric, they really are.

One of the rivers that would be crossed by these twin oil pipelines is the Stuart River which is a major tributary of the Nechako River which in turn is a major tributary of the Fraser (the biggest salmon bearing river of all of BC). The Stuart River is only one of many along its proposed route that would go through all sorts of pristine wilderness areas. I know the Stuart because it runs down from Fort St. James, the historic fur trade capital of New Caledonia. As I grew up in nearby Vanderhoof, Stuart River has always been an intrinsic part of the local landscape. Once upon a time it was a thriving trade centre for fur trading. Long before that, the Stuart has always been very important for the First Nations people of the area as they and their culture have always been very dependent on fish, particularly the annual salmon runs coming up from the Fraser watershed.

In this letter and on the Enbridge websites I researched before writing my letter, this company admits to having oil spills as an "inherent risk of doing business." Is this some kind of lunacy we are allowing to happen with some kind of blinders on? Why would this project even be on the table as a possibility?

There is an anti-Enbridge group now starting to take shape in Prince George - that seems to be the way it is around here - get angry about issues, find some like-minded people and start a group. More lobbying power that way. . . also generates much more energy to be connecting and sharing ideas with others.

Have discovered http://www.northerngatewayalliance.ca/ -- it is something paid for and organized by Enbridge to look like some kind of community-based grassroots movement in support of them. The PR machine running around these pipelines is absolutely unbelievable. . . with opening up a trade route for tar sands oil to the waiting huge Chinese markets (and with PetroChina now in a couple of billion in investments in the tar sands), much money is at stake for these big companies.

We are living in very strange times indeed, and many people simply say "who cares" or more often than not, they are simply overwhelmed with the demands of their daily lives and don't have time to research a pipeline to the extent that would enable them to be able to counter the likes of mega-multinational pipeline company Enbridge.

I am having difficulty reconciling Obama talking about the world needing to seriously address climate change with the very incongruent plans over here to punch twin oil pipelines across the northern BC landscape to promote further tar sands expansion & oil trade with economic super power China. I fear Canada is really starting to slide, and it is too bad, because we have so very much to lose if we don't stand up for it, "stand on guard for thee."