Stop Killing the Earth

Here in East Texas protestors are still trying to halt the expansion of the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline. They block construction sites, chaining themselves to equipment and/or trees, but it is not a fight they will probably win.

Too bad.

We need to take seriously the dangers of this pipeline, as well as other environmental issues caused by drilling for oil.

According to an article on Bloomberg.com, the TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline will not have the advanced spill protection technology the company has continuously claimed it will. Inside Climate News reported this week about the tar sands pipeline’s threat to a major fresh water source for millions of Americans, and other local resources: “… [The Keystone XL pipeline] is being proposed across the Ogallala/High Plains aquifer, one of the nation's most important sources of drinking and irrigation water. Yet none of the major features that protect Austin's much smaller aquifer are included in the plan. In fact, they haven't even been discussed,” the article reads.

I hope you take a moment to read the full article.


Today I received a notice about a disaster in the Arctic from Dan Ritzman, Sierra Club Arctic Campaign Director.

"On New Year's Day, a Shell Oil rig, carrying over 150,000 gallons of petroleum products, broke free from its tugboat and ran aground near Kodiak Island, Alaska.

"Last year, Shell came close to drilling for oil in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas - also known as the Polar Bear Seas because they are home to 20% of the world's polar bear population. But Shell showed it was completely unprepared for the reality of the stormy waters of the Arctic Ocean. Shell’s ships caught fire, the spill clean-up equipment was destroyed during testing, and at the last minute, Shell admitted it wouldn't be able to comply with its clean air permits.

"The Polar Bear Seas are far too important and fragile to leave in the hands of Big Oil. They are home to walrus, endangered ice seals, hundreds of species of migratory birds, and bowhead and beluga whales. Shell’s incompetence could lead to an irreversible disaster."

More about this disaster and the implications for furthur drilling can be read on Seattlepi.com.

What do you think of our dependence on oil and the environmental impact?

As a new feature to my blog, I will share an interesting quote from a book I'm reading. I got the idea as I was reading this morning during breakfast and came across this line. 

Lessons From Literature:
"I went in to see Miss Emma. I didn't want to, but out of respect for her I thought I should." From A Lesson Before Dying by  Ernest J. Gaines.

I though that was interesting in this age of only doing what feels good.  Do yo make yourself do things you'd rather not because it is a good thing to do for another person?