I don't normally get political. But I spent part of the day today listening to a politician talk about why we should build the Keystone Pipeline. They threw out all the classic reasons: jobs, income for companies and people, national security. When asked about why the president would put of the decision on the gigantic pipeline, he said something about how the environmentalists has lobbied him into waiting. Normally I would ignore it. But I hear the same arguments day in and day out. How creating jobs is far more important than worrying about the environment. How income seems to trump wilderness. It's one of the reasons that I hand over a small piece of my soul every day. My job helps bring these projects to life.
I don't believe that money trumps environment. I don't believe that the short term benefit we get now, outweighs the long-term damage we do. Thankfully there are others who feel the same.
The Sierra Club posted these pictures from
Garth Lenz, an award winning Canadian conservationist and photographer, who took them in Canada right around the area where the tar sand will be mined.
Above is the area where the mining would take place.
Above is the nearby area where tar sand mining is already taking place.
That is my reason. No amount of money is worth that. No local source of oil is worth that. I respect our president for waiting. I'm sad that we're even having the discussion.
2 comments:
No energy, except the sun, comes without a price to the environment. Dad
Very true Dad. I'm actually a huge advocate for solar. I also believe in wind and hydroelectric, even though they have an impact on wildlife and the environment. What I don't see with those is an impact this dramatic.
I know that we are very dependent on electricity but I also believe that there are other sources for oil. There is no reason for this inefficient system of mining.
Post a Comment