In spite of the proven-disastrous-to-the-environment track record of oil pipelines, a new pipeline has been approved for construction in Canada.
The evidence shows that all phases of the petroleum business are bad for the environment, including drilling, transport, refining, and combustion. From extraction to combustion, petroleum can only add pollution to the land, sea, and air, and that’s when things are working properly. Add in human error and technical failures, and the case against petroleum grows exponentially. Such is the case with a proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project, the final approval of which is expected by July, 2014.
Still, the Joint Review Panel (JRP), consisting of National Energy Board vice-chairwoman Sheila Leggett, energy lawyer Kenneth Bateman, and geologist Hans Matthews, has ignored the evidence, giving the oil pipeline the go-ahead. The Canadian government still has to approve of the project, but the JRP recommendation is a blow against the environment, in favor of, well, you guessed it, big money.
Scientific evidence, historical records, and public opinion, notwithstanding, the JRP has voted in favor of allowing a multi-billion dollar project that could have serious consequences for the environment. The Enbridge oil pipeline project involves the building of two pipelines, running over 700 miles, between Bruderheim, Alberta, to Kitimat, British Columbia. The main 36” line will carry up to 525,000 barrels per day of crude oil to a new Kitimat Marine Terminal, where tankers will take up the final leg of the journey.
Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries West Coast / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
