Pipelines Vs. roads

Time to wade in on the pipe line issue.

Funny I saw a motor home with a “no pipeline”, “no fracking” bumper sticker on it. I guess he thinks fuel for his rolling house comes from outer space?

I get the feeling that if Suncor or the province decided to build a road to  Kitimat from Fort Mac, the public would say nothing.

The first nations would want a pull out for future road blocks , but no real issue would be taken with a road.

A pipeline,  on the other hand is a world wide disaster and weapon of mass environmental destruction.

Lets compare.

Road right of way, 160 metres wide.

Pipeline 40 metres.

Roads go into over and through, rivers, creeks and water sheds.

Pipelines are almost always designed to produce minimal environmental upheaval.

Road costs millions to build and maintain, all paid by tax payers.

Pipeline is a private endeavour and produces millions in taxable revenue to be used by tax payers.

Roads constantly kill thousands of animals and insects and wildlife on a daily basis.

Pipelines have almost no potential for daily disasters.

Car crashes kill people on roads and leave fuel , battery and oil spills all the time.

Pipelines would need to be sabotaged to release that level of poison into our land and water. Even a leak causes less damage than a week of cars on the road.

Roads require trucks and tankers to move products expensively and with huge fuel usage. Always releasing pollutants into the air.

Pipelines once running can move thousands of tons, litres, or gallons of product, safely and efficiently.

You are concerned with the oil or gas going to sea off our shores.

Go to the ports, there are hundreds of ships there with fuel tanks full, navigating our coast now. Tankers have been delivering and loading in BC for decades.

They also refuel and take on other supplies in our coastal waters.

I get that you may be protesting resource extraction. But the delivery of the resource is clearly better done in a pipe than on a road.

Be thank full there is a resource base here that maybe, just maybe our government will not waste or squander and we may see schools , health and lifestyle benefits for us and our kids.

Either that or we can keep killing Arabs and destroying the Middle East to feed you motor home.

Steve Butler