Favourite Books

  • The Green Mile
  • Animal Farm
  • Lord of the Flies
  • Lord of the Rings
  • To Kill a Mockingbird

Saturday 27 December 2014

Why I doth Protest

Hey...if the title is improper English, so be it...I have totally forgotten nouns, adverbs, adjectives etc..I just put down what sounds good to me. If it causes those smarter than myself pain...suck it up!I was the kid who wished they had a paper shredder in my home when report card time came around..I managed the 12 years expected, barely squeaked through them..so Grammar mistakes will occur!
  Anyhow..I digress. I admit, I have become a real mouthpiece...I have become so very invovled with the Site C project, and, a few others, in the past years. I argue with so many, because I am against this horror to nature, as I think of it. I hear young people screeching how it is going to bring so many good paying jobs, jobs that will allow them to provide for their children. I totally understand, yes, you will certainly be able to give your kids a wonderful life, with every toy they dream of, if, indeed you are one of the chosen to work this project. You will be set for life!!!
  As one who was never really set for life, raising kids, I admit, to not have to worry if you will have enough food in the cupboard for their next meal, will be awesome. There is nothing more difficult then having to struggle while trying to provide for your children, this I know for fact! But, at what price, folks?
  This morning I woke up in my house. I have 2 of my grandchildren sound asleep upstairs. My children have managed to make it to adulthood. They did not get everything they wanted growing up, they had to eat some pretty sorry meals, and although they may not remember, there were many times they slept in front of the kitchen stove with doorways blanketed off, so I could keep them warm. There were many times the word "No| was said when they requested things, because it was impossible to provide extra's. However, they seem to have survived, and they also are aware, there were others not near as fortunate as themselves. Their lives were not so bad, simply because they didn't get everything they wanted, as parents we managed to give them everything they needed.
  Now that I have done my "job" as a mother, I can relax, just a little, and look around. I can tell you, most every meal that was placed on our table came from the extraction of natural resources. I expect if you take a drive back to our roots, you will see a few bare patches in the forest, caused by a few of my Honey's pay cheques, while involved in logging. But...they are difficult to recognize now, decades have passed, and if the patches seem bare, they are not really, they are filled with trees, just not old growth. When my grandchildren are my age, those trees will indeed look much like they did before they were logged off. The mining jobs, well, most of those he worked as a |band-aid" at, and every one of those was a fly-in camp, so...chances of seeing what they look like now, are slim (unless we get in an aircraft). More recently meals were provided by oil and gas, or..yes, the dreaded coal, those fossil fuels that cause such grief. I admit, the areas we received pay from are pretty obvious in those cases. But, again, they are all some distance away, and....in time, nature can indeed step back in.By the time the grandkids are as old as their grandmother, it is doubtful these projects will be staring them in the face.
  Site C, well, sorry. I see the results of WAC Bennet Dam. I see the body of water that flowed over the lands that others held dear. I see the deadwood floating all about, making it less than appealing for boaters. I see the constant dust blowing along the banks, making the whole area look like some desert, a touch of wind, and clouds appear (and there is constant wind in this area). I have seen property that friends purchased, fall into the "lake" because those in the past did not see beyond their clocks. The Dam was built with only the consideration of the present. Oh, they will spew about allowing our province affordable Hydro, we all know this is no longer fact. The Hydro rates are rising ever higher, and now that after 50 years (not the 100 years government is throwing at us, right now) the Dam needs serious fixing, we have to find a way to pay for that, because the rates we pay now, just don't cut it. My question in this regard is...WhyTF did they not calculate necessary improvements from the beginning? Or did they? Perhaps the slush fund for upkeep was used for something else? Mega millions are now needed to keep the 50 year old dam running smoothly and safely. So..when they speak of a 100 year lifespan, they are not telling the whole story, you don't just build an earthen Dam, and then sit back and enjoy it for 100 years. This project will demand the mega millions needed  for upkeep, long before that time!
  People who lived in this area, before the WAC Bennet dam, are still alive today. They remember what the land looked like. They now have Great.great Grandchildren , and I imagine they haul out the pictures of what used to be, what would have belonged to their family, if this project had never happened. I imagine they walk places, and remember what once was, and will never be again. There is nothing I can say or do, to save the Williston area. A massive amount of forests, and valleys, that are gone forever. The stories of wildlife drowning in the lake, because one minute it was a migration route, and the next, it was filled with so much water, moose, Elk, deer, bears, all perished, filling the lake with bloated bodies, creating full time jobs for some to attempt to remove. The forests were planed for removal, but, it took too long, so instead the water rushed in, turning the whole body into a disgusting mess of decay, filling it with poison. Time was of the essence! The destruction caused by this Dam is still happening, 50 years later. It is impossible to predict what something this size will affect when it comes to Nature.
  Yes, I turn my lights on!! I play music, I watch TV!! If I had the resources, I would walk away from Hydro in a split second! I heat my water with natural gas, I warm my home with natural gas,and wood. I am not adverse to natural gas. I understand folks in the cities cook, and heat their homes with it as well. It is cheaper, and it's footprint is all over the province, much bigger in this area, but it is there. Our government is opening their arms to exporting this fuel, we are all being told that it is going to make us a wealthier place, and provide for our future. It is going to power homes in other countries, but...oh my. we simply can't use it for power here, no, no, it is not green enough!! Instead, we will insist all areas get blanketed in pipelines, and huge ships get loaded with this to ply our shorelines, in order to send it elsewhere. Plus, on top of that, we absolutely need to build another Dam, so we can have CLEAN GREEN energy!!
  Am I the only one that thinks this is lunacy? So, what we are going to do, is set pipelines up in absolutely every single area, we will ensure those pipelines will not be within the Flood zone, then we will drown an enormous area of land, outside of those pipelines, to provide energy to the area the energy that we ship to other countries is extracted. O.K. I might not be the brightest bulb in the pack, but...does this not seem excessive? Can't we use what is in the pipelines? It's there in abundance. Is it going to run out in 100 years? What if we don't export the amount we need? What if we make a deal with all of those countries that are laying these pipes all over our land, that we can use what we need, at a pretty decent price? What if we save the billions that this CLEAN GREEN dam is going to cost, and along with those billions we save a sh*tload of land?
  There are going to be some pretty good jobs coming out of the LNG projects, more than enough for all the Trades people excited for the Site C project. It is possible to make some regulations to allow Nature to have a foot hold when it comes to pipelines. It would ensure my Grandchldren have a source of energy when they get to be my age. It will ensure those children do not look upon a huge body of water than destroyed homes, farms, wildlife habitat, fish, and the way of life for so many. It will ensure that 50 years after the fact, suddenly land that was stated as stable, suddenly does not slough off into the water. It will ensure that my Grandchildren do not have to pay the price for the folly committed by my generation because someone could only see what was in it for their present benefit.
  We have time, we can step back and regroup. As FN are now saying, it is one or the other. How much will it cost us to remove our name from the Kyoto Accord that was signed, without consideration? How do we remove ourselves from such a hypocritical pile of sh*t? A paper that allows us to send off "dirty" energy to other countries, and insists we use different energy? Really people, this is what we are doing!! When our Grandchildren have to dig into their pockets to pay for a mega billion $ project, plus live their lives surrounded by pipelines, and a stinking useless body of mercury loaded body of water, who are they going to blame?
  I no longer have to worry about the survival of my children, my concern is now the survival of their children, and those to follow. I will not be here to protect them, all I can do is to try and ensure that the rest of the province takes the time to consider what they will be left with. It is time to stop being selfish, it is time to truly provide for the future, the very best we can. We regrow the forests, we cannot drain the lakes we make near as easily! We cannot destroy Nature completely and claim it is the only way. We know there are other ways, we just continue to use the almighty dollar as the excuse. If LNG is indeed good enough to sell, it is also good enough to use! One thing or the other, time for the "NO" word to be spoken!

No comments:

Post a Comment