EnCana On Alert
The several hundred people who live around Tomslake in northeastern British Columbia, and those living in Dawson Creek are not fond of the presence of energy giant EnCana in their neighbourhood. They have protested against the presence of the oil and gas wells despoiling their environment, but know they are battling a powerful company. Their protest group, Citizens for Responsible Energy Development in the Peace is, on the other hand, not very popular with EnCana.
But it is the wellheads and the sour gas pipes owned by EnCana that have had a hugely deleterious impact on the lives of the residents of these communities, and they have no intention of halting their voices raised in opposition to the oil and gas company's presence. Tomslake is located about 28 kilometres south of Dawson Creek. And in October of 2007 it was discovered that under a pipeline south of the hamlet an explosion had occurred, creating a two-metre crater.
Soon afterward another bomb was found to be responsible for a cracked pipeline, creating a small gas leak. And then a third wellhead was targeted and began leaking later that same month. Followed, some months later, by a fourth bomb which was powerful enough to blast apart a shed wall housing a sour gas pipe. That shed was located directly across the road from a family home, housing two small children.
The community is fearful on two fronts; the presence of the despised wellheads and sour gas pipes, and the potential for an explosion to trigger a fatal gas leak.
The RCMP is on the alert for someone who has a grudge and is acting upon it, in this criminal manner. The fact, needless to say, that a huge oil and gas conglomerate has impacted deleteriously on the lives of hundreds of people, hitting them directly where they live, poisoning their atmosphere, is not considered to be criminal, simply a fact of modern life. And modern life is utterly dependent on the ongoing extraction of fossil fuels.
The people of Dawson Creek and Tomslake are unfortunate casualties of energy extraction, of commodities that the world is severely addicted to. No one in the two communities is aware of who the bombers might possibly be, other than to guess that it is someone radically disaffected by the energy company's presence. Someone dedicated to the environment, not to the extraction of fossil fuels.
But, they claim, although they're under deep suspicion and the RCMP keep enquiring, security keeping a tight monitoring schedule on the inhabitants, it's not they who are responsible.
What an utter misery; living in their secluded Eden, only to have it turned, in the last decade, into an atmosphere of uncertain fear, the imposition of health and safety problems, and now under deep suspicion of domestic terrorism. When, in fact, the domestic scene has been dominated by the deep-seated terror of health and safety impacts due to the presence of an extracted substance that imperils the lifestyles of residents.
The only positive aspect of the situation is that the country is now alert to a problem that the industry and government would far prefer be kept to a restrained silence. Regardless of the identity of the vigilante bomber.
But it is the wellheads and the sour gas pipes owned by EnCana that have had a hugely deleterious impact on the lives of the residents of these communities, and they have no intention of halting their voices raised in opposition to the oil and gas company's presence. Tomslake is located about 28 kilometres south of Dawson Creek. And in October of 2007 it was discovered that under a pipeline south of the hamlet an explosion had occurred, creating a two-metre crater.
Soon afterward another bomb was found to be responsible for a cracked pipeline, creating a small gas leak. And then a third wellhead was targeted and began leaking later that same month. Followed, some months later, by a fourth bomb which was powerful enough to blast apart a shed wall housing a sour gas pipe. That shed was located directly across the road from a family home, housing two small children.
The community is fearful on two fronts; the presence of the despised wellheads and sour gas pipes, and the potential for an explosion to trigger a fatal gas leak.
The RCMP is on the alert for someone who has a grudge and is acting upon it, in this criminal manner. The fact, needless to say, that a huge oil and gas conglomerate has impacted deleteriously on the lives of hundreds of people, hitting them directly where they live, poisoning their atmosphere, is not considered to be criminal, simply a fact of modern life. And modern life is utterly dependent on the ongoing extraction of fossil fuels.
The people of Dawson Creek and Tomslake are unfortunate casualties of energy extraction, of commodities that the world is severely addicted to. No one in the two communities is aware of who the bombers might possibly be, other than to guess that it is someone radically disaffected by the energy company's presence. Someone dedicated to the environment, not to the extraction of fossil fuels.
But, they claim, although they're under deep suspicion and the RCMP keep enquiring, security keeping a tight monitoring schedule on the inhabitants, it's not they who are responsible.
What an utter misery; living in their secluded Eden, only to have it turned, in the last decade, into an atmosphere of uncertain fear, the imposition of health and safety problems, and now under deep suspicion of domestic terrorism. When, in fact, the domestic scene has been dominated by the deep-seated terror of health and safety impacts due to the presence of an extracted substance that imperils the lifestyles of residents.
The only positive aspect of the situation is that the country is now alert to a problem that the industry and government would far prefer be kept to a restrained silence. Regardless of the identity of the vigilante bomber.
Labels: Canada, Environment, Values
posted by Pieface @ 6:24 PM
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