Let us band together to be angry, mean and punishing to those that want to destroy the environment!….Oh wait… There is no one. I don’t believe people that drive RVs, golf or fly etc. are malicious to the environment, though it is a consequence. Everyone would be deeply saddened by an environmental disaster. Even the straw man won’t stand up for this argument. There is no moral high ground here
An oil spill is unacceptable! However, oil is not toxic. My dad, now in his late nineties, washed his hand in gas regularly. Oil is natural and an organic concentration of organisms with incomplete decomposition. Like water and most chemicals, it is lethal if ingested in quantity. In fact, there are organisms that consume oil. It is the basis for fertilizer and will finish its decomposition eventually. There are thousands of much more toxic chemicals transported through Vancouver every day.
Comparing, a pipeline rupture to Deep Water Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico is comparing a tea cup to a bathtub. With this attitude, one would never get a hair cut for fear of decapitation.
GPS, autopiloting, double walls etc. has reduced tanker incidents to near zero. Pipes are NOT guaranteed to fail. They are everywhere, millions and the vast majority do not fail, EVER. The trans- mountain is a typical example. There is a slight risk your water pipe will fail but you choose to accept that risk. The diagnostic, prevention and mitigation technology for pipelines has greatly improved in the last five years and will continue to improve over the lifetime of the pipeline.
Canada is losing billions of revenues each year without full market access. This is livelihoods, careers, infrastructure and government services. The Gateway failure simply shifted 60 billion to Alaska. I do respect those that vow poverty and austerity for themselves, but its not for most and should not be imposed.
If every Canadian stopped driving and froze to death in the dark, our carbon emissions would be replaced in six months by China and India. The world would hardly notice.
Ensuring the best safety measures is just prudent. Thankfully, technology will eliminate the demand for fossil fuels. In my humble opinion, thanks.
C Bryanton
@vernonnews
letters@vernonmorningstar.com
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