Oliver man speaks out about pipeline, gets visit from RCMP

[Drongoman]

Of course there are lots of pipelines in the Okanagan, but no crude oil pipelines, gas lines yes, water lines yes, but no crude oil pipelines, lets all lobby for a crude oil pipeline through the Okanagan, then when the first blow out happens and the lakes are contaminated then we can rethink our decision. :)

how many crude oil pipeline blow-outs are there on a regular basis? Just curious. If you listen to the enviro-rhetoric, every place that a pipeline currently goes through is awash in crude and everything around it is dead for miles. I wonder if the truth is somewhat less apocalyptic in nature.

[jimsenchuk]

List of pipeline accidents

I was quite surprised at how many pipeline accidents have happened, the USA alone has hundreds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents

MAJOR EXPLOSIONS & OIL SPILLS

http://www.oilandgasinjurylawyers.com/M ... sSince2000

Current Incidents

http://www.asmconsortium.net/news/incid ... fault.aspx

[econovan64]

Of course there are lots of pipelines in the Okanagan, but no crude oil pipelines, gas lines yes, water lines yes, but no crude oil pipelines, lets all lobby for a crude oil pipeline through the Okanagan, then when the first blow out happens and the lakes are contaminated then we can rethink our decision. :)

The route of the proposed pipeline to Kitimat goes through many remote watersheds and ecosystems where cleanup of even small 1000 to 40,000 barrel oil spills is next to impossible. Instead the oil will travel downstream contaminating the stream until it reaches the larger river system and will contaminate that as well, wiping out fish stocks and breeding habitat for decades.

A large spill would simply be a catastrophe as the entire drainage basin would be destroyed. It doesn't take a fisheries biologist to understand that crude oil flowing into watersheds will disrupt the the entire ecosystem for decades. And the people who depend on that for their livelihood are just plain SOL.

A tanker spill in the Douglas Channel would destroy habitat and fisheries over most of out north coast. The tidal conditions are such that nothing could be done to contain a tanker spill in Douglas Channel and the vast amount of oil would be spread overnight over thousands of square miles. Its unthinkable.

Of course its only the local people who depend on the environment who will be adversely affected. And Harper says, "Who cares about them? Certainly not the Harper Government. We have bigger fish to fry. Lets get on with the liquidation of this countries assets to the lowest bidder."

[The Green Barbarian]

. And Harper says, "Who cares about them? Certainly not the Harper Government. We have bigger fish to fry. Lets get on with the liquidation of this countries assets to the lowest bidder."

Link please.

[econovan64]

Actions speak louder than words.

[D suzuki]

we should be refining our oil and selling finished products , kinda like what the americans do to us :nutzoid:

[econovan64]

We should be conserving our energy resources for future generations.
But no they are giving it away to the oil companies who are making stupendous profits and giving little back.
Alberta should be paving the roads with gold, but they are as broke as any other province.
When the oil is gone there will be nothing left to show for it but a degraded and pillaged environment.
Its all the Conservative policies lining the pockets of crooked corporations at the public expense. They are running the country the way the bikers run the drug trade. My way or the highway.

[maple leaf]

This site gives a computer generated model of just were the oil will spread in the event of a spill. There are several scenarios shown.
http://www.livingoceans.org/initiatives ... pill-model

[The Green Barbarian]

we should be refining our oil and selling finished products , kinda like what the americans do to us :nutzoid:

We do refine our oil. Have you never been to Sarnia? Why do people with zero knowledge of the refining industry in Canada continue to make these kinds of uneducated statements? I guess it's fine to speculate, but we all know where this refinery building foolishness is coming from, the latest NDP policy, which like almost all NDP policy, has zero grounding in reality.

[D suzuki]

why we buying our gas back from the yanks then? our gas prices should be lower if we make our own gas

[The Green Barbarian]

why we buying our gas back from the yanks then? our gas prices should be lower if we make our own gas

what do you base this concept on exactly? Do you have any clue what you are talking about? Who is "we" anyway in this scenario? Are you, David Suzuki, going to build a refinery? You may want to talk to your namesake about that one, and I'm sure he'll tell you that you should be powering your car off solar and wind, so therefore we don't need any refineries.

[econovan64]

This story appeared in the Courier has a little more detail.

An Oliver man is awaiting a reply from the Prime Minister's Office about being questioned by RCMP after he expressed his opposition to the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.
Last November, 69-year-old John Allsop watched a DVD about preserving Canada's Great Bear Rainforest on B.C.'s west coast. At the end of the film, a message encouraged people to call the Prime Minister's Office to ask for a permanent ban on oil tankers along B.C.'s coast.
Allsop called the number on Nov. 15 and left a message stating he opposed the pipeline.
He's concerned about the impact it could have on the environment, wildlife and First Nations living in that region. For the past seven years, Allsop has worked one on one with First Nations students, volunteering at the Sen-Pok-Chin School in Oliver, and he has developed a strong appreciation for their culture.
On the morning of Nov. 25, Allsop answered a knock on his door and was met by a Mountie from the local detachment.
After confirming Allsop's identity, the officer asked if he could come inside. Allsop estimated the officer was in his house about 30 minutes, during which he asked questions about Allsop's life history and took notes.
The officer explained the RCMP had received reports that Allsop had called the PMO about his objections to the pipeline, leaving Allsop with the impression he was being watched.
On Dec. 1, Allsop went to the Oliver RCMP detachment and spoke with Staff Sgt. Ken Harrington about what had happened.
Harrington explained whenever the prime minister visits (Harper was in Vancouver for the Grey Cup), the RCMP receives a list of everyone the government considers a "person of interest."
At the end of March, Allsop will be flying to Italy, where he once lived. He also volunteers there, teaching conversational English at the same school his children attended.
However, with no information from the PMO clearing him of any wrongdoing, Allsop is worried he could be red-flagged when he passes through security at Kelowna Airport.
Following his conversation with Harrington, Allsop phoned Alex Atamanenko, the New Democrat MP for B.C. Southern Interior, to tell him what had occurred. He followed up with a letter to Atamanenko's office.
On Dec. 15, Atamanenko wrote a letter to the prime minister on Allsop's behalf, explaining what had transpired.
His letter noted Allsop was born in New Zealand and became a Canadian citizen in 1977.
"Mr. Allsop is a passionate defender of the rights and freedoms that we as Canadians enjoy," wrote Atamanenko. "I have met him on numerous occasions and am convinced that he cares deeply about our country. For this reason, he feels that, as a citizen, his democratic right to express his political views by contacting the prime minister has been tampered with."
The letter asked for Harper's office to contact Allsop to clear up any misunderstanding and reassure him he will not be barred from flying out of the country.
Allsop then received a phone message from Atamanenko's office informing him that responses from the prime minister on such matters usually take about three months.
Allsop said he's also concerned that when contacted by a reporter for the Globe and Mail, who interviewed him about the incident, the Prime Minister's Office denied receiving a call from him. Allsop's phone bill shows he made one on Nov. 15 to the number displayed on the DVD.
He has kept detailed records relating to the incident, but insists he's neither paranoid nor a radical. He also said he doesn't have a criminal record.
"I'm a legitimate Canadian citizen who's got a beef about the Northern Gateway pipeline," said Allsop. "I'm taking a stand on it for the First Nations people and their way of life. I have my right."