Trying to stop a
pipeline, one might say, is like trying to stop a tropical storm. You
know it’s coming, and you can try and get ready for it.
Of course the thing
coming this way is trouble, right from the get-go. The fact that Kinder
Morgan wants to send it through wetlands, and such fragile spaces,
shows the desperation of the very notion.
Propane, a byproduct of natural
gas processing, is in and of itself relatively clean; however, the
method of capture of this gas is not. This gas comes right from the
fracking fields, where the pollution and water waste are rampant.
But, of course, the oil barons
know their days are numbered, and, are rushing their plans into
production. It’s not because they have an endless supply of gas, that is
for sure.
But what we have here, is just what they need out West.
A pipeline for water is what they want, right from our pristine aquifers to their thirsty deserts.
Seriously, though, the pipeline
should not cross the Connecticut River, but remain somewhere along the
Route 91 corridor, where there already is industry.
What about going along the rail
corridor right up to Vernon, Vt., and re-animating the one-time nuclear
power plant there to run on propane?
Hell, all the wires are still there. Of course there’s probably some reason why that wouldn’t work.
If Kinder Morgan somehow gets to play the eminent domain card, then we will probably be out of luck.
Best chance then, would be if the price of oil dropped so low as to make the whole pipeline project unfeasible economically.
Of course all the usual ways to
save energy come into play. The bicycle-riding-skateboarder of tomorrow
may find he can get a bit farther with wind and solar power than we
have.
There’s more than one way to use the sun to give us power, especially now, with our thin ozone layer and hotter seasons.
As more and more people find ways to get further on less, as always, the need for fossil fuels will diminish.
As we learn more about the nature of electricity, superconductivity, we will get more out of a BTU.
Solar steam and solar batch systems, which provide 24-hour electricity from the sun, are the next generation.
It is likely there will be less call for the other fuels.
Also, as the cleaner burning
engines of tomorrow are perfected, we will find that petroleum is best
left in its original state, as a lubricant for the tectonic plates.
Whatever the reason, this pipeline business is a real non-starter, if you ask me.
Instead of providing local jobs,
like a more sustainable energy picture, most of these pipeline jobs will
not go to local company workers but more likely to some subsidiary of
the bigger conglomerate.
Better to cover our mountaintops
with small-footprint wind farms and solar panel every rooftop than to
run a dangerous pipeline through pristine wetlands.
Of course every solution has its problems.
No matter what, in the spirit of progress, you can be sure that when the new technology comes in the old will be abandoned.
After that, we will be left with a
brownfield, desecrated, and ruined, for some temporary gain, while
greedy capitalists reap a fortune at the expense of someone else. Again.
Our leaders should look long and
hard into a mirror and ask themselves a simple question: What kind of
world will we leave for the next generations?
Marcus McCarroll
Keene
1 comment:
While I agree with many of the author's points, I don't think that putting potentially explosive propane near a facility that may have spent nuclear fuel nearby is the safest plan.
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