By Luis Contreras
“A delusion is something that people believe in, despite a total lack of evidence.” Richard Dawkins
Delusions are beliefs held despite little, no evidence, or evidence to the contrary. The design, planning, and approval of the Diamond Pipeline are delusional.
Oil is deadly
If you had any doubts about the urgency of stopping construction of the Diamond Pipeline before it starts, the criminal attacks by Energy Transfer Partners on Nov. 20, 2016, are threats Arkansans are facing. More than 400 hundred Water Protectors were trapped on a bridge by the ETP Army. With no way out, they stood their ground inhaling noxious tear gas. The attackers began shooting rubber bullets and water cannons in 22° F temperatures. Three hundred injuries were the direct result of excessive force over the course of 10 hours. At least 26 seriously injured people had to be evacuated by ambulance to three area hospitals.
Low-cost and high-risk
Building a pipeline is a long and complex process. To make a profit, Diamond took shortcuts and avoided an Environmental Impact Statement. Welspun, the welded pipe supplier, hires temporary workers to avoid paying worker’s compensation. Diamond, like the 2015 El Refugio spill, does not plan to pay for damages.
Before the first pipe goes in the ground, Arkansans are already at high risk of flash floods on the P-way, the 100-ft. wide right-of-way described in the “Diamond Deception.”
Delusional people ignore the facts. The New Madrid Seismic Zone is the most active area in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The NMSZ epicenter is located near the route traversing the Mississippi River. Unlike the California San Andreas fault with visible cracks on the ground, the active faults in the NMSZ are hidden beneath 100 to 200-ft. thick layers of soft river deposited soils called alluvium. The Missouri Department of National Resources and other agencies have a wealth of information. Pretending a pipeline under the bed of the Mississippi river is safe, for many years to come, is a delusion.
Pipeline spills under rivers are common. Leaks are hard to find and spills are very difficult to clean up. The October 2016 report on tunneling a 36-in. pipe under the Kings River, shows the problems with karst: “The borings found rock, then gravel, then rock, then gravel. At one point the drillers hit a river under the river.”
The oil spill in the Canadian North Saskatchewan River, will take a very long time to clean up. A Husky Energy pipeline broke due to ground movement on July 21, 2016 after a rain-soaked section of riverbank shifted. The riverbank was going through a very slow-moving landslide when the pipeline buckled and broke.
The January 2015 Bridger Pipeline’s Poplar pipeline leak under the Yellowstone River took months to clean up. Glendive residents began detecting benzene in drinking water two days after the spill. The segment under the river had been replaced in the 1970s. The spill was the second in the river in recent years. In 2011, the Exxon Mobil Silvertip pipeline ruptured underneath the river.
How do we stop Diamond?
Construction of the Diamond Pipeline is starting in Memphis. Pipes are on the ground waiting for trenches and welding crews.
To stop construction, we need to challenge the two Diamond permits; river crossings (USACE), and river navigation (APSC). Appeals must be based on legal arguments and ignored facts. Engaging the community is needed to pay for legal fees.
Limestone, karst, and seismic activity were ignored by the US Army Corps of Engineers review. Crossing the Mississippi River without a seismic analysis is negligent and immoral.
APSC gave Diamond a free pass pretending USACE had approved the route. APSC staff blatantly sided with Diamond. Knowing a public notice was not required to be posted by Diamond, the staff proposed an expedited schedule to block interveners.
We know what to do, stopping Diamond is a necessary step to move away from fossil fuels. Our Water Protectors in Standing Rock are leading the way. Water is life, oil is death.
We Americans have lost all sense of shame and dignity.
We have been at war with the entire world for almost a century, depriving countless native peoples worldwide their energy resources, custom and heritage, and now we are “against national pipeline development”… Our entire lifestyle, and the development of the major U.S. cities would have been impossible without oil extraction, refining and long-scale distribution. Can´t any of you remember the 1970s crisis??? Obviously we Americans are not worthy of the standards of living we have as Americans, as it was all based on global tyrannical war, rape of native cultures and mass genocide. These “tactics” are what allowed us, and especially our parents, to get a loan in the financial system, something that these conquered peoples could never have access to. And now we think that protecting some forests shall “save the world”, and that we can redeem from our intergenerational guilt by challenging climate change. This is the typical Yankee attitude, in the worst sense of course, of conquering the world and stating “it is for their own good” because I DON´T SEE NONE OF YOU DONATING NONE OF YOUR RICHNESSES TO THOSE COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE THAT OUR AMERICAN SYSTEM FORCED TO POVERTY AND SUFFERING.
Let´s just take the easy path that doesn´t require any material sacrifice, and feel good while becoming activists, keeping all our standards of living all the time. This is us Americans in this century. It is disgusting.
We make use of all resources of the planet. We then feel happy. And then we toss all CO2 to the global garbage, finally becoming activists, once we realize there is a problem. No, we Americans are the problem in this fuck** up world.
I hope you all feel good about yourselves. I don´t.
Here is in part what Jan Schaper says (Trump’s victory is a wakeup call)
Schaper said Trump’s victory is a wake-up call for all who care about the Earth, our societal fabric and societal well being.
“The beauty of this moment is the urgent opportunity to say ‘I am going to trust and dare myself to go one step beyond Facebook and signing online petitions. I will follow my heart, find something I resonate with and make a difference’,” Schaper said. “I have been so inspired by the people here in Eureka Springs who act on what they care about. We are lucky to have so many people here in Eureka who lead by example.”
This fall has seen record-breaking heat in Northwest Arkansas with the peak of fall colors and first frost date coming a month later than normal. The warm fall extended the growing seasons for farmers and may have generated more tourism. But the increasing evidence of climate change bodes badly for people and the environment.
Addressing climate change is the greatest moral imperative of our times, Schaper said.
“Decisions we make today directly impact the well-being of future generations,” she said. “In addition, the poor and those responsible for the least amount of carbon emissions are and will continue to bear the brunt of climate change.
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Jan’s comments are based on facts, Trump is delusional
Our Governor, AG and US Senator Tom Cotton are busy meeting with Trump and waiting on the phone to join his team.
http://ualrpublicradio.org/post/governor-waiting-hear-trump-appointments#stream/0
I have mixed feelings about their behavior:
1. Hoping to work with and for Trump, a known psycopath, is not something I would ever do. Here is a layman definition: someone with a personality disorder characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, egotistical traits. This is not a contagious dissease, but their behavior gives permission to other psychos to come out of the closet.
2. We pay these 3 people well. Tom gets $1.5 million per year to run his office, like John Boozman and the rest. Did they charge their personal credit card to go job hunting, or did WE pay for their time and expenses?
3. Regarding Diamond, they have done NOTHING to stop it. If I had to guess, they are on the other side, promoting fossil fuels, fracking and all the wrong things Jan is trying to fix.
4. If they are not satisfied working for Arkansans, by all means, go do something else. There must be other, better, people willling to work for our public health. Arkansas deserves better.
What do you think?
Jan Schaper mentioned on a great article by Becky Gillete, in this issue, makes it clear: direct action is needed
I have some ideas, please look next week for “NO, Diamond, NO”
Hope someone is reading and getting ready to act.
Thanks