I knew about the carbon bomb that the Keystone XL had the potential to be, and that coupled with the 12 to 17 percent higher greenhouse gas emissions from its extraction, this pipeline and the continuation of production would yield more of the devastating impacts of hurricanes on my beloved Gulf Coast. It was the global warming connection, which scientists have repeatedly confirmed contributes to deadly storms like Katrina and Rita, that launched my interest in fighting against the tar sands....
...As for the extraction process itself, Marty’s photos depicted that of an alien landscape. Comparison photos of the once lush and boldly beautiful Canadian Boreal forest next to the black and grey “mines of Mordor,” made my heart sink. As pictures of scarred earth alongside repugnant tailing ponds flashed upon the screen, I realized that big greasy balls of toxins lying at our feet are not all that Gulf Coast communities and Canadian First Nations have in common....
...Actually the list of similarities is quite long, including: toxic ponds that leech poison into water and air, similar to those found in Grand Bois, LA; a rise in asthma symptoms among children, like those living in Manchester, TX, and Baton Rouge, LA; struggling economies and poverty stricken fence line communities, such as Port Arthur, TX, Mossville, LA, and Africatown, AL; the desolating loss of culture and subsistence living, comparable to that of Gulf Vietnamese American fisher folk, Gulf Coast First Nations and of Acadian fishing communities.
From “Cancer Valley” in Canada to “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana, and all along the Gulf Coast, - health denied, food deserted, poverty stricken, education deprived, school to prison, voiceless communities, being destroyed by industries that prefer the health of their bottom line to that of the people they effect – the quiet shame of an entire continent, pinned between a lack of representation, a bought out system of government and billions of muscular corporate dollars....
...the Keystone XL Southern Leg was green lighted by the Obama Administration. It was confirmed - the Gulf Coast would once again become the energy sacrifice zone for the nation....
...whistle blower statements of shoddy construction that harbors “dozens of anomalies, including dents and faulty welds,” and that the company has been “ignoring pipeline regulations and engineering codes.”...
...Last year, with almost no opportunity for public input or comment, the Army Corps of Engineers granted Plains Southcap a permit to build the controversial pipeline under the watershed of Big Bear Creek Lake (which provides drinking water to all of the Mobile area), through numerous wetlands, across the Escatawpa River (twice) and through Moss Point, MS – another historic African American and environmental justice community....
...Located in Jackson County, MS, Chevron's Pascagoula refinery was ranked as one of the highest polluting facilities in 2002. One year after ninety-five percent of that facility went under water during Katrina, health statistics for the area included 622 incidents of cancer, including 245 cancer related deaths. In 2007 alone, the refinery released over one million pounds of 47 different toxic chemicals; including 50,000 pounds of benzene and 150,000 pounds of ammonia. With the new intake of Canadian tar sands, high levels of life stealing, sulfur dioxide has been added to the cocktail....
Cherri Foytlin is a journalist, speaker, mother of six and wife of an oil worker, who lives in south Louisiana. She is the author of "Spill It! The Truth About the Deep Water Horizon Oil Rig Explosion," and regularly contributes to www.BridgetheGulfProject.org, the Huffington Post, and several local newspapers.
I suppose the folks in New York and the Canadian government are just a little out of touch, hun?
