| Blogs > Rentier1 > What? Me worry? |
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Left wing spin I have often noticed that righties see many issues through the lens of their ideology, health care being a good example, but then so do my fellow lefties. I find that disappointing since I had hoped we were rational and above simplistic thinking. CBC Radio 1 interviewed two people this morning about the Lac Megantic rail tragedy that has killed at least 13 and wiped the downtown. Two people, both Americans, were interviewed. One works for some think tank and had looked into the relative safety of moving oil by pipeline, rail, and truck using US govt stats of spills and accidents. Her conclusion is that pipelines are the safest, and trucking the least safe. The environmentalist didn't argue with her conclusion, but rather adopted a different approach. - She started by saying that this was no time to be talking about oil movement safety, but dealing with the misfortune of the people of Lac Megantic. That's what FOX news does when faced with an issue they want to skate around. - She then said that pipelines are not safe, as if that's what its advocates are saying. It isn't - it's merely the safest of the means of delivery. - She also questioned why the industry is looking at expanding movement of oil when the demand is dropping. The reason, of course, which I suspect she is perfectly aware of, is that North American production is increasing quickly more than offsetting the drop in demand. The people in the oil business are not idiots. They would not be looking to pipeline expansion if there were no market for the product. |
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7/14/2013 8:45 am |
33 confirmed dead, 17 missing and very likely dead.
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7/10/2013 9:57 am |
Well, pipelines are not safe. I saw a great documentary about the oil industry in Alberta. Although its a big province, it turns out there have been an average of 2 spills (both large and small), every day since 1937. Even the portion of the Keystone line that had already been built had 12 leaks in less than a year. In Texas, they had to dig up miles of the pipeline before even 1 drop was pumped. I do not like the oil industry and am in favor of aggressive action with natural gas as an interim fuel, the retirement of nuclear power and research into alternatives. In the meantime the sooner we can get out of the middle east the better. Take a long, long look at the environmental disaster that is tar sands mining and there is no way most Americans want anything to do with Keystone. It's up to Secretary Kerry now, and I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled the plug. But money talks. Nobody claims that pipelines are safe, the argument is that pipelines are safer than rail or trucking. Double-hulled barges and ships might be even safer, but waterways don`t go to all refineries. I don`t like the oil industry either and know that there better alternatives. But those aren`t going to be put into place soon enough to have any significant impact on dependency on oil. So in the meantime the sensible thing to do is to pick the least dangerous means of transport. I would love to see the majority of people emulating me and ride around town on a bicycle for errands and shopping, and thus decrease the consumption of petroleum products. But it ain`t gonna happen, so I am a reluctant supporter of the pipeline approach for pragmatic reasons.
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7/10/2013 9:50 am |
Fifteen dead so far, and another 45 missing and probably dead. Some of the bodies are so badly burned they can`t be identified.
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Excellent observation of that interview! The interview was not about the relative merits of various types of fossil fuel, but on the safest & least safe delivery systems.
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You and I are often in disagreement, but not on this blog. And I'll admit that many conservatives do it too. GBU, Gavin
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