For the Greater Good?

People up here in our Blasted Towns fear the coming of this pipeline, and many are afraid that it is unstoppable. But it can’t be. This is a part of the country where people have ruggedly created a life for more than 200 years. Why? Because it’s beautiful, rugged, clean and peaceful. Looking out my window I’ve seen fisher, bear, deer, coyote and wolf, all among my goat herd, behind my horse and donkey, and over my chickens. There’s room enough for us all out here, wild and tame together, but not if a tear comes through the landscape, breaking up the safety of the forest, forcing the predators out of their lairs panicking into towns looking for a place to hide.

This rip in the woods will come before the gas, as they clear the woods, blast the ground, and then put in the plastic pipe. Then they’ll cover it with what’s left of the rock and soil, and plant some sort of grass on it. Left to its own devices the forest would heal that scar with trees and brush, but Kinder Morgan wants to be able to service the pipeline whenever they feel the need to, so they’ll be keeping it from healing by using herbicides, and mowers, so that the roots don’t break or interfere with their “greater good.”

Who’s good is it? It’s not mine. I don’t have access to natural gas for my stove, and while I miss that in my cooking, electric, wood and propane are good enough options for me. That’s good news for me, since this pipeline will possibly destroy my water supply, cause damage to herd, ruin the natural sounds of the woods around me, and I won’t have access to this invisible gas. If it leaks, I won’t know it because the wonderful warning smell of leaking gas won’t be there yet. It will just run through my woods, destroy my sanctuary, and feed the pockets of Kinder Morgan in Texas.
It will serve some of my neighbors in Fitchburg, but wait, they already have a pipeline for natural gas!
Given that the city is a poster for economic inequality, with its empty houses and store fronts, surely those empty houses are only empty because they don’t have enough natural gas. May be it will help them? No, I don’t think so. It will help the towns east of us, the affluent cities and towns that already have natural gas, and aren’t asking for me. So who’s asking? So far Kinder Morgan hasn’t stated that it has any signors seeking their gas. It appears that the “good,” will come to those overseas, not in this country.

But surely they’ll have to pay to do this damage to our planet? Not if the proposed tariff goes into play. All of us who are “on the grid,” whether we have the natural gas or not, will have increased electrical bills to pay for the infrastructure of this pipeline. That’s certainly for the common good, right?
For the common good, in my mind, includes nature in the “common.” Putting more chemicals into the air and water isn’t for anyone’s good will. Destroying habitat, increasing human/animal interaction, adding anything in to the air to help warm it, isn’t in anyone’s best interest.

If we are going to continue to live on this planet we have to look at the mistakes that we’ve made getting to this point, ie. Air, water and noise pollution. We need to stop repeating the actions that don’t the global “common good,” at heart. If our government wants us to be truly energy independent we need to not only look at the source of the energy, but the impact of that energy. Constant expansion is not wise growth. Working to maintain, strengthen and protect the resources that we already have is much more sustainable, and economically wise, than constant outward growth.

If this country is truly to live up to its ideals, then this pipeline, and the hydro-fracking that will feed it, must be stopped. Why? Because that’s what the people want. The people who will feel the effect of it aren’t the moneyed energy moguls, but the farmers, foresters, and families who live in these rural areas. We are the protectors of our local planet resources. We have shown that we can live happily with the resources we have on hand. If not, then we would have moved before now. The corporations play urban and rural populations off each other, telling the urban dwellers that the rural people are roadblocks to their needs. But truly, the city folks are much more self-sufficient than they believe. We need to work together, as “the people,” to say that our health, our planet, our neighbors are more important than our cooking needs. Our planet has to be more important than our wallets, or else we’ll all be living in our wallets, and I don’t know about you, but my wallet is pretty low on resources these days.
But our planet is full of resources, and that doesn’t have to include a pipeline full of natural gas or oil. Please let’s stand up for ourselves, and the Earth, and be smart about this issue. My neighbor the bald eagle can’t vote, but I can speak on his behalf with my vote and my voice. I hear you neighbor! I’ll do what I can.