Who Are the Blasted Towns?

Along the Northern Tier of Massachusetts there is a part of the Commonwealth that has been relegated to "summer places," "small towns," and now, potentially, pipelines. Kinder Morgan, through its subsidiary, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, wants to bring a buried pipeline for natural gas through these towns, forests, and fields, to connect with the Eastern Massachusetts, more urbanized area. It is more than likely that this gas will be exported, so that Kinder Morgan and any other contracted energy company, could make money while they destroy the soil, towns, water and air of these areas.

When Kinder Morgan came through decades ago to drop the Constitution line, or other pipelines were put into New England, there was no established Internet, as there is now. Each town felt that they had to deal with this independently, and as news between these isolated towns did not travel as quickly, the companies could advance steadily to their goal. That's not true anymore. We have an Internet to connect our towns and cities. We have literate, intelligent residents who know how to use networking tools, and many of us have chosen to leave cities and 9-5 jobs in favor of a more self-reliant life where our individuality is a positive force, not a drawback. We are the residents of "Those Blasted Towns," and we are facing the energy corporations with facts, questions, and steadfastness.

Where are the "Blasted Towns?" They start in Upstate New York, where open farmland is proposed to be opened up to bury gas pipelines to take gas to urban areas in the East and "across the Pond." In Massachusetts we start at the NY/MA border and travel along the route through the Berkshires, Pioneer Valley, and to the Vermont and New Hampshire border towns. Once it reaches Dracut, the pipeline will connect south to the North Shore towns of Lynn, Salem, and potentially south to Boston and onto Rhode Island.

We'll be posting updates on town meetings, TPG presentations, and welcome photos, videos and other information from people affected in "Those Blasted Towns," by blasting, burying, or what has happened in the areas where pipelines are already existing. We will also be explaining how natural gas will serve, or not serve, our communities, the planet, our neighbors, and our lives.

This is not a place for name calling, or illogic. It's a place to educate people about what's happening, what we can do, and why we should do something? AGree, or disagree, as long as its civil, I'll post it here.
For more information about the pipeline visit www.MASSplan.org or the other sites listed there. There are lots of organizations working on this issue, each with their own take. I represent North Country Sustainability Center, Inc. and my job is to disseminate information. It's your job to make a decision for yourself what to do about it. Ok?

Pat Stewart,
Pres/Ex.Dir
NCSC,
Farmer/Abutter of Proposed Pipeline in Ashburnham