As the pipeline gets underway. . .

2009 Aug 27 18:31 UTC

A number of things jogging my interest, including this link, shared by a forum
member, to a story from Fort McMurray, Alberta where the pipeline originates

http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1713501

I see the story in the Pioneer and the digging beginning and have listened to
the scorn of those who believe the resistance to the pipeline isn't newsworthy.
But as the article above points out, the three women leading the fight to turn
the corner on wasteful and destructive energy consumption (and hundreds of
Leech Lake petition signers who must believe it is worth a second look), it is
not solely a local concern, nor is it completely off the wall.

The change that so many voted for comes at a price and there are a few laudable
souls who are willing to give it their all to help everyone into the difficult
tempest of change.

On a related environmental note, I had the opportunity to take a community tour
of Cass Lake communties, thanks to being a new employee in the CL-B school
system (Americorps is in the elementary). The tour is a fantastic idea that
CL-B uses to acclimate new teachers and staff to a number of resources and
idiosyncracies of our communities.

One stop at the LL DRM fisheries/interpretive/research center made me recognize
one of the great resources we have here to introduce students of any age to
some of the environmental issues integral to the area. Some have suggested that
those investing their energies to combat the pipeline focus instead on the
Superfund site which has plagued our community in a number of ways for decades.
LL DRM officials are available to share their knowledge in a field trip setting
on their role in pushing for higher standards in getting the soil and
surrounding water systems cleaned up. Some knowledgeable, hardworking folks at
the DRM.

Of course there are those who believe there has been no detrimental effects
from the dioxins in the soil at the Superfund site, just as there are those who
standing up to protest an "inevitable" pipeline expansion is pure madness. On
the other hand, I've heard one elder put forth the idea a number of times of
creating an educational center on the site to fill folks in on the
long-lasting, economically disaterous effects of--for lack of better terms--a
narrow focus on short-term financial gains.

After all, there's nothing wrong with making mistakes as long as we learn the
lessons and pass them on to the generations coming after us. . .right?