LNG Pipelines Would Severely Impact Our Planet!

 

Humans: (Extremely dangerous to human life, property and sensitive cultural areas.)  

 

LNG can become highly unstable and exhibit intense pressure if it is not kept at -259 degrees Fahrenheit.  LNG can rapidly vaporize, expand and ignite to burn people and property thousands of yards from the core of the fire.   No precaution or risk assessment can guarantee safety in case of accident, earthquake, or terrorism. "An ignited LNG vapor cloud or large LNG pool fire can cause extensive damage to life and property “California Energy Commission, July 2003”

 

LNG pipelines are also a high fire risk.  “On February 26th, 1999 a landslide ruptured the 22 inch natural gas pipeline which then ignited in North Bonneville (Skamania County), WA. During fire season this could have been caused a catastrophic wildfire. Williams Northwest has a public safety manual available to the public for disaster situations” (Williams 2007). Source: ((http://www.skamaniacounty.org/Wildfire/firewise.htm) scroll down to the "west end community" wildfire plan and open the PDF file.  The information on Williams pipeline is on page 17 under "risk of ignition")

 

 

Ecological: (Disastrous for native ecosystems and the fish and wildlife populations that depend on them.)

 

Proposed fossil fuel pipelines will leave a slough of destruction in staging areas and along the 120ft corridor stretching from coastal regions into eastern Oregon and Washington.  Countless sensitive native ecosystems will be lost forever.  Numerous old growth forests, pristine wetlands, streams, rivers and native habitat will be destroyed and or severely impacted.  The most severe impact however will be the loss of threatened and endangered species habitat and the individual threatened and endangered species along the path. 

 

Another significant impact is pipeline drilling techniques.  HDD (Horizontal Directional Drilling) the drilling method proposed (also the best method) has the ability to turn horizontally in its boring path or "frac-out". They use bentonite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentonite) to "coat" drill bore holes and to fill in any crevices.  However, if they encounter a crack or pathway out of the hole leading up to a stream or wetland, the bentonite, being such a fine clay particle, would coat all spawning gravels in a stream, or heavily coat a wetland like cement.  Since there's flow in a stream the coating would be thinner than in a stagnant wetland.   In a stream, it would take a very heavy flow event to flush it out.  If "frac-out" occurs it would have deleterious effects on aquatic life and there spawning grounds.

 

Global: (LNG is a non-renewable fossil fuel that contributes to global climate change.)

 

LNG is a natural gas primarily composed of methane.  According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, methane is a major contributor to global climate change, second only to carbon dioxide.  Methane is about 21 times more powerful at warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. 

 

We have the technology and capability of putting the same human energy, money and resources into a sustainable energy source like solar, geothermal and wind.  It is time to end the fossil fuel era and consciously take care of our only planet!  It is unnatural for polar bears to be drowning!  It is unnatural for the ice sheets to be melting at this rate! Planet earth has cleansed her-self of life in the past.  We don't have time to waste!