Category Archives: big oil

Mi’kmaq Warrior Trial

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Warrior Publications has this up on the Mi’kmaq Warrior Trial.  This is the first I have read of someone on the First Nations side having  a gun.  In the reports that I read, no one mentioned this…so this destroys some of the credibility of the reporting.

Because I am not down with bringing guns….you may not have the intention of using it, but bringing it makes it easier for someone to get hurt.  You may only intend on using it in self-defense, but the other side does not know your intentions.  If you live by the sword, you die by the sword, as they say.

If you are doing this for your children, be an example to them.  Show them how to stand up for your rights without violence.

And the other side?  Only an unethical coward would shoot someone whom is unarmed.

People have a right to protest, especially when their rights to their land are being pushed aside for dirty fracking, but I will not support violence on either side.

 

 

Chile Earthquake

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The death count is at six this morning after an 8.2 earthquake in Chile.   Comfort to those of you affected by it.  If you recall, there was another devastating earthquake in 2010, also with a tsunami.

Knowing that fracking has been tied to earthquakes, and Chile’s previous earthquake was equally devastating…I searched for any correlation.  Here’s what I found.

According to a study published in the world renowned Science Magazine in July 2013, areas subjected to extensive DWI activities are especially prone to damaging earthquakes, triggered remotely by large, natural quakes. Since 2009, Oklahoma has recorded 40 times more earthquakes than in the last 30 years. The largest, at 5.7 magnitude in November 2011, has been tied to wastewater injection and an 8.8 M earthquake in Chile.

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(italics mine)

Evidence that fracking has come to Chile here:  oilprice.com/Finance/investing-and-trading-reports/Fracking-has-Come-to-Chile.html

(not linking to it for obvious reasons)

All about the Benjamins…nothing about the serious consequences to the Earth, water, people, and animals.

Olive Oil soap

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First, I want to say that I get no advertising dollars for recommending products…with that said…

I saw a bargain for some olive oil soap….3 bars for $3.99, so I grabbed them.

I had been looking up biodegradable shampoo because the Dr. Bronner’s, which I usually use, left something of a coating on my hair.  And I didn’t like the idea of purchasing shampoo in plastic bottles, adding to the plastic bottle mountain heap.  I saw shampoo soap and wondered about its efficacy.  Memories of when my Mom used soap on my hair and the resulting mess came to mind…

So when I purchased the olive oil soap, I was planning on just using it for soap…but thought more about that shampoo soap, and decided what the hey, I’ll try it.  I didn’t have anywhere to go that day, so no biggie if my hair turned into a mess.

I was pleasantly surprised.  Not only was my hair clean, but soft, too.  The castile soap had left it dulled somewhat.

So I think I have a new shampoo…without the bottle.

Now if I can find it without stupid plastic wrap around it…

 

 

Saving the Amazon

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Jared Leto has a link up to a video against oil drilling in the rainforest of Yasuni.  You might recall the Huaroani tribe was featured in the book Savages by Joe Kane.  He chronicled the indigenous tribes’ slowly being overtaken by the oil companies–their health, their land, and their culture.

  • Yasuni is home to over 130 globally threatened species including the giant otter, white-bellied spider monkey, golden-mantled tamarin, giant armadillo and jaguar. Extinction risks are high for all threatened species.

  • 655 different tree species have been identified within 1 hectare of land.

  • For reptile biodiversity, it is the 2nd richest area in the world.

  • More insect species are found in Yasuni than any other forest.

  • There are more frog and toad species within Yasuni than all of North America combined.

  • Ecuador has the 9th highest mammal biodiversity, and over half reside in Yasuni.

  • Many species are endemic to Yasuni.

  • It is home to the 5th largest bat reserve.

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The petition to sign here.  Please don’t think because it’s *there* that it doesn’t affect us in America.  It does.  Everything is connected and when a species (plant or animal) dies, it affects other species….a domino effect, if you will.

Given that bats are dying of a disease of unknown origin, (yeah, it’s probably caused by chemical toxins), we should sit up and take notice that this area contains the 5th largest bat reserve.

Here are some of the unique species to Yasuni.

 

 

Dividing First Nations in other ways…

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Scott Sewell has this up on how things changed when the gaming commissions came to town.  A sly way to divide tribes, eh?

There is just something wrong with giving tribes two choices: nuclear waste or gambling casinos.

But the federal government says to Indian people, “I will recognize your sovereignty if you have either a nuclear or toxic-waste dump or casino.” That’s pretty much the only way you get your sovereignty recognized as Indian people.
Let me be clear about this: We are sovereign. I don’t care if the federal government recognizes me, my nation, and my people. That’s of little consequence to me in the long-term picture. The federal government, as far as I’m concerned, is by and large illegal. Most transactions are illegal. It’s like being recognized by a bunch of hoodlums. But under the law, they recognize your sovereignty in those two things, a dump or a casino. So Indian people are in an ironic situation, in that our choices for economic development are so limited.

In Minnesota, I see two examples. I see a reservation like Mille Lacs. They have two casinos. They built schools, houses, roads, clinics, and community buildings. They bought land. Nobody was going to do that for them. No federal appropriation was going to be made for those Indian people to do that, although their land was mostly taken from them. The federal government is supposed to provide those things for them. That’s not going to happen, so they did that with their casinos, and that’s right. They’re making some long-term investments that are smart. They don’t think those casinos are going to last forever, but they’re doing the right thing.

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I have heard of folks willing their land to a tribe native to the area. Cool.

Here is the Native Harvest website Winona mentions.

And the Indigenous Environmental Network.

The grassroots people of Kul Wicasa oppose the development of the power line infrastructure planned by Basin Electric.  The Lower Brule substation is to be located two miles from the Big Bend Damn.  The thick, corrosive nature of tarsands oil (which in its natural state is the consistency of peanut butter) requires a constant temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit and necessary dilutants to liquify it enough to be slurried through the pipeline. This will require an enormous amount of power.  Basin Electric stated at a public utilities commission meeting in Winner, SD “the pipeline apparently moves oil under 1440 pounds of pressure per square inch. If the line is to move 700,000 barrels of crude per day, each pumping station requires three 6500 hp electric motors running on 17 megawatts of power night and day.  If the flow rate is increased to 900,000 barrels per day, five 6500hp electric motors are required.  That would use 25 megawatts of power.”

This increasing demand for electricity forces the need for the additional power station at Lower Brule. Transmission studies indicate the current system has reached its load limit.   Given the location of the Lower Brule substation, 2 miles south of the Big Bend Damn, it is apparent Missouri River water will be used to produce electricity.

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Soooo…..they toss a few crumbs with wind turbines…but what they don’t tell them is that the pipeline is going to require even more energy…and precious water to move the “peanut butter” through the lines…um-hmmm…

This is just stunning:

…the land isn’t even there now; it’s an oil mine; there was a lake there that was 200 miles long and 100 miles wide.  Now, the elders are saying, for the first time, the shoreline is receding and the rocks at the bottom of the lake are exposed.  Water is being taken from the rivers and lakes to support the destruction by the tarsands mine. 

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It’s really hard to imagine that much water being used.  It’s gone.  No longer usable by humans or animals.

This pipeline would destroy farmland and jobs, contrary to Big Oil myth.  The First Nations are trying to support themselves with the food production, but once again Big Oil has other ideas.  If you know anything about history, the Native Americans were moved to areas out West…once oil was discovered, suddenly they were in the way and once again moved.  This continued on…and now we have the modern day version of it–pollute the land so it is no longer inhabitable.

 

Canada’s Spy Agency and the First Nations

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The Canadian gov’t  was vewy vewy skeered of those pesky indigenous whom honor their traditions and refuse to be completely assimilated.  Good Grief.  They act like these people have tanks, helicopters, drones, etc….like it’s a freaking war.  Who…or What are they fighting against…?

And the quote that CSIS would not be involved if there wasn’t sufficient threat…who are they kidding?

My other posts:

Here we have a First Nations woman removed from a public meeting for…well, we don’t know because she wasn’t doing anything.  Her mere presence, apparently, made her “guilty” of a crime.

First Nations protests

Setback for First Nations protestors.

First Nations continue to stand up

Finally, this celebration on sacred Native American grounds that Mall of America was built on.

 

 

Yet another oil spill **edited

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…off of the Texas coast.

How in the world does one collide with a barge?  It’s not like they’re speed boats zipping past one…

…looks like another drunken captain.

The words George Bush I echo the oil man’s empty promises of safety…and clean up…as we have witnessed with every freaking oil spill since then–Kalamazoo and Arkansas and the Gulf are evidence of that.  As one of the commenters said, the captain was made the scapegoat while the company escaped blame.

And Tricky Dicks’ comments?  “The Alaskan pipeline is on the way…and the environment will be saved…” Priceless.

The proponents of XL pipeline are saying it’s going to create jobs…but as this video illustrates, how many jobs are lost (income lost) by the spills?  How does one put a price tag on the oiled soil, water, and dead/impaired wildlife?  Why are they even *considering* XL after all that has happened…?

**edited to add link to XL pipeline petition.

Wall of Women stand opposed to Kinder Morgan

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First Nations and Greenpeace women stand together against pipeline expansion…

“We’re standing here together to link arms to build the wall of women to say no, we do not want that in our communities, we will not accept this in our communities, we want better,” said Nahanee. “Canada has a responsibility to protect their communities, we have the right to live in healthy environments— healthy environments to raise our children, to take care of our grandparents, to drink healthy water, to eat healthy food. It’s basic human rights.”

– Mandy Nahanee

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Who would have thought that we would actually have to protest keeping our water clean and healthy??

Good on the women standing together, protecting the Earth. She needs us.

New Election Rules for First Nations

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You know, if I didn’t know better, I would think this was written in the 1950s, by conservative busybodies with too much time on their hands.  Talk about cutting out the young people!  Keep in mind that the whole system of chiefs was forced upon the indigenous…so the concept is really against their tradition.

“It’s the end of us… we’re not going to vote,” one man said. “Eighty per cent of this community is under 40 and us, the young people, we need some attention. We need public attention, media attention. This is discrimination.”

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More here from Warrior Publications on Kinder Morgan taking what it wants whether a landowner wants to cede ownership or not.

A home is your castle…until Big Oil wants a piece of that castle…