It’s not just the carbon emissions pipelines eventually facilitate, it’s also the risk they pose to the environment where they’re built.
Greenpeace has outlined more of its concerns with Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, specifically when it comes to the safety of the lines themselves.
One concern is that the pipeline would go right through the heart of a National Park. A couple others issues are that it crosses more than 1,300 streams and rivers as well a UNESCO world heritage site.
Citing a recent report, Mike Hudema, Climate Campaigner with Greenpeace Canada, said on average, Alberta has experienced two spills a day over the past 37 years.
“That’s a pretty significant spill record,” he said. “The majority of those spills aren’t detected by company’s equipment but instead are usually detected either by workers on site or by community members.”
“I think it shows how far technology needs to go to really ensure that pipeline spills are detected efficiently and that spills are minimized and that’s not happening right now,” said Hudema.
He argued the reality is there is no safe way to transport fossil fuels.
“Whether it’s rail, whether it’s truck or whether it’s pipeline, they all carry with it inherent dangers that are going to happen,” he said.
Hudema said the safest way to approach oil and gas transportation is to limit how much is shipped and not expand the problem.
This isn’t the only project in Canada which could affect the environment but Hudema believes it’s getting so much attention from environmental groups because of the scale of the expansion of an industry he argues has a lot of dangers associated with it.
“We are talking about going through some pretty pristine areas that I think we need to protect,” he said.
“The damage can be quite severe and when we’re talking about spills like bitumen especially if entering water, that damage is going to be long-lasting and potentially impossible to clean up,” said Hudema.
He added Indigenous rights also can’t be discounted.
Hudema hopes Kinder Morgan walks away from this pipeline so the group can focus on other environmental issues.
Read our story speaking with the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association here.
