At Kinder Morgan’s annual shareholder meeting in Texas this week, oil executives gathered in the heart of the American oil patch to celebrate another year of profits and investor payouts.
It’s a timely reminder of whose interests are really served by Kinder Morgan’s plan to triple the capacity of the Transmountain pipeline. Here’s a hint: it’s not you and me.
So who benefits if the Kinder Morgan pipeline goes ahead? Certainly not BC, which bears all the risk of a new pipeline and increased tanker traffic, and faces a devastating oil spill that could ruin our coast, our communities and our economy for decades to come. In the long run, not Canada either, as we commit ourselves ever further to a boom and bust resource cycle, and our over reliance on bitumen undermines a diversified, resilient economy. And not the rest of the world, as we pump billions of extra tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and take another giant step towards the cliff of catastrophic climate change. The real winner is Kinder Morgan, and people like CEO Richard Kinder – a former Enron executive and one of the richest men in the world.
But BC has a history of standing up against those who would sell off our heritage to the highest bidder. Pipelines and tanker traffic are proving to be a defining issue of the BC election, and opposition to Kinder Morgan’s expansion plan is at an all-time high.
So, Kinder Morgan, British Columbians have a message for you: our province is not for sale.
I can't believe this hasn't been more of an issue especially for those of us that live in the area across from or around the site of the proposed expansion. I'm horrified at the idea of doubling their capacity and spilling into the arm. <br />