The son of an oilman shares a powerful story at the Enbridge Pipeline hearings, about an experience at an oil refinery on a different continent. He shares insights about tankers, pipelines, and lives affected. It is an insightful analysis of how oil executives (and politicians) blatantly ignore the known impacts of the fossil fuel industry:
“What I witnessed time and time again was the technical experts knowing the damage, risk, and adverse effects of the project versus what corporate would portray to the general public after reading their materials. There was a clear and present dual world operating simultaneously. Undeniable, completely undeniable if you’re on site. So what I saw first hand was this dynamic between what is really happening and what the corporate headquarters would have people believe is happening. And as we have seen on our planet, the situation is not an isolated event.
Based on my experience, what I learned was that the global system of infinite growth attracts men and women of a certain ‘level of understanding’. A certain type of person who will be attracted to the ideals of the current economic measurement that coordinates the global psychology of things. A type of person who externalizes themselves and detaches from connection and so wholeheartedly believes in their reality, their perception of things, that they project their fears onto everyone else. And their ego becomes the driver, blindly leading them down a path of self-destruction. And they are people of high intellectual prowess, but unfortunately have yet to develop the deep wisdom that we all posses within us as human beings. We call these people CEO, and Prime Minister.
…In closing, I do not sit here today in anger or in blame or in judgement. On behalf of my generation, I forgive these men and women for their lack of awareness, heart, and understanding. They, too, were born into an established system conditioned into a certain way of thinking and as far as they know they did the best they could. But now, it’s time to let go of the 20th century, and enter into a new global direction towards a path of healing and new design. It’s time now for a full-scale mass-mobilized transition process off the fossil fuel economy. We need to use all of our resources that we have left wisely.
…It’s time for us to journey into a new dream, a new way, with new design and new fundamental principles. It’s time for us to end a millenia of pain, suffering, shame and unconsciousness. It’s time to create resilient, sustainable and flourishing communities that have the adaptive capacity to respond to any challenges they may face in their external environment, and be able to effectively respond specifically to the coming age of peak oil, climate change, and rampant global economic instability.
…If on one hand, you had an unpredictable path that leads into a new dream, a new way of life for all of mankind, and on the other hand you have a predictable path that leads to the slow inevitable decline of civilization, which path would you choose?”
More links:
Claiming Joy & Healing Amidst the Climate Emergency 
6 responses to “Oilman’s Son At Enbridge Pipeline Hearing: It’s Time To Choose A New Path”
‘Choose’, not ‘chose’! Your headline needs a human to spell check.
Thanks for that Ian, done!
Pipelines can be considered as the energy lifelines of human daily activities.Pipeline’s role is not only concentrated to our daily life’s but also,they are used to the nation’s industry standards.The pipeline companies are assigned the task of construction, operation, and maintenance of its pipeline systems in a safe, environmentally sound manner.
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Hi Carol – You are stating what is currently true, and has been for the last century. However, it is clear that the planet can no longer tolerate “business as usual”,whether it’s climate change, ocean acidification, or biodiversity loss that one looks at.
If you represent the pipeline companies of Canada, perhaps you and those companies would be wise to look to the future and see how you/they can adapt to an renewable energy economy, for the good of all of our children.
I was at my son’s school the other night, while my son was at his karate lesson, speaking with a friend who works as an expert at drilling for oil, both offshore and currently, in the oil and gas fields in Alberta. He told me that even with strong safety concerns, there is a constant series of leaks, accidents and events that permit oil, drilling mud and other contaminants to enter the surrounding environment. He related to me memories of his work in the Gulf of Mexico (before the recent huge leak there). He said that, as per environmental requirements, every day waste oil, drilling mud and other substances were pumped into holding tanks, and every night, under cover of darkness, these same banned substances were flushed into the ocean, violating existing standards and laws. Sorry, Carol, what you are saying is a pipe dream, a fairy tale, not reality. We are, in fact, victims of our own illusions of safety and responsibility. The only way to prevent a marine disaster in the case of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline and the degradation it will bring to sites long the route of the proposed pipeline is NOT to build it, and not have 200 tankers a year navigating the dangerous waters of the BC coastline.
Thanks for sharing that info, Dan – yet another voice of experience cautioning against the folly of this pipeline.
Nathan Cullen is the MP for the coastal region of BC where the pipeline would run, and the oil tankers tank up. He, and everyone else who knows that region of the coast, says it’s not a matter of if a spill would happen, but when. Enough already, the weather is extremely warm (overnight LOW was 15 degrees above the normal high, and has been for over a week now). We need a renewable energy economy NOW.