ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEST IN WATERLOO A HARBINGER ?

Yesterday's Waterloo Region record carried this story "Protesters march on Uptown Waterloo". The location of the protest was MP Peter Braid's constituency office. The environmental protest was against development of Alberta's oil sands as well as locally the plans by Enbridge regarding the Line 9 pipeline project. Enbridge are hoping to reverse the direction of this oil pipeline and to pump bitumen through it rather than the current light crude oil. The bitumen is heavier and more difficult to clean up in case of a spill or pipe rupture. The Line 9 pipe I believe is fourty years old and there may also be concerns that the bitumen is more corrosive than the lighter crude oils.

I suspect that the next generation are going to spend a lot more time than the last protesting environmental policies or the lack thereof. An awful lot of problems have been swept under the carpet as today's politicans are only concerned about the next election. Long term health effects have never been an in your face issue for those supposedly in charge. Despite health care costs for cancer treatments rocketing skywards, it's all about treatment versus prevention via source removal of the causes. These causes are the air we breath, the food we eat and the water we drink.