© 2014 by Raymond Alexander Kukkee
In Wonderland Logic is Essential
Let us call this meeting to order....blink and see if we have this right, Alice.... ' In thoughtfully contemplating the ludicrous state of affairs reported in the media of late —there is a 'gas shortage' in the 'news'....Do tell...
"Perhaps some double-double reinforced rabbit-hole magic tea, Alice? Some ear-plugs for The White Rabbit, and some blood pressure medication for the Mad Hatter himself might be a reasonable suggestion? Why? You didn't notice? There's not only our Mr. Dormouse and the honorable Cheshire cat here in the rabbit-hole,as you see...er...you...er..perhaps imagine..... there's a guest elephant too.
"Tongue-tied, are you Mr. Elephant? ...(silence)
"...er....he's a fine fellow Alice, alas, he will not tell the truth anyway not say anything lest he proves government-approved corporate anarchy in North America is out of control alive and well ..."
The Cheshire cat smirks, reminding Alice of one Stephen Harper.
"Off with his head" the Queen shrieks, pointing at the cat.
"...er...ok....Reading the minutes of the last meeting, Alice, "
The U.S. State Department has approved, and further reports it sees nothing wrong with President Obama approving the Keystone XL pipeline that would potentially carry crude oil from the Athabasca Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada to the Gulf coast refineries. The 'smart and empowered' people involved in warm and fuzzy discussions involved in producing this report, Oil in Wonderland, are apparently unable to read scientific studies.They appear to be conveniently convinced approval of that pipeline would not increase the environmental impact of the Tar Sands projects.
"Do tell, Alice no comment necessary, Stephen knows that already, and intends to follow his agenda selling tar sands to oil to China no matter, environmental disaster or not anyway let us move on..."
" Yes, those same dirty oil projects which are already, one of the biggest environmental disasters on the globe. "Oh, but that's a Canadian problem, so no problem, Alice. It's Stephen's Legacy. Isn't that convenient? It's Canada's problem, hahahaha! "
....er, yes....But Mr.Mad Hatter, sir....did you know that...
Athabasca Oil Sands Project
The tailings ponds at the Tar Sands--you know, those oily, toxic lakes of poison leftovers being created by the upgrading process —are releasing polycyclic aromatics, benzene compounds and other volatile gases into the atmosphere but that doesn't seem to count, either, unless you happen to get cancer from these known carcinogenics?
No matter, Mr. Dormouse, they'll be diluted by the apparently-approved increase in carbon dioxide and other assorted greenhouse gases in the " allowed carbon budget" already surpassed "Enough to suffocate an elephant, isn't it? Mr. Elephant snorts in derision.
"Let us bite our tongues as we suffocate, and ducks land, death guaranteed in oil-covered toxic ponds simply because there will be no longer be pristine lakes on which to land on their hundred-centuries old waterfowl migration routes. "So what" Mr. Elephant snorts again. Poison mutant fish will also be available for the poor people to eat. Oops. Should we tell Stephen? "Shut up, Mr. Dormouse! He knows that already. Out of order! We digress, Alice, this meeting shall be restored to order!"
What does this have to do with America having energy to waste? Read on and weep, Alice, as you pay your natural gas bills that have been gouged jacked-up as the same industry claims 'shortages'. Pulling gas from "storage", cold weather and all that. You've heard the industry lies and B.S it before. You get the idea, Alice.
Now, Apparently America has Energy to Waste
The Dormouse wonders out loud (on a point of order) if some magic joy-juice has been double-double-dipped into the morning coffee at the State department, since the latest government report suggests pollution from the Tar Sands has been, not surprisingly, discovered to be 2 to 3 times HIGHER than previously reported. Do the math, Alice, the State department apparently ( unconfirmed by Mad Hatter & Co). borrowed a magic lying 'calculator' from, you may guess, the Petroleum Association in North Dakota."Out of order, Dormouse!"
"Off with his head!" Shrieked the Queen yet again,. "Stifle yourself, Queenie" the king shouted. "Shut up, "Order, order!"
Now, Alice, don't be upset, but you must know by now the oil barons in North Dakota are raping exploiting the world class Bakkan oil deposit at a projected rate of a million barrels per day--and are, a this date, flaring millions of dollars worth of natural gas DAILY. Burning "excess waste" natural gas off into the environment, unnecessarily producing guess what, Alice? millions of tons of carbon dioxide. The approximate value of the gas "flared"figure is, —oh, ho hum, piggy-bank cash for the petroleum industry. Ridiculous!
"Waste gas" flaring at Keene North Dakota photo by Jeff Brady /NPR
Ridiculous? "Not so," the Mad Hatter roars, "according to state petroleum kings, the "waste" gas is burned off because the greedy "industry" needs to get at the "more valuable" oil for bigger, instant profits. No ' gas collection superstructure' or gas liquification plants have been built, because it is not profitable —the capture of natural gas not being a legislated priority. The gas is discarded as waste, burned off into the environment as has been done-unregulated-- since the first oil well was drilled in North America. The record is less than stellar. Got that, Alice?
The elephant remains silent.
Now that the outrageous issue at hand has been exposed, the industry promises to "do better". Isn't that convenient, warm and fuzzy nice, Alice?
''If we are forced to" says the elephant, arrogantly.
Keep that in mind as you keep hearing "America is short of energy" and "gas shortage" and you are gouged forced to pay outrageous, inflated bills for natural gas simply because —according to the industry bed-time story, there's an industry-wide manipulated and choreographed shortage. Got that, Alice?
Remember, Alice, this SAME elephant greedy industry delights in gas fracking at a horrific cost to the environment and promises safety while contaminating water supplies everywhere. This is ALL essential so America can produce more gas, so they can have some more manipulated 'shortages' and flare some more gas. Got it, Alice?
Apparently, America has energy to waste. Got that, Alice? ....er...no? Wait...er...Rabbit? Who's running this rabbit-hole anyway?
Oh, never mind, Rabbit, just blink, It's just magic anyway.
"Meeting adjourned."
Is that Incoming I hear?
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm
good grief, and a plethora of unpalatable expletives as well…i always wondered about these obscene fires on a pipe above oil compounds..energy to burn indeed..it looked as waste..it was, it IS waste of energy of air of water and of lungs..inhumane. futile and every word in my dictionary (should i dust the neglected book for a greedy oil-mongers?
what a marvelous ‘unlovely’ story you have spun, dear writer..please print off a copy for our common political heads who choose to ignore the wellness principle of earth. their children obviously need this bedtime fable to correct the adult perceptions.
Thank you, Nadine, I’m guessing that most people seeing this gas being ‘flared’ (read WASTED) have NO clue what is being done, since it is so common in areas where oil wells have been placed. Perhaps a bedtime fable is in order for each and every one of the people responsible for this outrageous practice. It is not only outrageous, it is criminal against humanity in the true sense of the word. Please spread this far and wide as possible. Thank you again, and please reblog it if you wish ~R
Oh Ray, it’s a sad state of affairs in Wonderland! I only hope that someone calls this all for the fable that it is. Great analogy of Alice and unfortunately we wonder if there will be a happy ending… As you say, many people have no idea what really is going on here.
Sad indeed, Christyb, very sad. What really amazes me is the “government” lets the “industry” get away with this incredible waste of energy and simultaneously whines about an energy shortage. We MUST change this outrageous practice. ie. NO capture, CAP the well, period, until the capture infrastructure is available. Thank you for commenting, Christyb, it’s always great to see you “:) ~R
The Mackenzie Valley pipeline, which has been held up for the past forty years, would tap a source of natural gas as big as the Marcellus shale. It would not require fracking. The scheme the Alberta oil people have hatched is to build the Mackenzie pipeline once Keystone is in place, then use the energy extracted from that gas to turn the bitumen into oil. They would thus be repackaging environmentally and financially cheap energy as expensive energy!
Hi Allen, welcome to IncomingBytes.com ! Yes, that just about figures, does it not? The petroleum industry always has, and will continue to scheme, manipulate, exploit, waste, and gouge consumers until both gas and oil reserves are depleted and the globe is totally covered with “accidentally” spilled oil for which they will take no responsibility. It seems our “leaders” could care less too, and how sad is that? Thanks for commenting “:) ~R