Tar Sands Meeting

What do you know about Tar Sands Bitumen? It's a key question and right now a lot of money from the very biggest oil companies is making sure you only hear favorable and misleading info on it. A number of concerned citizens attended the meeting at Bethel Inn last week (see Bethel Citizen) and were provided with solid facts, including a gob of the dark, smelly tar sand. The pipeline is routed right through West Bethel, close to Pleasant River and the Androscoggin. The presentation was electrifying ‒ and is motivating a group of us to present what we know to the community on July 25.

Despite denials from the larger petroleum partners in the project, the pipeline for transporting oil from Portland, Maine to Montreal is being considered for transporting the highly toxic and potentially devastating material at high pressure from Montreal to Portland. They'll do that by reversing the flow direction and increasing line pressure.

It's not as though Americans don't already have experience with this as a basis for concern. Do a search on “Tar Sands Kalamazoo” and read what turns up. A devastating spill in a river there two years ago is still a problem for the community and businesses along the river. Never heard of it? Don't feel too bad, because a major effort is devoted to seeing to it that you don't know all about it. That kind of a spill would be catastrophic to our community now, and well into our foreseeable future.

Our informational gathering will be at Davis Park on July 25. Please stop by say “hi” and we'll happy to bring you up to speed. Contact me, Seabury Lyon by e-mail: sslyon@megalink.net and I'll get back to you.

Seabury Lyon

Bethel