Good morning, everyone... What is a terrorist organization? In my book, it is *anyone*, big, little or small, that deliberately ignores threats to the environment. Granted, that is a pretty strict and perhaps unbalanced view, but given what is unfolding in Idaho right now, and given the drinking water for the entire area is at stake, I would extend the definition of the word terrorist to including anyone who threatens such an invaluable natural resource.
Is BNSF Railway actually a terrorist organization? At first, you might laugh at this question, because of pre-existing anticipation; one simply doesn't go around suggesting that one of America's biggest rail companies is somehow obscurely related to the likes of Osama Bin Laden. Simply remember I didn't stutter or even look away from you when I asked this all-important question. When Burlington Northern-Santa Fe first suggested they wanted to build the refueling facility near Hauser, Idaho, before they even put ink to paper, they sent in their very best public relations personnel to attempt to sway public opinion at the local government level. It isn't that they haven't got *enough* PR personnel to do the job, but rather, they have a major credibility when it comes to polluting the environment, and they *KNEW* it before they selected our area for the new state-of-the-art refueling facility. They deliberately selected Hauser over all other possible placements because they figured that the environmentalists and government employees in Idaho would be a pushover, compared to some of the other places where they have already worn out their welcome. Their sordid record is already in the public record: nearly *every* place BNSF has ever had a refueling depot is already on the environmental clean-up list, at a cost to the taxpayers of billions of dollars. If they already had this deplorable record, why did Idaho allow them to build a refueling depot over a sensitive aquifer that provides drinking water for much of the entire area? Now that's a good question. Let's take a closer look at some of the possible reasons why this happened from the beginning: 1. Face it-- BNSF is a big corporation and the refueling depot represented a few good-paying jobs in an area where jobs are hard to come by. You can bet your railroad stock Burlington was quick to use that argument with local officials, and it sold pretty well, up to a point. 2. The best showing that the local environmental groups could do, under the circumstances, was try to hold the line by creating what they thought was surely an airtight shield beneath the refueling depot, to keep diesel fuel and other contaminants from reaching the aquifer. For the most part they accomplished that, but they had a really hard time selling the most restrictive covenants to the public officials who were, of course, giddy with the illusion of all the jobs BNSF was waving beneath their noses. 3. The "gee whiz" coverage given the entire facility from the beginning by the local news agencies was more conducive to a toga party at a Frat House than a serious investigation of any possible impacts the refueling depot might have sitting astride the aquifer. Nobody, not even those few news agencies who are truly aware of the issues, dared challenge BNSF in print, hence the public, for the most part, were sadly misinformed. Hardly anyone knew of BNSF's past record of repeatedly violating the environment. 4. The Hauser facility in Idaho was *chosen* for a reason-- small semi-rural locations tend to have less access to environmental information, much less an awareness of environmental issues. That is just the way BNSF likes it! 5. Once the "dirty deeds" were done, and spills of diesel fuel had already taken place, BNSF was stridently opposed to an independent engineering firm investigating how far the spill had progressed toward the aquifer. Once again, to a point they were able to hold the environmentalists at arms' length, with high-class lawyers and pure stubbornness. It was all proceeding, business as usual, until the Department of Environmental Quality discovered several undocumented spills, of which Burlington Northern had said nothing, and for which there were scanty, if any, public records. Once the DEQ realized the sheer depravity of being misled and misguided by BNSF, they pulled their only hole card, and marched in lockstep into court in Coeur D'Alene last yesterday afternoon. Now it remains to be seen whether the terrorist tactics of BNSF will count for much in a small town courtroom. Dave -- Dave Laird ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) The Used Kharma Lot Web Page: http://www.kharma.net updated 11/24/2004 Usenet news server : news://news.kharma.net Fortune Random Thought For the Minute Tell the truth or trump--but get the trick. -- Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar" _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list Libnw@immosys.com List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
