Alberta Pump Jacks

Fida Wild
Oil pump jacks are scattered throughout Alberta's landscape and are a familiar sight for decades. Lovingly called Rocking Horses, Nodding Donkeys or Thirsty Birds, they pump up a mixture of crude oil and water.

Ranching and farming in Alberta can be a gamble at times. Droughts, floods and the uncertainty of the meat prices influence crop production and cattle farming a great deal. So, oil and gas pumps can be a welcome additional income to ease the hardship of the life on the range at least a little.

But since a few years, oil and gas pumps are adding problems as well. Most of the pump jacks for oil are old and leaky and for years, they have been cleaned with harsh and toxic chemicals. The new procedure to clean gas pumps seems to be even worse.

In some areas, water wells have become contaminated with these toxics. Cattle refuse to drink the water and people develop rashes all over the body. Some install water tanks and haul the water in; others are abandoning their farms altogether.

The Government refuses responsibility and accuses people of not taking care of their water wells. Jessica Ernst discovered the groundwater contamination back in 2005 and wondered, "Am I a Guinea pig"?

Compared to the disastrous environmental impact that the Fort McMurray oil sands have - responsible for 2/3 of Canada's green house emissions - the problem with the oil and gas pumps is "small". But if the Government is not ready to take action here, how can we trust that they do the proper thing in the oil patches?

Harper's environmental politics are nauseating, and reading the Book Stupid to the Last Drop by William Marsden left me depressed.

  

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