Virginia Under Siege

My beloved Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, one of God's greatest gifts, is under siege.  A blog isn't a likely place to get on a soapbox, and it's not my style, generally, to preach from a pulpit, but enough is enough.

Some of you may have heard about the two pipelines going through (or being planned to go through) our beautiful  state, taking oil fracked out of PA, OH and WV and shipping it to the East Coast where it will more than likely be sold to China and Japan.  Pundits will say that this oil will only be used in the US and it will help lower your power bill (how many times have we heard this argument from our utility companies) but why then spend $5B (yes, billion) to build an unsightly pipeline,why not use existing methods like truck or train to ship it?  Transparency is not in Dominion and Duke Powers' DNA, as 60 Minutes and other reliable news sources have proved already more than once.  And then don't forget the "jobs" factor - this will bring in oodles of jobs to the state, most of which will be temporary and will not use local (read unskilled) labor. (Remember engineers and skilled utility workers are not in abundance in rural Virginia).

The two pipelines have been facing fierce opposition as you might expect. The map below shows the general directions of the lines.  And I should add that localities have been trying to beef up laws to allow local jurisdictions to have some say over the monitoring of this, all to be struck down in the Virginia legislature (surprise, right?).

The pipeline will impact private and public lands, including the George Washington National Forest, the Appalachian Trail, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. A permanent, 75-foot treeless corridor would be required for maintenance. No buildings can be constructed in the easement.

While some may say that we all need cheap energy and this is just the price we have to pay, picture this.  Eminent domain is the process used to take over land unwillingly from the owner to build a road, a new school, a bridge, etc. something for the "public" good.  Why can these companies use the same process to take away someone's property or also to greatly devalue it by building something close by like a pipeline, just to enhance and increase company profits?  The only reason these pipelines are being built is to increase profits.  This pipeline will not benefit the average Virginia resident in any way.  Did you happen to know that Dominion Power is the largest single contributor to Virginia politicians?  Our Governor has clearly demonstrated that he is in Dominion Power's pockets and even as a Democrat embraced this plan before it even got off the ground.  So from the Governor to the local community politicians they can get whatever they want passed in our state. They have bought access. One well known Senator has said that if Dominion does not like a law they simply have it changed in the Legislature.  Why is this allowed to happen?

When things like this happen it is clear to me why people are uniting behind someone like a Trump and Sanders in droves. Enough is enough. Now we need to install a Trump or Sanders candidate at every local level.  I do believe this is coming and I sincerely hope that it is.  Please read about this even if you are not directly affected as this could just as easily happen where you live.  Won't this look lovely going through the Shenandoah Valley?  The view shed will be destroyed for generations to come. And what happens if terrorists decide to start igniting pipelines?  (Crazier things have happened, remember 9/11?) Is Dominion going to monitor the entire thing 24/7?  Will they even care? We are fighting Dominion Power on another issue here in Virginia and I can tell you that they cannot be trusted in any way!

Please read and learn about this in more detail here.  Virginia needs to be saved from this.  Other states need to be saved from this same sort of thing happening.  This pipeline benefits NO ONE except Dominion Power and Duke Power top brass and shareholders. Is our entire country for sale?  Yes, I believe it is.