Holy Cow, Holy Gas Pipelines

So the RCMP feel they've figured out who the instigator and possibly the sole individual involved in setting off bombs at B.C. EnCana gas pipelines is. None other than northern Alberta's Wiebo Ludwig. Who had involved himself, assisting the RCMP in their investigation through the goodness of his heart. Mr. Ludwig was arrested, then released, on suspicion of being the very individual who has set those troubling pipeline bombs.

The bomb incidents were terrifying for local residents. Who, though hating and fearing the presence of the pipelines and the burning of sour gas in and near their properties, also feared the potential for serious injury for themselves and their children, through the incidence of the pipeline bombs. Mr. Ludwig's arrest points to his attempts to extort EnCana into leaving the area, permitting the good people of Alberta and British Columbia to live in peace.

It's not likely to happen. Their quality of life may be eroded by the presence of the gas pipelines, and the fear of leaks impacting on their health and security, but this is big business and it's unlikely that government will mitigate against the plans of EnCana any time soon.
Despite that there have been documented incidences of sour gas flare-ups killing livestock and making humans extremely ill.

People can be thought of as entirely justified in wanting to have the process removed from their immediate living presence. High doses of sour gas can be lethal; lower doses can cause serious adverse health impacts; even lower can cause other adverse reactions. Its presence understandably makes people nervous. They have good reason to be intolerant of the impact on their lives.

Hydrogen sulphide even at low levels causes irritation to eyes, nose and throat; inhaling it for people with asthma deleteriously impacts their breathing. Even brief exposure to hydrogen sulphide has high risks, justifying evacuation of people living near sour gas wells after an explosion or a leak.

Concentrations greater than 500 parts per million can cause a loss of consciousness and has the potential to kill. Lower concentrations may kill children and the elderly after long exposure to lower concentrations.

Wouldn't anyone feel unsettled at the presence - and it's a growing one - of those gas pipelines? And wouldn't a dedicated community activist, a so-called renegade like Wiebo Ludwig believe it's his destiny and his duty to his community to become involved?

Mr. Ludwig is imbued with evangelical zeal, just as he was when he was as a Calvinist pastor. His is a strong personality, one not easily deterred by the declaration that what he is involved in is illegal. He answers to a higher authority.

And it's pretty hard not to be sympathetic to his cause. It's a human cause.